Time works a little differently in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Instead of simply being an in-game clock, time is something you need to manage throughout your playthrough. Certain actions will move time forward, so you need to think about when you want to spend it.
The game gives you 8 Time points during each day and night cycle, and different activities can consume these points. This means exploring, completing quests, learning abilities, and interacting with the world can all affect how quickly your days pass.
Time also plays a major role in the story. You have 30 days and 30 nights to deal with the main situation involving Coen’s family, while different activities and opportunities can appear or disappear as the days go by.
The Blood of Dawnwalker Time Guide – Day and Night Cycle
Time Is a Resource
Time should be treated more like a resource than a normal clock. When an action is going to advance time, the game shows a small hourglass icon on the screen, often near your current objective or an action prompt.
You effectively trade your available Time whenever you perform certain activities. Since you only have 8 Time points in one complete day and night cycle, you will want to think carefully about which activities are worth spending them on.
The main things that can affect your Time include:
- Learning and upgrading perks
- Quest progression and dialogue
- Interacting with important parts of the world
- Discovering significant locations and thresholds
- Exploring Astral Planes from Haunted Sites
What Affects Time?
Learning and Upgrading Perks
Learning new skills and improving existing perks can move time forward.
When you visit a Shrine to unlock or upgrade a perk, the action costs both experience points and a Time segment. So, even if you have enough experience for an upgrade, you still need to consider the time you’re spending on it.
Quest Progression and Dialogue
Completing quests and activities naturally consumes time. Certain conversations with NPCs can also advance the clock.
When a dialogue option will move time forward, look for the hourglass symbol next to the dialogue option. I recommend checking for this before selecting important dialogue, especially when you’re trying to manage your remaining Time.
Interacting With the World
Some discoveries and interactions can also push the in-game calendar forward.
Reaching important thresholds or discovering certain secret locations can consume Time. Entering Astral Planes from Haunted Sites is another activity that advances time.
Because of this, exploring isn’t completely free from a time-management perspective. You need to decide when it is worth spending a Time segment to investigate something.
What Is Affected by Time?
The 30-Day Limit
After Coen’s family is abducted, a 30-day and 30-night deadline begins.
You need to track them down before Brencis’s coronation, when he is set to officially claim the throne. However, this isn’t a traditional countdown where the game simply ends when the timer reaches zero.
If you don’t finish your objective within the 30-day limit, you do not get a Game Over. Instead, the story changes based on what happened during your playthrough, which can lead to different endings.
This makes the deadline more about making choices and managing your time than constantly rushing through the game.
Daytime Exclusives: Human Form
During the day, Coen remains in his human form, giving you access to activities and abilities that aren’t available while playing as a vampire.
For example, you can take on Haunted Sites, which have requirements connected to blood magic.
Your human form is also the only form that can use Hexes. These magical abilities can be used in several ways, including hurting enemies, giving yourself a walking haste effect, and using Compel Soul to interrogate certain dead bodies.
Because these abilities are tied to your human form, some activities are specifically worth doing during the daytime.
Nighttime Exclusives: Vampire Form
Once night arrives, Coen can transform into his vampire form, opening up a different set of abilities and traversal options.
Vampire abilities such as Shadowstep and Planeshift can help you reach high areas, move around the environment, and avoid enemies. You can also transform into a swift wolf, giving you faster and more agile movement across the map.
Your health bar also represents your hunger level while in vampire form. When you need to feed, the Voracious Bite ability allows you to drink from humans or animals, restoring your health and satisfying your hunger.
This makes the day and night cycle more than a visual change. Your available abilities, exploration options, and even how you manage your health can change depending on the time of day.
Missable Opportunities
One of the biggest reasons to pay attention to Time is that the world doesn’t simply wait for you.
As the days pass, certain quests and encounters can change or disappear. At the same time, allowing time to pass can also create new opportunities that weren’t available earlier.
Because of this, you have to balance your priorities. Spending Time exploring Vale Sangora, searching for upgrades, and improving Coen can make him stronger, but spending too much time on optional activities can also affect what happens with the main rescue mission.
I recommend keeping an eye on the hourglass indicators and thinking about what you want to accomplish before spending a Time segment. You don’t need to rush through every objective, but you also shouldn’t treat Time as an unlimited resource.