Necromage exploit is way more fun than actually playing a vampire

[DragonbornVet]

I know this is probably controversial but hear me out. I've been doing a vampire playthrough on my 3rd run through the AE content and I kept getting frustrated with how clunky Vampire Lord actually feels in combat. The perks are all over the place, the perk tree doesn't flow, and half the time I'm just casting the same spells I'd cast as a regular mage anyway.

Then I remembered the Necromage perk and just... went full undead build instead. Turned myself into a vampire, pumped Restoration to get the perk that boosts damage against undead (which now applies to me), and suddenly I'm doing way more damage with regular spells than I ever did trying to make Vampire Lord work. Plus I get to keep my mobility instead of being locked in that clunky transformation.

It's basically a better version of what the DLC was trying to sell me and it doesn't even require Dawnguard perks. The game accidentally made the exploit more fun than the intended playstyle, which is kind of hilarious. Anyone else just skip Vampire Lord entirely and go this route instead?

 

[NordOfSolitude]

I get the appeal, but I'd push back a bit here. Necromage is strong, yeah - that perk is genuinely one of the best scaling tools in the game - but you're kind of sidestepping what makes Vampire Lord actually interesting once you commit to it.

The clunkiness you're feeling is real at first, but the perk tree gets way better once you're investing in the actual Vampire Lord perks. The ones that reduce spell costs, boost unarmed damage, let you drain health / magicka / stamina with melee attacks - those change how the form plays. You're not supposed to just spam the same spells. You're supposed to be a melee caster hybrid, and once you lean into that it flows way better than a straight mage.

Plus there's the whole roleplay angle. Harkon's questline, the Castle Volkihar stuff, the Soul Cairn - Dawnguard was built around actually being a vampire, not just having the buff. The Necromage thing feels more like a cheese strat to me, even if it's technically not an exploit. You're getting the damage bonus without actually engaging with what the DLC added.

That said, if you're having more fun with it, play how you want. But I'd genuinely recommend trying a full Vampire Lord build one more time - maybe on a fresh character - and actually specing into the transformation perks instead of treating it like a side thing. It clicks way different once you do.