Embrace the Night: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Vampirism in Elder Scrolls Online
Want to be a vampire in ESO? Trading sunlight for shadows sounds tempting, right? Grab a glass of crimson juice. Let’s explore what it takes to join Tamriel’s cool night dwellers.
Why Go Fang Gang? The Perks of Being a Vampire
Why choose eternal night and thirst? Being a vampire in ESO has great perks. No sparkly skin or brooding attitudes here. ESO vampires are far cooler.
- Magicka and Spell Damage Scaling: If you love casting spells, listen up. The vampire skill line grows stronger with your Magicka and Spell Damage stats. More magic equals more powerful vampire abilities. It’s like magical synergy.
- Passives That Pop (For Stamina AND Magicka Builds!): Vampires aren’t one-dimensional. ESO vampires enhance both Magicka and Stamina builds with passive skills. It’s like saying, “We support your resource pool.”
- Regen Boost for Days (and Nights): Running low on Magicka or Stamina mid-fight is no fun. Thankfully, vampire passives enhance your regeneration. More magic for magic users. More melee for Stamina users. Win-win!
- Sneak Speed: Because Slow Sneaking is for Amateurs: Sneaking felt slow before? Vampirism gives you a sneaky speed boost. You can be stealthy and efficient. Perfect for those moments where you accidentally aggro the whole dungeon.
- Damage Reduction at Low Health: Clutch Saves for the Clumsy Vampire: Let’s face it, we all get hit sometimes. Vampires take less damage when their health gets low. Consider it a built-in safety net. Or maybe a bit of vampire resilience.
- Vampire Lord… Wait, Wrong Game (Mostly): ESO isn’t Skyrim, so don’t expect to become a full-on Vampire Lord with wings. The skills you get are still neat, even without the bat transformation. Subtle powers in the night can be deadly.
- Mist Form: Become the Evasion Master: Want to avoid attacks? Turn into mist. You also regenerate health, magicka, and stamina while misty. It’s like being untouchable – perfect for dramatic escapes.
Perk Description Mist Form Night Power: Become an invulnerable mist; health, magicka, stamina regenerate.
- Supernatural Reflexes: Time Slows Down, You Speed Up: Want action movie speed? Supernatural Reflexes slow time while you move faster. Dodge attacks and strike effectively. Feel like a total badass.
Supernatural Reflexes Night Power: Time slows down while you gain speed.
- Blood Healing: Bite to Survive (and Thrive): Low health and hungry? A bite from a power attack restores your health upon killing a foe. Efficient snacking, right?
Blood Healing A power attack bite killing a foe restores health.
- Bonus Spells and Powers: The Vampire Toolkit: Vampires gain useful abilities like life drain and reanimate. See in the dark with night eye and turn invisible for stealthy moments. This is your powerful vampire starter pack.
life drain, reanimate, night eye, and invisibility.
Looking the Part: Vampire Aesthetics in ESO
Let’s discuss aesthetics. Being a vampire is about more than just power; it’s a lifestyle. This lifestyle comes with a unique look. Think elegant creature of the night without all the sparkles.
- Subtle (and Not-So-Subtle) Appearance Shifts: Your character’s look will change as you progress in vampirism. Expect paler skin and intense eyes. This transformation is gradual, so no sudden change, unless that’s what you want.
Vampirism – Your character’s look changes with progression, affecting eyes and skin.
- Cure the Curse, Cure the Look (But Lose the Skills): Don’t like your vampire look? You can cure it and return to normal. Just remember, no vampire skills either. It’s a trade-off: beauty or power.
- Total Makeover Time (If You Want It): Vampirism allows you to redesign your character entirely. Hair, makeup, facial features, and voice can all change. If you’ve wanted a new hairstyle, now’s your chance.
Appearance change allows complete modification, including hair styles, features, and voice.
- Dress the Part: Vampire Fashion 101: Want to commit to the vampire vibe? Choose dark colors like black, deep red, and purple. Victorian styles and gothic touches work well too. Don’t forget good shoes; even vampires need great footwear for nighttime prowling.
Dressing Like a Vampire Daily Wear dark clothes, dark colors are essential for vampires…
You can cure vampirism and revert appearance changes but lose all vampire skills.
Class Act: Best Classes for the Nocturnally Inclined
Not every class aligns with the vampire aesthetic. Some classes work better for aspiring vampires. Here are top picks for your nocturnal journey:
- Nightblade: Stealth and Shadows, a Match Made in Darkness: Naturally, Nightblade excels as a vampire class. Stealthy and at home in darkness, it’s a perfect fit.
The best Vampire classes in ESO are: Nightblade.
- Necromancer: Death and Undeath? Checks Out: Necromancers dabble in dark arts; vampirism complements their skills. Summoning undead and being undead? A thematic blend.
- Warden: Surprisingly Synergistic with Nature’s Night Side: While Wardens seem like nature lovers, they complement vampire skills well. Ice magic pairs nicely with blood magic – a chilling combination.
- Dragonknight: Fire and Blood? Intriguing Contradiction: Dragonknights harness fire but become vampires with fire weaknesses? Irony aside, their tankiness combined with vampire powers can be effective.
Necromancer.
Warden.
Dragonknight.
Race to Undeath: Top Races for Vampire Characters
Certain races thrive in the vampire lifestyle. For optimal performance, consider these races:
- Dark Elf: Born for the Shadows (and Magicka/Stamina DPS): Dark Elves are basically goth elves, making vampirism a natural fit. Their racial passives excel at damage dealing, whether you’re using Magicka or Stamina DPS. Stealthy and magical, they’re perfect vampires.
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called a “DPS” is Dark Elf. Dark Elves in ESO possess strong racial passives for damage. You can choose to focus on Magicka DPS or Stamina DPS.
Dark Elves are stealthy and magical, ideal for hunting at night. Best race for a Vampire build.
The Downside of Darkness: Vampire Weaknesses and Drawbacks
It’s not all immortality. Being a vampire has downsides. Here’s the not-so-fun side of being undead:
- Fire? Bad. Very Bad: Vampires take increased damage from fire. Avoid torches, fire mages, and campfires.
Every vampire has a weakness to fire damage
- Slow Health Regen (When You’re Not Fighting): Your health regeneration is slow outside combat. Don’t expect to heal just standing around. Use healing skills or potions like any normal person (or undead person).
and regenerates health more slowly than as a humanoid
- Ability Cost Shenanigans: Vampire Skills Cheaper, Normal Skills Pricier: Ability costs change. Your vampire skills cost less, good for spamming those powers. But normal skills cost more. The game nudges you to embrace your vampire nature.
Their regular (non-vampire) abilities cost more as well, with vampire abilities costing less.
- Stage Fright: Weaknesses Get Worse with Stage Progression: Advancing stages of vampirism makes drawbacks worse. Higher fire vulnerability, slower health regen, and increased costs for normal abilities. You get more powerful as a vampire, but there’s a price.
These effects increase with each stage.
Breaking Up is Easy to Do: Curing Vampirism
Changed your mind about being a vampire? Curing it is easy (and cheap). No heroic quests needed.
- Prelate Sabinus: Your Friendly Neighborhood Vampire Cure Vendor: Go to the Mages Guild in Rawl’kha (Reaper’s March), Evermore (Bangkorai), or Riften (The Rift). Find Prelate Sabinus. He has the cure.
Just visit Prelate Sabinus and give him a bit of gold. Prelate Sabinus should be found at Mages Guilds in Rawl’kha, Evermore, and Riften.
- Pay a Pittance: Curing Vampirism on a Budget: Talk to Sabinus, pay a small amount of gold, and poof! You’re cured. It’s cheaper than a decent potion.
Just visit Prelate Sabinus and give him a bit of gold.
- Crown Store Cure: For the Impatient (and Overpaying): Feeling lazy? Buy a cure from the Crown Store. Seriously, just see Sabinus. It’s cheaper and it’s a mini-adventure.
Vampire vs. Werewolf: Monster Mash Showdown
The classic question: vampire or werewolf? ESO lets you choose… but not both. Choose wisely.
- One Monster to Rule Them All: No Double Dipping in Lycanthropy and Vampirism: You can’t be both at the same time. Pick your monster side.
However, you cannot be both at the same time
- Cure One, Become the Other (If You Really Want): Tired of vampirism? Cure it, then become a werewolf. You’ll lose vampire skills but keep gained experience. It’s not a total loss.
If you become a vampire first, then cure vampirism, you can then become a werewolf. You would lose access to your prior vampire abilities but not the experience gained in the skills.
- Werewolf vs. Vampire: Stat Showdown: Werewolves focus on Stamina and aggression, boosting Max Stamina and restoration. Vampires lean towards Magicka and Spell Damage. Playstyle matters.
- Aggression vs. Magic: Playstyle Differences: Werewolves are brawlers. Vampires are strategic and use spells. If you like clawing and howling, pick werewolf. If you prefer night powers and draining life, choose vampire.
Playing as a Werewolf in ESO can be an excellent choice for those who enjoy a more aggressive playstyle The vampire line scales off magicka and spell damage
Getting Infected: How to Catch the Vampire Bug
Sold on vampirism? Great! Here’s how to become undead elite.
- Vampire Spawn NPCs: Rare Bites Under the New Moon: In Reaper’s March, Bangkorai, The Rift under a new moon, rare vampire NPCs spawn. Get bitten, and congratulations, you’re infected!
You can be infected by Vampirism when bitten by a rare spawn vampire NPC in Reaper’s March, Bangkorai, or The Rift under a new moon
- Player Vampires: Spread the Love (or the Curse): Know a vampire? They can bite you at a ritual site. It’s a monster MLM scheme, but you get vampirism out of it.
or alternatively by a fellow group member who has already contracted vampirism (the ritual has to be accomplished at the Vampire ritual site).
Other Nightly Notions: Things to Consider About Vampires
A few final thoughts before embracing the night:
- Day/Night Cycle in ESO: It’s a Thing: Yes, ESO has a day/night cycle. It affects gameplay (vampire spawn times). One full cycle is about six hours in real-time. Plan nocturnal activities well.
Yes, The Elder Scrolls Online has a day/night cycle . One full cycle lasts about six hours, so you will experience around four day/night cycles in a 24-hour period of real-time gaming.
- Vampire Hunters: They’re Out There (and They Know Your Weaknesses): In the lore, vampire hunters know vampire weaknesses. While you might not see hordes of hunters in ESO, keep it in mind. Avoid discussing vampirism loudly in big towns.
A vampire hunter is usually described as having extensive knowledge of vampires and other monstrous or undead creatures, including their powers and weaknesses, and uses this knowledge to effectively combat them
- Garlic, Holy Water, and Running Water: Mostly Myths (in ESO): Classic vampire weaknesses are mostly folklore. Garlic won’t harm you. Focus on fire resistance instead.
Vampires are often depicted as being repelled by garlic, running water, or Christian implements such as crucifixes and holy water.
- Race Choice Matters (But Build Matters More): Some races have slight advantages for vampirism. Ultimately, your best race depends on your build and playstyle. Don’t stress too much about racial min-maxing; pick what suits your character vision.
Best race depends heavily on what build you want.
There you have it. Your comprehensive guide to vampirism in ESO. Now go forth, embrace the night, and avoid fire. Happy hunting!
