Is it Better to Be a Werewolf or Vampire in Skyrim? A Passionate Gamer‘s In-Depth Guide

As a passionate Skyrim player with over 800 hours across multiple playthroughs, I‘m often asked: should I become a werewolf or vampire? And after extensively playing as both, I confidently say that being a werewolf is the ideal choice for most players.

Werewolves Offer Lower Maintenance Gameplay

A major advantage werewolves have over vampires is far lower maintenance requirements. Vampirism in Skyrim introduces major weaknesses to sunlight and the constant need to feed on NPCs to maintain progress. Fail to feed regularly, and vampires rapidly lose bonuses.

Vampires in Skyrim face harsh penalties if you don‘t feed regularly (Image source: Pexels)

Werewolves face no sunlight penalties and also don‘t need to feed to maintain progression. The only main weakness is a moderate vulnerability to silver weapons. Otherwise, lycanthropy is a set-it-and-forget-it style gift. I love that it integrates seamlessly into adventures without micromanagement.

Werewolf Form Offers Superior Combat Strength

When it comes to raw combat potential while transformed, the werewolf easily defeats Skyrim‘s vampire lord form. Just look at this comparison of key combat stats:

As a passionate gamer, I can definitively say the massive health and stamina boosts werewolves receive make them virtually unstoppable forces of destruction. And extra melee damage and speed only enhance the shredding. I‘ve defeated countless foes without dropping below half health!

Meanwhile, vampire lords must rely more on casting vampire drain spells and Using unique abilities rather than raw stats. This suits some playstyles but provides less universally overpowering benefits than werewolves in my experience.

Werewolves Better Complement Warrior and Melee Builds

Given their fearsome combat upgrades, it‘s no surprise werewolves naturally excel when paired with warrior, two-hander, and melee builds. The bonuses take such builds to even greater heights. I‘ve adventured with companions who can‘t even land a hit before I tear every enemy apart as a werewolf!

Werewolves make formidable warriors (Image source: Pexels)

Now, mage and magic-focused builds hugely benefit from vampirism. The vampire drain spells and magicka buffs complement such playstyles perfectly. But in my 800 hours, spellsword and magic builds are far less common than weapon-focused ones.

So while vampires can be phenomenal when tailored to a mage, werewolves pair well with vastly more builds. This inherent flexibility gives them an advantage for most players.

My Take: Choose Werewolves Unless You Love Magic

While vampires can be incredibly fun and challenging to play for mage builds, werewolves simply overpower them for general gameplay. The minimal weaknesses, incredible combat boosts, and flexible synergies make lycanthropy a can‘t-miss gift.

That said, I still sometimes enjoy vampiric mage playthroughs! But 90% of the time, I happily chow down on hearts as a werewolf. And I firmly believe most Skyrim fans will have the most exciting adventures doing the same.

So unless you adore magic synergy above all else, join me in the woods howling under the moonlight. You won‘t regret embracing the inner beast!

Nighttime adventures are best as a werewolf (Image source: Pexels)