Hey guys, So I actually need some actual advice for my character. I'm playing as a Dunmer mage and I'm almost to the part in DG where you choose Vampire Lord or DG. I was thinking whe I made the character that I was going to play as a vampire. I even made a plan on how to negate the debuffs (enchanting +100% magic, stamina, health), but now I'm not so sure. If I do become a vampire, I will probably never turn into the VL form because it's WAY too overpowered and you can't level up when you are in the form. So now I'm wondering why I even wanted to be a VL in the first place. Any advice?

Dunmer have fire resistance, so it counter acts the fire weakness a little.

All in all, I myself usually do whatever makes sense in roleplaying, or just...I dunno...feels right.

Fairly Opinion based. I do not like it in Vanilla all that much, but the Better Vampires Mod helps make it completely worth it, especially for a mage or Assassin character.

So far the only reason that I would become a vampire right now is for lore and because of Volkihar Castle (AWESOME). But I wouldn't use literally any of the powers and stuff that vampirism would give me.

I always join the Volkihar just for RP'ing reasons. Very rarely do I ever transform into a VL. I just think the vamps look bad ass.

I don't know if VL is overpowered. I recall getting backed into a corner and being beat to death by bandits cause I couldn't fight back.

Anyway I had to make an evil character just to do that storyline. When it was done, he retired. Ironically he was also a Dunmer.

I really like how they look too. And just the lore behind them. But the debuffs are just so much. Its kind of a pain. And that noise when you go in the sun. like nails on a chalkboard

+1000 Better Vampires is a must have mod for a vampire character.

Worth it if you pursue a very specific build (stealthy illusion mage).

But then again, Vampire Lord form makes you godlike regardless of your build. Definitely worth it, IMO.

A thousand times this...

I have the PC version, but my all powerful mage is on xbox (so are all of my DLCs)

Couldn't agree more on Better Vampires, I hated the vanilla vamps but have recently(ish) discovered the sheer joy of vamps & mods.

That said, I rarely if ever transform into vampire lord, but love everything about playing a vampire.

Dark elves make good vampire in my opinion. You could focus on fire mage type of character and call on your ancestor's wrath.

Necromage is pretty awesome with a vampire but levelling restoration is an enormous pain in the ass.

Vampire Lord form is pretty weak if your base character is strong. Difficulty probably plays a role, on legendary you'll get carved up in VL form.

For vanilla vampires it really doesn't help much unless you use sneak/illusion. Frost resistance usually doesn't make up for fire weakness, but for a dunmer it's a different story. You'd be more powerful but you'd need to feed which can get annoying. If you're planning to really go at it hardcoe it's probably worth it, but if you're a more casual gamer the Dawnguard side is easier.

If you're using mods vampires can be great. Aside from Better Vampires, there are other mods that give vampires special bonuses (Frostfall and Realistic Needs and Diseases are examples). You may want to get some mods that add difficulty to make up for the increased power of being a vampire.

As Shadow Titan said, it's best if you're a magic-based character.

PROS:

1. Being a Vampire Lord makes you very powerful. It can save your life if you retreat and go into your vampire lord form.

2. Unlike a werewolf, you can use this power anytime you want, as many times as you want, day or night.

3. Sprinting as a vampire lord makes you move faster than a horse.

4. The bonuses you get from the Necromage perk helps a lot with enchanting.

5. Even while in the sunlight, having magic regeneration robes/armor and taking advantage of the Restoration perk "Respite" will keep all of your stats at 100% rather effectively

6. Even in the daytime, you will slowly regenerate health and stamina while in Vampire Lord form.

CONS:

1. The sun is your worst enemy and will hinder you every day.

2. If you take advantage of the blood-stained arrows, you must shoot the sun every day. (That was a big disappointment for me)

3. Shooting the sun isn't always an option. There are several places in Skyrim that are too cloudy to even see the sun, but you still have the effects of the sun's power draining you.

4. If you are not a magic-based character, you are forced to run into dungeons to recover.

All in all, I would highly suggest becoming a vampire, especially if you're a magic-based character, but it's best to join the Vampires right from the beginning. You can still be a vampire as a combat or stealth-based character but you'll be much more powerful with magic on your side.

Sunlight? Pfft... Ring of the Erudite

seriously, that ring is godly powerfull.