Nords and ladies, do you desire to go bump in the night? Does frost resistance interest you? Do you HATE garlic? Well Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim keeps up with their previous games in allowing you to contract vampirism. This ‘how-to’ will guide you through the process of not only HOW to become a vampire but what vampirism can do for you. Let’s jump right into it.
The only way to become a vampire is through ‘fighting’ vampires. The reason I put fighting in air quotes is because the BEST way to become a vampire is to have one just beat on you until you contract the disease which starts the chain of events. The popular strategy for receiving the disease is to single out a weak vampire, have it attack you, and just heal constantly (magic or pots) while it attacks you. Eventually you should get the disease.
The disease is called Sanguinare Vampiris. How do you know if you have it, I’ll tell you. Open your magic menu, scroll to the bottom so you can see your ongoing buffs and debuffs. Blue stats are positive stats while red ones are negative. If you see Sanguinare Vampiris, step one is completed to becoming a vampire.
Sanguinare Vampiris is a disease. Once contracted, you have 3 days (72 game hours) until you become a vampire. If you don’t want to become a vampire, you can cure this disease like you would any other disease – restoration magic, cure disease potion, or praying to the right god. If you DO want to become a vampire, wait it out or simply sleep.
Once the 3 days is over, you are a vampire and no longer someone with the Sanguinare Vampiris disease. This means you are no longer diseased and that the vampirism can no longer be cured like a disease. Vampirism is far more difficult to remove than Sanguinare Vampiris is. So before becoming a vampire, please keep that in mind. I will cover how to cure vampirism at the end of this guide.
Once you transform into a vampire, you become a Stage 1 vampire. There are a total of 4 stages of vampirism. Each stage increases both the positive and negative attributes of vampirism. And yes, there ARE negatives to vampirism. At any time you can return to Stage 1 simple by ‘feasting.’ To feast – sneak up to a sleeping NPC, crouch, and feast. This action works similarly to pickpocketing. So to get to the higher stages of vampirism, DO NOT feast.
Stage 1:
Powers:
- Vampire's Servant – Once a Day: Reanimate a weak corpse for 60 seconds. Similar to necromancy in conjuration.
- Vampire Sight – Toggle: Improve night vision for 60 seconds.
Spells:
- Vampiric Drain – Novice Destruction Spell – 5 magicka per second: Absorb 2 points of health per second from target. Similar to the drain spells in Oblivion.
Abilities:
- Champion of the Night- Illusion spells are 25% more powerful.
- Night Stalker's Footsteps – 25% harder to detect while sneaking.
- Resist Disease – 100% resistance to disease.
- Resist Frost – 25% resistance to frost.
- Resist Poison – 100% resistance to poison.
- Weakness to Fire – 25% weaker to fire.
- Weakness to Sunlight – Health, magicka and stamina do not recover while in sunlight and are reduced by 15 points. This only occurs when outside in ‘Skyrim’ during the day.
Stage 2:
Powers:
- Vampire Seduction – Creatures and people up to level 10 are calmed for 30 seconds. This means they won’t attack you.
Abilites:
- Resist Frost – 50% resistance to frost.
- Weakness to Fire – 50% weaker to fire.
- Weakness to Sunlight – Health, magicka and stamina do not recover while in sunlight and are reduced by 30 points. This only occurs when outside in ‘Skyrim’ during the day.
- Vampire's Servant – Once a Day: Reanimate a more powerful dead body to fight for you for 60 seconds.
- Vampiric Drain – Novice Destruction Spell – 10 magicka per second: Absorb 3 points of health per second from target.
Stage 3:
- Resist Frost – 75% resistance to frost.
- Weakness to Fire – 75% weaker to fire
- Weakness to Sunlight – Health, magicka and stamina do not recover while in sunlight and are reduced by 45 points. This only occurs when outside in ‘Skyrim’ during the day.
- Vampire's Servant – Once a Day: Reanimate a powerful dead body to fight for you for 60 seconds.
- Vampiric Drain – Novice Destruction Spell – 12 magicka per second: Absorb 4 points of health per second from target.
- People will only interact with you if you talk to them.
Stage 4:
Powers:
- Embrace of Shadows – Once a Day: The vampire becomes invisible, with improved night-vision for 180 seconds.
Abilities:
- Resist Frost – 100% resistance to frost.
- Weakness to Fire – 100% weaker to fire.
- Weakness to Sunlight – Health, magicka and stamina do not recover while in sunlight and are reduced by 60 points. This only occurs when outside in ‘Skyrim’ during the day.
- Vampire's Servant – Once a Day: Reanimate a very powerful dead body to fight for you for 60 seconds.
- Vampiric Drain – Novice Destruction Spell – 15 magicka per second Absorb 5 points of health per second from target.
- People will be hostile towards you and might attack you on sight.
Curing Vampirism:
- Go to Falkreath.
- Head to ‘Dead Man’s Drink.’
- Talk to Valga Vinicia.
- Ask for rumors.
- She tells you to go to Morthal to talk to Falion.
- Talk to Falion, he tells you to fill a Black Soul Gem.
- Talk to Falion again to buy the Black Soul Gem ~ 1300 gold.
- Talk to Falion and buy the Soul Trap spell if you don’t already have it.
- Cast Soul Trap on an enemy humanoid, kill it, fill the Black Soul Gem.
- Return to Falion, meet him at dawn like he asks, he will cure your vampirism.
Special note:
- Do not be in Stage 4 of vampirism when you talk to Falion or he will kill you. Feast first if you must, get that last taste of blood in.
- Becoming a lycanthrope (werewolf) will also cure vampirism.
