This questline is a convoluted mess
>To start the quest, you need to hit a fucking invisible wall in the middle of nowhere
>Later, the questline sends you to Nokron but the game fails to give you instructions for WHERE Nokron is
>Further on, Ranni gives you a key and tells you she's leaving. She does not tell you WHERE to use the key
>By now a random tower nearby unlocks, you need to go through it to progress it. The game does not tell you this. To add insult to the injury, you sometimes have to wait at a grace before the tower unlocks
>As you progress through the dungeon, you'll find a Ranni doll. If you don't sit at the EXACT grace where you found it and talk to her 4 times then the questline will not progress. The game does not tell you this. A player going in blind wouldn't even KNOW to rest at that specific bonfire to the unlock the dialogue.
>You then have to backtrack to the fucking magic academy and go to the chest behind the boss to unlock it. The game does not tell you this
>The quest then takes you to the Lake of Rot. If you do not have high vigor and a lot of estus flask then the river is literally impossible to cross without dying. You'll have to leave the dungeon, go to an obscure bandit encampment, and pick up the spell "Flame. Cleanse Me" to progress. The game does not tell you this.
>After clearing Astel, you are taken back to the Mage Academy outskirts. You have to go to the church and then leap down the hole to find Ranni. The. Game. Does. Not. Tell. You. This
This is objectively bad gameplay design and an exercise in frustration.
