ESO Nowhere Vault Guide

Article

Up to date for: Update 51 - 28th September 2026

Last changed: Update 51 - 28th September 2026

Nowhere Vault is a permanent activity for 1 to 4 players. It's free and doesn't need any DLC. You unlock it with the Invitation to Treasures quest from Crown Store Quest Starters, and the entrance is in the Daggerfall Outlaws Refuge.

It has 3 wings with 3 challenge rooms each. Every challenge room costs 1 Wondrous Nowhere Key, and room order can change between runs. In a group, only 1 player has to spend a key. Keys are uncommon drops from overland content. It's mostly platforming and puzzles and the few fights there are comparable to overland so you don't need a build. Whatever you use for overland questing is enough.

The main rewards are the Ancient Direnni Quasigriff mount and 2 skill styles for Summon Shade and Evasion. The mount is locked behind 3 Conspiracy level Rumors, one in each wing. Each skill style needs 25 consumables that drop from Vault chests.

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How to Start

Pick up Invitation to Treasures

Get Invitation to Treasures from Crown Store Quest Starters. It's free and doesn't require any DLC.

Invitation to Treasures in the Crown Store Quest Starters
Get 3 Wondrous Nowhere Keys

You need 3 Nowhere Keys for the quest. They drop from Heists, Thieves Troves, Delves, World Bosses, Treasure Chests, Favors, Dynamic Encounters, Rumors and Solo Dungeons.

Wondrous Nowhere Key tooltip
Go to the Outlaws Refuge in Daggerfall

There are 2 entrances, one in the Harbor District and one behind the northeastern wall.

Glenumbra Outlaws Refuge

Daggerfall Outlaws Refuge entrance Outlaws Refuge entrance

Daggerfall Outlaws Refuge Nowhere Vault entrance
Talk to Urli and enter the Vault

Urli stands next to the Vault door inside the Refuge.

Urli and the Nowhere Vault entrance

Invitation to Treasures

Every challenge room except Murky Grotto has an Orrery Shard next to its exit. You can put them in the Nexus Orrery whenever you want. Once all 8 are in, Urli opens Sage's Trove for you. Kill the very weak enemy inside to finish the quest and get 1 Wondrous Nowhere Key.

Sage's Trove is also where you unlock the Ancient Direnni Quasigriff.

The Nexus Orrery on its platform in the Nexus — The Nexus Orrery

The entrance to Sage's Trove — Sage's Trove

Vault Wings

How Vault Runs Work

Pick a wing in the Nexus and clear its rooms. The order changes between runs, and the Safe Room can show up before the challenge rooms. After the last room you might get a Stash Room, then you're back in the Nexus.

Each wing has its own Rumor, with one part of it in each room. You can only progress it in a specific order, so you'll probably need a few runs to finish it.

Each wing also has 2 Skyshards. The Skyshards section shows where each one is.

Every challenge room costs 1 key. In a group, only 1 player pays.
Opening a Nowhere Chest also costs 1 key. Once someone pays, everyone in the group gets their own loot from it.
Only 1 player can loot a Regular Chest. The chest at the end of every challenge room gives everyone their own loot.
The Safe Room has no Key Lock, so the way out of it is free. If the Safe Room is the last room of the wing, that free exit is wasted and you've paid 1 extra key.
Dying doesn't fail the run. You just respawn at the start of the room or the last checkpoint.
If you leave the Vault for more than 5 minutes, the instance resets and you lose all progress except Rumors.
The Reset Hourglass in the middle of the Nexus resets all 3 wings.

Nowhere Vault Nexus map with the 3 wing entrances, Sage's Trove, the Nexus Orrery, the Reset Hourglass and the exit marked

The Arcanum Wing entrance archway with the Nowhere Key Lock pedestal in front of it — Arcanum Wing entrance. All 3 wing entrances look the same. The glowing pedestal is the Nowhere Key Lock.

Bugs

The Reset Hourglass in the Nexus only works once. After that it bugs out for a long time.
Nowhere Chests sometimes don't glow. You can still open them.

Arcanum Wing

Lunar Path Wing

Cursed Castle Wing

Hunt of the Watchers

Urli's tip

The way out opens when you carry enough of a certain something. Not saying what! But you'll find it inside.

Find 5 Seeker Glyph Keys, then use them to open the exit. The keys can spawn in different places, and all known locations are marked on the map below.

A Seeker Glyph Key. You need 5 to open the exit.

Regular Watchers patrol the maze on foot and see what's in front of them. Crouching doesn't hide you from them. If one spots you, it attacks, and 3 hits send you back to the start. They don't stun you, and blocking stops you from being sent back. You keep any keys you've already picked up.

A regular Watcher, a spiked tentacled creature, patrolling the maze near a searchlight — A regular Watcher patrolling the maze

Watchers float above the maze, each shining a searchlight. Some searchlights stay on one spot and some move. If you step into the light, the Watcher fires a laser beam that follows you. You can outrun it or block it, but you can't dodge roll it. Getting hit stuns you, and a few hits send you back to the start. Blocking the beam prevents both.

A Watcher floating above the maze and shining its searchlight — A Watcher and its searchlight

A Watcher firing a green laser beam at the player — The laser that chases you after you step into the light

Hunt of the Watchers room map with the start, exit, possible Seeker Glyph Key locations, Regular Chest, Shrill Whistle, and Runic Prison marked

Murky Grotto

Urli's tip

It's quite simple really. Just stay alive. I'll keep watch on the time and say when to catch your breath.

Activate the Toxic Bud and survive for about 2 minutes and 40 seconds. The poison keeps getting stronger while Shroom Beetles, Death Hoppers and Toxic Plants attack you.

Toxic Bud, a large purple flower, next to a green Cleansing Bubble in the poison mist — Toxic Bud

Cleansing Bubbles show up on the ground during the trial. Walk into one to cleanse the poison and become immune to it for 10 seconds.

Two green Cleansing Bubbles on the ground in Murky Grotto — A Cleansing Bubble

After completing the trial, the Toxic Bud turns into the Portal to Exit Gateway. Use it to reach the chest and exit.

The Portal to Exit Gateway prompt on the Toxic Bud after the trial, with a beam of light rising from the flower — Portal to Exit Gateway

Murky Grotto room map with the start, Toxic Bud, Skyshard, and exit marked

Fungal Chasm

Urli's tip

Mushrooms rule the land here. They'll dictate where you can go. If they want to block your path, they will. That's just how they have fun. And your ultimate goal is to find the exit. Good luck!

Follow the open path and jump between platforms until you reach the exit. Mushrooms surrounded by poison block parts of the route, and you can't roll or block through that poison.

Poisonous green mushrooms blocking a path in Fungal Chasm — Poison mushrooms blocking a path

Fire geysers erupt along the route. You can block or dodge roll what they shoot out, but not the geyser itself if you step into it. If you die, you go back to your latest checkpoint instead of restarting the room.

Fire geysers erupting from the lava in Fungal Chasm — A fire geyser. Stepping into it can't be blocked or dodge rolled.

Fungal Chasm room map with the entrance, exit, possible mushroom spots, checkpoints, invisible stairs, Subjugating Mindspore, and Regular Chests marked

Custodian's Repository

Custodian's Repository is the Arcanum Wing's Safe Room. There's nothing to fight here, just the Mnemonic Custodian (a talking brain in a jar), who gives the next clue in the secret chain, and sometimes a Nowhere Chest.

The Mnemonic Custodian, a brain in a glass jar surrounded by candles, with the Talk prompt next to it — The Mnemonic Custodian

Custodian's Repository room map with the start, Mnemonic Custodian, Astral Tear, Nowhere Chest, and exit marked

Moonlit Isles

Urli's tip

That island over there seems peaceful. You should find a way to get there. Let the stars guide your path. Just know that the bridges won't always be around, so be quick.

Moonlit Isles is a bridge puzzle. Each Bridge Switch raises one section of bridges for a limited time, so cross right after pulling it. The full route is drawn on the map below.

A Bridge Switch on a stone pillar in Moonlit Isles — A Bridge Switch

There's a checkpoint on the isle marked on the map. If you fall after reaching it, you respawn there instead of at the start.

The checkpoint brazier on the checkpoint island in Moonlit Isles — The checkpoint

Route videos

Part 1: Start to checkpoint

Part 2: Checkpoint to exit

Moonlit Isles room map with the start, exit, Corrupted Shrine, Skyshard, Regular Chests, two Nowhere Chests, five Bridge Switch areas, and the Secret Bridge Switches marked

In-game hint

The Nowhere Vault conceals many secrets. Venture beyond the well-worn paths of the Lunar Path Wing and see what you uncover.

There are three Secret Bridge Switches on the final island. The secret bridges they control are right behind them, so you can see what each pull changes. Each switch flips a different set of bridges, and the combination that connects the path is random each time.

Three Secret Bridge Switches in a row on the final island in Moonlit Isles — The three Secret Bridge Switches on the final island

The secret bridges start from the checkpoint island, not the final island. Once they're set, take the Portal to Entrance and run the first half of the route again to get back to the checkpoint.

The Portal to Entrance on the final island in Moonlit Isles — The Portal to Entrance

From the checkpoint island, cross the secret bridges to the Corrupted Shrine. Press Show secret on the map to see the path. Destroy the Shrine, then take the Resonating Core.

The Resonating Core ready to take in Moonlit Isles — The Resonating Core

All secrets

Twilight Maze

Urli's tip

Three Twilight Cantors sing in the darkness. They must be defeated before you can move on. But their ears perk up if you make a sound.

Find 3 Twilight Cantors by following their singing, then defeat each one. The singing uses your Effects volume, so turn it up if you can't hear it.

Twilight Cantor silhouette with the Reveal prompt in Twilight Maze — Twilight Cantor

Tripping traps, fighting enemies or splashing through water causes noise, and noise stops their singing. After making noise 3 times, the Cantors change locations. They also change locations on a timer. Crouching highlights traps and lets you disarm them. All known Cantor locations are marked on the map below.

Trap plate on the floor in Twilight Maze — Trap

The Braziers in the maze each shoot a firebolt toward one of the Cantors. Each Brazier is tied to a specific Cantor, so if you defeat a Cantor without using its Brazier, that Brazier stops working.

Brazier with the Use prompt in Twilight Maze — Brazier

Firebolt from a Brazier coming down over the ruins of Twilight Maze toward a Cantor — Firebolt showing where a Cantor is

Use the Altar of Aided Hearing at the start. It adds a visual effect around the Cantors. It used to turn off the singing too, but now you get both, so you might as well always use it.

Altar of Aided Hearing dialogue in Twilight Maze — Altar of Aided Hearing

Twilight Cantor with the Altar of Aided Hearing visual effect around it in Twilight Maze — Twilight Cantor with Aided Hearing

Twilight Maze room map with the Start, Altar of Aided Hearing, Braziers, and possible Twilight Cantor locations marked, plus the secret route to Cantor's Starsong

Eclipsed Hall

Urli's tip

Two opponents in eternal war, but you must pick a side. Protect the light, perhaps. That's your way out. If you need help, make some music.

Ring the Bell in the middle of the room to start the encounter. Waves of enemies go after the lanterns, and you need to keep them alive. Kill whatever's attacking the lanterns first. It's a really simple fight, you just kill adds while the lanterns spawn and then go to the exit.

Enemies attacking the lanterns in Eclipsed Hall — Defending the lanterns

Eclipsed Hall room map with the Start, Exit, Mallet, five Bells, and two Nowhere Chest locations marked

The Lakehouse

The Lakehouse is the Lunar Path Safe Room. Kishkio gives the next clue in the secret chain.

The Lakehouse room map with the start, Kishkio, Creative Transcendence, and exit marked

Gallery of Curios

Urli's tip

This room tests your memory and perception. Can you find the three correct items in the clutter? That's the way out.

There are 3 curios on display near the entrance, and you need to find the exact same 3 objects somewhere in the gallery.

A chalice, a box and a blue Augur skull on display near the Gallery of Curios entrance — The 3 curios on display

A matching name isn't enough, it has to be the same model. For example, a regular skull and a blue Augur skull both just say "Skull" when you look at them, but only one of them counts. Using a wrong object spawns an enemy but doesn't fail the run.

A regular skull with the Skull interaction prompt — A skull with the right name but the wrong model

There are 2 optional bosses that wander around their rooms: The Smoldering Gargoyle in the south room and The Vengeful Spirit in the north-east room. Each one drops a blue or purple piece of gear, Archival Fortunes and the usual trash, and they can also drop a Wondrous Nowhere Key.

The Smoldering Gargoyle boss in the south room — The Smoldering Gargoyle

The Vengeful Spirit boss in the north-east room — The Vengeful Spirit

In-game hint

The Nowhere Vault conceals many secrets. Venture beyond the well-worn paths of the Cursed Castle Wing and see what you uncover.

Examine the Destroyed Painting in the north-east room and take the Artist's Lens from the rubble next to it.

The Destroyed Painting in the Gallery of Curios — The Destroyed Painting

The painting's note tells you where to use it: at the top of the stairs going down in the south room, facing the statue holding a sword, with 2 columns next to you.

The note from the Destroyed Painting describing where to use the Artist's Lens — The painting's note, page 1

Second page of the note from the Destroyed Painting — The painting's note, page 2

The "Use Artist's Lens" prompt shows up as soon as you're holding the lens, but it only works from that spot. Once it works, the painting reappears and you get the Artist's Touch.

Player at the top of the stairs facing the statue holding a sword, with columns on both sides — The spot where the lens works

All secrets

Sinking Courtyard

Urli's tip

This room will test your dexterity and speed. Just follow the riddle of the statue and don't fall into the sand! All three crystals must be destroyed, but they return if you move too slow.

Touching the statue at the entrance spawns a red, blue and yellow Storm Crystal. Destroy all 3 of them to finish the room. They respawn if you take too long.

The Blue Storm Crystal inside a wooden frame — The Blue Storm Crystal

The Yellow Storm Crystal floating above a stone platform — The Yellow Storm Crystal

Touching the sand gives you a stacking slow that you can't cleanse or reduce. Get too many stacks and you're teleported back to the entrance. Stay on top of tiles, rocks and other structures to avoid it.

Watch out for the tornadoes. They deal damage and knock you back if you walk into them. Some move around and some stay in one place.

A tornado on the sand in Sinking Courtyard — A tornado

Sinking Courtyard room map with the statue, Storm Crystals, possible Rain Totem spawns, Brackish Fountain, Nowhere Chest, Skyshard, and exit marked

In-game hint Artist's Touch

Your hands now feel more capable, as though you could create, alter, or even repair all manner of art.

You need Artist's Touch from Gallery of Curios. Use it to repair all 3 Rain Totems. They can spawn in different places, and all known spots are marked on the map. Totems get a green outline when you're close.

A broken Rain Totem with a green outline and the Use prompt — A Rain Totem before it's repaired

Once repaired, each one shoots a blue beam towards the Brackish Fountain.

A repaired Rain Totem glowing blue with the Rain Totems Repaired 1/3 banner — A repaired Rain Totem

After all 3 are repaired, use the Brackish Fountain to get Carafe of Salt Water. It does nothing before that.

Player standing in front of the Brackish Fountain with the Use prompt — The Brackish Fountain

All secrets

Haunted Undercroft

Urli's tip

The sewers will require cooking skills! All right, no, but you'll need to return the stew to the pot. Then see what happens!

Walking up to the pot in the middle of the room starts the encounter and spawns a Stew Slime and a bunch of Mini Stew Slimes. The Sewer Sous Chef next to the pot is friendly.

The stew pot in the middle of the Haunted Undercroft with the Sewer Sous Chef next to it — The stew pot and the Sewer Sous Chef

Killing a Mini Stew Slime drops a Stew Chunk. Pick it up and use Throw Stew Chunk to toss it back into the pot. You need 6 chunks. Some slimes run off into the side corridors, so you'll have to chase them down.

The Pick up Stew Chunk prompt next to a dead Mini Stew Slime — Picking up a Stew Chunk

Sewer Skeevers and Malfunctioning Skeevatons show up partway through. Skeevatons blow themselves up when they reach you, dealing damage in an area around them. Once all the chunks are back in the pot the stew stabilizes and the room is done. Dying resets the room's progress.

The Haunted Undercroft completed message above the stew pot — The stew stabilizes.

Haunted Undercroft room map with the stew pot, exit, and Nowhere Chest location marked

Prison of the Unrepentant

Prison of the Unrepentant is the Cursed Castle Safe Room. There's nothing to fight here, just The Prisoner, who gives the next clue in the secret chain, and sometimes a Nowhere Chest.

Prison of the Unrepentant room map with the start, The Prisoner, Nowhere Chest, and exit marked

Stash (Jackpot) Rooms

After the last room of a wing you sometimes get sent to a Stash Room instead of straight back to the Nexus. It doesn't cost a key. There are 2 of them, and both have a Vault of Sage Voernet door that takes you back to the Nexus.

Meditative Garden

Crafting nodes and heavy sacks.
Harvesting 5, 100 and 250 times here unlocks Garden Stroll, Well-Earned Respite and Peace and Prosperity.

Meditative Garden room map with the start, exit, harvesting nodes and heavy sacks marked

Magicka Flow Junction

5 Regular Chests and 3 Nowhere Chests. Each Nowhere Chest costs a key.
Looting 1, 10 and 20 chests here unlocks Beginner's Reward, Lucky Arrivals and Basement Profitability. Both chest types count, so you need 2 visits for the 10 and 3 visits for the 20.

Magicka Flow Junction room map with the start, exit, 5 Regular Chests and 3 Nowhere Chests marked

Wing Secrets and the Gryphon Mount

Each wing hides a secret (a Conspiracy level Rumor) with 4 steps, and the last step is in another wing. Solve all 3 and you can take the Ancient Direnni Quasigriff in Sage's Trove.

Finish Invitation to Treasures first. It opens Sage's Trove, where the Gryphon Room is.

Find the first secret in a wing to start its chain. There's no quest to pick up. Collect the 3 Clues in order, then claim that wing's Timeward Seal.

Clues are saved per character and don't expire. Check your progress in the Conspiracies menu.

Arcanum Wing

Arcanum Wing Hunt of the Watchers Watcher Filtration Gills
›
Arcanum Wing Murky Grotto Fungal Sight
›
Arcanum Wing Fungal Chasm Subjugating Mindspore
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Cursed Castle Wing Prison of the Unrepentant Arcanum Timeward Seal

Lunar Path Wing

Lunar Path Wing Moonlit Isles Resonating Core
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Lunar Path Wing Twilight Maze Cantor's Starsong
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Lunar Path Wing Eclipsed Hall Astralight Lumen
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Arcanum Wing Custodian's Repository Lunar Path Timeward Seal

Cursed Castle Wing

Cursed Castle Wing Gallery of Curios Artist's Touch
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Cursed Castle Wing Sinking Courtyard Carafe of Salt Water
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Cursed Castle Wing Haunted Undercroft Connoisseur's Vision
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Lunar Path Wing The Lakehouse Cursed Castle Timeward Seal

Gryphon Room

Use each of the 3 Gryphon Seal Slots and dispel the barrier. Then take the Ancient Direnni Quasigriff.

Heir to the Sage's Legacy

All 3 Gryphon Seal Slots glowing with the Ancient Direnni Quasigriff behind them — Gryphon Seal Slots