Is Becoming a Vampire in Skyrim Worth It? An In-Depth Guide

Friend, if you‘re wondering whether it‘s better to become a vampire or not in Skyrim, I‘m here to help you decide! Vampirism is one of the most interesting roleplaying choices in Skyrim. It offers powerful new abilities and an entirely unique way to experience the game. However, it also comes with serious downsides that can make playing as a vampire very challenging.

In this detailed guide, I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know about the pros and cons of vampirism. My goal is to provide enough insider information so you can determine if following the path of the vampire is right for the character build and playstyle you have in mind. There‘s a lot to cover, so let‘s get started!

Vampirism Fundamentals

First, it helps to understand exactly what vampirism does. When contracted, you gain the following:

• Access to the Vampirism skill tree with vampire-themed abilities
• Bonuses to illusion magic damage, frost resistance, health and stamina regen
• Weaknesses to fire damage and sunlight
• Progressive downsides the longer you go without feeding on blood

Vampirism has four stages that advance by not feeding. The more blood-starved you become, the greater your vampiric powers and weaknesses get.

Here‘s a quick overview of the vampire perks available:

Vampire Skill Tree

• Vampiric Thirst – Blood drain spell to feed
• Supernatural Reflexes – Improved vision and night speed
• Vampiric Seduction – Calm and turn the undead
• Night Cloak – Life drain enemies who get close
• Vampire‘s Servant – Reanimate defeated foes to fight for you
• Vampire‘s Sight – Night vision and invisibility
• Vampire Lord – Transform into a powerful lord form

Becoming a vampire offers characters new abilities focused on the dark arts, stealth, and sanguine hunger. Used wisely, these skills provide an entirely fresh way to play.

Unique Roleplaying Opportunity

More than just the mechanical benefits, vampirism lets you roleplay and experience Skyrim from a distinctly different perspective than a heroic adventurer. Leaning into the allure of the darkness can be immensely enjoyable for certain character builds.

Playing as an evil vampire mage, assassin, or dark knight can be incredibly fun if you want to go against the grain. The changed NPC interactions and moral dilemmas posed by vampirism set up compelling story opportunities.

Of course, if you prefer playing the unambiguous hero then vampirism may not be for you. But for many, walking the line between good and evil provides the perfect amount of added intrigue and depth to an adventure.

Powerful Synergies and Optimization

Vampirism also unlocks rewarding synergies when combined with certain character builds and gear loadouts:

• Mages benefit greatly from the buffs to illusion magic and magicka regen. Vampirism also combos extremely well with…
• Thieves who make great use of the stealth bonuses and night vision when sneaking.
• Assassins can utilize the vampiric drain life spell for quiet kills.
• The Necromage perk in Restoration makes all spells against undead 25% stronger. Since you count as undead, this benefits you greatly.
• Maxing out Alchemy, Enchanting to boost fortify magic effects exponentially increases vampiric power.
• Equipping fire resistance and health enchantments helps offset weaknesses.

There is incredible potential for min-maxing synergistic vampire builds. It just takes knowledge of the systems and how to capitalize on them.

Weighing the Pros and Cons

Of course, it‘s not all upside. Vampirism brings significant challenges and downsides. Here‘s a comparison of the major pros and cons:

Pros

• Powerful vampiric perk tree
• Bonuses to illusion, stealth, health and stamina regen
• Resistance to frost
• Vampire Lord transformation
• Unique roleplaying experience
• Synergizes well with certain builds

Cons

• Progressive weaknesses to sunlight and fire
• Social effects and NPC interactions
• Difficult to cure
• Locks you out of Dawnguard faction
• Limits certain quests and content
• Have to maintain by feeding on blood

As you can see, it‘s a tradeoff. The increased abilities come at the cost of new hindrances and the commitment to maintain your vampiric condition.

Many also delay becoming a vampire until higher levels, when you have more health and resistances to offset the penalties. Around level 10 or 15 is a good benchmark before taking the blood plunge.

Comparing Vampirism to Lycanthropy

If you have the Dawnguard DLC, you also have the option to become a werewolf. This provides an interesting contrast and alternative to vampirism:

Werewolf Pros

• Immunity to disease
• Increased stamina and sprinting
• Powerful wolf transformation for combat
• Less downsides than vampirism

Werewolf Cons

• Weakness to silver weapons
• Must feed on corpses to maintain
• Less synergies with magic and thief builds

Many prefer the more straightforward benefits of lycanthropy. But vampirism offers greater magical potential for mage and stealth characters.

You can even combine both! Becoming a hybrid werewolf-vampire takes advantage of both skill trees, at the cost of more management. But the raw power can be amazing.

An In-Depth Look at Vampire Lord Form

One of the most tempting parts of vampirism is accessing the Vampire Lord transformation. By joining the Volkihar vampire clan in the Dawnguard questline, you unlock this menacing alternate form:

Vampire Lord Abilities

• Drain Life spell to rapidly damage health
• Raise Dead reanimates defeated enemies to fight for you
• Vampiric Grip telekinetically ragdolls enemies
• Summon Gargoyle for assistance
• Night Cloak damage aura
• Increased health, magicka, stamina
• Can still equip gear for bonuses

This monstrous form specialized in necromantic arts provides tactical options completely different from the standard werewolf form.

Flying around the battlefield raising dead minions while draining life from foes delivers an immensely satisfying power trip. It‘s a great way for mage characters to leverage vampirism‘s advantages even further.

Curing Vampirism If You Change Your Mind

I‘ve explained vampirism‘s many pros, but also the harsh challenges it poses. So what if you try becoming a vampire and later decide it‘s not for you? Is there a cure?

There are a couple ways to reverse vampirism:

• Complete the Dawnguard questline to gain the ability to cure yourself.
• Find the obscure rituals of the mage Falion in Morthal who can cure diseases.

However, reverting back is deliberately difficult and high level. So I recommend deciding carefully before pursuing vampirism at all.

Becoming a creature of the night should be a committed roleplaying choice, not a casual experiment.

The Bottom Line

So in summary, determining if vampirism is right for you in Skyrim depends heavily on your preferred playstyle and character build.

For stealthy assassins, dark mages, and evil-aligned roleplayers, the unique abilities and fresh perspective of vampirism can be incredibly rewarding.

But more heroic adventurers may wish to avoid the downsides and moral quandaries it poses. My advice is to carefully consider your roleplaying vision for your character.

While challenging at times, immersing yourself in the allure of the dark side can make Skyrim feel entirely new again. Wield your vampiric powers wisely my friend!

I hope this detailed guide gives you the insights needed to decide if joining the ranks of the undead is your best path forward. Let me know if you have any other questions!