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Players aren't going to run out of things to do anytime soon in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. It's a medieval fantasy world filled with plenty of mystery, while players themselves possess a startling level of freedom to customize their character to their heart's content. The Dragonborn can even become a vampire if that's what a player wants.

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Vampirism is nothing new in The Elder Scrolls. Contracting it in Skyrim is surprisingly easy (although curing it is another matter entirely). Fans looking to try their hand at becoming a long-toothed bloodsucker need only follow this guide to learn everything they need to know for how to become a vampire in Skyrim.

Updated March 8, 2022 by Mark Hospodar: Even though Skyrim is now over ten years old, there always tends to be something new for the player to experience. For fans who have never played as a vampire before, Skyrim's midnight bloodsuckers offer a unique take on may what otherwise be familiar gameplay.

Being a vampire comes with great benefits, as well as significant drawbacks fans should be aware of in a playthrough. This guide has been updated and expanded to give players a better idea of what they can expect from becoming one of Skyrim's most dangerous predators.

Contracting Vampirism

Skyrim vampire

Vampirism is one of Skyrim's many diseases, albeit one of the more major ones. To contract vampirism, players must take damage from a vampire enemy, either physically or through the Vampiric Drain spell. Players will know when they've been infected once they receive a notification about contracting Sanguinare Vampiris.

Fans who know they want to become a vampire should seek out Movarth's Lair outside of Morthal. The location plays a central role in the "Laid to Rest" quest. Movarth's Lair contains several vampires that are highly likely to give the player the requisite disease. Just let the enemies attack and the road to vampirism will begin.

Players will definitely know they have contracted the disease when they start receiving messages like "You feel strangely weakened by the sunrise." After three in-game days have passed since catching the disease, the player character will become a fully-fledged vampire.

How Vampirism Works

Vampirism in Skyrim

Once players have transitioned into a full vampire, there are several important details to keep in mind. Vampirism is divided into 4 Stages. Players start at Stage 1 and progress to the next level whenever they go 24 in-game hours without feeding. Players can feed by interacting with sleeping NPCs, which will always reset their vampiric status back to Stage 1.

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The highest stages of vampirism grant the best benefits, although they also come with the most crippling drawbacks. The Dragonborn won't die from being exposed to sunlight, but he/she will incur massive penalties to their attributes and will be highly susceptible to fire when exposed to the sun. See here for a more in-depth breakdown of the stats.

The Benefits Of Being A Vampire

Skyrim the dragonborn as a vampire

Although vampirism comes with noticeable weaknesses, the benefits can be quite worthwhile. Vampires have access to unique spells and active effects that become more powerful the longer players refrain from feeding (Stage 4 is the highest). Special vampiric abilities include:

  • Vampiric Drain
  • Vampire's Servant
  • Vampire's Sight
  • Vampire's Seduction
  • Embrace of Shadows

Positive active effects include Champion of the Night, which increases the effectiveness of Illusion spells. Nightwalker's Footsteps make the player harder to detect while sneaking. Conversely, players will always have Weakness to Sunlight, which makes regenerating health, stamina, and magicka extremely difficult when exposed to direct sunlight.

How To Become A Vampire Lord

vampire lord skyrim

The information outlined above details how to become a "normal" vampire. With the Dawnguard DLC, a more powerful version of vampirism is made available. Becoming a Vampire Lord is a bit more complex. The broad strokes are outlined below:

  • Speak to a Hold Guard, Inkeeper, etc. (Typically around Level 10)
  • Complete the "Dawnguard" Main Quest
  • Complete the "Awakening" Main Quest
  • During the "Bloodline" Main Quest, players must choose to support either the Dawnguard or Lord Harkon

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After returning Serana to her father in "Bloodline," Lord Harkon will offer the player the opportunity to become a Vampire Lord. Fans have another opportunity to become a Vampire Lord from Serana during the "Chasing Echoes" Main Quest. Serana can also impart this gift anytime after completing "Kindred Judgment" or "Destroying the Dawnguard."

The Benefits Of Being A Vampire Lord

The Vampire Lord is essentially a superior version of a generic vampire. Vampire Lords have a special, monstrous form that they can unleash any number of times per day. While in this form, they can utilize a wide array of special abilities and spells that make them powerful combatants. A Vampire Lord's abilities include:

  • Bats
  • Vampire Claws
  • Raise Dead
  • Vampiric Drain (more powerful version)

Most importantly of all, Vampire Lords have access to a special Perk tree, similar to werewolves. These Perks greatly enhance a Vampire Lord's effectiveness and can be purchased by killing enemies through Vampiric Drain and power attacks. Some of the better Perks worth considering are:

  • Supernatural Reflexes: Everything slows down while the player moves faster
  • Unearthly Will: Night Powers and Blood Magic cost 33% less
  • Corpse Curse: Target is paralyzed

Skyrim is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch.

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