So if you were like me, and watched the trailer to see several people wearing capes, did you get your hopes up for Capes/Cloaks to be an item of their own? Able to be enchanted, perhaps customized, upgraded etc? My biggest hope for Skyrim was for capes, and we got capes that were attached to a few pieces but I want to be rewarded with a badass looking cape with the Dawnguard sigil or something. Perhaps a cloak which reduces the effects of sunlight for the vampire faction?

I just want a perk tree for werewolves and vamps, some new and epic looking armor and weapons, atleast 50+ hours of gameplay (fast traveling) because I can stretch that 50 into 100+

I just want some good vampire lore.

No spears.

I wouldn't get your hopes up for capes/cloaks. In the vid they were attached to a specific set of armor. The stormcloak officer armor and nightengale armor both had capes.

I also want a good explanation for the vampire lords transformation, something well thought out and makes sense for the lore of TES

- That the new goofy stuff (flapping vamps, new weapons, new perks, mounted silliness) isn't too intrusive.

- That it doesn't mangle game balance like some of the DLC for Fallout 3.

This topic has come up before when I was talking to people. It's already been explained. Different lines of vampires can have different powers. I remember reading a book in Oblivion that talked about vampires with the ability to teleport. Same thing goes for Werewolves, that's why the Circle can control their transformations, where most other werewolves cannot.

The Questline for both Dawnguard and Vampires story paths has to be extremely great.

I agree it should be a 50+ hour expansion, and the expansion questlines should encompass meaningful long distance travels (I don't use fast travel, but even then Skyrim's questlines are too short. If the Skyrim guild questlines are short and somewhat anticlimactic, what can be expected from Dawnguard expansion? )

The vampire story should include prescripted npcs that you can bite and turn into vampires (to add to the family and the vampires plans.)

good rewards (like becoming new leader of the Vampires / new leader of the Dawnguard after the questline is completed).

good character interaction (not like Mages Guild where you can skip socializing with most of the Mages, each which had somewhat interesting quests of their own), in short the Dawnguard/Vampires questlines should make it mandatory to socialize with all the characters that have their own branched off quests, that way they can deepen and broaden the length and scope of the Expansion storylines.

After I completed the Mages Guild for example, I was surprised how much longer it could have been if I was approached by the Mages in the Guild that had their quests for me to do, and overall give more feeling of promotion and progression instead of breezing through the ranks without even being rewarded the proper garments for the new rank I aquired. Mages Guild questline felt like I went from apprentice to leader in no time. Really shallow feeling.

maybe the writers and questline designers will deliver a more than epic questline for Dawnguard and especially the Vampires which hold even more potential for a more refreshing and grand experience.

It's also good to have some well placed journals for the characters that feed the story and progression with greater purpose and insight.

It would also be great if that vampire fortress/castle is larger and complex than it looks. Well I'm not expecting a labyrinth inside, but it would be awesome if it had multiple floors underground that leads to the true lair of the vampires.

I think dungeon design as of late has been a tad too casual. Dungeons overall seem to have that "enter then exit" kind of feeling. Well there are a few exceptions like that deep Dwemer dungeon leading to the _______ in the SKYRIM main quest. But they really can make the Dawnguard expansion dungeons like really grand.

I don't think the expansion should just toss some horde waves of enemies type thing. maybe one event in the questline may have that, but the expansion shouldn't abuse that like some one trick pony.

overall I think key things that would make Dawnguard more than expansion would be:



* great travel distances Dawnguard questline encompasses (epic journeys = more epic questline)
* great travel distances Vampire questline encompasses (questline travels should encompass most/all of Skyrim)
* new characters that hold great presence (I think the vampires should have an order of main vampires. Well of course there would be a leader, but it would be cool to have like 6 or so other vampire characters that have involvement in meetings and missions).

*make sure to have female version model of Vampire Lords for Vampire Ladies transformation.

* some dungeons/locations that require torches / light / vision ability to see in the dark. Would be great if Vampires have a multi floor underground dungeon beneath the castle/fortress that's very dark, deep, open (many side rooms to explore), and awesome.

* well placed journals of key characters in the questlines that enhance the story, character depth and unveiling secrets.
* key characters getting killed in Dawnguard questline during heroic events. There should be some scary survival horror like events too.

* key characters being turned into vampires in Vampire questline to expand their influence in Skyrim, and also give player interactive moments of signature vampire nature. (could be animation triggered through a conversation choice event.)

* rewarding gradual advancement in the Dawnguard ranks. (with new gear each rank)
* rewarding gradual advancement in the Vampire ranks. (with new clothes each rank, new accessories and/or new abilities/perks)
* Very Rewarding questline completion ( new leader of Dawnguard, new leader of Vampires with new companions would be better than just some title/trinket/weapon/armor. Skyrim doesn't allow us to be Jarl of a city, or even The Companions for that matter since they aren't leader based, so let players be the leader of Dawnguard/Vampires at least. yes you can be leader in like the Mages Guild but the path to the top felt so tacked on and hollow. )

*Overall I think Dawnguard quests will naturally be about finding and eliminating vampires.

*While I think a big part of Vampire quests should be about expanding their influence and numbers (turning people that are in high places into vampires, the player themselves especially should be the one that does that task) , besides exterminating the Dawnguard and finding items/clues to an Elder Scroll.

*Also the Vampire characters in the expansion should be united and loyal. There could be some backstabbing but I think there should be more backstabbing taking place within the Dawnguard than within the Vampires.

Betrayal only weakens a vampire questline/faction/story instead of improving it, especially considering in most stories out there, vampires end up losing. So vampires fighting among themselves would only result in a boring questline and would degrade the organization into a mere band of mercenaries and thieves. The Vampires should be the most 'noble' of the two factions.

I don't know if they have plans to expand the Lycanthrope content but I think that might get in the way of making the Dawnguard and Vampire questlines and content bigger and better. Werewolves/Lycans would need their own expansion to improve them properly.

Okay. The $20 DLC can add 3 common books to the game. Who needs new factions, weapons, armor, mounts, abilities, spells etc.

no vampire lord could remain hidden and the stories would have gotten around, it is a new power that has no base in lore (as of now), and there is no werewolf that can control themself while transformed in the lore (the different powers or strands you mean are different types of werebeasts. weresharks, werevultures, werlions, werecrocodils, werebear, wereboars and werewolves)

i want pants
and feather spell

I thought that I read somewhere that Dawnguard wasn't going to be any longer than Shivering Isles, which was a ~20 hour expansion. I wouldn't expect Dawnguard to be too big, or be some huge 50 hour expansion. I'm expecting more or less, a buffed-up side quest, with around 10-15 hours of gameplay, along with goodies.

I think they are parts of variations on armors

ex: Nightingale Armor

*eye roll* they can have all that. I just want a good story with some good lore.

I didn't mean while transformed, I meant controlling when they transform. A vampire lord could certainly hide themselves, considering they're a vampire lord and it would be mere speculation to assume they couldn't. I'm not only talking about strains of werewolves either, there could easily be entirely different types of vampires that we don't know of, and I'm almost certain that will be part of where they come from.

The problem is that Dawnguard expansion is split between Dawnguard questline and Vampire Lords questline.

So people fear each questline, especially Vampire Lords might be too short and bare bones with its questline, story and content.

Maybe Dawnguard and Vampire Lords are one single questline but branches off based on the side you choose, but that still makes it technically two different questlines they have to divide their attention on.

Even 10-15 hr. they could deliver an extremely epic expansion. but it's not sure if both sides will get 10-15 hr each, or each questline is just 5 hr each.

But it's not just length, like I mentioned earlier, many factors separate a HOT expansion and questlines, from a lukewarm and anticlimactic expansion. They can make it so awesome, rewarding and memorable, but there so many factors to consider, and also who are involved in the expansion project, because of course not everyone has the right answers to make this expansion even more incredible than any TES questline(s) before this. And even for a DLC expansion, they can still really make something really inspiring and amazing.

There's so many paths to take with this expansion, so it's understandable that people are concerned how great or bad it might turn out.

capes/cloaks. and a decent questline with choices.

there is a lot of vampires we dont know about, but these things cannot hide. things of power will be found and will be made known, even if they are only known as myth the sotries will be spread. that is the nature of things of great power (and in TES heros walk the land, they would have found these beasts if they existed before), but the trailer also made it clear they do not exist in tamriel before the DLC, they came form the portal i believe. and werewolves could always control when they transform, they are just forced too during a full moon (and the ability to not be forced is 100% against the lore)

My biggest hope is for it to not bug out or absolutely murder my framerate for no reason (The Pitt, Mothership Zeta...), I can forgive an amazing amount of stupidity for a smooth running DLC.

*edit*

Yeah this "become leader of guild in 45 minutes" thing has to stop, that would svck.

I don't mean to correct you on everything you think you know, but first of all, after re-watching the trailer I noticed he said "You have found our fortress." Second, 'things of power being made known' is entirely speculation. There's nothing in the lore that would suggest that people have been aware of everything that is or has been powerful in some way. Lastly the 'ability to not be forced' is entirely within the lore. Play the companions questline again. Did you miss where they said something like 'this is a different strain, you don't have to worry about full moons' or whatever? That's a line from the game. At this point you're defying logic and making up facts from nowhere.

the first part is speculation (although there is no way these abominations could go hidden for so long), but the only variations of the werewolf disease are the ones that change you into another beast, there is no other type. but this is digression, back to the topic at hand: i actually cant wait to be hunting something, there is no better way to show my devotion to hircine than to hunt

Weresharks..... and dinosaurs.

I hope that joining the vampires can over-ride Lycanthropy much like Lycanthropy can override Vampirism. I also can't wait to see more about turning into a bunch of bats like the person in the trailer. Maybe some kind of teleport spell? Maybe something like in the Oblivion mod where you could transform into various things? Who knows, but it looks awesome.

What new weapons are goofy? Only thing new I saw was the crossbow.