Forbidden Legend is genuinely worse on a second playthrough

[TamrielTactician]

I just started replaying and hit that quest again and man, it does not hold up once you know where everything is. The whole "mystery" falls apart when you're just fast traveling to three dungeons you already cleared five years ago, grabbing amulet pieces, and listening to the same voice lines from Arcadia or whoever explaining the lore you already know.

Like the first time through it felt like this cool scavenger hunt across Skyrim. Now it's just busywork with a mediocre reward at the end. The amulet itself is barely worth wearing once you've got decent enchanted gear, and the actual payoff is just a stat boost that doesn't even compare to what you can make with smithing and enchanting loops.

Anyone else feel like some of these older quests were designed around the novelty of exploration wearing off way faster than Bethesda expected? Or am I just burnt out on the game after too many playthroughs.

 

[RiftenWanderer]

Yeah I get this. The first time I did Forbidden Legend I was genuinely invested in finding those amulet pieces, reading the journals, piecing together the story. Second playthrough I just looked up the locations and speed-ran it because I already knew the payoff wasn't worth the time investment.

That said, I think the amulet's actually pretty solid early-game if you're doing a new character - the stat boosts help bridge that gap before you've got crafted gear. But you're right that once you know what you're doing with smithing and enchanting, it becomes pointless. The quest design assumes you're gonna stumble around and enjoy the journey, not that you'll have a mental map of half of Skyrim's dungeons.

I'd say it's less that Bethesda misjudged and more that replay value just hits different when exploration isn't novel anymore. Some quests hold up better on replays - stuff like Diplomatic Immunity or Blood on the Ice are still engaging because the actual quest content is interesting, not just the "where do I go" part. Forbidden Legend leans way too hard on the mystery and exploration angle, so stripping that away leaves you with... not much.