I fought my way through Blood of Dawnwalker, took on every Vrakhiri I could find, and pushed Coen’s bloodthirst to its limits. This guide contains everything I learned along the way.
From the best way to spend your skill points to the Infamy system and the finer details of the time limit, here’s everything you need to know before starting The Blood of Dawnwalker.
- Note: This guide is a growing compendium that I’ll continue expanding from a beginner’s guide into a more advanced resource. If you have any questions, suggestions, or tips of your own you’d like to contribute, let me know in the comments below the article or on our Discord server.
Which Difficulty Should I Choose?
Blood of Dawnwalker offers four different difficulty settings: Story, Fair, Challenging, and Duellist. If you traditionally struggle with unfamiliar combat systems, start on Story. Enemies give you more time to learn the attack patterns, and there are no restrictions outside combat. Once you’ve settled in, switch to Fair if you want more of a challenge.
- Note: You can change the difficulty at any time, and the options menu also includes several individual settings you can tweak. It’s definitely worth taking a look. Some of these sliders can noticeably improve the overall experience.
On Fair, combat can still be demanding, especially while you’re getting used to the game’s unconventional combat system. If you’re an experienced player with good reflexes, feel free to start on Challenging. Stamina management becomes extremely important here, and mistakes are punished quickly. Duellist removes the directional indicators for enemy attacks. I only recommend this difficulty once you’ve reached roughly the halfway point and can comfortably deal with every enemy on Challenging.
The Time Limit in Blood of Dawnwalker: What You Need to Know
After the prologue, you learn that you have 30 days to achieve your goal. However, those 30 days don’t simply tick away in real time. Instead, time only advances when you complete certain activities marked with an hourglass. These are usually quests you select in your journal or skills you choose to learn. You have to actively initiate both beforehand, so there’s little risk of accidentally wasting time. For the most part, you can explore the open world without feeling rushed.
- Note: You should still keep an eye on the Time Bar in the upper-right corner. There are open-world activities you can stumble into by accident. If one of them consumes time, the Time Bar will flash and the segments the activity is about to use will turn gray.
The Time Bar is divided into eight segments. Whenever you select a quest, you’ll see a number next to the hourglass showing how many time segments it consumes. If you start a quest late in the evening that uses three segments, for example, you need to be prepared for Coen to transform into a vampire partway through. Always plan around this, especially for activities that require human or Vrakhiri abilities.
How the Infamy System Works in Blood of Dawnwalker
At a certain point, Blood of Dawnwalker introduces its Infamy system. You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons, because Coen’s Infamy comes with both advantages and drawbacks. The more notorious Coen becomes within Brencis’ Court, the more countermeasures the Lord of Darkness puts in place. It starts with heightened vigilance among his soldiers, but can eventually lead to more roadside ambushes and even higher prices at merchants.
- Note: Stealing doesn’t affect Coen’s Infamy. You should still be careful, though. If a guard catches you, you’ll be thrown in jail, which wastes precious time – unless you have enough dinars to get yourself out of trouble.
At the same time, every activity that increases your Infamy also earns you experience points and other rewards. More importantly, a high Infamy level can give you the chance to gain allies. That makes the guerrilla attacks on Brencis’ outposts well worth pursuing.
- Note: Depending on the region and activity, you’ll also get on the nerves of one of Brencis’ vassals. If Ambrus, Xanthe, or Bakir has had enough of your interference, they’ll challenge you to a duel. Take Brencis’ henchmen off the board early, and they won’t be able to support their master later on, significantly improving your chances in the finale.
How to Heal Coen as a Human and Vampire
As in most RPGs, Blood of Dawnwalker lets you craft your own healing items. You’ll find new recipes throughout the game, which you can prepare at the press of a button in the Crafting menu. You’ll find the necessary ingredients, such as herbs and mushrooms, throughout the world. In addition to healing items, you can brew potions that temporarily boost your strength, improve Stamina, or grant other buffs.
- Note: If you make a habit of picking up everything you come across, you won’t need to pay much attention to Crafting. You’ll almost always have enough ingredients and recipes on hand to brew what you need.
When Coen becomes a vampire at night, he needs something different to heal himself: blood. You’ll usually drain it from humans or animals. Outside combat, hold the Focus button, target your victim, and select Greedy Bite. During combat, you’ll find the ability in Focus mode by holding LT/L2. You can even give in to your thirst during conversations – but be careful, because doing so always has consequences. You can also find stored blood in the form of potions or craft it from remains you discover along the way.
- Note: Coen’s bloodthirst does more than heal him. You need to keep his blood level high enough to prevent him from becoming hungry. If his Vampiric Health drops to one segment, Coen may lose control during conversations and suddenly attack whoever he’s talking to – friend or foe.
Leveling and the Skill System
Earn enough Experience Points (XP) through successful fights and quests, and Coen will level up, increasing his base stats and awarding him a Skill Point. You can invest these points in various Perks and Abilities that affect Coen’s character stats. To spend Skill Points, you’ll need to visit one of the many Shrines scattered across the world. These are the small altars you’ll often find along roadsides.
- Note: Shrines are marked on the map from the start, but you have to visit each one at least once before you can use it as a fast-travel point.
Coen’s Character Stats
In addition to your character level and unlocked Perks and Abilities, equipment also affects Coen’s stats. This includes armor for defense, swords for offense, and rings and amulets that can affect damage, Ability cooldowns and Activation Charge Restoration, Stamina, or Health.
Coen’s character stats at a glance:
- Character Level through Experience Points
- Human Health
- Vampiric Health
- Vampiric Ability Damage Multiplier
- Passive Activation Charge Restoration
- Witchcraft Ability Damage Multiplier
- Swordmastery Ability Cooldown Reduction
- Stamina
- Armour
- Weapon Damage
- Claw Damage
Perks and Abilities
Perks are generally passive traits, while most Abilities have to be activated manually – either in combat or as special Witchcraft or Vampirism powers that can also help you solve puzzles. Almost every skill has between two and four ranks, and each rank costs one Skill Point to unlock.
Coen starts out as a simple farm boy who was taught sword fighting by his father. Accordingly, during the prologue you only have access to the Swordmastery skill tree. Witchcraft and Vampirism are added later. Swordmastery Abilities are available both day and night, while Witchcraft is restricted to daytime and Vampirism Abilities can only be used at night.
Only a few skills are available at the start. New Perks and Abilities in the Witchcraft and Swordmastery skill trees are unlocked either through story progress or by finding Manuals. These are usually well hidden throughout the game world or carried by defeated bosses. Some merchants also sell them.
- Note: You need to read each Manual in your inventory before the corresponding skill becomes available in the skill tree.
Vampirism works a little differently. Instead of Manuals, you’ll need to reach the required Corruption level to unlock certain skills. You increase Corruption by drinking blood. Some skills even require you to drink Vrakhiri blood. You’ll get opportunities to do so during certain boss fights, for example, or by finding vials of Vrakhiri blood.
- Note: There is no respec option in Blood of Dawnwalker. Once you’ve selected a Perk or Ability, you’re locked into that choice for the rest of your playthrough. That said, you’ll earn plenty of Skill Points over the course of the game, so making the occasional bad investment isn’t the end of the world.
Swordmastery: The Most Important Perks for Starting Out
Swordmastery should be your first priority because this skill tree is available both day and night. Start by investing in Stinging Blade and Vigour so you can deal more damage and take more punishment. Next, increase your Stamina with Endless Effort and learn Omniblock to reduce how much Stamina you burn while defending.
After that, specialize according to your preferred combat style. If you like blocking and parrying, improve your defenses with Perfect Riposte and Perfect Block. If you prefer dodging, Fleet of Foot is a good choice for reducing Stamina costs. And if you’re struggling with defense in general, unlock Second Skin as soon as possible to reinforce your armor.
Witchcraft: The Most Important Perks for Starting Out
Bewitching Influence is especially useful if you trade frequently, as it gives you better prices at merchants. If you prefer crafting, invest in Forager to increase the amount of ingredients you gather. Witchcraft Mastery only becomes worthwhile once you have active Witchcraft Abilities that you use regularly, as it increases their damage.
Vampirism: The Most Important Skills for Starting Out
If you prefer fighting with a sword anyway, you can safely skip Razorsharp Claws and all the Perks beneath it. Otherwise, it’s worth investing heavily here to improve Coen’s attack damage and reduce Stamina consumption. Be sure to follow the path starting with Nourishing Blood. At the end of that branch you’ll find Hastened Corruption, which increases the rate at which Coen gains Corruption by 30 percent. As a reminder, a high Corruption level is required to unlock many Vampirism Abilities.
Are there romances in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
Yes. You can’t simply trigger them at the press of a button, though. Instead, you’ll need to make the right choices across several conversations during each character’s questline. Coen can pursue a total of three romantic relationships, with the first one beginning as early as the prologue.
Are there mounts in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
The short answer: No, Coen can’t use mounts. However, there are still several ways to get around the large open world quickly, most notably fast travel via shrines. In my Blood of Dawnwalker fast travel guide, I also explain which perks and abilities you should unlock to move around the world faster.
More Guides & Articles on The Blood of Dawnwalker
- The Blood of Dawnwalker Walkthrough: Echoes of Silenced Bells – Quest Guide
- The Blood of Dawnwalker: Anca Romance – All Dialogue Choices for the Best Outcome
- The Blood of Dawnwalker: Should Coen or Anca Use the Font of Life?
- The Blood of Dawnwalker Guide: Vicho’s Quest Doesn’t End With “A Study in Crimson”
- No Mounts in The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to Get Around the World Faster Anyway
Update Log
- September 9, 2026: Added a section on romances and a section on mounts
