So, third playthrough, on a PC. I'm doing the Aerodome area in Mzulft, and am looking for the Gloomlurker in order to get the Focusing Crystal. THE GLOOMLURKER IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. I even reloaded Mzulft from several different saves at different time periods, worked from the start to the Aerodome - only to have the Gloomlurker (and by extention, the Focusing Crystal) never make an appearence. I've searched the other four Falmer each time, but no joy.

Any ideas? I am at a loss, and without the Focusing Crystal, the Mage College questline is permanantly borked.

If you have the quest active, doesn't the map arrow show you where it (and therefore he) is?

Yuo would think so, but no - the arrow does not show up on the map. Paratus Decimus had the arrow above his head to talk to him, but he sends me back looking for the Focusing Crystal. In the past, I've had it each time to give to him after he opens the door, but since the Gloomlurker is a no-show, he sends me off to find it, saying he cannot do anything to help without it.

Pretty frustrated with the growing list of broken quests as it is, but this one being broken - especially when it has worked just fine in the past - is really setting me off.

Console in the crystal?

Are you looking for a living gloomlurker, or a corpse?

Looking for the live gloomlurker. I know exactly where it has spawned in the past, and I have killed every Falmer in the complex just to make sure it didn't get placed on another mob for whatever reason. The specific Falmer Gloomlurker just does not spawn.

I could console it in, but then I would not get any additional achievements on this playthrough. I'd rather not console it in if I have another option.

What makes you think that Steam cares whether you use the console or not? It's the only thing available for some broken quests. For that matter, how could Steam tell? Go ahead and use it since you have the capability (and pity the poor players that cannot).

I have got achievements after using the console to fix the Thane of Riften quest bugs, so I wouldn't worry about that.