What are the powder barrels for?

[hagathina]

I thought maybe I could blow them up with a fire arrow to blast things open but that doesn't work.

I can see that there is a wooden door covered in planks in this one place that's just dying to be blown open but it ain't happening.

[stuemper]

If you are talking about the barrels in the northwind mine, they are quest item.

Some generic barrels can be blow up, though (not with fire arrows, because of how they work in-engine).

[Eternie]

I thought you may have meant at Power Cliff there's a whole hidden stash of power barrels with a note about being smuggled to or from Ark for the golden sickle ... but no quest I ever found connected with that. It also didn't seem to be connected to the last surviving person? at the power Cliff.

I figured I must have missed something.

[hagathina]

Too bad. They look like they should be FOR something, like the fire accellerant spilled strategically on enemy floors.