Do you want to unlock all Vampirism abilities in The Blood of Dawnwalker? As someone who turns into a creature of the night, you have several ways to reach your full capabilities. However, you must feast not only on hapless foes, but also on the vrakhiri lords themselves. Our guide has all the details that you need, but be forewarned that there will be spoilers, too.
Vampirism abilities – Unlocking via corruption, quests, blood phials, and bosses
The Blood of Dawnwalker Vampirism abilities are quite unlike the ones you see in the Witchcraft and Swordmastery trees. The Witchcraft and Swordmastery perks primarily require the use of skill manuals, which you need to read to unlock and subsequently upgrade said options. Vampiric abilities, meanwhile, are acquired through corruption, blood phials, and bosses, as well as certain notable quests.
Vampirism abilities from corruption levels
The vast majority of vampiric abilities that you unlock in the game come from corruption levels. Basically, you need to drink blood from various sources, such as humans, animals, and kobolds. You can also increase corruption levels a bit by drinking vials and consumables that restore your health.
Abilities that can be unlocked or upgraded include Voracious Bite, which is required for vampiric healing, and Shapeshift, which turns you into a wolf to speed up exploration. Several perks like Dancing Claws, Endless Ferocity, Blood Theft, and more are also dependent on your corruption levels.
The only exceptions to this mechanic are Piercing Shriek, Shadowstorm, Mesmerize, Blood Surge, and Scarlet Shield, which are unlocked via other sources. In fact, if you highlight these skills, you’re simply told that you need to “drink vrakhiri blood.”
Vampirism abilities from vampire boyar bosses
Some unlockable Vampirism abilities in The Blood of Dawnwalker come from slain vrakhiri boyars–i.e. the major bosses/lieutenants of Brencis. You can refer to the following guides if you need help taking them out:
To obtain these abilities, you must defeat a vrakhiri boss and drink their blood when presented with a dialogue choice. You will then get transported to a hellish realm called Anachora, and you have the option to invite their soul into Coen’s being.
These are the abilities that you acquire from bosses:
- Scarlet Shield – Unlocked by drinking Ambrus’ blood. This grants a chance to regenerate your HP after a perfect block/block.
- Shadowstorm – Unlocked by drinking Bakir’s blood. This slows down time around you.
- Blood Surge – Unlocked by drinking Xanthe’s blood. This causes a target to explode, while bosses take tremendous damage instead.
Vampirism abilities from legendary blood phials
That said, there might be instances where, instead of drinking a vrakhiri boss’ blood, you decide to kill them outright. Alternatively, you might take them up on a deal that they offer in exchange for their survival. If that’s the case, you can still unlock vampiric skills by collecting and drinking that vrakhiri’s blood phial.
The legendary blood phials in The Blood of Dawnwalker come from (a) certain locations you stumble upon while free-roaming and (b) vampire court activities that you can track via the Court menu:
- 1x Phial of Brencis’ Blood – Found inside the cave of the Beast of Balaur. It’s also where you can pick up the Gladius legendary weapon.
- 1x Phial of Xanthe’s Blood – Found inside the treasury room near the Svartrau City cathedral complex. You can learn more about this in our article regarding Father Florin’s quest arc.
- 1x Phial of Bakir’s Blood – Looted from the Bloodletter elite that appears during one of Ambrus’ vampire court activities.
- 1x Phial of Brencis’ Blood – Collect the blood from the reliquary during Xanthe’s Recruiters: Taste of Power.
- 1x Phial of Ambrus’ Blood – Collect the blood from the reliquary during Xanthe’s Recruiters: Just a Bit More.
- 1x Phial of Bakir’s Blood – Collect the blood from the reliquary during Xanthe’s Recruiters: Come Home. You can also convince the elite blood guard to surrender so you don’t have to fight him.
Note 1: Drinking Brencis’ Blood Phial unlocks the Piercing Shriek ability. It stuns all enemies in front of you, weakening their attack and defense, while also blocking their attacks and reflecting the damage back at them.
Note 2: Don’t forget that the duplicate blood vials you obtain still have some use even if you already have that particular skill. For instance, if you’ve already feasted on Bakir’s blood after fighting him and you drink two of his blood vials afterward, you’ll have Shadowstorm at level 3. You don’t even need to spend skill points or time segments for the level upgrades.
Exploring Vale Sangora and tackling Court activities nets you the blood phials of Brencis (left), Xanthe (middle), and Ambrus (right).
Vampirism abilities from quests
Last but not least, there are Vampirism abilities in The Blood of Dawnwalker that come from a longer story arc that involves a “friendly” vrakhiri named Lacra:
- You meet Lacra during a quest called A Friend Like This.
- After completing Our Rotten Roots, you receive the Piercing Shriek ability.
- If you proceed onward to Night of Horrors–i.e. the same quest where you’ll be able to romance Lacra–you must (a) eat the Mandrake at the end and (b) drink Lacra’s blood.
The above arc nets you two more skills:
- Mesmerize – This lets you mind control a target, forcing them to fight on your side for a short duration.
- Mandrake Ward – This is a special perk that greatly improves your survivability, as the effect triggers once per night. Basically, the moment you take lethal/fatal damage, you regain +3 health segments instead of dying.
That does it for our guide on how to unlock all Vampirism abilities in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Since the blood phials themselves are considered legendary items, you probably want to know the locations of other legendary equipment in the game. Likewise, since we’re already on the subject of abilities, you might be interested in the best skills and perks for Coen.
