To drink Vrakhir blood in The Blood of Dawnwalker, you need a specific source of Vrakhir blood, not ordinary enemy blood. I’ve spent quite a few hours in the game staring at the locked nodes in the Vampirism tree, wondering why spending skill points and drinking regular peasant blood wasn’t doing the trick. Half of your high-tier night kit is locked behind a strict rule: you must drink Vrakhir blood to unlock them. Increasing your Corruption by feasting on normal targets upgrades basic skills, but these premier abilities require feeding on Vrakhiri bosses or chugging their blood vials obtained by different means.
How to Drink Vrakhir Blood in Blood of Dawnwalker
The confusing part is that the game does not treat every vampire kill the same way. The simplest way to score this high-grade plasma is to hunt down the Boyars, defeat them, and then drink their blood. Ripping open the throats of these bosses unlocks their main abilities without spending skill points:
- Ambrus: Grants Scarlet Shield
- Bakir: Grants Shadowstorm
- Xanthe: Grants Blood Surge
- Brencis: Grants Piercing Shriek
If you miss them during early court interactions, you’ll fight these enemies again in the endgame, but by then, unlocking the core mechanics is hardly any good to your build. You can also skip waiting for boss fights altogether by finding legendary blood vials during side quests, looting Murohn dens at night, or clearing out target camps. Consuming a vial is like a skill manual—it either unlocks the ability for you or levels it up if you already have it.
Vrakhiri Blood Locations by Skill
Shadowstorm
Want to grab the skills early? You don’t need to wait for the main Bakir fight in The Lunar Game. Just finish the three Leech Collector quests, blow up the barrels at the camp, and defeat The Bloodletter boss to get a Vial of Bakir’s Blood. Alternatively, you can complete the “Xanthe’s Recruiters: Come Home” quest to get one without the extra hassle.
Piercing Shriek
Aside from draining Brencis, you can collect his blood automatically by completing Our Rotten Roots quest regardless of your choices or finish Xanthe’s Recruiters: Taste of Power for a Vial of Brencis’s Blood. You can also find a hidden phial inside a chest in Brencis’s old hideout on Mount Balaur during The Beast of Balaur quest. Enter the cave to trigger the quest, defeat the boss, use Shadowstep to climb the cave wall, and search the chest using Focus Mode.
Blood Surge
To get Xanthe’s power early without fighting her in The Cycle of Love, head to Svartrau Cathedral during A Monk and a Saint. Go inside during the day, bribe the young Acolyte in the northwest corner with 25 Denarii, and inspect the book on the table to take the Treasury Key. Exit to the courtyard, cross into the treasury building, go upstairs, and check the golden casket on a table to grab a Vial of Xanthe’s Blood.
Mesmerize
This one doesn’t rely on the main Boyars. You can get Mesmerize directly (or acquire a Vial of Lacra’s Blood) by completing The Night of Horrors quest or eating the mandrake at the end of the run.
Scarlet Shield
While killing Ambrus during The Gilded Gauntlet unlocks this defensive passive, you can easily obtain a Vial of Ambrus’s Blood beforehand once you complete Xanthe’s Recruiters: Just a Bit More or Blood Guard disruption missions.
Explore more walkthroughs, quest solutions, choice guides, builds, and ability guides in our The Blood of Dawnwalker walkthrough and wiki page.
