10 PAINFUL Secrets In Open World Games
7. Eltonbrand - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Let us all say it loudly and proudly - screw Morrowind's Eltonbrand. Just screw it.
The Eltonbrand is an extremely powerful sword and quite arguably the best weapon in the base game, but obtaining this top-secret blade is such a biblically silly pain in the ass you might struggle to persuade yourself to bother.
Firstly you need to get the inferior Goldbrand sword during Boethiah's quest, become a vampire, complete the "Shashev's Key" quest, and then have exactly 11,171 gold on your person before talking to Sirilonwe once more.
Talk to Sirilonwe and you'll get the message "Go to Hell, Carolina!," after which the Goldbrand will now be turned into the Eltonbrand.
Despite being objectively incredible to wield, accessing the Eltonbrand is such an all-timer faff that even those who've poured hundreds - if not thousands - of hours into Morrowind might consider it a poor use of their precious time on this Earth.
As for why the developers settled on you needing such a precise amount of gold?
It's been apocryphally suggested that 111-71 was the greatest victory of Morrowind writer Mark Nelson's favourite basketball team, the Duke Blue Devils.
Given that the sword itself is named after NBA player Elton Brand, that seems quite probable.