To put it simply, you should drain Bakir’s blood in The Blood of Dawnwalker. With that, you walk away with his armor off his body regardless of what you do, but drinking his blood unlocks the Shadowstorm Vampiric Ability that you cannot get any other way and unlocks another choice involving Bakir, where you can let his soul live in Coen’s head. Killing him in the arena gives you no extra loot and permanently locks you out of the skill.
Should You Drain or Kill Bakir in Blood of Dawnwalker?
| Choice | Outcome | Unique Ability Unlocked |
|---|---|---|
| Drain Bakir | Coen and Bakir teleport to the Anachora in a cutscene; allows you to invite or leave his soul. | Shadowstorm Vampirism Ability (Slows down time around you) |
| Kill Bakir | Ends the encounter immediately with no extra perks. | None (Ability is permanently missed) |
Note: The option to Drain Bakir only appears if you defeat him at night. You get to loot Bakir’s Armor from his corpse either way.
Draining Bakir’s blood gives you instant access to the Shadowstorm skill that slows down time in a localized radius around Coen. It’s a crucial crowd-control panic button when you get swarmed by aggressive mobs or need to freeze a tough boss to land free hit-and-run combos.
If you choose to kill him, there will be no extra rewards like a unique weapon, bonus gold, or exclusive story advantages. Leaving him as a corpse without feeding on him just throws away a time-slowing ability for no obvious reason. Drinking his blood also increases your Corruption level, which advances your vampiric progress without putting you at a disadvantage.
For a first playthrough, I would drain him every time. The kill option is particularly worth it for a role-play decision when you want Coen to finish the bad guy on the spot.
When Does this Bakir Choice Appear?
The execution dialogue prompt appears right after depleting Bakir’s health bar across two possible scenarios:
- At the end of The Lunar Game quest: Once you confront Bakir in his vault following the labyrinth Lunar tournament. The quest starts after you build up his Anger in the court system by interfering with his operations around Rockfalls, Svartrau City, and The Silts. Once his anger meter maxes out, Farkas will approach you and start The Lunar Game.
- During the Castle Raid: If you skipped or spared him during the quest, you will fight him as part of Brencis’s court defense at the castle. Beating him here triggers the same drain/kill choice, provided you do that at night.
If you defeat this Vrakhir boss during the day, the game will automatically default to executing him, robbing you of the Shadowstorm unlock and the Anachora story content.
No matter what choice you make, you will get these rewards after the boss fight:
- Bakir’s Armor: Legendary medium chest piece looted off his body.
- Vrakhiric Legendary Bracers: Found inside the nearby treasure chest in his vault.
- Farkas’s Family Ring: Key quest item collected from inside the treasury to complete Farkas’s storyline.
Still working through Bakir or the rest of Coen’s vampire hunt? Our The Blood of Dawnwalker wiki page brings together Bakir’s quest guides, boss fights, choices, gear, abilities, and the other major decisions across Vale Sangora.
