Harkon's actually a terrible vampire lord and the quest never lets you realize it

[DragonbornVet]

I'm replaying Dawnguard on my fifth run and just hit Bloodline, and I'm noticing something that bugs me. Harkon spends the whole questline talking about this grand plan to blot out the sun with Auriel's Bow, right? But he's... kind of incompetent at actually being a vampire lord.

Like, he's been leading the Volkihar clan for what, centuries? And his big strategy is "get the bow, shoot the sun." That's it. He doesn't have a backup plan. He doesn't seem to know anything about the bow except that it exists. He's basically relying on you, a random person he just met, to do all the actual legwork while he sits in his castle.

Compare that to someone like Miraak - that guy had a whole operation going, actual followers, a plan that was already in motion. Harkon just... exists and complains about the sun. Serana's more competent than he is and she spent like 4000 years in a soul trap.

The quest never lets you call him out on this though. You can't tell him his plan is stupid. You just either go along with it or you side with the Dawnguard instead. And if you side with Dawnguard, Isran's the one who actually has to explain why Harkon's a threat - Harkon himself never does a good job of it.

Anyone else feel like Dawnguard would've been way better if you could actually negotiate with Harkon or convince him his plan sucks, instead of it just being "vampire side or human side" with no middle ground?

 

[NordOfSolitude]

You're hitting on something that's bugged me too, tbh. Harkon's threat level really does depend on how much you're willing to suspend disbelief about his competence. Like, yeah - he's supposedly this ancient, powerful vampire lord, but his entire plan hinges on you going to Forgotten Vale, solving all the puzzles he couldn't figure out, and then handing him the bow. That's not a mastermind, that's just... hoping someone else does your homework.

The Miraak comparison is spot-on though. Miraak actually has Apocrypha backing him, a whole network of cultists already in place, and he's actively corrupting people when you show up. He's a threat independent of your involvement. Harkon just needs you to not be lazy, and somehow that's supposed to feel like a climactic conflict.

That said, I think the middle-ground negotiation thing wouldn't have fit the DLC's design. Dawnguard's whole structure is faction choice - you either commit to the Dawnguard or to Harkon pretty early on. Opening up a "convince Harkon his plan is dumb" route would've required them to write a whole alternate ending, probably new dialogue, maybe even a neutral faction path. That's a lot of work for a DLC that was already pretty packed. Still sucks that you can't at least call him out during conversations though. Even just a sarcastic dialogue option would've helped.

What bothered you more - the incompetence itself, or that the game never acknowledges it?