Dagoth Ur

The easiest approach to Dagoth Ur is from the north where there is a steep path leading over the lip of the volcano. The entrance is on the west side of the crater behind a rotating sphere. Just as you did at Arkngthand, you'll find a crank on a pipe. Turn it and the sphere will open, revealing the door to the Outer Facility.

Dagoth Ur is divided up into five sections and you only have to go through four. Although this sounds like quite a lot, it is a very linear layout, so it will be rather difficult to get lost.

Outer Facility

There isn't much in the way of loot in this area, but you've got five creatures to keep you company. At the bottom of the entry stairs you'll encounter a leveled 6th House Creature. In the next room you'll find a leveled Ash Creature. Dagoth Vaner (an Ascended Sleeper) will be to your south at the top of the stairs leading down to the lower section. In the final room you'll find Dagoth Ienas (an Ash Ghoul) and another leveled 6th House Creature.

As you pass through the area, you'll be taunted by Dagoth Ur when you reach specific places.

  1. At the first landing on the entry stairs: "Come, Nerevar. Friend or traitor, come. Come and look upon the Heart, and Akulakhan. And bring Wraithguard... I have need of it." (I'll just bet you do)
  2. When you enter the center area: "Come to the Heart Chamber. I wait for you there, where we last met, countless ages ago."
  3. When you reach the exit to the next section: "Come to me, through fire and war. I welcome you."

Inner Facility

Although it looks like this is going to be a very short section, the designers fooled you. The doors that you see at the bottom of the stairs lead to a small tower room. The real exit is at the other end of this section. There will be a leveled Ash Creature to your left as you enter the section. When you reach the bottom of the stairs (the door to the Inner Tower will be in front of you), Dagoth Drals (an Ash Ghoul) will be in the room to your left. You'll meet a leveled 6th House creature down the passageway to the right, Dagoth Rather (an Ascended Sleeper) at the intersection just past that and a Greater Bonewalker at the bottom of the stairs, just before the exit.

There is a bit of loot in this section. You'll find a Dragonscale Helm, a Dust Adept Helm and a full suit of Imperial Chain (the latter on a dead body in a side room), a Demon Longbow, a potion, a Master's Probe, some alchemical apparatus, and some repair tools at various places. The potion might come in handy, but if weight is a problem, pick up the rest on the way out.

You'll also get three more Dagoth Ur taunts as you pass through:

  1. At the first corner: "Welcome, Moon-and-Star. I have prepared a place for you." (I'll just bet you have)
  2. Just before getting to Dagoth Rather: "Come. Bring Wraithguard to the Heart Chamber. Together let us free the cursed false gods."
  3. At the foot of the stairs before the exit: "Welcome, Nerevar. Together we shall speak for the Law and the Land, and shall drive the mongrel dogs of the Empire from Morrowind."

Inner Tower

You'll probably want to stop by here on the way out. If you are a member of the Temple, Uvoo Llaren at the Ghostgate Temple asked you to to retrieve the Crossier of St. Llaris. You'll find it here, guarded by Dagoth Irvyn (an Ascended Sleeper). You'll also find the body of Voruse Bethrimo, which has a full set of Glass Armor (minus Bracers, but with shield). A Daedric Club and 100 gold pieces are elsewhere in the room.

Lower Facility

A very straightforward section. Just keep going forward to get to the exit. Aside from a bunch of barrels and a dead thief, not much loot in this section. Dagoth Muthes (an Ash Ghoul) will be to your right as you enter. There is a Bonelord just inside the next room. And Dagoth Gilvoth (the last Ash Vampire) is at the exit.

Dagoth Gilvoth (30th level Ash Vampire): 400 HP/500 MP, no weapons, no armor

Oh, and one more taunt, at the top of the stairs before you get to Dagoth Gilvoth: "Is this how you honor the Sixth House, and the tribe unmourned? Come to me openly, and not by stealth." (Shut up and let me finish backstabbing this last guy!)

Facility Cavern

Nothing to loot and only Dagoth Ur to fight.

Dagoth Ur will automatically generate a conversation with you, so enjoy it while it lasts. He has a few questions for you. It doesn't really matter how you answer, you can't avoid the fight. If you want, you may ask questions of him before you end the dialogue. The cocky son-of-a-gun is even going to let you take the first shot. That's not quite true. He just delays his attack for a few seconds, so if you do nothing long enough, he will attack you.

There is a conflict between what the Stat sheet says and what the ash vampire scripts say. Based on previous games, I think that the script isn't working properly and comments from other players seems to bear me out (WRFan posted a fix for this on the Morrowind discussion boards). This Dagoth Ur is supposed to be a decent fight, but the real fight is afterward.

Dagoth Ur (35th level Humanoid) that's a class?

STAT

Stat Sheet Script 7 dead ash vampires
HP 300 1000 650 or -50
MP 300 5000 3450 or -1450
Fatigue 500 1000 650 or 150
Strength 100 100 65
Willpower 100 100 65
Speed 80 100 65 or 45

Dagoth Ur has the following spells and abilities:

Once he is dead, the sphere covering the entrance to Akulakhan's chamber will open and allow you to access the door. You should find a Heart Ring on the floor of the sphere.

Akulakhan's Chamber

As soon as you enter the chamber, Dagoth Ur will be standing right in front of you and he'll start casting almost immediately (he has one last taunt to get out, though). He's got some Dreamers (three, to be exact) elsewhere in the chamber, and they will attack you if they get the chance (they have clubs). As long as the Heart of Akulakhan is still alive (it's a creature), you cannot kill Dagoth Ur. His shields just keep on resetting, his HP keep getting reset to 1000 and his MP stays at 1000. So you're wasting your time if you try to take him out before destroying the Heart.

The best strategy that I have found is to equip Wraithguard and Sunder, use every single item that I picked up from the Ash Vampires (except Dagoth Gilvoth's because it's got a Dispel effect) to beef up my defenses, then cast a Slowfall and run right past Dagoth Ur. You're going straight for the Heart (literally and figuratively). If you aimed correctly or if you have a decent Acrobatics skill, you should be able to land on the footbridge leading to the Heart. If not, you'll land in the lava and need to reload a save (you did save before entering this chamber, didn't you?). Run up to the Heart and whack it once with Sunder then switch to Keening and whack it five more times. You'll hear Dagoth Ur complaining about it while you're doing it, but that should destroy the Heart (you'll see it wither, so you'll know when the job is done).

Dagoth Ur should teleport behind you while you're doing this (hence the need for the beefed up defenses). You should be able to just turn around and start beating on him. Once the Heart is destroyed, his shields are gone. Not only that, but a lot of his power is gone, too. To be specific, he should have about 200 HP and no MP. Since he's not wearing any armor and has no weapons, it shouldn't take you more than a few swats to finish him off. I've come awfully close to knocking him off into the lava a couple of times and have often wondered whether it's possible (one player reported that he managed to do it).

If you take your time, you're just going to soak up damage to get to the same point (Heart destroyed, Dagoth Ur with about 200 HP). Believe me, a Dagoth Ur without magic is infinitely preferable to one with magic, so focus on the Heart and worry about Dagoth Ur later.

Once Dagoth Ur is finished, Akulakhan will start falling apart, so this would be a very good time to hightail it out of here. One of the Ash Vampire amulets has a levitate effect on it, so you can get back up to the entrance.

You can watch Akulakhan fall apart if you want (it's pretty cool the first couple of times) and you can also go hunt down the three Dreamers. But other than their clubs, there is no loot in this area.

When you get back to the Facility Cavern, you will find Azura waiting for you in front of the exit. Watch the cutscene (it always sticks and stutters on my system -- maybe if I were to let it run from the hard drive?), take her ring (constant effect: Night Eye 20%, Restore Fatigue 3 points per second) and head on out. Before you take the ring, unequip every attribute and skill-enhancing item that you have. When you take the ring, you get Hand of Azura cast on you. It's a 100-point Restore Attribute spell on all attributes, but attribute-enhancing items interfere with it. You can collect any of the items you bypassed on the way out.

Aftermath

Dagoth Ur is gone, the Blight is gone, the Ghostfence is gone, the world as we knew it is gone. Well, almost. Anyone who hated you before, is going to continue to hate you. If you had bounties on your head before, you've still got them. If the guards were trying to bust your chops for wearing Ordinator armor, they are going to continue to bust your chops. But everyone who is still willing to speak to you will have glowing things to say about how thankful they are. 'Course the merchants aren't going to cut you any deals and you still don't have an expense account. Oh, well, I guess it's back to honest thievery.

Vivec will have some choice words for you if you go talk to him again, but it's basically about how you are now the Protector of Morrowind and there is still evil to be fought. There might even still be a few Sixth House bases that need to be cleared out, pesky bandits to roust, daedric cultists to persecute, the usual hero-type stuff ("C'mon, c'mon. I'm a busy man. I've got people to see, monsters to kill." Icewind Dale).

Congratulations! You've completed the Main Quest. Now, can you do it again with a different character?