Dawnguard is the first major DLC expansion for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and it’s a game-changer if you’re looking for substantial new content. Released back in 2012, this expansion has stood the test of time and remains essential for any serious Skyrim playthrough, whether you’re on PS4, PC, or any other platform. The questline doesn’t just tack on a few hours of busywork: it introduces an entire branching campaign centered on vampires and vampire hunters, complete with new locations, factions, skill trees, and some of the most rewarding loot in the game. Whether you join the Dawnguard as a vampire slayer or embrace your dark side with Clan Volkihar, you’re getting a self-contained story that rivals the main game’s depth. This guide walks you through everything: how to start, major quest beats, the critical Vampire vs. Dawnguard choice, tactical tips, and all the rewards waiting for you.
Key Takeaways
- The Skyrim Dawnguard quest introduces a permanent faction choice between joining vampire hunters or Clan Volkihar, each offering distinct gameplay styles, powers, and story paths that converge at the final confrontation.
- Starting Dawnguard requires reaching level 10+ when a courier named Durak approaches you, though you can access the questline early by heading to Dayspring Canyon south of Riften without meeting the level requirement.
- The expansion unlocks powerful rewards including Auriel’s Bow, crossbows as a new weapon type, dragonbone gear as the highest-tier craftable weapons, and the Vampire Lord perk tree with abilities like levitation, life drain, and summoned gargoyles.
- Both Skyrim Dawnguard paths share core quests spanning the Soul Cairn and Forgotten Vale, but Vampire Lords gain a supernatural playstyle while Dawnguard hunters gain early access to elemental crossbows and tactical advantages against undead.
- Prepare for Dawnguard at level 10–20 minimum, stock Cure Disease potions early, and use fire-based weapons or spells to deal double damage to vampires, making combat significantly more manageable.
- Serana becomes a permanent, level-scaling follower essential to the storyline, and even non-vampire players can later request her to transform them temporarily, allowing exploration of the Vampire Lord perk tree without permanent faction alignment.
What Is Dawnguard and Why You Should Play It
Dawnguard isn’t just cosmetic fluff, it’s a substantial expansion that fundamentally enriches Skyrim. The DLC adds a full main questline, two joinable factions with competing interests, and four major new locations: Fort Dawnguard (the hunter stronghold), Castle Volkihar (a vampire lair), the Soul Cairn (a haunting soul-trap dimension), and Forgotten Vale (a hidden sanctuary with Skyrim’s most challenging dungeons).
What makes it special is the choice. Unlike most Skyrim quests, you’ll face a permanent faction alignment decision: become a vampire lord with supernatural powers, or remain mortal and hunt the undead with crossbows and sunlight magic. Both paths lead to the same final confrontation but offer wildly different gameplay experiences and rewards. New skill systems include the Vampire Lord perk tree, crossbows (a new weapon type entirely), and dragonbone weaponry, the highest-tier craftable weapons in the game. When Bethesda released Dawnguard in June 2012, Skyrim Dawnguard DLC: Everything You Need to Know About the Legendary Expansion marked the beginning of post-launch support that would define Skyrim’s longevity. The expansion is included by default in Special Edition and Anniversary Edition, so if you own modern versions on PS4 or PC, you’ve already got it.
Getting Started: How to Begin the Dawnguard Questline
Starting Dawnguard is straightforward, though the game tries to gatekeep it behind a level requirement. The trigger officially kicks in at level 10+: enter any major city, and an Orc courier named Durak may approach you, or talk to any city guard and they’ll mention the Dawnguard and point you toward Dayspring Canyon.
But here’s the thing, you don’t actually need to be level 10. If you want to explore early (not recommended unless you’re experienced), head south of Riften, then east through the mountains to find the Dayspring Canyon entrance. This cave leads directly to Fort Dawnguard, where NPC Isran runs the operation. Speaking to him starts the quest “Awakening,” which officially launches the main story. No level restriction, no courier required.
For a normal playthrough, just hit level 10, wait for Durak to find you, accept the quest, and travel to Dayspring Canyon. Fast-traveling directly to Dawnguard is also an option if you’ve discovered the location. Pro tip: don’t rush. The expansion assumes you’ve got some gear and health pools. Level 10–20 is ideal: anything lower and you’ll get stomped by vampires and gargoyles.
Key Quests and Major Milestones
The Dawnguard questline has a shared opening, then splits into two parallel paths. Both converge at the finale, but the journey differs significantly.
Opening Acts (Both Sides)
You’ll start with “Awakening“, travel to Dimhollow Crypt and rescue a mysterious woman named Serana from a coffin. This kicks off “Bloodline,” where you escort her to Castle Volkihar to meet her father, Lord Harkon. At the castle’s end, he offers you vampirism. Accept it and you’re aligned with Clan Volkihar: refuse and you return to Fort Dawnguard as a hunter.
Shared Core Quests
From here, both paths tackle these objectives in sequence:
- “Prophet” – Track down a Moth Priest (hunted vs. recruited depending on faction).
- “Chasing Echoes” – Locate Valerica’s lab and find a way into the Soul Cairn.
- “Beyond Death” – Navigate the Soul Cairn and negotiate with Valerica for the Elder Scroll.
- “Seeking Disclosure / Unseen Visions” – Conduct the Ancestor Moth ritual to read Elder Scrolls.
- “Touching the Sky” – Venture through Forgotten Vale, defeat a dragon, and claim Auriel’s Bow.
- “Kindred Judgment” – Final duel with Harkon at Castle Volkihar.
Faction-Specific Content
If you side with Dawnguard, you’ll recruit members for the fort, defend it from vampire attacks, and run radiant hunts. Volkihar vampires get assassination contracts, recruitment drives, and quests like “The Bloodstone Chalice” to empower vampire artifacts. Skyrim Quests: The Complete covers the broader questline ecosystem, but Dawnguard is its own contained narrative with standalone rewards.
Vampire vs. Dawnguard: Which Path to Choose
This is the pivotal decision. Both paths defeat the same final boss, but they diverge in playstyle, mechanics, and tone.
Vampire (Clan Volkihar)
Choosing vampirism grants access to the Vampire Lord form, a separate perk tree that fills up by killing enemies while transformed. Powers include levitation, life drain, summon gargoyles, night vision, and teleport-via-bat. You’ll base yourself in Castle Volkihar, a sprawling vampire lair with upgradeable wings. The quests lean toward morally gray territory: assassinations, kidnappings, acquiring victims for cattle. If you want to feel like a supernatural predator, this is it. The catch: standard vampirism debuffs (fire weakness, NPC hostility) apply unless you feed regularly.
Dawnguard (Vampire Hunters)
Stay mortal and operate from Fort Dawnguard, which gains merchants, trainers, and specialists as the story progresses. You’ll get early access to advanced crossbows and elemental bolts, which trivialize vampire combat. The quests focus on protection and justice, defending towns, hunting monsters, recruiting allies. It’s the “heroic” path, though arguably less flashy. You maintain normal gameplay mechanics without the juggling act of vampire upkeep.
The Real Talk
Neither choice locks you out of the game’s rest. You can pursue the main storyline with either faction. But, the major alignment is permanent for that character. If you picked vampirism but later cure it, you don’t flip to Dawnguard, you’re just a mortal without the perk tree. Most players do a second playthrough to experience both. For your first run, pick what excites you: superpowers or tactical crossbow combat.
Essential Tips and Strategies for Success
Level and Gear
Enter around level 10–20 minimum on higher difficulties. Vampires, gargoyles, and the Falmer in Forgotten Vale hit hard. Stock up on Potions of Cure Disease early, you’ll encounter vampirism as a disease before choosing to embrace it as a power. If you’re playing as a mortal, carry fire damage weapons or spells: vampires take double damage from flames. Restoration magic, especially “Turn Undead” spells, trivializes undead-heavy sections.
Combat Tactics
If you go Vampire Lord, invest perks into Power of the Grave, Blood Healing, Supernatural Reflexes, and Summon Gargoyle. The form dominates open spaces but struggles in tight dungeon corridors where you can’t maneuver. For Dawnguard, crossbows deal steady, high damage, and elemental bolts (fire, frost, shock) apply status effects. Pair them with shouts like Slow Time or Unrelenting Force to control crowds.
Location-Specific Notes
In the Soul Cairn, you’ll make a critical dialogue choice with Valerica: take full soul-trap or partial. Full trapping means you lose max magicka temporarily: partial means Valerica carries the burden. Choose based on your build. The Forgotten Vale is a slog, bring healing potions, take breaks at shrines, and explore side paths for unique gear. Check your compass frequently: the dungeon is massive and easy to get turned around. Find Arvak’s skull in the Soul Cairn to unlock a summonable undead horse, fast travel replacement that’s incredibly useful.
Followers and NPCs
Serana becomes a permanent follower after the main questline. She’s marked essential (can’t die), can turn you into a Vampire Lord later if you refused Harkon, and scales with your level. Use her as a tank or secondary damage source. If you join Dawnguard, you can recruit armored trolls from Fort Dawnguard as hireable followers, they’re tanky and deal melee damage reliably. Skyrim Daedric Princes: The explores other questline companions, but Serana is uniquely tied to this arc.
Rewards, Loot, and Unlockables
Dawnguard hands out some of the best loot in Skyrim, and both factions access most of it.
Signature Weapons and Armor
Auriel’s Bow is the flagship reward, uses special Sunhallowed Arrows (create sun explosions) or Bloodcursed Arrows (blot out the sun temporarily). Crossbows become available as a weapon category, with standard, enhanced, and advanced variants. Dawnguard Rune weapons (mace, axe, hammer) detonate against undead. Dragonbone weapons represent the highest non-artifact craftable damage tier: you unlock schematics to forge them. Armor sets include Dawnguard plate (blue and gold), Vampire Royal armor (sleek and menacing), and Auriel’s Shield (massive artifact with sun enchantment).
New Perk Trees and Powers
The Vampire Lord perk tree unlocks entirely new playstyles if you pick vampirism. Even if you don’t commit to the faction, Serana can turn you later, letting you explore the tree without permanent alignment. The base game also gets expanded werewolf perks through Dawnguard’s inclusion, though that’s tangential to the main story.
Locations and Systems
Fort Dawnguard and Castle Volkihar become functional bases with merchants, trainers, and unique NPCs. New radiant quests (infinite vampire hunts, radiant dungeon clears) keep the DLC relevant post-game. The Soul Cairn and Forgotten Vale are permanent dungeons packed with unique loot and exploration secrets. According to Twinfinite’s gaming walkthroughs, exploring every corner of Forgotten Vale yields hidden gear and lore items that reward curiosity, including unique heavy armor and enchanted weapons scattered throughout.
Conclusion
Dawnguard remains Skyrim’s most content-rich expansion over a decade later. Whether you’re hunting vampires with crossbows or commanding bat swarms as a Vampire Lord, the questline delivers a branching narrative with permanent consequences, new systems, and loot that rivals the main game. Start around level 10, pick your faction carefully (both paths are rewarding), and take your time exploring Soul Cairn and Forgotten Vale, the rewards justify the effort. It’s DLC done right: substantial, replayable, and a natural extension of Skyrim’s core experience.
