I love my Necro Vampire. I’ve only been playing Elder Scrolls Online for about a year. My High Elf Magicka Necro Vampire is so much fun to play around with. But there’s a lot that I didn’t understand before I chose Necro and Vampire.

Because I’m still fairly new to Elder Scrolls Online, I didn’t realize that Necromancer is a DLC class. And Vampire is a Chapter (miniature DLC pack) skill line. My Necro is the first character I created, and I think the first week of playing I saw someone ask in zone chat for a vampire bite. Immediately, I was intrigued, so I asked in the guild and poked around online to learn about being a vampire in ESO.

How to Become a Vampire in ESO

There are three ways to become a vampire in ESO. You can be bitten by a Bloodfiend at night. A quest to activate your vampirism will start once you’re bitten. Or you can buy the Vampirism Curse in the Crowns Store for 1500 crowns in the Skill Lines section of Upgrades. I wouldn’t recommend it, though. Save your crowns and get someone to bite you. Yes, the third way to become a vampire is to be bitten by a player who has vampirism. It has to be consensual, of course. And you can only be bitten at a Vampire Blood Ritual Site. Many players hang around a vampire alter in ESO waiting for players to ask for a bite.

So, where are the vampire ritual sites in ESO? There are three Vampire Ritual sites: The Rift, Bangkorai, and Reaper’s March—one vampire site per faction.

Once you become a Vampire, life as a regular player will be just a bit different. Granted, this life isn’t for everyone. But for many of us, it’s just so much fun! Any race or class can become a vampire in Elder Scrolls Online. However, there’s a lot to take into consideration. And this is my experience as a Vampire Necro in ESO.

Vampire in the City

As we know, cities and towns have rules. No killing, no stealing, no raising the dead, blah blah blah. All but two Vampire abilities are considered criminal acts. Need to be careful with what keys or buttons you press. If you’re playing on PC, having a gaming mouse for MMOs is super helpful here.

Humans are delicious. As you chow down on unsuspecting humans, your Vampire stage increases, up to level 4. Each stage has its pros and cons. I mean, the more you feed, the stronger you become, but it will cost you your humanity, i.e., increased fire damage taken, health recovery reduced, and increased costs of your abilities. Most townspeople will not interact with you if you are at stage 4, and that includes merchants and stablemasters. And each stage lasts four hours. Yes, FOUR (4) HOURS. For many players who try out Vampirism, it can be a point of extreme frustration and many will cure their vampirism just to function in-game normally.

One way to get around this is to invest in a Basin of Loss, which reduces Vampirism by one stage. The Basin of Loss is part of the Furnishing Bundle: Vampiric Libations in the Crown Store. It comes with both the Basin of Loss and a Soul-Sworn Thrall who gives himself willingly for you to feed on to increase your vampiric stage. Players can also drink Purifying Bloody Mara to reduce their Vampirism by one stage. And if you’re extremely patient, you can simply wait four hours for your stage to drop off.

Vampire in the Wilds of Tamriel

For a while, I just wandered aimlessly, killing stuff, but not very effectively. I was just enjoying the game and scenery, like most newbie players. But after deciding it was time to start running dungeons and, eventually, running Veteran Dungeons, I had to make some changes.

Like any other class, there are some skills and abilities that just work better for all-around functionality. Alcast has an amazing guide for a Magicka Necromancer Vampire that I used. I did tweak some things a bit to better suit my personal playstyle, though.

In addition to class and weapons skills and gear, there are two Guilds’ skills that complement the Vampire build best. And, therefore, I made sure to level those guilds up quickly: Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood. If you’re a clumsy people eater and you tend to get caught, Swiftly Forgotten, Timely Escape, Veil of Shadows from Thieves Guild, and Scales of Pitiless Justice from Dark Brotherhood are super helpful. Of course, most guild skill lines have passive abilities that are useful overall. However, Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood seem to be more complementary to the vampire existence.

How to Make Friends as a Vampire in ESO

ESO’s Blackwood DLC gave us companions or allies to travel and quest with. Companions are definitely fun and helpful to have around. But for a Vampire Necro, you have to pick the right friends—friends who will have your back no matter what. Mirri is okay with most forms of debauchery, including your vampire diet. However, ESO High Isle’s newest companion, Ember, is a bit more enthusiastic. And she doesn’t freak out if you accidentally use Blade of Woe.

All in all, being a vampire is so much fun. Sure there are some downfalls to being a vampire. For example, fire hurts a lot more than usual and most townspeople will not talk to you if you are in Stage 4. However, it all comes down to whether you think vampirism is worth it. And there are so many ways to be a vampire. I’ve watched friends and content creators with their stam-build vampires, etc. And they look like so much fun. But I have to say, I don’t think I’d personally enjoy playing a non-Magicka Necro Vampire. Next, I’ll make a werewolf.