The Highland Grave is one of those side quests that's dead easy to walk straight past, which is a shame because it's got a Legendary ring sitting behind a locked door. Good news: we've got you covered in this quick guide.
It's a short one too, so you're not signing away your evening for it.
Short answer: Start the quest by finding the skeleton, not the ruins. The skeleton hands you the Scholar's Map and the Scholar's Key, and that key is the only thing getting you through the locked door to the loot. Do it the other way round, and you'll just be backtracking for the key anyway. Your reward is the Ring of Quick Strikes (Legendary), the Ancient Hero's Talisman (Rare), the Blasphemous Echo Witchcraft Manual, and 250 XP.
Table of Contents
- How to start the Highland Grave quest
- How to complete the Highland Grave quest
- Is the Ring of Quick Strikes worth it?
How to start the Highland Grave quest
Go for the skeleton to save time. It's holding the Scholar's Map and, more to the point, the Scholar's Key. Without that key, you're standing outside a locked door looking daft, so grab it now and save yourself the round trip. You'll also need to fight two guards for no reason.
The skeleton is found on the west side of the Rockfalls region next to a broken shrine. Follow the road out from the shrine, and you'll trip over the remains soon enough. If you've not unlocked that shrine yet, you'll want to grab the Shrine's Heart from the Soldier Camp to the south first.
I've had better Mondays
Loot the skeleton while inspecting the parts of the remains. Doing so reveals the map and the key.
How to complete the Highland Grave quest
From the skeleton, follow the road up into the mountains of Rockfalls to the ruins themselves. Two Uriashi are standing guard, and they'll clock you the second you rock up.
Note: If you skipped the skeleton, bumping into these two is what starts the quest instead; only now you're doing it without the key in your pocket.
If you've already sorted the Song of the Mountain quest and you're on good terms with the Uriashi, you'll get a friendlier dialogue route through here and won't have to fight them.
If not, you'll need to fight your way past them, as they won't be that interested in you. There is some loot in this room, so do take a look around.
From there, head to the right of the room and pop the locked door with the Scholar's Key. Behind it is a chest holding your reward.
Collect the loot and the quest wraps up with 250 XP on top. The whole thing runs you a single time segment, and there's no requirement beyond having finished the Prologue, so you can knock it out whenever you fancy.
Is the Ring of Quick Strikes worth it?
- (+) Weapon Critical Hit Damage
- (+) Weapon Critical Hit Chance
- (+) Weapon Damage
- (+) Physical Damage Reduction
In our guide to the best rings and amulets, we noted that the Ring of Quick Strikes was: "This one is best for a human build, but can also be used as a vampire if you tend not to use your claws. This ups weapon damage and efficiency, allowing you to take more damage into the bargain."
Overall, considering the effort is pretty low, it's well worth going out of your way to get the Ring of Quick Strikes.
