Players aren’t going to run out of things to do anytime soon inThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. It’s a medieval fantasy world filled with plenty of mystery, while players themselves possess a startling level of freedom to customize their character to their heart’s content. The Dragonborn can even become a vampire if that’s what a player wants.
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Vampirism is nothing new inThe Elder Scrolls. Contracting it inSkyrimis surprisingly easy (although curing it is another matter entirely). Fans looking to try their hand at becoming a long-toothed bloodsucker need only follow this guide to learn everything they need to know forhow to become a vampire inSkyrim.
Updated July 04, 2025 by Mark Hospodar:Even though Skyrim is now over ten years old, there always tends to be something new for the player to experience. For fans who have never played as a vampire before, Skyrim’s midnight bloodsuckers offer a unique take on may what otherwise be familiar gameplay.
Being a vampire comes with great benefits, as well as significant drawbacks fans should be aware of in a playthrough. This guide has been updated and expanded to give players a better idea of what they can expect from becoming one of Skyrim’s most dangerous predators.
Contracting Vampirism
Vampirism is one ofSkyrim’smany diseases, albeit one of the more major ones. To contract vampirism, players musttake damage from a vampire enemy, either physically or through theVampiric Drainspell. Players will know when they’ve been infected once they receive a notification about contractingSanguinare Vampiris.
Fans who know they want to become a vampire should seek outMovarth’s Lairoutside ofMorthal. The location playsa central role in the “Laid to Rest” quest. Movarth’s Lair contains several vampires that are highly likely to give the player the requisite disease. Just let the enemies attack and the road to vampirism will begin.
Players will definitely know they have contracted the disease when they start receiving messages like “You feel strangely weakened by the sunrise.” Afterthree in-game dayshave passed since catching the disease, the player character willbecome a fully-fledged vampire.
How Vampirism Works
Once players have transitioned into a full vampire, there are several important details to keep in mind. Vampirism is divided into4 Stages. Players start at Stage 1 and progress to the next level whenever they go24 in-game hours without feeding. Players can feed byinteracting with sleeping NPCs, which will always reset their vampiric status back to Stage 1.
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The highest stages of vampirism grant the best benefits, although they also come with the most crippling drawbacks. The Dragonbornwon’t die from being exposed to sunlight, but he/she will incur massive penalties to their attributes and will behighly susceptible to firewhen exposed to the sun.See herefor a more in-depth breakdown of the stats.
The Benefits Of Being A Vampire
Although vampirism comes with noticeable weaknesses, the benefits can be quite worthwhile. Vampires have access to unique spells and active effects that become more powerful the longer players refrain from feeding (Stage 4 is the highest). Special vampiric abilities include:
Positive active effects includeChampion of the Night, which increases theeffectiveness of Illusion spells.Nightwalker’s Footstepsmake the player harder to detect while sneaking. Conversely, players will always haveWeakness to Sunlight, which makes regenerating health, stamina, and magicka extremely difficult when exposed to direct sunlight.
How To Become A Vampire Lord
The information outlined above details how to become a “normal” vampire. With theDawnguardDLC, a more powerful version of vampirism is made available. Becoming aVampire Lordis a bit more complex. The broad strokes are outlined below:
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Afterreturning Seranato her father in"Bloodline,“Lord Harkon will offer the player the opportunity to become a Vampire Lord. Fans have another opportunity to become a Vampire Lord from Serana during the"Chasing Echoes” Main Quest. Serana can also impart this gift anytime after completing"Kindred Judgment"or"Destroying the Dawnguard."
The Benefits Of Being A Vampire Lord
The Vampire Lord is essentially a superior version of a generic vampire. Vampire Lords have a special, monstrous form that they can unleashany number of times per day. While in this form, they can utilize a wide array of special abilities and spells that make them powerful combatants. A Vampire Lord’s abilities include:
Most importantly of all, Vampire Lords have access to a special Perk tree,similar to werewolves. These Perks greatly enhance a Vampire Lord’s effectiveness and can be purchased bykilling enemies through Vampiric Drain and power attacks. Some of the better Perks worth considering are:
Skyrimis currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch.
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