- Head to Fort Dawnguard after purchasing the Dawnguard DLC, and talk to the head of the Dawnguard. Then accept Isran's quest.
- Travel to Dimhollow Crypt and defeat the enemies inside, including Lokil. Then activate the circular pillar, solve the puzzle, and talk to Serana.
- Head to Castle Volkihar and speak to Lord Harkon. When prompted, choose the option to become a vampire.
Becoming a Dawnguard
Purchase the Dawnguard DLC. Before you can join the vampire faction, you must first become a member of the Dawnguard. It should be noted that Dawnguard is a DLC (Downloadable Content), meaning it must either be purchased online, or bought as an extended edition of the game in order for the player to be able to access any Dawnguard content. Your character must also be at least level 8 to follow the missions in the DLC.
Talk to any guard in Skyrim. Guards can be found in all major holds, and even wandering about on patrols. Simply approach one and hit the appropriate button to speak with them, and they will mention the Dawnguard This interaction will update your quest log with the task to speak with the leader of Dawnguard. A quest marker will appear on your map, showing you where the leader is located, in Fort Dawnguard.
Head to Fort Dawnguard. Simply fast travel to a location in the southwestern corner of the map, and follow the quest marker on the compass at the top of your screen. To find Fort Dawnguard, you must first travel through the Dayspring Cave. It is embedded in a mountain face, and adorned with two torches to mark the entrance Head inside the cave and walk through the ravine, heading straight until you reach a large pond with waterfalls flowing into it. Keep to the right, and head up the dirt path. Follow this path until you reach Fort Dawnguard. Enter the looming fortress by following the winding path up to its double doors.
Talk to the head of the Dawnguard. As soon as you enter the fort you will see Isran, head of the Dawnguard, talking to another member. Hit the appropriate button to interact with him. He explains the Dawnguard’s situation and mentions that they are desperately in need of more members.
Agree to Isran’s request. Isran will talk about investigating the castle of vampires for the Dawnguard. Agree to do this for him, and he will give you a crossbow, a weapon only accessible through the DLC, and the next quest, “Awakening,” will begin.
Completing Awakening
Go to Dimhollow Crypt. After talking with Isran, your quest log will update and direct you to investigate Dimhollow Crypt. By opening up your main menu, and selecting “Awakening” as an active quest, you will have a white arrow on your compass, directing you to Dimhollow Crypt. On your world map, Dimhollow crypt will show as a cave; it is located to the southwest of the Frostmere Crypt and to the north of The Lord Stone. If you have previously travelled to either of these two locations, simply open the world map using the appropriate button, select the location of your preference, and select the “Fast Travel” option when prompted.
Enter the crypt through the hole carved out in the mountainside. Once inside, you will overhear two vampires, accompanied by a death hound. Once they notice your presence, they will attack. Try using the crossbow given to you by the Dawnguard, as it is particularly effective against vampires.
Go through the crypt. Continue through the crypt by entering the room across from where you encountered the vampires. Inside will be a chain you must pull to open the gate at the other side of the room. Head back into the main room and enter the newly opened part of the crypt, where another vampire is waiting to attack you. Defeat this vampire and his skeletons, and head down the stairs on the right. After taking care of any lingering vampires, head down the next staircase, which leads to a room with three gated doors. Each of these can be opened with their corresponding pull chains. Going from left to right, the final chain is the one that needs to be pulled to enter the next chamber. The next chamber within the crypt is filled with corpses of frostbite spiders, as well as two live vampires that will attack on sight. Continue past this chamber until you reach a small wooden door, which leads to the Dimhollow Cavern
Defeat Lokil. Once you enter Dimhollow Cavern, you will hear the vampire Lokil interrogating Vigilant Adalvald, who is killed before revealing anything. After Adalvald is killed, Lokil, his thrall, and another vampire will attack you on sight. The thralls are fairly weak and can be easily defeated by using fire spells or arrows. However, Lokil is a bit stronger. He still shares the universal vampire weakness of fire, so use a fire-enchanted weapon or the fireball spell to win in a matter of minutes.
Activate the circular pillar. Once you have successfully defeated Lokil and his underlings, approach the circular pillar located in the center of the chamber. Once you are standing over it, hit the appropriate button. A spike will emerge and prick your hand as a bright purple light emanates from the floor.
Solve the brazier puzzle. Push each of the braziers in the appropriate direction so that they touch the end of the purple light within their path. Once you have a brazier properly placed, the purple light will extend to the next one. Simply connect the braziers via the purple light to solve the puzzle.
Talk to Serana. Once they are all connected, the center of the structure will lower, revealing a woman carrying an Elder Scroll. She introduces herself as a vampire named Serana and requests that you take her to Castle Volkihar, her family home. Serana will become your new companion and will follow you out of the cave.
Exit the crypt. After freeing Serana, exit the crypt by crossing the stone bridge on the opposite side of the room. Head up to the door on the right, and enter a small chamber. Finally, head through the gate, which leads into an amphitheater with many undead creatures lurking around. After defeating them, head out through the gated door at the opposite end of the room. Once you leave, the quest will be completed.
Joining the Volkihar Vampire Faction
View the new quest. Once you and Serana have safely escaped the crypt, it is time to journey to the home of the vampire lords. After completing the “Awakening” quest, a new quest called “Bloodline” will be added to your quest menu. Making it your active quest will give you a white arrow to follow on your compass.
Go to Castle Volkihar. Castle Volkihar is located in the most northwestern corner of the map. The best way to journey there is to take a boat at the Icewater Jetty. To reach the Icewater Jetty, ask a ferryman to take you to this location. Ferrymen can be found on the docks of Dawnstar, Solitude, and Windhelm. As these three locations are major points of interest on the map, you can easily fast travel to them via the world map. The trip will cost 500 gold. Once you arrive on the dock, step onto the large boat, and hit the appropriate prompt button to be taken to the castle.
Talk to Lord Harkon. Once you step off the boat, follow the hill path to the cobblestone steps up the castle. The watchman will immediately open the gates once he sees Serana. Upon your arrival, there will be a bit of commotion as Lord Harkon, head of the castle, reunites with his daughter. After exchanging pleasantries, Lord Harkon will address you, thanking you for bringing back his daughter. Lord Harkon will give you an ultimatum: stay with the Dawnguard but be forbidden to ever enter the castle again, or become a Volkihar vampire.
Become a vampire. If you choose to become a vampire, Lord Harkon will bite you, and the screen will fade to black. When you come to, you and Lord Harkon will be in the Volkihar Cathedral, where he will teach you how to use your newfound powers. If you were a werewolf previously, you will lose your lycanthrope powers to become a vampire.
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