You remember Frostfire Glade. If you played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion back in 2006, the name alone probably triggers a specific kind of frustration. It’s that beautiful, frozen, silent glade where you spend way too much time staring at the ground. Now, with the buzz around Garridan's Tears Oblivion Remastered—whether you’re looking at the massive Skyblivion fan project or rumors of an official Bethesda revisit—that old hunt for the tiny blue crystals is back on everyone's radar.
It’s a classic quest. It’s "Tears of the Savior." You meet S'drassa in the Leyawiin Mages Guild. He’s obsessed with collecting these rare crystals, and honestly, the reward is decent, but the execution is legendary for being difficult. In the original engine, those things were smaller than a lockpick. In a remastered environment with higher fidelity, better lighting, and denser foliage, you’d think they’d be easier to spot.
Actually, it’s the opposite.
Why the Remaster Makes This Quest Tricky
In the old days, the graphics were flat enough that a glowing blue pixel stood out. Now? Garridan's Tears Oblivion Remastered introduces complex shaders, high-resolution snow textures, and realistic mist. The "glow" of the tears can actually get lost in the ambient occlusion and the way light bounces off the frozen pond.
You’re looking for five of them. Just five.
The lore is heavy here. Garridan Tanika was a knight who tried to save a farm from a drought by using a magical pitcher of endless water. He fought a Frost Warden, and in the end, they both froze solid. His tears of grief became the crystals. It's a tragic, poetic piece of world-building that rewards players who actually read the "Knightfall" book S'drassa gives you.
Don't skip the book. It’s not just flavor text; it tells you exactly why you’re freezing to death the moment you step onto the ice.
Survival in the Glade
Frostfire Glade isn't your typical dungeon. The center of the glade has a localized frost damage effect. It’s constant. If you’re playing a squishy mage or a low-level thief, that health bar is going to drop faster than a dropped sweetroll.
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- Use Frost Resistance. If you’re a Nord, you’re laughing. If not, brew some potions.
- The "Refining" trick: In the remastered versions, shadows are more dynamic. Drop a few torches or use a "Light" spell. The way the light hits the mesh of the Tear is unique; it has a different specular map than the surrounding ice.
- Check the base of the frozen statues. That’s where the clusters usually hide.
Finding the Five Tears
Most people find three and then spend forty minutes running in circles for the last two. It’s maddening.
The first one is usually near the center, close to the frozen figures of Garridan and the Warden. It’s the "gimme" tear. But the others? They like to hide in the periphery of the frozen zone. One is tucked near a rock on the eastern edge of the ice. Another is often obscured by the mist effects that have been beefed up in the Garridan's Tears Oblivion Remastered updates.
If you're using a modern modded setup like Skyblivion, the physics engine might even cause them to shift slightly if you hit them with an area-of-effect spell. Be careful with those Fireballs. You don't want to blast a quest item into a bush where the 4K textures make it invisible.
The S'drassa Connection
Leyawiin is a long walk, but S'drassa is a fan favorite for a reason. He’s one of the few NPCs who feels genuinely passionate about his niche interest. Once you bring him the tears, you get gold based on your level. It’s a leveled reward.
Wait.
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Should you wait until Level 30 to turn this in? Probably not. The "Philter of Purification" he gives you is a decent potion, but by the time you're high level, you're probably brewing better stuff anyway. Do it for the Fame points and the satisfaction of clearing one of the most notoriously tedious "scavenger hunt" quests in RPG history.
The Technical Side of the Remaster
When we talk about Garridan's Tears Oblivion Remastered, we have to acknowledge the community efforts. The unofficial patches have fixed the "falling through the floor" bug that used to plague these items. In the original game, sometimes a Tear would clip through the ice mesh and become unobtainable without console commands (tcl is your friend, but it kills the immersion).
Modern remasters have fixed the collision boxes. The items stay where they are supposed to. Plus, with increased draw distances, you can actually see the "shimmer" from further away, provided you aren't stuck in a blizzard.
Expert Tips for the Hunt
- Turn off your grass. If you are playing a version with dense, procedurally generated flora, the grass might be covering the tears. It’s a bit of a "cheat" move, but it saves your eyes.
- Nighteye vs. Light. Nighteye turns everything blue/purple, which is the worst possible thing when looking for a small blue crystal. Use a standard Light spell or a torch to create color contrast.
- The "Area" Search. The tears are always within the frost-damage circle. If you aren't taking damage, you're looking in the wrong place.
Honestly, the quest is a rite of passage. It represents the era of gaming where developers didn't put a giant floating arrow over every single objective. It required you to look, to observe, and to struggle. In a remastered world where everything is polished to a mirror finish, that raw, frustrating search is a breath of cold, fresh air.
How to Prepare Your Character
Before you even step foot in Frostfire Glade, check your inventory. You need more than just health potions.
- Dispel Potions: Sometimes the frost effect glitches and lingers.
- Feather Spells: You might be carrying a lot of loot from the Refrozen cave on the way in.
- High Alchemy Skill: If you can make a dual-effect Frost Shield and Restore Health potion, you’ve basically won the quest before it starts.
The Frost Warden isn't a joke, either. In the remastered combat AI, he’s much more aggressive with his kiting. He won't just stand there and let you whack him. He'll use the environment. Take him down first, then worry about the crystals. It's impossible to hunt for tiny blue specks while a giant ice atronach is trying to flatten your head.
Actionable Steps for Players
To successfully complete the quest and get the most out of the Garridan's Tears Oblivion Remastered experience, follow this specific workflow:
- Travel to Leyawiin and speak to S'drassa immediately upon reaching the city to get the quest active in your log.
- Purchase "Knightfall" from a book merchant or find the copy S'drassa mentions; reading it provides the necessary map marker for Frostfire Glade.
- Stockpile Frost Resistance gear or enchantments; aim for at least 50% resistance to nullify the environmental drain.
- Enter the Glade and eliminate the Frost Warden immediately to clear the "combat" state, allowing your magicka/stamina to regenerate faster.
- Sweep the center of the ice patch first, then move in a clockwise spiral outward to ensure you don't miss the tears hidden near the rocky perimeter.
- Return to S'drassa for your leveled gold reward—ideally do this before Level 20 for the best "value-to-effort" ratio, as the gold is most useful in the mid-game.