First run as vampire~ Help

[Kinakra]

Okay installing the game now and I have the Legendary edition with all the dlc etc just sitting in my collection and now with school out I think its a good time to get into it. I don't know a whole lot about the game aside from my experiences in morrowind and oblivion (some daggerfall). I always wanted to play as a vampire but there seemed to always be issues (can't move on in the game npcs won't talk to you all sorts of issues) Being that this is my first run of the game I want to be able to experience the game as much as possible without being so gimped I can't really take on quests etc.

Some concerns are as follows:

First becoming a vampire. is this sometime I can obtain early on or will I have to wait hours and hours into my experience before I get a chance to even get bitten

Second modding, Do I need any general mods? and with this being a vampire run should I grab one for that specifically to make the game enjoyable?

Third and perhaps most important I do want to take on a lot of content and even complete the game is this possible as a vampire?

Anything else I should be aware of as well?

[Eat3n]

1-It depends really. If you can find a vampire and get attacked you can get infected. Try Morvath's Lair. If you go to a town and a guy comes up to you talking about "The Dawnguard" you can follow that quest line and eventually will get the option to become a vampire. It might take you a handful of hours to level up enough so you don't insta-die everywhere.

2-No idea, i'm new to Skyrim on PC (and mods in general), i played it mostly on Xbox and just went to Skyrim on PC.

3-I don't see why not. I think it will depend on how you play the vampire. If you go balls out full vampire then the game will be difficult because at the higher stages of vampirism everyone will openly attack you.

4-Vampires suck in Skyrim. You don't regain/recharge health, stamina, or magic in daylight and guess what? Most of the time you fast travel or go anywhere it's daylight. Plus, you have to feed often so your vampirism doesn't get to the "openly attacked" stage and it becomes a real hassle after awhile trying to constantly feed. Plus, for me, i found i got attacked by the Dawnguard basically everywhere i went which sucks because it was usually daylight and my health, stamina, and magic didn't recharge. I hated being a vampire. I'd recommend going werewolf. You have an immunity to all poisons and diseases which is really handy. Plus, the werewolf perks are far better.

[Nazenn]

in answer to your first question, there is two types of vampirism in skyrim. Normal vampire, and vampire lord. To become a normal vampire all you have to do is get infected by a vampire enemy, which may take a while, but you can eventually contract the disease. To be a vampire lord you must follow the dawnguard quest line and you will be presented with the option incredibly early on.

For your second question, mods is entirely up to you. If you do NOT have dawnguard, being a vampire and not feeding will make people hostile to you, so you may want a mod to fix that.
For my vampire runs I personally run a few mods. If you are going to be a vampire lord having Vampire Lord Collison Fix[www.nexusmods.com] installed will be helpful so you can use the form in tight indoor areas.
Vampires also take damage from the sun so you may want a mod for that if you dont wish to be constantly playing at night or being rather weak when running around in the day time. Vampire No Sun Damage - Cloaks, Helmets and Hoods[www.nexusmods.com] is my preferance as I really disliked that system.
Those are the two core vampire mods you may like.

On a more personal side, I disliked the system where if you dont feed you are weaker to damage but have stronger powers, but if you feed your powers get weaker. That always seemed rather backwards to me so I have a Vampire Inverter[www.nexusmods.com] installed that simplifies the system meaning if you dont feed you are overall weaker, and if you do feed you are overall stronger.
I also have Royal Bloodline[www.nexusmods.com] installed to make the vampire lord perk tree more interesting.
A lot of people also complain about the aesthetic of the vampire lord, so if you dont find that to your taste you may want to try the Vampire Lord Retexture[www.nexusmods.com] which makes them a lot more detailed and less plastic looking, and the Grimoas Vampire Lord[www.nexusmods.com] mod which makes their wings actual wings and not tatters

You can complete all the quests and usual stuff as a vampire, as with everything else in the game, bethesda put no real limits on being able to do quests because of your character build even when its illogical.

[Trigger]

We are DAWNGUARD, and now you must die blood-sucker.

[Bomb Bloke]

Escrito originalmente por Der Metzger:

Plus, you have to feed often so your vampirism doesn't get to the "openly attacked" stage

With Dawnguard installed, this should no longer be an issue. It wouldn't surprise me if other mods re-enable that mechanic, though.

[ShineyMeatBicycle]

Ive been playing skyrim off and on for the last three years. To start, I would think about getting the Unofficial Dawnguard Patch. Of the mods out there, i found very few that significantly change the overall gameplay of being a vampire. Most of the vamipre mods usually fall in with the appearence and utility catagories. There is one mod (the name escapes me) that makes the Vamipre Lord model a tad shorter so that doorways and certain cave entrances will not be your cursed downfall. There is another mod that enables you to interact with anything as a Vamire Lord. These mods should be easy to find on Nexus

You will hands down want to stick it out and advance through the Dawnguard DLC to become a badass vampire (or werewolf). DO NOT waste your time with becoming a lesser vampire. After Dawnguard's release, vanilla vampires became obsolete. You will need to be at leaset level 10 and free of vampirism to start the Dawnguard questline.

I find that playing as a vampire lord is a heavy double-edged sword. It is the only way to go if you are a mage. I found myself using the Vamire Lord for everything from clearing out bandits, bringing down ancient dragons, to getting around the world quickly. I generally would pick a calm evening, start at Riften, and work my way to Solitude while killing anything in my path.While the Vampire Lord is arguably one of the post powerful attributes in the game (rivaled only by a Master Werewolf), it does require managment and commitment. Blood potions are a must thieve. I found that fast travelling was a pain because it turned into a roll of the dice as to wether I would get attacked by guards upon spawning. Of course the whole sunlight thing was less than fortunate as I bcame usless with regards to combat during the day. In the end though, as a Vampire Lord you will get some crazy powers, funny moments, and fantstic gameplay.

This is where I put a word in for the werewolf path (my favorite) as it has some significant advantages in utility and gameplay. I found the chewing of people's faces morbidly entertaining. After advancing through the werewolf perk tree, the gameplay became somewhat comparable to the psyco class on Borderlands 2 with its high risk vs. rewards/tank-like play style. Finally, unless you transform in a town, the guards will not do anything to you and the the sun will not be so spiteful.

[Noble Ten]

I suggest getting the mod "Better Vampires". I am pretty sure thats its called... Basicly allows you to tweak how you want vampires to play. You can do nifty things like alter what skills and abilities a vampire uses, Reservse the stages (meaning your more powerful when fully fed, and weaker when starting). For some reason Bethesda thinks that a staving vampire is at its most powerfulest <.<

And other minor things too. If you're planning to dedicate a character to vampireism, I'd say at least look at it.

[__-__-__]

Escrito originalmente por Noble Tenshi:

For some reason Bethesda thinks that a staving vampire is at its most powerfulest <.<

I think it's supposed to represent the idea that "the starving\desperate animal is the most dangerous". Late stage vampires are getting "desperate" and push themselves to new extremes. It would work better if there were additional weaker stages after 4.

[ShineyMeatBicycle]

Here's prize at the end of the path. A level 100 Vampire Lord is nearly game-breaking in power and efficiency, even much later in the game. As a Vampire Lord, the final boss fight in the Dragonborn DLC took less than a minute to complete, and Alduin didn't stand a chance.........ehhem....cough! cough!....... the Werewolf is faster, better, and more sun-friendly...........but that face chewing though!...........much splatter..........very roar........hairy ears?

[argonian]

Escrito originalmente por Trigger:

We are DAWNGUARD, and now you must die blood-sucker.

And cheese!