The world of Tamriel can be a frightening place. Undead roam the lands, unknown terrors stalk the shadows and deadly monsters of myth and legend await those unprepared for the trials that lay ahead. Well, you know what they say. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. This Elder Scrolls Online: How To Become A Vampire Guide will provide all the information you need to become a creature of the night including related pros & cons so you can make an informed decision on the future of your time in Tamriel. So before we break into the detailed aspects of Vampirism and being a member of the undead, let’s first address the question that brought you here.
In a very similar way to (Pros/Cons/Unlocks) how you become a Werewolf in ESO, players can contract the Vampirism disease from fellow adventurers. A player inflicted with the disease is able to bite another player to infect them with the disease and open the path to becoming a Vampire. The two players must meet at one of the Ritual Shrines in order to partake in the event. Although the easiest method it’s unlikely that you’ll find players just willing to turn you into a Vampire as there’s a 1 week cooldown, as is the same with Werewolves. So although this will be much more common as time passes, early launch days will likely see players reserving this perk for allies and fellow guild members.
Your other option, albeit slightly more challenging, is to contract the disease directly from a Vampire. As with the Werewolves, Vampires will randomly spawn in high level locations across all 3 of the main provinces. Some reports suggest that the current Moon Cycle can play an important role although this has yet to be verified. The good news? You only need to get bitten once to contract the disease so potentially you could become a Vampire as soon as you’re able to sustain a couple of attacks from higher level enemies.
Once the disease is active you’ll be given a quest, Scion of the Blood Matron. The completion of the objectives is required in order to either embrace or cure the Vampirism disease. Sadly I have not yet been able to explore this aspect of becoming a Vampire in ESO so the quest could well be too difficult for lower levels. If you have any experience in this field please leave a comment and I’ll be sure to credit your name in the guide. Now you’ve got the basics in hand, let’s take a look at the skills, abilities, pros and cons of Vampires.
It’s also worth noting that neither another player or Vampire enemy can give you the disease if you’re already infected with the Sanies Lupinus disease via Werewolves.
After you complete the Scion of the Blood Matron quest you’re given the Vampire skill line. These abilities can be accessed in-game via the World Abilities menu, much in the same way as Werewolves. Although you can get some additional information within the game itself I’ve highlighted some of the basic abilities and passive skills so you’re able to gauge whether or not they suit your character and combat style.
As with other skill lines only the Vampire’s active abilities can currently be Morphed. These add a variety of effects to the Vampires skills including additional damage, AoE effects, invisibility bonuses and increased potency during the night cycle.
The Vampires skill lines and approach to combat make it best suited for players that have focused on developing their magicka stat during character progression. In the same way that the Werewolf relies on stamina pool for damage and execution of skills, the Vampire relies on the magicka pool. Therefore if you decide you want to pursue the Vampirism path, it’s best to make the choice early to get maximum benefits from each stat point increase. Either way, you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss any of the Skyshards in Elder Scrolls Online.
Both the Vampire and Werewolf boast an exciting selection of benefits but each also come with their own unique drawbacks. It’s up to you as a player to decide which suits you best, if any. You can quite happily progress through the entire experience as a mere mortal figure if you so wish. The biggest perk for Vampires, especially when compared to the Werewolf, is that there is no transformation. Unlike their furry fiendish friends Vampires do not have to sacrifice the Ultimate Ability slot in order to retain the powers on offer. Couple this with a selection of powerful active powers and some of the best stealth improvement passives in the game and you have two vital ingredients for a deadly Nightblade. Some of the Vampires abilities also increase during the night cycle, making them the perfect hunters once the sun goes down, but also weakening their abilities once it returns. I have not been able to confirm this yet but some suggest that interior/underground/dungeon combat provides the same benefits as night through the absence of direct sunlight. Should this prove true it would be a huge benefit for PvE and shared dungeons. Please leave a comment if you can clarify/quash these claims, I’ll be sure to credit your name in the article.
Although the Vampire appears to be far superior to the Werewolf at first glance, they also come with a deadly selection of weaknesses. The biggest and arguably most troublesome problem with Vampires is the constant need to feed. There are 4 different stages of hunger, labeled in game as stages 1 through 4 (4 being the stage at which the Vampire is most weakened). Every 30 minutes a Vampires strength deteriorates unless the player feeds on an enemy. For each stage players will suffer severe health regeneration penalties and large magicka cost increase for their abilities. I’ve highlighted the main stages below. It’s worth noting that feeding will restore players to Stage 1.
Another big drawback for Vampires is a severe weakness to fire. They take an additional 50% damage from all fire abilities, in the same way that Werewolves take additional poison damage. However there’s one major difference. There are currently very few poison attacks in the game however Dragonknights, Siege Weapons, Fire Staves and members of the Fighters Guild all boast the ability to deliver large amounts of fire damage. Vampires also belong to the monster type of Undead. This means they also suffer additional damage to abilities that specifically target or offer increase potency against monsters in that category.
If you’ve yet to make up your mind you can find additional information in our how to unlock the Werewolf in ESO guide or check out our detailed comparison of Vampires and Werewolves.
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