ES5: Skyrim - Dawnguard

[WytchDokta]

Looks like the first DLC for Skyrim is underway. All the information I have to go on right now is:

Note the 'Oblivion Gates' for eyes and the mystery (shorter than normal) arrows slung on his back, crossbow bolts have been suggested by one member on Facebook. Now, I'm thinking, ES5: Skyrim - DAWNGUARD, and Oblivion Gates for eyes, and ES4: Oblivion and the Mythic Dawn cult. You see what I see? Seems the link between them is too much of a concidence to me. Unless I'm completely barking up the wrong tree and it actually instead has something to do with a Redguard mission at daybreak.

Still, hopefully Bethesda will answer my prayers and give me a Giant or Mammoth follower!

[WytchDokta]

Also a new patch for Skyrim available on XBL right now. Thing is, it is seemingly no ordinary patch. You see, game patches on XBL are usually around the 4-8 Mb mark, and this thing was 34 MB. So, preloading Dawnguard stuff maybe? (although it does seem rather early for that as Bethesda have not released any Dawnguard info yet, just a pic)

Edit: disregard, the patch adds Kinect connectivity to Skyrim. Gief Dorngard infos Befezda!

Edited May 2, 2012 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

The add-on revolves around the Dawnguard, an organization dedicated to hunting Vampires and stopping the return of the vampire Lord Harkon, who intends to use an Elder Scroll to permanently blot out the sun.

Source & additional info

Crossbows are in (I see the WytchDokta was right there - again, I might add) as are Dragonbone weapons.

Coming June 26th on Xbox but no release date for PC or PS3 yet, haha! 1600 MS points? What, you think I'm made of money do you Bethesda?

[Parabellum]

This looks great! More vampires to slaughter!

[WytchDokta]

^{Undead wearing Dragonbone armour and Armoured Trolls? Sounds like it will be tough.}

^{The Summon Durnehviir (Undead Dragon familiar) Dragonshout sounds cool, although, I hope it will be different in some way to Summon Odaviing (Mortal Dragon familiar)}

[WytchDokta]

Would be interesting to see how crossbows compare with longbows in-game. I'm guessing crossbows will have higher velocity and higher damage but a relatively long reload time. If so, the question is, to take crossbow or longbow? Higher damage (crossbow) or quicker follow-up shots? (longbow)

Now to find out what this Curious Candlestick Mold does. I found it in the 'secret' area in Pinewatch, and I can't figure it's exact purpose, much less I can't seem to interact with it (other than picking it up). And it's tagged as a quest item, although picking it up initiates no quest.... Oh and did I say I'm waging all out war on Dragons right now as a Dragon killed my horsey worsey earlier.

Edited June 20, 2012 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

This thing will be out tomorrow folks, don't miss it. Can't wait to carve me up some vampire burgers.

You know, I like how on this game you can decapitate enemies with blunt weapons (Maces and Warhammers). Last ti me I checked, if you hiit some-one in the arm with a hammer using considerable force, you would at the most shatter their arm bones, right? But if you where to hit somme-one in the arm with a long sharp-bladed weapon using considerable force, you would slice their arm clean off. It's not rocket science. Then again, I've never put such things into practice IRL before, so what do I know?

Anyone know if the only puchasable dogs in-game are war hounds? I want a house dog for my 'Honeyside' joint in Riften (mind you, the housecarl for Honeyside, Iona, looks like a dog). I find war hounds tend to become collatoral damage, getting in front of you when you attack enemies - so the dogs attacks hit the enemy and your attacks hit your dog (even though you are swinging your weapon way above the dog)

Constant supply of fish to sell in the river out the back of Honeyside FTW. Almost as good as getting a follower to train you in one of you skills, say, One-Handed, then asking them to trade items and taking the money back that you just spent.

Edited June 25, 2012 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

From the official forums:

]

Where do I start the [Dawnguard DLC]?

Once Dawnguard is installed (along with the 1.6 title update), players that are level 10 or higher will hear rumors about the Dawnguard from guards in major cities. They may also be approached by a courier who will give them a note about the Dawnguard. Otherwise, if your character is below level 10 or you wish to find the Dawnguard on your own, you can seek out the Dawnguard headquarters roughly east/southeast of Riften. It can be reached by a small cave through the mountains.

And by all accounts, the v1.6 patch makes it even harder to boost the Smithing skill by spamming any type of Daggers or Leather Bracers. Only real way to grind out Smithing now is to spam and upgrade Steel Plate Armour or Jewelery - the amount by which Smithing increases is now proportionate to the value of the item created. In short, Smithing, via 'normal' means, now levels about as fast as Alchemy - whereas jewelery and armour suit creation will boost it more.

Edited June 26, 2012 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

So, I've put quote a few hours (more like 'all day') into this DLC yesterday and completed it, siding with the Dawnguard. This DLC seems to add something to the vanilla Skyrim world too:

- Firewood now actually has a purpose in game. Or should I say, Arrows and Bolts can be crafted at a smithing forge using Firewood and the relevant ingot.

- New type orf Chaurus, known as Hunters, which are essentially flying Chaurus that float above the ground. These are added to vanilla Skyrim and are in the DLC area.

As for the DLC area:

- Players have the choice to either join the vampires or the Dawnguard, vampire hunters. I stuck with the Dawnguard, so the DLC stuff I mention below is from the Dawnguard perspective.

- Crossbows pwn. There isn't much else to say. Initially the standard Crossbow will deal much less damage than your longbows, IF you're like me and like to keep all your equipment fully upgraded. However, this all changes when upgrading the Crossbow with a steel ingot. To put it in perspective - my Legendary level Glass longbow deals -9 damage than my Epic level Crossbow, yet Legendary is the highest upgrade tier (Epic is the second highest). Like I said, not much else to say other than Crossbows are such a cool addition to Skyrim that I practically use it all the time. Point blank range engagements while hipshotting the Crossbow = win.

-

- New armours. The Dawnguard armour comes in six total variants, three light armour and three heavy armour. Main difference in variants is the colouration, and the red Dawnguard light armour is sleeveless (unless you're a female character in which case it's longsleeve). Ancient Falmer Armour is in too. Interestingly this is light armour, but in vanilla Skyrim, Falmer wear heavy armour. There's new Vampire armours too, but I don't know the difference in variants as I joined the Dawnguard, remember?

- Fort Dawnguard can serve as a home for the player. Initially the place is a little run down and there's only a few Dawnguard there. During the Dawnguard questline you'll recruit various vendors, and other NPC's will join at will. Recruiting a vendor upgrades an area of the for (recruiting the smithy adds a smithing forge, duh). As Dawnguard, you can also purchase an Armoured Troll familiar (these seem to be junior Trolls BTW as they are much smaller than the vanilla Skyrim Trolls). There's also a couple of Dawnguard armoured huskies that you can later have as a familiar. Nice to see new dog breeds in-game, BUT, they only appear in the DLC from what I've seen.

- The player will encounter a couple of Snow Elves. Note my wording. Snow Elves translates to 'Falmer.' But these two are Snow Elves not Falmer and find it offensive when you call them Falmer. You see, while Falmer are indeed 'Snow Elves,' Falmer are feral. These two 'Snow Elves' haven't gone feral so they look different to the Falmer. These Snow Elves in fact look more like Bosmer (Wood Elves), but with very light near enough albino skin (reddening around the joints) and hair lighter than that of the Altmer (High Elves). Their Ancient Falmer Armour, which can be obtained from one of them later in the game, is equivalent to Glass armour in terms of armour level, and of course looks much cooler. So there's a thing, on your new character build, why spend all that money on buying Refined Malachite/Moonstone to create Glass armour, when you can get the Ancient Falmer Armour for free in the DLC.

- Gargoyles are in. Funny thing is, they start out as stone statues then come alive.

So, those of you who have this and joined the Dawnguard, which Dawnguard armour are you using/did you use? Red sleeveless Dawnguard light armour FTW.

EDIT: Falmer are 'Snow Elves,' while Dwemer are 'Deep Elves'

Edited June 29, 2012 by WytchDokta

[squad_e]

This looks mega promising and sounds it, im not surprised the PC version is released later than other formats!

[WytchDokta]

The PS3 and PC versions are being released at the same time. Whereas, we already have it on Xbox. Also, you PC guys can get mods, and we can't. You PS3 guys get free online service with PSN, and we have to pay for XBL. So, it's no wonder we get it first methinks.

Anyhow, there's also Werewolf and Vampire specific perk trees. However, I can't post any info on that yet as my Nord has been self cured of lycanthropy and joined the Dawnguard. For my nexy character I will do the DLC when I hit level 10, and try out the Werewolf/Vampire perks thing then. I'm inclined to go with the Vampires this time, BUT, I really want an Armoured Troll familiar (available ONLY to Dawnguard), can't recruit one with my Nord because of the Stray Dog bug that Bethesda seems reluctant to fix (when Stray Dog dies, there is a very small chance the game will glitch out and not correctly register the death of Stray Dog - meaning that the game still thinks you have a canine familiar even though he's blatantly dead. You can only have one canine/troll familiar at a time, aswell as one humanoid, therefore, you can't purchase another one thanks to this bug)

Also, there's only 4 types of Crossbow in the DLC, and unlike longbows, there isn't one for every Smithing tier - the basic crossbow is a stell crossbow with the 'steel' prefix removed. The metalwork on this bow is patterned in the same way as the pattern on steel weapons/armour. You can later acquire a schematic for an advanced version of this bow that ignores 50% of armour. Same goes for the Dwarven crossbows (basic and advanced). Smithing perks apply here, so if you've stuck to the light armour branch, the [steel] crossbow will be much more powerful than the Dwarven version, and vise versa.

There is one point in the DLC where you'll be fighting two Dragons at the same time, and the boss fights can be very tough (moreso than Alduin) without area of effect spells/auras etc.

Edited June 30, 2012 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

So yeah, I just deployed a second character into the DLC. What I did was drop a brand new save at the point where you get the option to either have Harkon turn you into a vampire or you leave and stay with the Dawnguard. I'm continuing on one save as a Vampire Lord, and on the other remaining as a Werewolf with the Dawnguard (although the Dawnguard will attack the player on sight if they see him transform, believe me when I tell you that - I found out the hard way. Seems Bethesda have nerfed the Vampire vulnerability to fire by half - a vulnerability which is now completely negated by the Dark Elf resistance to fire.

The new Werewolf and Vampire Lord perks are only accessed throough the character menu once you've transformed, and you can grind those perks by feeding (one good one for Werewolves allows feeding from most creatures, not just humanoids)

And you see them there Armoured Trolls you can recruit as followers (Dawnguard faction only)? You do? Well, they own.

[WytchDokta]

Mini-FAQ for you guys:

How is the Summon Durnehviir shout different to the Call Dragon shout?

It's actually very different. Odaviing is not 'summoned' in the same way as Durnehviir, in fact, Summon Durnehviir works just like a Conjure Atronach spell - aim it at the ground, and if there's enough room, he'll arrive. This means that while Odaviing can ONLY be summoned in external areas, Durnehviir can be summoned even in caves, provided there is enough room.

Not only that, Durnehviir uses three Shouts in combat: Frost Breath, Drain Vitality, and a unique shout that summons a Boneman, a Wrathman and a Mistman at the same time to help out (he seems to remain on the ground when using this one)

On a side note: Durnehviir translates to 'Curse Never Dying' while Odahviing translates to 'Snow Hunter Wing'

What's this I hear about the player being able to obtain a horse for free in the DLC?

A horse? Undead steed more like. Arvak can be obtained inside the Soul Cairn, after finding his skull (before this you will see him running wild in the Soul Cairn) and returning it to his owner.

Arvak is unique in that he is summoned in the same way an Atronach is. But Arvak is different - unlike Atronachs, if you remain mounted on Arvak, he will not disappear after 60 secs like Atronachs do (but only if you stay mounted.) With the Twin Souls perk, within the Conjuration perk tree, it is possible to summon two Arvaks, despite him being a unique character.

Why has part of the Ruins of Bthalft been changed since I last visited that area?

Let's just say it has something to do with the 'Lost to the Ages' quest from the DLC.

Not only that, I hear that a Word Wall has now been added to Arcwind Point. What's the deal?

Drain Vitality Dragonshout (from DLC). Enough said.

Can I create Crossbows at Smithing forges?

Dawnguard players can once Sorine Jurard has been recuited for the Dawnguard cause. She will thereafter give the player Radiant sidequests wherein crossbow improvement schematics and new bolt type schematics must be retrieved. Upon returning to Jurard with the said schematics, she will then have those items for sale and you can create them at forges. However, crossbows can ONLY be created at the Dawnguard forge (bolts and arrows can be created at any forge)

I have another character going through the DLC as a Volkihar Vampire Lord, I am at the Soul Cairn mission, and I'm yet to see any vendor in castle Volkihar selling crossbows or bolts. I do not have the option to create crossbows at the Volkihar Vampire forge either. And before you start saying that's unfair, you Vampire Lords are overpowered.

Wait, how are Vampire Lords overpowered?

- A Werewolf transformation can only be used once per day, and it cannot be toggled off (it wears off on it's own.) A Vampire Lord transformation is unlimited use, and players can revert back to human form at will.

- Vampire Lords can switch between walking and 'floating' at will. Floating allows the circumvention of floor based traps and negates the need for swimming. Werewolves have no such abilities.

- Vampire Lords can change powers and abilities at will (through the favourites menu), Werewolves can't.

- Vampire Lords have a multitude of abilities from the outset. Werewolves only have Howl of Terror - all other Werewolf abilities can be obtained through retrieving Werewolf totems for the Companions, which of course, can't be done until AFTER the Companions questline is complete.

- Vampire Lords have some passive bonuses and abilities that can be used either in human or Vampire form - Vampire Sight (same as Khajiiti Night Eye), resistance to Frost, bonus to Sneaking and Illusion spell cost reduction. Guess what, Werewolves get no such passive abilities or bonuses, except the resistance to disease.

- Vampire Lords have both melee attacks and ranged spells, Werewolves have only melee attacks.

However, Werewolves do excel in a couple of areas:

- Werewolves deal much more melee damage than Vampire Lords, and the amount of melee damage inflicted can be increased through a four-tier Werewolf perk, wherein each tier increases the damage by 25%. Vampire Lords are so weak in melee that they just aswell be punching a wall. At tier 4 of this perk - that is, +100% melee damage - it is possible to drop the toughest enemies in a matter of hits. I'm speaking from personal experience with this as I just tested it. My level 21 Werewolf (Dark Elf) killed the Giant in Blackreach in four hits so fast the Giant didn't even have time to react. The Vampire Lord Drain Life spell is nowhere near as powerful. I still want to test their melee damage vs Dragons. My Vampire Lord already killed a Dragon by spamming the Drain Life spell, took about half hour - it was like throwing a football against a wall.

- Werewolves can feed from corpses of humans/creatures that they have not killed. Vampire Lords can only feed, through the Drain Life spell, from enemies they themselves have killed. Not only that, but the Vampire Lord Drain Life spell needs to be charged up before casting like a ranged Destruction spell, and requires some precise aiming (although it DOES have a small area of effect). In the time it takes to charge the spell, a Werwolves can spam a multitude of melee hits on an enemy. Just tested this out too, to see to what extent Werewolves can feed with the perk that allows feeding on most any creature and humans, except undead, daedra and steam animunculi.... And it does exactly what it says on the tin (like Ronseal) - with said perk I can feed on Chaurus, Giants, Trolls, Falmer, other Werewolves, etc.

500 Gold for an Amoured Troll? I could hire a master Destruction Wizard for that and he would destroy enemies before they even got close. Why would I want an Armoured Troll?

Here's the thing: Armoured Trolls are both tanks and heavy hitters. To put it into perspective, Armoured Trolls are 'considerably more powerful than regular Trolls' (words from the Wikia guide). However, from my experience with one at my side, they are somewhat slower in movement than the player, thus more often than not get separated from the player. When separated from the player for too long, which isn't too long, they will return home.

Edited July 4, 2012 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

D000000000000000000d, some of these Werewolf and Vampire Lord abilities are off the chain.

- I killed one of the Boneyard Keepers in the Soul cairn by throwing him off the roof of the structure using Vampiric Grip. He was at full health when I grabbed him, and the fall killed him outright.

- I managed to kill a Forsworn Looter bysending them flying off the roof of a castle with a Werewolf melee power attack.

And those of you having trouble with the fight with Vyrthur's minions in his thrown room, have you ever heard of chokepoints? You enter the throne room from a thin corridor and can backtrack down this corridor at any time. Frozen Falmer and Frozen Chaurus numbers will count for nothing when funneled in through that corridor whilst using area of effect Destruction spells. Plus, the Frost Atronach he summons at the end of the fight is too fat to fit down the corridor, and so he gets stuck. Sometimes the lay of the terrain itself is the best weapon.

[WytchDokta]

Okay, stay on the ball once you install this DLC. I've already mentioned it adds random Werewolf encounters at night in the wilds, as well as random ambushes by Vampires at any time, near enough anywhere - whether you fast traveling or simplying roaming the wilds, ambushes by Vampires can even take place inside Hold capitals such as Whiterun. So what's the deal? Well, there is a certain 'knock-on effect' system in the game - for example if a blacksmith from a Hold capital is killed, the townsfolk will thereafter have poorer quality weapons, plus you loose source for smithing supplies. This is exactly what happened to me today on a Redguard build, just prior to getting enough Moonstone ore to be able to create Gilded Elven ArmoUr - fast travel back to Whiterun at night to sell the loot I'd gathered, and get ambushed by Vampires just inside the gate. BOTH of the owners of Warmaiden's (Adrianne and Ulfberth) intercepted the Vampires as did a few guards, me and Lydia. Looking afterwards, there's BOTH Ulfberth and Adrianne dead on the floor along with the Vampires. So now I have one less source to be able to purchase Moonstone ore from.

Edited August 25, 2012 by WytchDokta

[Parabellum]

I know this topic is old, but I've finally gotten Dawnguard as an early birthday present. So far, I'm really enjoying this DLC! I've fallen for Skyrim all over again, and this makes me quite antsy for TES:O!

[WytchDokta]

(In voice of John 'Jigsaw' Kramer (Tobin Bell)) Dawnguard or Vampire Lord. Make your choice.

The difficulty gets ramped up quite a bit towards the end of the DLC, where you gotta locate all the wayshrines etc (at one point you'll have to fight 2 Dragons at once), and Arch-Curate Vyrthur's throne room can be particularly nasty for those with little knowledge of how much benefit the terrain itself can provide for soldiers - even in real life - especially chokepoints, like the one leading up to the throne room.

Remember, the formula for epic win is: Chokepoint [plus] group of enemies [divided by] area of effect spell spamming [equals] pwnz0r.

Edited January 7, 2013 by WytchDokta