Gothcorga presents a unique blend of icy caverns and deliberate architecture within the ice palace. At its depth the player will encounter the third main quest boss, King Ragnor, patriarch of the Armored Bears.
About the Boss[]
King Ragnor didn't get to be monarch by being cute in that armor. He's a warrior, armed to the teeth quite literally, and invincible to boot. Gothcorga's armored bears are shapeshifters and immortal, but the alpha bears like Ragnor have those qualities ten-fold. The only thing that can actually kill a bear like Ragnor is another armored bear monarch. Have one handy in your pack?
Level | 25 |
Health | 50000 |
Strength | 95 |
Powers |
Ragnor Invicibility, Bear Disease |
Weaknesses | Freezing Wind |
The Arena[]
The arena in the wind kingdom is the expansive and icy throne room where King Ragnor holds court. At the far end of the chamber from the entry hall is a large iced platform, trimmed with columns and lighted statues, all designed to accentuate the throne at its center. The icy court floor in front of the throne provides for an excellent battlefield. Behind the throne is a dual portcullis made of stalhrim ice which leads to a sort of ante chamber, perhaps a defensive strategy to protect the king should the court be invaded.
These locked, adjacent halls contain additional portcullises between the player and some valuable treasures the bears would rather you not touch. Incuding a memorial with a Gothcorga Guard Cuirass, and the Blade of Freezing Wind. There is no special trick to initiating this boss fight, so don't look for a trigger in this arena, the personal guards to King Ragnor are more than willing to oblige you with a fight.
Battle Strategy[]
Ragnor's personal guard isn't going to give you much time to plan strategy so you need to think on your feet. There are three armored guard bears who will immediately engage you in battle. These bears have no special powers other than being a bit stronger and heartier than Oblivion bears due to their armor. You don't want o be overzealous in their dispatching though. Ragnor is a force to be reckoned with and he won't initiate battle until his guards are dead and you've forced him to take action himself. He'd much rather sit on his throne platform and watch them kill you. So, draw out the battle with the guards. Move around a lot.
Your goal is to loot each fallen guard for the stalhrim key on their person, these keys open the portcullises behind the throne. Start by taking down two guards and loot them for their keys, then lead the third on a merry romp around the throne platform. Due to his size, the guard can get hung up on this pass, use that to your advantage and key the keys in the locks. Once unlocked run back to the open court and take out the third guard. Loot him for his key and start running because Ragnor is coming. Just like with the guards, make him chase you around the arena once and try to lose him behind the throne platform. He's fast so don't take unnecessary chances.
When you come back around with the third key and Ragnor in tow the two gates you previously unlocked should have parted. Lucky for you, time has made them a bit stiff and they don't open all the way. Slip between them. There's a 90% chance Ragnor won't be able to follow, but hurry up and unlock the last portcullis anyway, just in case he gets lucky and squeezes in there with you. You want to open the gate to the left of the twin portcullises, which protects the Blade of Freezing Wind. This enchanted blade is the only thing strong enough to take on Ragnor, but
even then it's never going to kill him. At best, you'll knock some sense into him. Two or three swings ought to send him across the room and into unconsciousness. Drop the blade as when Ragnor regains consciousness, he'll slowly make his way back to his throne platform; let him. if you force Ragnor to continue battling beyond this breaking point, you'll lock yourself in an unending cycle that will only end when you run out of health restoratives and Ragnor kills you or you reload; so you've made your point leave it at that.
Once on his throne platform, Ragnor will shapeshift into his human form, a form he hasn't taken on since the accursed drove him and his kinsmen into a sort of feral madness; the beating you gave him helped break the spell temporarily. He will answer your questions regarding the accursed and give you the means to reach the Wind Stone, which is sealed with the accursed in a different location, the shrine on the mountain above the Ice Palace. listen to his story, get the keys you need from him and then leave the way you came. Any ice bears you didn't kill going in there will have also shifted to a docile human form. Killing them in that state will give you negative moral code points.