Castle Volkihar door won't open

[PhoenixRising73]

I've found a "work around" for this problem...for those who might also be experiencing it. I don't remember exactly how I did it, but basically I just used the console command to proceed to the next quest after entering the castle. I looked online for the quest order and console command number. It's important that you chose the right one, because apparently the next quest is whether or not you chose to play as a vampire. So you'll need to enter the correct one. After I did the console command, I appeared in the castle...halfway though a conversation with the head vampire. I turned down his offer and he banished me. It removed the quest marker to TAKE SERANA HOME, and gave me a new one. I haven't played through the entire questline yet, so I don't know if it will have any issues long term. So far it seems to be working correctly.

 

After this point, I can't use her as a follower unless I dismiss all other followers. Before then, I couldn't get rid of her if I wanted to. I don't know if this is a bug in my game or not...I use UFO.

 

 

I did the same as you used the console command to advance beyond the door. I chose not to side with the vampires, however, and Serana was left outside the door and started following me once I was teleported outside. Even using UFO I can't get her to leave. What a mess....

This fixed it exactly for me. There had been some where they advanced the quest but I couldn't get Serana to follow so I appreciate the detailed instructions. It was very much appreciated!!

[Deleted5716846User]

I can confirm that the following worked for me (PC console commands). At least I was able to continue with the quests advancing themselves. I did not choose the vampire path and was banished.

 

type the following into your console:

 

coc DLC1VampireCastleGuildhall

 

You will load into the guildhall, then open your console again and type:

 

prid 03002b74

moveto player

 

 

The first part moves you into the guildhall, the second references Serana and moves her to you.

 

I am using Skyrim v1.8 (Steam patched this morning)

[eldritch68]

This worked, but the player ID for Serana was wrong. On my system it was prid 08002b74. Thanks for helping me through. I'm using AFT, but only had Hoth and Vilja in tow, neither of whom require the mod. I'm pretty sure all the multiple follower mods cause hiccups like this.

 

I can confirm that the following worked for me (PC console commands). At least I was able to continue with the quests advancing themselves. I did not choose the vampire path and was banished.

 

type the following into your console:

 

coc DLC1VampireCastleGuildhall

 

You will load into the guildhall, then open your console again and type:

 

prid 03002b74

moveto player

 

 

The first part moves you into the guildhall, the second references Serana and moves her to you.

 

I am using Skyrim v1.8 (Steam patched this morning)

[ShackleJC]

Just an update to this post in case anyone comes here looking for answers, follow the commands above, once inside the Hall, use this command to get Serana beside you

 

If you can't find Serana and you have Skyrim & Dawnguard (PC), use the following:

 

prid 02002b74

moveto player

 

This will port Serana to you

[SallyAnneArnott]

i tried coc DLC1VampireCastleGuildhall but i kept crashing back to desktop :( It wont let me in because i am a were wolf?


OK i fixed it by using movetoqt dlc1vq02 to get inside the door and is started me talking to Lord Harkon. Once I became Vampire Lord Serana appeared inside the castle :wink:

Now i am a werewolf and a Vampire Lord this is so cool :)

Edited March 8, 2013 by SallyAnneArnott

[nlrikkert]

If the fore mentioned options do not work I have an alternative.

Open the console commandline and type 'TCL'.

This will put you in to no clip mode, in which you may fly through the first gate.
use 'TCL' again to turn it back off and head through the frontdoor.
The NPC inside might call out to you for trespassing, just wait a few seconds and Serena should appear and the quest should continue.

Edited April 9, 2013 by nlrikkert

[Charmingfox]

Consul's commands, which override game performance or game play, usually have bad side affects later on.

 

If you are looking for real solution, the following is workable solution to bypass the Dawnguard Bug to obtain entrance into Castle Volkihar normally; however, it only works for new games.

 

After talking with Bethsoft Support and some extensive game testing ...I was able to enter Volkihar Keep eight different times from four new games and four new characters, at various skill levels.

Bethsoft Support indicates that the Volkihar Keep Door, Dawnguard Bug is cause by:

 

1 - Visiting Castle Volkihar prior to finding Serana: In this case, you will need to load a prior save game, before visiting the castle and find Serana first.

 

2 - If you are running any third party mods, including Steam Workshop mods, SKSE, Skyboost, Nexus Mod Manager, and Script Dragon. Bethsoft Support recommends, "that you delete them completely, not disabling them, and revert-back to games saved prior to their installation."

 

3 - Sense, I start all new games with 150 to 200 mods install, I had no prior save game to uses. Therefore, I simply disable all of mods, except "Dawngard.esm." I start a new game, using the original Skyrim loader and play the game, until I got through the Keep door and talk to Lord Harkon. Therefore, Bethsoft Support was somewhat correct.

 

4 - If the following procedure does not work for you, then you will probably need to remove your mods, and then re-installed your mods, after you talk to Lord Harkon. However, be WARNED, if you have a large numbers of mods to remove. Even though you rename and save your original game file, if you change your mind or the following procedure does not work for you, restoring an original save game file with all the remove mods re-install, does not insure that your original games can be played; therefore, think hard on this, if you cannot disable them. How badly do you want to play Dawnguard? I can assure you, from lots of experience, replaying a new game from the beginning; you learn something new every time about the game, your mods and which mods are worth having.

 

A- Before starting a new game, I recommend that you rename your original save file. The game will create a new save file for you, if you do not already know this.

 

NOTE: Before disabling all your mods, I suggest that you start a new game with all of your mods installed and take a few minutes (Of Troubleshooting) to see if you can select different female’s characters from each race first, before creating a Nord female character. Then play the game as a female Nord until you reach the town of Riverwood. If you have no problems reaching Riverwood, you are probably okay to go. From my experience, most mod problems, which are affecting game performance often go unnoticed ...can only be discovered at the beginning of a new game, by creating and playing as a female character. The often cause are female follower mods, female race mods, building mods near the town of Riverwood. By running BOSS and TES5Edit will often identify most of these problems, but not all of them. By, using other game utilities such as "SKYRIM Save Cleaner - By Seifer69er, will help with game performance.

 

B – Disable your internet connection, if you want to set your save game counter to one. If you take this direction, your online account will eventually ask you, when you are re-connected, “Do you want to download or upload game files …selected upload.” However, if you do not want to take this direction, delete all down loaded files, which are now displayed in your new save directory, before starting your new game. This will clears the previous save games from your online account. This will help you keep track of what you are doing and keep your game file small.

 

C - If you have any mods, which will modify your perk tree or character skills, race or sex (Such as "Skyrim Perk Enhancements and Rebalanced Gameplay - By Seorin" and "Character Creation Overhaul - Races - Birthsigns - Classes - Skills - Specializations - Attributes - By Syclonix"), do not obtain Guardian Stone, at the beginning, if you want a special type of Character with special Combat Skills. You can level up, but do not use your Perk Points. Wait, until you complete Serana quest and have talk to Lord Harkon; doing so, will give you Perks, which you do not have the skill to obtain, that will cause problems later. Created your Character Combat Skills first, save the game, exit, and enable "Skyrim Perk Enhancements and Rebalanced Gameplay and Character Creation Overhaul" and the reload the save game. Your Perk Tree should be balance, for any type of Character, with special combat skills that you want. You may loss a few Perk Points; overall, you will come out ahead.

 

D - During the game, save frequently, especially when you can see Volkihar Castle ...and before reaching the Keep’s Door. After talking with Serana at the Castle ramp, go through the Keep door and talk to Lord Harkon, which completes Dawnguard’s initial requirements.

 

E – Enable all of your mods and started the game with SKSE loader. Load a prior save game before entering the Keep. You should still be able enter the Keep with all of your mods installed. It seems to take a little longer to enter, however, I did enter the Keep and talk with Lord Harkon, four different games, with 180 mods installed, which I could not do, with my original encounter this problem. There is a lot request for help on the Internet for this Bug, but no real solutions, maybe until now.

 

F - The first two times I enter the Keep, I created a 30 and 12 level Nord male warrior. The third time I created a one level Briton male mage, with some attributes modifications. The fourth time, I created a one level male Briton with no Guarding Stone and no modifications. All four games, I was able to enter the Keep 8 times. The purpose of the first two games was to see, if Bethsoft Support information was correct. The third game, I realize my mistake in obtaining the Mage Guardian Stone too soon. The fourth was the success I was looking for.

 

G - If this works for me, the probability is very good that it will work for you, or most of you. If you make this your first game priority to talk to Lord Harkon, you should be a level 4 character at this time, which should have no major effects on any mod that recommends new games only. With few hours of game playing, your Dawnguard problem could be history.

 

NOTE: I had no attention of becoming a vampire. Therefore, I have no information for those players, who want to be vampires. When should you install your mods, "Before or after you become a vampire?" Therefore, I leave it to you to tell us how you did it. I do not even know, if I play as a Danwguard with my mods install, will I be ability to re-enter the Keep, to kill Lord Harkon. Hopefully, by then, someone may have figure out how to fix this Bug problem, if I cannot enter the Keep.

 

If you have success with this procedure, lets other know about it or what you have discovered, which might help fix this Bug, without starting a new game.

[Charmingfox]

Consul's commands, which override game performance or game play, usually have bad side affects later on.

 

If you are looking for real solution, the following is workable solution to bypass the Dawnguard Bug to obtain entrance into Castle Volkihar normally; however, it only works for new games.

 

After talking with Bethsoft Support and some extensive game testing ...I was able to enter Volkihar Keep eight different times from four new games and four new characters, at various skill levels.

 

Bethsoft Support indicates that the Volkihar Keep Door, Dawnguard Bug is cause by:

 

1 - Visiting Castle Volkihar prior to finding Serana: In this case, you will need to load a prior save game, before visiting the castle and find Serana first.

 

2 - If you are running any third party mods, including Steam Workshop mods, SKSE, Skyboost, Nexus Mod Manager, and Script Dragon. Bethsoft Support recommends, "that you delete them completely, not disabling them, and revert-back to games saved prior to their installation."

 

3 - Sense, I start all new games with 150 to 200 mods install, I had no prior save game to uses. Therefore, I simply disable all of mods, except "Dawngard.esm." I start a new game, using the original Skyrim loader and play the game, until I got through the Keep door and talk to Lord Harkon. Therefore, Bethsoft Support was somewhat correct.

 

4 - If the following procedure does not work for you, then you will probably need to remove your mods, and then re-installed your mods, after you talk to Lord Harkon. However, be WARNED, if you have large numbers of mods to remove. Even though you rename and save your original game file, if you change your mind or the following procedure does not work for you, restoring an original save game file with all the remove mods re-install, does not insure that your original games can be played; therefore, think hard on this, if you cannot disable them. How badly do you want to play Dawnguard? I can assure you, from lots of experience, replaying a new game from the beginning; you learn something new every time about the game, your mods and which mods are worth having.

 

A- Before starting a new game, I recommend that you rename your original save file. The game will create a new save file for you, if you do not already know this.

NOTE: Before disabling all your mods, I suggest that you start a new game with all of your mods installed and take a few minutes (Of Troubleshooting) to see if you can select different female’s characters from each race first, before creating a Nord female character. Then play the game as a female Nord until you reach the town of Riverwood. If you have no problems reaching Riverwood, you are probably okay to go. From my experience, most mod problems, which are affecting game performance often go unnoticed ...can only be discovered at the beginning of a new game, by creating and playing as a female character. The often cause are female follower mods, female race mods, building mods near the town of Riverwood. By running BOSS and TES5Edit will often identify most of these problems, but not all of them. By, using other game utilities such as "SKYRIM Save Cleaner - By Seifer69er, will help with game performance.

 

B – Disable your internet connection, if you want to set your save game counter to one. If you take this direction, your online account will eventually ask you, when you are re-connected, “Do you want to download or upload game files …selected upload.” However, if you do not want to take this direction, delete all down loaded files, which are now displayed in your new save directory, before starting your new game. This will clears the previous save games from your online account. This will help you keep track of what you are doing and keep your game file small.

 

C - If you have any mods, which will modify your perk tree or character skills, race or sex (Such as "Skyrim Perk Enhancements and Rebalanced Gameplay - By Seorin" and "Character Creation Overhaul - Races - Birthsigns - Classes - Skills - Specializations - Attributes - By Syclonix"), do not obtain Guardian Stone, at the beginning, if you want a special type of Character with special Combat Skills. You can level up, but do not use your Perk Points. Wait, until you complete Serana quest and have talk to Lord Harkon; doing so, will give you Perks, which you do not have the skill to obtain, that will cause problems later. Created your Character Combat Skills first, save the game, exit, and enable "Skyrim Perk Enhancements and Rebalanced Gameplay and Character Creation Overhaul" and the reload the save game. Your Perk Tree should be balance, for any type of Character, with special combat skills that you want. You may loss a few Perk Points; overall, you will come out ahead.

 

D - During the game, save frequently, especially when you can see Volkihar Castle ...and before reaching the Keep’s Door. After talking with Serana at the Castle ramp, go through the Keep door and talk to Lord Harkon, which completes Dawnguard’s initial requirements.

 

E – Enable all of your mods and started the game with SKSE loader. Load a prior save game before entering the Keep. You should still be able enter the Keep with all of your mods installed. It seems to take a little longer to enter, however, I did enter the Keep and talk with Lord Harkon, four different games, with 180 mods installed, which I could not do, with my original encounter this problem. There is a lot request for help on the Internet for this Bug, but no real solutions, maybe until now.

 

F - The first two times I enter the Keep, I created a 30 and 12 level Nord male warrior. The third time I created a one level Briton male mage, with some attributes modifications. The fourth time, I created a one level male Briton with no Guarding Stone and no modifications. All four games, I was able to enter the Keep 8 times. The purpose of the first two games was to see, if Bethsoft Support information was correct. The third game, I realize my mistake in obtaining the Mage Guardian Stone too soon. The fourth was the success I was looking for.

 

G - If this works for me, the probability is very good that it will work for you, or most of you. If you make this your first game priority to talk to Lord Harkon, you should be a level 4 character at this time, which should have no major effects on any mod that recommends new games only. With few hours of game playing, your Dawnguard problem could be history.

 

NOTE: I had no attention of becoming a vampire. Therefore, I have no information for those players, who want to be vampires. When should you install your mods, "Before or after you become a vampire?" Therefore, I leave it to you to tell us how you did it. I do not even know, if I play as a Danwguard with my mods install, will I be ability to re-enter the Keep, to kill Lord Harkon. Hopefully, by then, someone may have figure out how to fix this Bug problem, if I cannot enter the Keep.

 

If you have success with this procedure, lets other know about it or what you have discovered, which might help fix this Bug, without starting a new game.

[Charmingfox]

Sorry about the double Posting ...Cannot figure out ...How to delete one!

[Sigurd44]

If you have this problem, the following worked perfectly for me:

 

1. While at the gate guard, type "getstage dlc1vq02" to verify that you are in stage "6.0"

2. Then, type "setstage dlc1vq02 8" and close the console.

3. Serana should head toward the door and try to open it (and fail)

4. Open the console and select Serana. Make sure you select her and not some of the background!

5. Type "coc dlc1vampirecastleguildhall" to teleport into the castle.

6. With Serana still selected (teleporting doesn't deselect her), type "moveto player" to move her into the castle.

7. Serana should immediately start moving through the room. If she does, check "getstage dlc1vq02" - the stage should now be "10.0" if everything worked right.

 

She wasn't stuck afterward, the quest continued, and I was properly banished when I refused her father's offer.

 

This worked perfectly for me. In addition and to be on the safe side, I made sure that I dimissed all followers before. Questline runs further as intended and you will get the appropriate quest stage update message in game.

 

Therefore thx to the poster who posted this guide, because I guess he wasted some time to acquire the queststage data.

 

...and an advice to the wise poster above who thinks some mod does cause this bug and you have to play a vanilla Skyrim and start a new game (to lose hundreds of hours of progress..):

 

This bug occures even on a vanilla Skyrim, with no mods at all installed AND even if you do not visit the castle prior to that quest stage. Bethesda's response is just a lame excuse.

 

Skyrim is a great game, but its bugs and glitches are not only somewhat annoying.

 

If I would be a gaming console player and would not have the option to use console commands like PC users have to circumvent bugs and glitches, I would have brought back Skyrim to the store and demanded my money back, simple as that.

There is a difference between players like me who are interested in solving and circumvent problems or getting more insight in game/engine mechanics by wasting hours of using google (by using a foreign language) and people who just want to play. For later ones Skyrim isn't the ideal game, really.