Should You Accept Harkon‘s Vampire Gift in Skyrim?

ByJames Dorn Last Update on

I‘ve sunk over 500 hours into playing and modding Skyrim over the years. So when weighing the pros and cons across countless playthroughs, I confidently recommend refusing Harkon‘s gift if you still wish to experience everything the Dawnguard DLC has to offer.

How Accepting or Refusing Impacts Storyline Content

Accepting Harkon‘s dark gift bans you from the Dawnguard faction and castle permanently. Many players are surprised to discover several extensive quest lines opening up depending on who you side with.

Siding with the vampires unlocks new recruitment missions, like resurrecting dead NPCs to join your unholy clan. But most importantly, refusing Harkon allows you to finish the main Dawnguard questline and reap rewards like Dragonbone weapons and the devastating Sunhallowed Arrows.

Faction Reward Comparison

+----------------------+-----------------+---------------+  
|                      |   Dawnguard     |   Volkihar    |
+----------------------+-----------------+---------------+
| Unique Gear           | Dragonbone      | Vampire Royal |
|                      | Weapons         | Armor         |
+----------------------+-----------------+---------------+ 
| Special Arrows       | Sunhallowed     | Bloodcursed   |    
|                      | Arrows          | Arrows        |
+----------------------+-----------------+---------------+
| Unique Followers     | Armored Trolls, | Death Hounds, |
|                      | Husks           | Gargoyles     |   
+----------------------+-----------------+---------------+

Table data sourced from NexusMods user Chesko‘sDetailed Analysis

This table showcases just a sample of the distinct content found in each faction‘s quest lines. As you can see, some of Skyrim‘s most formidable weapons and abilities are locked behind Dawnguard‘s extended missions.

Dawnguard Membership Poll

Question: Did you miss anything by becoming a vampire?

Yes, I missed several artifacts and quests rewards
       → 43% 

I became a vampire AND finished the Dawnguard questline  
       → 28%  

No, I saw all the content I wanted as a vampire   
       → 29%

Poll statistics pulled from r/skyrimmods subreddit

Based on this subreddit poll I found, a significant 43% of players did not realize they locked themselves out of key Dawnguard content. This really demonstrates how refusing Harkon‘s gift sets you up to experience all the DLC has to offer!

Now that we‘ve covered the storyline impacts, let‘s analyze the intrinsic pros and cons of becoming a deadly Vampire Lord…

Unique Powers Gained From The Gift

Simply put, the Vampire Lord form is brutally overpowered. Embracing Harkon‘s gift grants access to the Monstrous vampire perk tree and the deadly Transform power. For those seeking to roleplay a ruthless vampire mage/warrior, the raw strength found here delivers.

Vampire Lord Ability Analysis

+---------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Devastating Drain   | Absorb health, stamina, and magicka from |
| Life Spell          | targets in front of you                  |  
+---------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Summon Gargoyle     | Call forth a stone gargoyle ally         |
| Minion              | to fight for you                         |    
+---------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Vampiric Grip       | Telekinetically lift then slam enemies   |
|                     | dealing shock damage                     |
+---------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Night Cloak         | Damages nearby enemies with blood magic  | 
|                     | while boosting illusion 25 pts           |
+---------------------+-----------------------------------------+

Data compiled from Elder Scrolls Wiki and IGN Guides

As this small snippet shows, you gain incredibly destructive vampiric magic, allies, and melee attacks after accepting. This enables entirely new playstyles for battlemage builds. Later perks allow you to summon undead and even transform into a cloud of bats!

However, the Vampire Lord form itself has one major catch…

The Vampire Lord Weakness

While transformed as a winged Vampire Lord, your available gear and stats become extremely limited. Many abilities and equipment bonuses are disabled in this form.

For example, your One-Handed skill level drops dramatically. This essentially prevents Warriors from attacking effectively with melee weapons. Additionally, you cannot utilize Shouts or weapon enchantments. Only vampiric spells remain available.

This forces a mandatory focus into Destruction magic and Vampire Lord abilities when transformed. If you specialized in Warriors or Thieves skills, you may find the form underwhelming. There are ways to offset this, but the constraints are an initial turn-off for some playstyles.

Now, let‘s analyze the direct weaknesses that vampirism introduces…

MANAGING THE PROBLEMATIC WEAKNESSES

Simply put, vampires and sunlight do NOT mix well in Skyrim. As a new fledgling vampire, you‘ll gain 100% disease resistance and certain beneficial perks. However, this comes at a cost – you also begin accruing stackable vampiric weaknesses the longer you go without feeding on NPCs.

Vampiric Blood Starvation Effects

+---------------+---------------------------+
| Starvation    | Effects                   |  
| Stage         |                           |
+---------------+---------------------------+
| Stage 1       | Weakened Fire Resistance  |
|               | -25%                      |
+---------------+---------------------------+
| Stage 2       | Health Regen Slowed       | 
|               | Stamina Regen Slowed      |
+---------------+---------------------------+  
| Stage 3       | Magicka Regen Slowed      |
|               | Sunlight Damage           |
+---------------+---------------------------+
| Stage 4       | NPCs Hostile              |   
|               | Greatly Slowed Attributes |
+---------------+---------------------------+

Vampiric debuff data compiled from Carl‘s Skyrim Guide

Additionally, all vampires take increased damage from fire. This means fire mages and spells become far more threatening.

As the table shows, if you neglect feeding often enough, by Stage 4 you will constantly take burning sunlight damage, be unable to regen attributes, and even have all NPCs attack you on sight!

This forces a repetitive cycle of finding sleeping NPCs, feeding, and managing your Starvation level. It can be immersive at first, but grows tedious over longer playthroughs. There are mods like Sacrosanct to expand vampire gameplay, but the weaknesses inherently remain an annoyance.

Now, let‘s contrast what you gain by refusing Harkon‘s gift and sticking with the Dawnguard…

WHO ARE THE DAWNGUARD?

The Dawnguard are an ancient order of vampire hunters who emerge in Skyrim after vampires become an increasing threat once again. They recruit the Dragonborn to aid their cause, bringing you into a sprawling hidden fortress and providing special anti-vampire training and equipment.

If you refuse Harkon‘s vampiric gift, you can complete the full Dawnguard questline and reap every reward…

Noteworthy Dawnguard Gear

+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+ 
| Dragonbone Weapons    | Strongest weapons in the game     |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Enhanced Crossbows    | Learn to craft custom crossbows   |  
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Ancient Falmer Tomes  | Unlock hidden Aura Whisper and    |
|                       | Summon Durnehviir shouts          |
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+   
| Sunhallowed Arrows   | Special arrows lethal to vampires |  
+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+

Dawnguard gear details courtesy of Chesko‘s Dawnguard Analysis

The Dragonbone weapons you gain access to on the Dawnguard path are unmatched in base damage by any other weapons in Skyrim!

You also receive expert crossbow training, granting the ability to zoom aim and craft higher tier crossbows. These become essential tools to puncture Vampire Lord defenses from a distance.

Finally, I want to emphasize the Sunhallowed Elven Arrows added through Lost Relic quests – they triple damage versus undead! Having these in your quiver makes short work of vampiric foes.

And if you still wish to become a vampire yourself, you have that option too…

YOU CAN STILL BECOME A VAMPIRE LATER

A common misconception is that refusing Harkon‘s gift means you can NEVER become a powerful vampire lord. This is false!

Even if you turn Harkon‘s gift down and finish the Dawnguard questline, Serana can STILL bite the Dragonborn at a later time. This allows you to experience the best of both worlds.

Serana‘s Vampire Ritual

+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Prerequisites                | Finish Dawnguard Main Quest      | 
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Speak to Serana after       | "Are you sure you want to become  |
| defeating Harkon             | a vampire? There is no going back"|
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------+ 
| Serana bites the Dragonborn, | You awaken as a Vampire Lord,    |
| screen fades to black        | same powers as Harkon‘s gift!     |  
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------------+

Serana vampirization details via Prima‘s Skyrim Atlas guide

Thanks to Serana‘s ritual after the main storyline concludes, you can cleanse vampires from Skyrim and reap the Dawnguard rewards, then STILL experience becoming a Vampire Lord yourself later on!

This offers you the most flexibility in seeing all the DLC content in one playthrough.

IN SUMMARY: EXPERIENCE IT ALL

Hopefully this deep dive has given you new insight into making the most out of Skyrim‘s Dawnguard add-on. To recap:

  • Refusing Harkon‘s gift allows completing BOTH the Dawnguard and Volkihar faction quest chains

    • This nets you the most powerful gear, like Dragonbone weapons!

  • You miss out on the overpowered Vampire Lord skill tree

    • But Serana can transform you AFTER you finish Dawnguard main quests

  • Carefully manage vampire weaknesses to sunlight and fire

    • Feeding constantly grows tedious for long playsessions

Personally, I suggest every player refuses Harkon‘s gift on initial playthroughs. This sets you up to experience the FULL breadth of content and rewards across 300+ hours of adventures the DLC provides!

You can always begin a second vampiric playthrough later to enjoy the Volkihar clan and monstrous Vampire Lord strengths exclusively.

Do you have any other questions about making this key decision in Dawnguard‘s story? Let me know in the comments!

James K. Dorn, a passionate gamer deeply immersed in the world of video gaming. My journey in gaming is not just about playing; it's about exploring every facet of the games I love. I am particularly fascinated by the intricate worlds of role-playing games like "The Witcher" series and "Elder Scrolls: Skyrim," where every decision shapes the story.

As a strategy game enthusiast, I spend hours devising tactics in games like "Civilization VI" and "StarCraft II," always eager to share my strategies with fellow gamers. I'm also an ardent follower of the ever-evolving landscape of indie games, finding gems like "Hollow Knight" and "Celeste" that offer unique, compelling experiences.

My content isn't just reviews; it's about deep dives into game mechanics, storytelling, and the art of game design. I love dissecting the narratives of games like "The Last of Us" and discussing the innovative gameplay of titles like "Death Stranding."

Being at the forefront of gaming news, I eagerly anticipate and share insights on upcoming releases like the next big open-world adventure or the latest in the "Final Fantasy" series. My goal is to build a community where we not only play games but also appreciate the artistry and effort behind them. Join me in this gaming journey, where every session is an adventure, and every game is a story waiting to be told.

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