The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimfans are displeased at the game’s infamous Unusual Gem quest.One ofSkyrim’s longest and most tedious side quests, it is notorious for how long it takes to complete and the relatively meager rewards for all the player’s time and effort.
Initially launching in the late fall of 2011, it’s almost impossible to spend time around gamers without knowing aboutThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Not counting the free-to-playFallout Shelter,Skyrimis Bethesda’s best-selling game of all time. It played a massive role in establishing open-world RPGs as the standard for AAA game development and continues to have a large and active fan community. However, that doesn’t meanSkyrimis above criticism, and a few quests stand out as particularly unpleasant.
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Skyrim’s No Stone Unturned, also known as the Unusual Gem quest, is one such example, andSkyrimplayers are still commiserating about the experience more than a decade on. “After over 11-thousand hours and many characters, I can confirm it’s not worth it,” reads a recent Reddit post from user Zyxvuts_31. The body of the post consists of a screenshot showing that they had found all 24 Stones scattered aroundSkyrim. Not everyone in the comments was as against the quest as they were. However, many expressed the common criticisms that No Stone Unturned is overly time-consuming, difficult to role-play around, and that the rewards aren’t worth the time and effort. For the full link,click here.
Virtually allSkyrimplayers stumble upon the No Stone Unturned quest at least once. At some point in their adventures across the Kingdom, players will find small pink gemstones hovering in small metal cases. Picking up these “Unusual Gems” begins the lengthy No Stone Unturned side quest. Players must explore the land collectingSkyrim’s 24 Stones of Barenziah, and the Crown they were stolen from. The game rewards players for this with a perk making them more likely to find Flawless Gemstones in randomized loot.
However, the quest has numerous issues and inconveniences. Players can find the stones withoutjoiningSkyrim’s Thieves' Guildbut can’t start the quest properly until they have done so. The game also doesn’t offer players any clues for where to look, and the gemstones take up some of the player’s limited inventory space.
However, the most disappointing aspect is the reward itself. While the perk lets them make money very quickly,Skyrimplayers are usually swimming in goldlong before they complete No Stone Unturned. The result is a long, tedious quest that isn’t worth the time and effort. While some commenters to the Reddit post pointed out how guides and mods can ease the experience, No Stone Unturned is not the most fun quest if players go through it the way Bethesda intended.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - Anniversary Editionis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
