THE ARCHIVE
The Blood of Dawnwalker Skills & Trees
Explore 88 recorded effects across Witchcraft, Swordmastery and Vampirism. Find manual routes and selected rank costs, with source differences explained.
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Showing 88 of 88 recorded skills.
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Step-by-step walkthroughs
- Armor Proficiency — Remove medium and heavy armor penalties in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Find Second Skin manuals, compare rank costs, and check your learning progress.
This directory records 88 community-listed skills as of September 5, 2026, grouped into Witchcraft, Swordmastery and Vampirism. It preserves the recorded effect summaries and separates passive perks, active abilities and ultimate perks. Most catalogue summaries follow Game8. Crimson Feast and Shred instead use linked video tooltips, and Wild Blood remains unresolved. The marked rows and notes below identify these source conflicts; the effects have not been reproduced in-game here.
Learning skills
The official Skills & Power bulletin explains that all three trees share experience and skill points. Learning or upgrading skills takes skill points and time. Witchcraft and Swordmastery use manuals to make skills available; drinking blood raises Corruption and opens more Vampirism skills. Use the manual routes and rank examples below for selected unlocks and costs. A complete per-skill map of every prerequisite is not available here.
Witchcraft
Mostly a daytime tree — hexes and blood magic that let Coen fight while keeping his humanity. Unlocks after the "Smoke and Ashes" quest (end of the prologue).
Perks (passive)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Aether Flow | Reduces Witchcraft Ability Cooldown. |
| Amalgam | Multiple Buffs from Consumables with time segments set as duration can be applied simultaneously. |
| Bewitching Influence | Better Prices and special offers in stores. |
| Blasphemous Echo | Increases Witchcraft Abilities Damage for each enemy currently affected by Witchcraft Abilities. |
| Evil Eye | Witchcraft Abilities deal more Damage. |
| Forager | Double Harvest chance when gathering plants. |
| Forbidden Sigils | Increases Witchcraft Ability Slots number. |
| Frugal Witchcraft | Chance for Witchcraft Abilities to not cost Health. |
| Herbal Remedies I | Consumables with duration measured in time segments last longer. |
| Herbal Remedies II | Additional instant Heal from all Consumables. |
| Lasting Malediction | Defeating an enemy with a Witchcraft Ability restores Health based on the amount spent to cast it. |
| Medicus I | Increases the limit of Consumables in a Quickslot. |
| Medicus II | Craft more items in a single batch. |
| Potent Blood | Witchcraft Abilities last longer. |
| Unholy Fervour | Chance for Critical Witchcraft Ability cast. |
| Unnatural Resilience | Grants Armour when any Witchcraft Ability is active. |
| Witchcraft Mastery Effect differs by source | Chance for a refund of an Activation Charge after Witchcraft Ability use. |
No matching skills in this category.
Abilities (active)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Astral Communion | Activates dormant magic in places of power scattered throughout the Valley. |
| Burning Blood | Deal Damage over time to a target. |
| Compel Soul | Allows you to speak with the restless souls. Use together with objects associated with the dead to obtain additional information. |
| Cycle of Ruin | Extends Duration of Witchcraft Abilities by 3s. Critical Hits extend Duration by 5s. +10% Witchcraft Ability Damage for each affected enemy. |
| Life Lock | Blocks Damage and Reflects it back to the enemy. |
| Mercurial Fervour | Haste doesn't cost Stamina. Haste is 20% faster. |
| Ravenous Flock | Area Attack and Stun on target. Attacking the target triggers additional Area Attacks. |
| Soul Reaping | Lifesteals target over time and keep him away. |
| Soul Stigma | Higher Critical Chance and Critical Damage on target. |
| Unholy Vitality | Regenerates Health after using Active Abilities. |
No matching skills in this category.
Ultimate Perks (pick one per tree)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Arcane Cascade | +20% Witchcraft Ability Damage for each Witchcraft Ability used, up to 100%. Resets after combat. |
| Entwined Torment | First Witchcraft Ability used in combat targets 2 enemies. |
| Runic Bulwark | 15% chance to apply a random Hex to the opponent on a Perfect Block. |
No matching skills in this category.
Swordmastery
The only tree usable both day and night. Unlocks by default at the start of the game.
Perks (passive)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Counterattack | Attack after Perfect Block deals more Damage. |
| Endless Effort | Increases Stamina. |
| Fate's Favour | Chance for Weapon Critical Hit. |
| Fleet of Foot | Dodging costs less Stamina. |
| Growing Momentum | Increases Weapon Damage with each Attack. Buff resets after receiving Damage. |
| Master Fencer | Increases Swordmastery Ability Slots number. |
| Omniblock | Omniblock costs less Stamina. |
| Pack Mule | Increases Carry Weight. |
| Perfect Block | Perfect Block restores more Stamina and Activation Charge. |
| Perfect Riposte | Attack in Critical Direction after Perfect Block to deal Critical Damage. |
| Precision | Deal more Damage with Directional Attacks when directions don't repeat. |
| Renewed Focus | Increases Activation Charges Restoration. |
| Restless Blade | Reduces Cooldown on Swordmastery Abilities. |
| Second Skin I | Decreases Medium Armour penalties. |
| Second Skin II | Decreases Heavy Armour penalties. |
| Sharper Eye | Chance to Weaken enemy on Perfect Block. Weak enemy deals less and receives more Damage. |
| Stinging Blade | Increase Weapon Damage. |
| Sustained Focus | Increases Activation Charges number. |
| Vigour | Increases All Health Types. |
No matching skills in this category.
Abilities (active)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Adrenaline Rush | Increases Attack Damage after using Active Abilities. Works passively once equipped in the Active Ability panel. |
| Artery Strike | Critical Attack with a chance of Decapitating the target. |
| Broadswing | Weapon Area Attack. |
| Charge | Charge dealing Damage and Stunning a target and everyone on your way. |
| Dirty Trick | Stuns and Damages a target and makes them vulnerable to Active Abilities. |
| Swiftness | Boost Attack Speed after Perfect Block. Works passively once equipped in the Active Ability panel. |
| Walking Fortress | Perfect Block restores a portion of Activation Charge. |
No matching skills in this category.
Ultimate Perks (pick one per tree)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Last Stand | +100% Weapon Damage when Health is below 30%. |
| Sword Sage | Reset Active Ability Cooldowns on enemy killing. |
| Tactical Mastery | -1 Activation Charge cost to all Active Abilities. |
No matching skills in this category.
Vampirism
Mostly a nighttime tree, and it expands as Coen's Corruption rises (Corruption goes up from drinking blood). Unlocks after "Smoke and Ashes", same as Witchcraft.
Perks (passive)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Blood Theft | Attacking restores Recently Lost Vampiric Health. |
| Clawpierce | Chance for Claw Critical Hit. |
| Closing Wounds | Slowly Regenerates Vampiric Health within the current Health Segment. |
| Crimson Feast Shown-build effect; source conflict | Shown video tooltip: buffs from drinking Human Blood, lasting 3 time segments. |
| Dancing Claws | Increase Claw Critical Chance with each Attack. Buff resets after receiving Damage or after a Critical Hit. |
| Dimension Reach | Decrease Planeshift Stamina cost. |
| Endless Ferocity | Reduces Cooldowns of Vampiric Abilities. |
| Endless Hunger | Increase Health Segments number. |
| Hastened Corruption | Corruption fills up faster. |
| Lasting Blood | Vampiric Abilities cost less Health. |
| Nourishing Blood | Blood Drinking restores more health. |
| Razor Sharp Claws | Increases Claw Damage. |
| Restless Claws | Decrease Stamina cost of Claw Attacks. |
| Shadow Dweller | Increase Shadowstep range. |
| Vrakhiri Might | Increases Vampiric Ability Slots. |
| Wild Blood Effect differs by source | Blood source unresolved: the Game8 skill list says Human Blood; its Activation Charges guide says Animal Blood. Check your current tooltip before choosing which blood to drink. |
No matching skills in this category.
Abilities (active)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Blood Surge | Explodes target. Bosses receive Damage instead. |
| Crimson Rush | Increase Damage of Active Abilities, the higher your Health percentage is. |
| Death From Above | Instantly Kill a target below you. Bosses receive Damage instead. |
| Mesmerise | Mind Control a target and force him to Fight on your side. |
| Piercing Shriek | Stuns all enemies in front of you, Weakens their Defence and Attack Damage. Blocking their attacks reflects Damage back at them. |
| Scarlet Shield | Health Regeneration chance after Block. |
| Shadow Storm | Slows down Time around you. |
| Shapeshift | Shapeshift into a Wolf and gain Haste in exploration. |
| Shred Shown-build effect; source conflict | Shown video tooltip: bleed chance on weapon or claw attacks. Works passively once equipped in the Active Abilities panel. |
| Voracious Bite | Restores Health by drinking target's blood. |
No matching skills in this category.
Ultimate Perks (pick one per tree)
| Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Lethal Crescendo | +20% Claw Damage after killing an enemy or depleting a Health Segment of a boss. Can stack. Resets at the end of combat. |
| Renounce Death | Gain Lifesteal on Attacks and Immortality instead of dying once per combat. Duration 10s. |
| Sanguine Renewal | Voracious Bite resets all Active Abilities Cooldown. |
No matching skills in this category.
How to learn a skill, and why it stays locked
- Choose when it needs to work. Swordmastery is available by day and night; Witchcraft is daytime; Vampirism is nighttime.
- Get access to the next rank. Search soldier or bandit sites and fencers for Swordmastery manuals; search ruins, haunted places and magic vendors for Witchcraft manuals. Vampirism access expands with Corruption from feeding.
- Visit a road shrine. The official skill panels direct you there to learn. Inspect the selected rank’s point, time and additional requirement icons before confirming.
- Budget shared points. Experience and skill points are shared across all three trees. Earning points during the day does not restrict them to daytime skills.
- Equip an active skill. Game8 distinguishes passive perks from active abilities used through quickslots or the ability wheel. Learning a perk does not create a new attack button.
If a skill is still locked, use the progression requirement checklist to identify what to check next.
Sources: official learning rules, official road-shrine panel and Game8’s skill-category explanation.
Manual routes you can follow
Selected access points; see Sean Martin’s linked maps for alternatives.
Swordmastery
| Ability | One reported starting route |
|---|---|
| Charge | Like Father, Like Son, after Withering Away. |
| Broad Swing (catalogue: Broadswing) | Bandit chest near Outlaw’s Gorge, east of Laslea. |
| Swiftness | Bandit chest northwest of Stoneward Post. |
| Adrenaline Rush | Bandit chest southeast of Eerie Knoll. |
| Artery Strike | Soldier chest north of Ambrus’s fort, St. Tyna’s Grove. |
| Walking Fortress | Soldier chest south of Stuga Marshes Shrine. |
| Dirty Trick | Initially learned; upgrade book: northeastern St. Tyna’s Grove bandits. |
Further ranks need additional manuals. Swordmastery maps.
Witchcraft
| Ability | Unlock route |
|---|---|
| Compel Soul, Astral Communion, Burning Blood, Mercurial Fervour | Anca’s prologue sequence. |
| Ravenous Flock | Bear Trouble pilgrimage, west across Laslea Gate’s river. |
| Cycle of Ruin | Ancient Circle, western Cursed Chasm. |
| Soul Reaping | Ancient Circle, east of Maragir. |
| Unholy Vitality | Site of Crucifixion, south of Eerie Knoll. |
| Soul Stigma | Ancient Circle northeast of St. Tyna’s Grove Tower. |
| Life Lock | Who Pulls the Strings, Manumit questline: automatic unlock. |
Follow the selected Witchcraft manual routes for pickup locations and quest gates. See Witchcraft maps and upgrade copies for additional source details.
What the official rank panels actually show
The following examples are read from the publisher’s August 31 bulletin screenshots. They document that displayed build, not an in-game test on the current patch. Point and time costs are shown per rank; do not replace them with one universal learning cost.
Sustained Focus — Swordmastery, anytime
| Rank | Displayed effect | Skill points / time units |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capacity becomes 2 Activation Charges. | 1 / 1 |
| 2 | Begin combat with 1 full Activation Charge. | 1 / 1 |
| 3 | Capacity becomes 3 Activation Charges. | 1 / 1 |
| 4 | Capacity becomes 4 Activation Charges. | 2 / 2 |
The second rank changes starting charge, rather than raising capacity. The same panel shows progress of 1/35 toward unlocking the ultimate tier; it does not establish a purchase price of 35 points for one ultimate. View the original Sustained Focus panel.
Rank-four cost differs by source: this official image shows two points and two time units; Game8’s Activation Charges guide lists two points and one time segment. Check the confirmation in your current build; the two records are not interchangeable.
Nourishing Blood — Vampirism, night only
| Rank | Displayed health-restoration bonus | Skill points / time units | Additional displayed gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +10% | 1 / 1 | No numbered Corruption gate shown. |
| 2 | +20% | 1 / 1 | Corruption icon: 3. |
| 3 | +40% | 2 / 1 | Corruption icon: 8. |
These percentages are the restoration bonus printed on the panel, not a promise that one feed restores that fraction of maximum health. View the original Nourishing Blood panel.
Witchcraft Mastery: a source conflict that affects planning
The official panel labels Witchcraft Mastery as a damage perk. Its displayed ranks include +15%, +25% and +40% damage; two ranks also show a conditional extra-damage trigger. The current Game8 catalogue instead assigns this name an Activation Charge refund effect. These descriptions are incompatible, so do not spend points based on the catalogue’s refund wording alone.
Compare the official Witchcraft Mastery screenshot with the Game8 list, then read the tooltip in your current build. We retain the source-reported entry in the catalogue and flag this conflict rather than silently inventing a reconciled effect.
Crimson Feast, Wild Blood and Shred: conflicting descriptions
The Crimson Feast and Shred rows use the tooltips visible in the linked gameplay video. They describe that recorded build; we have not reproduced these effects in the current patch. The imported Game8 list gives different descriptions.
- Crimson Feast: the tooltip at 3:29 says Human Blood and a three-time-segment duration. The Game8 list says Animal Blood.
- Shred: the tooltip at 5:38 gives bleed chance on weapon or claw attacks and says it works passively when equipped in the Active Abilities panel. Game8 instead repeats Crimson Rush’s high-health active-ability damage description.
- Wild Blood: the Game8 skill list says Human Blood, while Game8’s Activation Charges guide says Animal Blood with passive charge restoration lasting three time segments. We have not checked a Wild Blood tooltip to resolve this.
Compare the Game8 skill list and DawnwalkerDB ability directory; the latter lists Human Blood for Crimson Feast, Animal Blood for Wild Blood and bleed for Shred. Read the effect and rank in your current game before spending points or choosing a blood source.
FAQ
How many skill trees are there?
Three: Witchcraft (daytime magic), Swordmastery (usable day or night), and Vampirism (nighttime, tied to Corruption).
How many Ultimate Perks can I have?
One per tree, so a maximum of three across a full build — pick carefully.
How many total skills are documented?
88 as of September 5, 2026, across all three trees combined.
Sources and coverage
- Community Bulletin Board #11: Skills & Power — Official day/night use, skill points and learning rules.
- Game8: All Skills and Trees — Community skill list and summarized effects. Exact tooltips and per-skill unlock requirements are not all verified.
Coverage date: September 5, 2026. Counts describe this site’s recorded entries, not a complete in-game total. Community summaries may omit conditions; check the source and your current game version before relying on an exact value.