Starting The Blood of Dawnwalker can feel a little overwhelming because the game gives you a large world to explore while also putting a strict limit on your time. You aren’t simply following one quest from beginning to end, so knowing what to prioritize early can make a big difference.
In this post, we’ll go over some beginner tips to help you get started in Vale Sangora. I’ll cover how the 30-day limit works, when to use Coen’s human and vampire forms, which skills to focus on, and why unlocking fast travel should be one of your early priorities.
I’ll also go over combat, healing, Corruption, Infamy, equipment, and your choices. There are quite a few systems working together in The Blood of Dawnwalker, but once you understand how they connect, the early game becomes much easier to manage.
The Blood of Dawnwalker Beginner Guide – Quests
One of the first things you need to understand is that The Blood of Dawnwalker gives you 30 days and 30 nights to rescue Coen’s family before Brencis’s coronation.
Don’t worry about the clock ticking down while you’re simply walking around the world. Time doesn’t work like a real-time countdown. Instead, it advances when you complete quests, finish activities, or learn new abilities.
This means you need to think about how you’re spending your time.
Some opportunities can become unavailable as the days pass, so rushing through every quest isn’t always the best idea. At the same time, you shouldn’t be afraid to explore because failing to rescue the family before the deadline doesn’t simply give you a traditional Game Over.
Instead, missing the deadline can have a major effect on Coen’s ending.
I recommend paying attention to the activities you’re completing and thinking about which objectives are actually worth spending your limited time on.
Learn to Use Coen’s Day and Night Forms
Coen has two very different sides that you’ll need to learn how to use effectively.
During the day, Coen is in his human form. This gives you access to witchcraft and hexes, along with his sword abilities.
At night, you can transform into a vampire and use abilities such as claws, fangs, and other vampiric powers.
The two forms aren’t simply cosmetic changes. They give you completely different ways to approach combat.
Human Form
During the day, you can use witchcraft and hexes to control enemies from a distance.
You also have access to your swordmastery, so you can still fight enemies up close when necessary.
One thing you need to remember is that using human hexes comes at a cost. These abilities consume Coen’s own health, so you can’t keep casting them without thinking about your HP.
Vampire Form
At night, Coen’s vampiric abilities become available.
You can use your claws, fangs, and other vampire abilities to fight enemies in a much more aggressive way.
Your vampiric powers are also connected to Corruption, which increases as you feed on blood. So while the vampire form gives you powerful abilities, there is a trade-off attached to using it.
Choose Your Combat Style
Before getting too far into the game, I’d recommend checking the combat settings.
Beginners can use Omniblock and Omniattack, which automatically handles the direction of your attacks and parries.
This lets you focus more on positioning, spacing, and knowing when to attack instead of worrying about manually choosing the direction of every swing.
If you want a more demanding combat experience, you can switch to Directional Combat.
With this option, you’ll need to pay more attention to enemy attacks and manually respond to their attack patterns.
I’d personally start with Omniblock and Omniattack if you’re still learning the combat system. Once you’re comfortable with the basics, you can always switch to Directional Combat.
Develop the Three Skill Trees
Coen’s progression is divided into three main skill trees:
- Witchcraft
- Swordmastery
- Vampirism
You’ll use Skill Points and your available time to unlock abilities and perks from these trees.
Some upgrades also require Manuals, which can be found while exploring the open world.
Witchcraft lets you improve your human abilities and hexes, while Swordmastery focuses on your physical combat skills. Vampirism gives you access to more powerful abilities for your night-time form.
You can also discover new Hexes by finding arcane texts and other mysterious tomes throughout the world.
How Vampirism Progresses
Vampirism has its own progression system tied to Corruption.
When night arrives, you can feed on the blood of your enemies to increase your Corruption and unlock stronger vampiric abilities.
Because of this, you shouldn’t treat Corruption as something you can completely ignore. It’s part of the trade-off that comes with becoming stronger as a vampire.
Unlock Fast Travel Early
The map of Vale Sangora is large, so you’ll want to unlock Shrines as you explore.
These Shrines function as fast travel points and can save you a huge amount of time when moving between different parts of the map.
They aren’t only useful for transportation, either. Shrines also act as locations where you can spend Skill Points and fast-forward time.
How to Repair Ruined Shrines
You may come across Shrines that have been damaged or ruined.
When you find one, don’t simply walk past it. Search around the immediate area for clues that can help you locate its heart.
Once you’ve found and repaired the heart, the Shrine can be used again.
I’d recommend repairing these whenever it’s convenient because having more fast travel options becomes increasingly valuable as you progress through the story.
Explore Before Storming the Castle
The Blood of Dawnwalker gives you a lot of freedom in how you approach the main objective.
Technically, you can challenge Brencis very early because the world isn’t completely locked behind a linear progression path.
That doesn’t mean you should immediately run straight toward the castle.
Vale Sangora has plenty of areas worth exploring, including swamps, forests, and caverns. These areas can contain unique weapons and armor sets that can make later encounters much easier.
If you’re struggling with a difficult enemy or boss, it may be worth stepping away from the main objective and exploring for better equipment first.
Your Choices Matter
Don’t assume that every quest has a single correct solution.
The game is built around a narrative sandbox, meaning your decisions can permanently affect what happens in Vale Sangora.
The people you decide to ally with, the quests you prioritize, and the way you resolve conflicts can all influence the story and ultimately affect your ending.
Because of that, think about the decisions you’re making instead of simply choosing dialogue options as quickly as possible.
There may not always be an obvious “best” choice.
Keep Healing Items Ready
Healing is particularly important during the daytime.
Since Coen’s human hexes can consume his health and his vampire life-steal abilities aren’t available until night, you need to rely on consumable healing items to restore HP during daytime encounters.
Before heading into a difficult area, check your inventory and make sure you have enough healing supplies.
Running into a tough fight with an almost empty supply of healing items can turn a manageable encounter into a frustrating one.
Keep an Eye on Health and Corruption
Two resources you should always pay attention to are Health and Corruption.
Human hexes consume Coen’s health. This means powerful abilities can actually put you in danger if you use them carelessly.
On the other hand, your vampire powers become stronger as you feed on blood and increase your Corruption.
So there isn’t a completely free way to use your supernatural abilities. Both sides come with their own costs.
Try to learn when it’s worth spending health on a hex and when it’s better to rely on your sword.
Dodge Unblockable Attacks
Even if you’re using the beginner-friendly combat settings, you still need to learn how to dodge unblockable attacks.
These attacks can’t simply be handled by holding your block, so you need to recognize the animation and get out of the way.
Pay attention to your enemy’s movements and avoid trying to tank heavy attacks unnecessarily.
Your active abilities can also help interrupt enemies during their attacks, giving you another way to prevent damage when your timing isn’t perfect.
Watch Your Infamy
Another system that can make the game harder is Infamy.
As your Infamy increases, Brencis’s court can issue permanent Edicts against you.
These Edicts introduce different penalties, such as military checkpoints and increased item prices.
The important part is that these penalties cannot be removed, so increasing your Infamy comes with a real cost.
However, you can’t simply avoid Infamy altogether if you’re trying to experience all of the game’s content.
Increasing Infamy is necessary to raise the anger level of certain officers and unlock their respective boss quests.
So, rather than trying to keep Infamy as low as possible at all times, think about when increasing it is actually worth the consequences.
Prepare Before Difficult Fights
Before taking on a major enemy or heading into a dangerous area, take a moment to prepare.
Check your health, healing items, equipment, abilities, and which form you’re going to use.
If you’re heading into a daytime fight, make sure you aren’t relying too heavily on health-consuming hexes. If you’re preparing for nighttime combat, consider how you’ll manage your Corruption and vampiric abilities.
It’s also worth exploring the surrounding area for better equipment instead of repeatedly throwing yourself at an enemy that you’re clearly not ready to fight.
The biggest thing I’d recommend when starting The Blood of Dawnwalker is to avoid rushing.
You have a limited number of days and nights, but the game doesn’t expect you to sprint through every objective. Use your time carefully, explore Vale Sangora, unlock Shrines, improve your abilities, and pay attention to the choices you’re making.
Learn when to use Coen’s human abilities and when to embrace his vampire side. Keep healing items stocked, dodge unblockable attacks, and remember that increasing your Infamy can lead to permanent changes in the world.
Once you understand the relationship between time, combat, exploration, Corruption, Infamy, and your choices, you’ll have a much easier time surviving the early game and making the most of your journey through Vale Sangora.