This article focuses on how to defeat Ancano in Skyrim. What makes this mission challenging is that Ancano seems impervious to all forms of attack; that is why you are going to need the Staff of Magnus. You use the staff against their eye of Magnus until it closes, and Ancano takes the damage. If Staff of Magnus runs out of charges in combat, using a Spell Spark will also cause the Eye of Magnus to close.
Any physical or magical attacks will not harm Ancano, since the Eye of Magnus is temporarily shielded. Attack Ancano, being careful about the spells that are being cast, and repeat the above procedure to shine energy from your staff on a sphere should the Eye of Magnus ever reopen. Up until that point, Ancano has received energy from the Eye, at which point you may attack Ancano and kill it. When the Eye is closed, you can exit and battle the Anomaly Magicians and Ancano.
When you use your Staff to fire on the eye, it will begin to open, revealing a spectral spirit, which Ancano will begin fighting. What you need to do is use the Staff of Magnus to shoot at Magnus’s eye, when the Eye is closed you can then attack Ancano, but it will try to open the eye again, so quickly take him out. Once the eye of Magnus has closed and the glowing light has gone away, the golden aura which was protecting Ancano also disappears, indicating to the player that he is vulnerable to weapons and spell attacks in Skyrim.
It is important to spend enough time with the Staff of Magnus over the Eye of Magnus until it returns to a solid, non-glowing orb because its shield gives Ancano a near immunity to magical and physical attacks, while the Magnuss eye is only partially weakening. There will be a large wind gust making movement difficult, which can be overpowered by equipping the Staff of Magnus and pressing the attack.
Keep in mind that holding the Staff of Magnus (either) is necessary as completing the quest and defeating the Ancano is necessary. A mini-boss called Morokei will wield the Staff of Magnus as he has items. While this guide does explain how you defeat the ancient, you may still get confused as to where you get your staff from and how you can shut off Magnus’s eye when fighting it.
