Dawnguard's vampire perks are way better designed than the werewolf tree

[NordOfSolitude]

I'm on my second Dawnguard playthrough and I just realized how much more interesting the vampire perk progression actually is compared to what we got with werewolves in the base game. Like, the vampire lord tree feels like it's constantly giving you new tools - better drain spells, summons, invisibility, the ability to turn into a swarm of bats. Each perk feels like it opens up a different playstyle.

Werewolf is just... more damage, more armor, longer transformation. That's it. You get some perks that let you do slightly different things but it's all fundamentally the same gameplay loop. Vampire lord at least makes you feel like you're unlocking actual abilities as you level the skill.

Am I the only one who thinks this way or does anyone else feel like the vampire side got way more love in terms of mechanical depth? Makes me understand why so many people go Harkon's route even if the Dawnguard questline is better written.

 

[DragonbornVet]

Nah, you're not alone on this. Vampire Lord tree is definitely more varied - the drain spells scale with perks, you get summons, the invisibility angle, swarm form is a whole different engagement tool. It's got actual progression that changes how you play.

Werewolf is way more one-note though. Power attacks do more damage, you last longer, you get some bleed effects or whatever - but yeah, it's all just "hit harder and don't die as fast." The perks don't really open up new approaches the way Vampire Lord's do. Even the Totems of Skyrim stuff from Dawnguard doesn't fundamentally change the playstyle, it's just passive buffs while you're transformed.

That said, I think werewolf gets undersold because the base game Companions questline was rushed compared to what Dawnguard got. If they'd had the same dev time and budget, who knows - maybe we'd have gotten more creative perks like the vampire side did. But as it stands, yeah, Vampire Lord is mechanically way more interesting to level up and use. Makes it a genuinely tough call between the two questlines instead of just picking Dawnguard for the story.