The newest DLC for has two different paths you can go down. One path is the vampire hunters of Dawnguard which grants you special Werewolf powers. The other route you can go is against the followers at Dawnguard by becoming a Vampire Lord. This Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Vampire Lord Guide will go over:
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Mission Dawnguard:
Moving on to the Vampire Lord guide, after you boot up Skyrim with the DLC somebody should mention Dawnguard in Passing. For me I loaded up the game in Winterhold and a gaurd immediately said something about the vampire battles going on in the East. He mentions that anyone who wants to join the fight should head to Riften and head south.
If you have traveled across Skyrim pretty heavily before heading to Dawnguard for the DLC then the fastest point to travel to is actually Stendarr’s Beacon. Head down the mountain and stick to the right side. The way point to enter into the new area of Skyrim will be just ahead. The waypoint will bring you to Dayspring Canyon and the beginning of your journey.
Moving forward in Dayspring Canyon . You will meet up with a nice guy named Agmaer. He is more then happy to chit-chat about how he wants to join Dawnguard to kill some Vampires. He will lead you you to Fort Dawnguard where you can speak with the leader of Dawnguard. While following Agmaer you will see a character named Durak. Durak is shooting a crossbow which is the first time possibly that a player could see one. Don’t worry you may or may not be getting a crossbow very soon! Continue along the path until you get to Fort Dawnguard doors.
As soon as you walk through the door you will see the leader of Dawnguard, Isran, talking to a member of the Vigilants. Apparently back in the day the Vigilants were battling the Vampires but are being overrun by the strength of an old established family of the undead. After their heated discussion Isran will turn to you and ask if you want to join Dawnguard. Isran tells you to head out and kill some Vampires for him while he builds up the fort. The mission ends and turns you loose to Dimhollow Crypt.
Awakening Mission Guide:
“I’ve met Isran, the leader of a group of vampire hunters known as the Dawnguard. The Vampires that attacked the Hall of the Vigilants may have been after something in a place called Dimhollow Crypt. Isran has asked me to find out what the vampires are looking for.”
This is where the mission actually opens up and gives you a chance to flex your mustles. Isran will give you a crossbow (see told you, you would get one) and offer you the services of Fort Dawnguard. There are a couple of chests around with some bonus gold and gems. If your hurting for cash you can always go rummaging, but none of the stuff is really that great. Head back outside the front and start your Journey to Dimhollow Crypts.
The easiest place to fast travel to for me was The lord Stone. A couple of bandits where there, but the trip to Dimhollow Crypts was pretty short. When you load into the map head South down the walkway. If you hug the mountain on the right after heading south you should be golden for Dimhollow Crypts. Enter the Crypts and let the Vampire hunting begin!
In the the room directly ahead of you after loading into the Crypt there will be at least 2 Vampires and one Death Hound. On the Southeast portion of the room there is a small tower with a chain that you need to pull on to move into the next room. Take out the enemies how have you and head to that mini tower. The chain is on the north facing wall on the top floor. There also is a couple of chests and goodies to be taken inside the tower so make sure to take a look around. When I got to the room Vigilant Tolan, that was talking to Isran at Fort Dawnguard was dead on the ground. I don’t know if you can save him. I think he is just dead on the ground as a horrid omid.
Heading through the once barred off door that you opened will lead down a couple of corridors. The corridors will lead into a waterfall like area that pushes you towards some stairs. A couple of skeletons will rise from the water so be careful if you want to be stealthy. There also is a Vampire in this room that will be alerted if you break stealth on the skeletons. If you head up the stairs and go to the right You can pick up a potion and some gold inside a chest. Heading back to the stairs and heading west will get you heading into the next room. The switch for the door is on the right side of the door.
The room will open with a arcane table and a couple of goodies. head to the north side of the room to go down a corridor and move forward in the cave. The next room will have a Vampire Mistwalker as well as Draugr and Death Hound. If you want to wait the three will battle it out a little bit. Be careful of the Mistwalker. She can be a tricky Vampire. The mistwalker can turn semi-invisible for a little bit of time. There are three doors in this room. The south East wall door opens to a Master Locked case with some goodies. The East wall has a Draugr Scourge and thats about it. The door located perfectly North has a couple of potions that can be picked up pretty quick. The North West wall is the door to move on to the next section.
After falling the cave hallway a room will open up with a big waterfall and a Vampire Mistwalker overlooking the scenery. Three skeletons will pop out of the water if you move even the littlest bit into the open room. Try to pick them off quickly before you are surrounded by three skeletons and an angry invisible Vampire. Walk through the room and head through the corridor to move on to the next area.
Moving forward puts you into a more spidery area. Check around the corners while you move through this area because Vampires and Death Hounds are all around. After the spidery hallways the room will open up with a locked door and a boss battle.
The Vampire master that you see in the next room will be fighting a giant spider. When he kills the spider he will raise it from the dead. Try to get as much damage done to the Master Vampire before he raises the spider. Focus attacks on him, because once he is dead the spider is no longer risen. I used a bow and sneak attacked to put him down before he even reached me. After killing the Master Vampire the door will take you to Dimhollow Cavern.
The pedestal ahead of you has a powerful scroll of fire that will be useful very soon. Moving out of the room you start in you see a small coliseum looking area. There are three or Vampires in this large room so keep an eye out. Moving into the coliseum looking part of the room there will be a button in the middle. Pushing it causes a spike to come through and stab your hand. The pedestals all around the middle of the room will glow. Push the pedestals around until the glow turns into flames from the pedestals. After all the pedestals are placed correctly the floor will drop down a little bit revealing a Stone Monolith. Activate the Stone Monolith and meet the first Vampire that doesn’t want to take your head off.
A Mysterious Woman pops out of the Monolith. She was expecting a Vampire to wake her up but is not hostile towards you. After completing the conversation you will complete the Awakening quest and be in an interesting predicament. Kill the Vampire named Serana or take her to her family home.
Mission Bloodline:
“While exploring Dimhollow crypt, I freed a young woman from an ancient sarcophagus. She asked me to guide her home, to a castle off the northern coast of Skyrim.”
Getting out of the cave is not a far walk but is being guarded. The two big gargoyles will come to life and come after you as you head north towards the exit. If you are having trouble with the gargoyles you can back up and let Serana at them. She will raise skeletons that are around to fight for you as well as be the first follower that actually does some major damage.
After moving forward from the gargoyles there will be a room with a giant lever at the top of the stairs. You have to pull the lever to open the door to the next room. Once you pull the lever some Draugers will pop out and cause some trouble. Take them out quickly as they are emerging from their tombs and you won’t even have to break a sweat. Plus after you take one or two Draugers out Serana will raise one to fight for you. After the battle leave the room into another Boss room.
The boss is really easier from a distance. He will summon more skeletons to come after you but they focus on Serana a lot of the time and you can stand back and shoot some arrows. Before moving on to the exit make sure to check around the room. There is a chest with some awesome items behind the chair the boss came from. Also in the back right corner of the room there is a dragon shout called Drain Vitality. The shout Drain Vitality’s description: “coax both magical and mortal energies from your hapless opponent”.
The exit of the boss room will get you out into Skyrim. From here you can fast travel to Northwatch Keep in the North West corner of the map. From there it is just a hop, skip and a jump away from the travel point that is a boat on the North coast of the travel point taking you to Serana’s family castle.
********Note*******
After traveling on the boat this is a GREAT time to save. You will have to make a big choice very soon and it might be helpful to go back and play over the two different choices just after this section.
Moving up to the castle Serana will stop you and talk to you about following her lead. Welcome to Volkihar Keep and a den of a ton of Vampires. All of the Vampires in the den are shocked in Serana’s return. Her and her father talk quite a bit about the Elder Scroll she carries on her back. Lord Harkon will then turn his attention on you. For saving Serana he gives you a choice. He says the only way he can repay you is by making you a Vampire Lord. If you refuse the gift you will not get the chance again to be a Vampire Lord, but you will get a chance to be a super powerful Werewolf. If you choose the gift, Lord Harkon will bite you, and you will become a super strong Vampire Lord. Happy hunting! Remember that as a Vampire lord your skin hates the sun. Although as a Vampire Lord, while you get weaker from the sun, your actual skills, magic and powers get more powerful. Also if you feed on people as they sleep, or on the Vampire Cattle in Volkihar Keep your powers will weaken and your skin will feel less hurt by the sun.
The character has two different styles of moving. The normal mode hovers slightly above the ground. If you click in the left stick (the “sneak” stick) then you will land on the ground. Both of the movement styles have their ups and downs. While floating you can use magic. The magic you start with includes a soul sucking fireball that deals a heck of a lot of damage while sucking life force. The default left trigger magic raises the dead to fight for you. The more you play as a Vampire lord the more you will unlock and be able to equip.
There is also special Vampire skills that can be activated. The first skill you start with is called Bat Skill. By pressing the RB button (“shout” button) you can transform into bats, moving quickly and even traveling over gaps. This form can be very handy for closing gaps between you and your enemies. More powers can be unlocked through the skill tree that can be found in the last section of this guide.
Deactivating the power is kind of a pain in the butt. In general the animations between shifting forms from your natural form to your Vampire Lord form is not very good. To turn back into the normal version of yourself hit up on the Dpad (shortcut list for other platforms). In the list will be an option called “Revert From”. Activate that skill and in gameplay if you hold RB (or “Shout” button) for a second you will pop out of Vampire Lord mode.
Night Power Left Path:
Passive Skills Center Path:
Blood Magic Right Path:
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