Choosing between claws and blades in The Blood of Dawnwalker comes down to when and how you fight. Coen is human by day, relying on steel or bare fists, but transforms at night and uses his razor-sharp vampire claws that shred enemies at point-blank range. Claws are better than basic swords early in the game, but late-game steel shifts that advantage. Swords can be used throughout the day and night, so they offer more flexibility as you progress.
Should You Use Claws or Swords in The Blood of Dawnwalker?
For the early to mid game, claws generally win out during nighttime encounters. They are fast, tear through light armor, and deal massive burst damage without needing high-tier gear. However, claws have one fatal flaw: they disappear when the sun rises.
Daytime Coen is limited to standard steel, forcing you to maintain a reliable sword regardless of your nocturnal preferences. To check where your damage currently leans, open the Inventory Screen and look at the stat tracker below your character panel. It compares your raw output for both attack types based on active perks, gear traits, and equipped weapons.
- Early Game: Lean heavily into Claws. Default early swords don’t have the raw stats to compete with your natural vampiric damage output.
- Late Game: Move to Swords. High-tier weapons, mainly legendary blades like the Sword of St. Mihai (unlocked via sword shard quests), have damage scaling that claws cannot match.
So there is no permanent winner. Use claws when your vampire build gives them the edge, then switch to swords once your blade upgrades and Swordmastery skills produce better results.
What to Equip
| Weapon Type | Core Strengths | Key Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|
| Short Sword | Ultra-fast attack animation, tight counter windows | Low reach, easily overwhelmed by mobs |
| Long Sword | Balanced range, ideal for learning directional parries | Requires balanced skill point investment |
| Great Sword | Great stagger damage, high raw power | Slow swings make missed timings brutal |
| Vampire Claws | Dominates early game night combat without gear costs | Completely locked during daytime |
You can swap equipped blades in the middle of battle from the Inventory menu. Console players can toggle between armed steel and unarmed/claw stances on the fly (Square on PS5, X on Xbox).
Don’t put all your points into claw skills just for night combat, or you’ll struggle during the day. A solid sword build from the Swordsman tree is a much better way to go, since it keeps you consistent and ready for a fight 24/7.
Pick one combat style early either the directional attack-and-block or the simplified omniattack/omniblock scheme, and stick with it until you have the enemy patterns down. Focus on getting comfortable with parries and ripostes instead of obsessing over which sword the internet claims is the best early pickup.
Want to get more out of Coen’s combat and progression? Check out the complete Dawnwalker guides hub for weapon advice, abilities, quests, bosses, and other gameplay guides.
