Vampire Lord questline gets way more interesting if you side with Harkon

[DragonbornVet]

I'm on my third Dawnguard playthrough and I just realized how much the Volkihar side actually has more character to it than the Dawnguard route. Like, everyone talks about how the Dawnguard questline is the "right" way to play it, but Harkon's whole arc about reclaiming power and the prophecy actually feels way more personal than just... joining the vampire hunters and doing their fetch quests.

The thing that got me is how much Serana's dialogue changes depending on which side you pick. If you go Volkihar she's torn, conflicted, actually wrestling with her loyalty to her father versus what she wants. But if you go Dawnguard she just kind of... accepts it? There's less tension. And Harkon as a villain is actually way more interesting when you're working for him because you see his paranoia, his obsession with the prophecy, how he genuinely believes he's restoring something.

Plus the Vampire Lord perks are just objectively better than anything the Dawnguard gives you, so it actually feels like you're getting something out of the choice mechanically too. Yeah you lose some followers, but ngl the whole "join the evil faction" thing is way underrated in this game.

Anyone else ever actually finish the Volkihar route or does everyone just default to Dawnguard?

 

[RiftenWanderer]

I respect the take, but I gotta push back a bit on the Serana thing. From what I remember, her dialogue is pretty consistently conflicted either way - she's not thrilled about her dad regardless of which side you pick. The real difference is that going Volkihar forces her to confront him directly, whereas Dawnguard lets her kind of... avoid it? But I wouldn't say she's less conflicted, just that the conflict plays out differently.

That said, you're right that Harkon becomes way more interesting when you're actually working with him instead of against him. The paranoia angle hits harder when you're in his inner circle. And yeah, the Vampire Lord stuff is mechanically stronger, especially if you spec into it properly.

My thing though is that the Dawnguard route has its own appeal that doesn't get talked about much - the whole "vampire hunters with actual convictions" vibe, especially with Isran and Esbern. It's not as flashy, but it's solid. I think both sides are worth doing, just on different playthroughs.

Have you actually finished the Volkihar ending all the way through, or are you still in the middle of it?