Fort Dawnguard as a player home is actually way better than people think

[NordOfSolitude]

I'm on my second Dawnguard playthrough and I just realized nobody ever talks about actually living at Fort Dawnguard after you join up. Like yeah, Volkihar Castle is flashy and has that whole aesthetic thing going, but Fort Dawnguard has actual storage, a bed, an alchemy table, an enchanting station... everything you need. And it's way less cramped than the castle.

Plus there's something kind of satisfying about claiming the fort as your base when you're actively hunting vampires. You're not hiding in some ancient ruin, you're literally headquartered at the Dawnguard stronghold. Feels more like you're actually part of something instead of just passing through.

Am I the only one who prefers it? Most people seem to rush through Dawnguard and then either abandon the fort or go full vampire and move to Volkihar, but I think Fort Dawnguard gets slept on as an actual functional player home.

 

[DragonbornVet]

Nah, you're onto something. Fort Dawnguard is genuinely functional in a way a lot of player homes aren't - you've got everything you need right there without the bloat. Volkihar Castle looks cool but it's a maze and half the rooms are pointless. The fort's layout is clean, the crafting stations are actually accessible, and yeah, there's something that just works about being based there when you're actively doing the vampire hunting questline.

The main reason people sleep on it is probably just that they finish Dawnguard and move on, or they're already committed to a home elsewhere. Plus if you go vampire side the game kind of nudges you toward the castle. But if you're actually playing through as a Dawnguard member and sticking with it, the fort makes way more sense than fast-traveling back to Whiterun or wherever every time you need to craft something.

Only real downside I've run into is the fort itself is kind of out of the way if you're doing other stuff in Skyrim - it's a trek from most quest hubs. But if you're on a vampire-hunting focused playthrough that's not really an issue.