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Background

You'll receive this quest at the conclusion of the quest The Staff of Magnus.


Walkthrough

For this quest you'll start out on the bridge leading to the College of Winterhold, and you'll have Tolfdir, Faralda, and Arniel Gane with you. Tolfdir will inform you that Ancano's power is growing thanks to the Eye of Magnus, and he'll ask you to use the Staff of Magnus to defeat Ancano's magical barrier, which has grown to block off almost the entire college. You'll then need to walk up to the barrier and attack it with the staff. Just keep attacking until the barrier dissolves. This should not take long or use up much of the staff's enchantment.

Inside the Hall of the Elements, you'll find Ancano with the Eye of Magnus. Tolfdir will attack him with a fire spell, but it won't do any good, and Ancano will taunt you. "I am beyond your pathetic attempts at magic. You cannot touch me." Ancano will then open up the Eye and draw on its power to paralyze Tolfdir and any other followers with you, and so it'll be up to you to defeat him.

If you simply attack Ancano, then you'll discover that he can't be damaged. To make him vulnerable, you'll have to use the Staff of Magnus on the Eye. This will drain some magic out of the Eye and cause it to close, disrupting Ancano's power. You'll then be able to attack Ancano normally (with any weapon or spell) until the Eye recovers and opens up again. As with the battle against Morokei in the previous quest, if you have a good shock (or magic) resistance, then the battle shouldn't be too bad. Otherwise, you better have some healing potions around.

Note: You'll also probably have to face some more magic anomalies. The good news with the anomalies is that when they die they're guaranteed to drop filled soul gems, so if you drain the enchantment on the Staff of Magnus, you'll be able to power it back up again.

After defeating Ancano, when you talk to Tolfdir, he won't know what to do about the Eye of Magnus. But then Quaranir of the Psijic Order will show up, and he and his companions will confiscate the Eye. Before he leaves, Quaranir will suggest that you'd make a good Arch-Mage for the college, and Tolfdir will agree. Tolfdir will then give you the Archmage's Robes and the Arch-Mage's Quarters Key, and you'll gain ownership of everything in the Arch-Mage's Quarters, including numerous potions, soul gems, and ingredients. You'll also find an Unusual Gem / Stone of Barenziah, which you'll need for the quest No Stone Unturned.