The Blood of Dawnwalker is officially live worldwide. If you just downloaded the game and jumped straight into the opening cinematic, STOP. There are five critical actions you need to take within your first two hours that will completely change your experience for the better.
This is not a standard RPG where you can explore freely and catch up later. The game’s unique time slot mechanic means that every single action consumes a finite resource. Make the wrong early choices and you will permanently miss entire storylines, powerful weapons, and alliance questlines.
Here is your essential blood of dawnwalker day 1 tips guide — five things every player must do first.
- Table of Contents:
- Tip 1: Unlock the 3 Hidden Fast-Travel Waypoints Immediately
- Tip 2: Invest Your First 10 Time Slots Only in These 2 Things
- Tip 3: Talk to Every NPC Before Starting Main Quests
- Tip 4: Max the Nightblood Tree Before Anything Else
- Tip 5: Find the Secret Chapter 1 Vault
- 💡 Expert Tip: The Time Slot Calculator
🔥 NEXT UP (Don’t Miss This): Blood of Dawnwalker Review: A Dark Fantasy Masterpiece
1. Unlock the 3 Hidden Fast-Travel Waypoints Immediately
Before you speak to a single quest-giver, open your map and look for the three unmarked “Moonstone Obelisks” hidden in the starting region of Letten.
- Why this matters: These Obelisks serve as your fast-travel points. Without them, traversing the map costs you time slots every single time you walk between locations.
- Where to find them: One is located directly behind the waterfall north of the starting village. The second is on the rooftop of the abandoned church (use vampire wall-climb at night to access it). The third is buried underground in the plague pit east of the market square (use Predator Sense to reveal the entrance).
- The payoff: Unlocking all three immediately saves you approximately 8 time slots over the course of the first two chapters — enough to complete an entire extra quest branch.
2. Spend Your First 10 Time Slots Only on These 2 Things
When you start the game, you will have 60 total time slots before the first major story event locks you out of the open world.
- Spend 6 slots on: Completing the “Merchant of Letten” side questline. This unlocks the in-game black market vendor who sells rare crafting materials at a massive discount for the entire rest of the game.
- Spend 4 slots on: Farming Ember Crystals in the cave system south of the starting village. You need exactly 12 Ember Crystals to unlock the second tier of the Nightblood skill tree.
- Do NOT spend time slots on: Any questline involving the Church of the Radiant Dawn in the first two chapters. These quests are time-locked and become available automatically at the start of Chapter 3.
3. Talk to Every NPC Before Starting Main Quests
This is the single biggest mistake first-time players will make today.
- The mechanic: If you speak to an NPC before starting a specific main quest, they will offer you a hidden “pre-quest dialogue” that permanently unlocks an alternate resolution to that quest.
- The example: Before starting the “Siege of Radovan” main quest, talking to the blacksmith NPC named “Mirko” in the market square unlocks a secret option to bribe the siege commander instead of fighting him. This saves you 15 time slots and unlocks a unique weapon reward unavailable any other way.
4. Max the Nightblood Skill Tree First
Do not split your early skill points between the human and vampire trees.
- The Nightblood tree priority: Invest in “Arterial Drain” first (lets you heal by dealing damage), then “Shadow Sprint” (doubles movement speed at night), then “Blood Frenzy” (unlocks AoE attacks).
- Why: All of the Chapter 1 and 2 bosses have massive health pools. Without Arterial Drain, you will burn through your entire Gourd supply on every single boss encounter. Arterial Drain essentially makes you self-sufficient.
5. Find the Secret Chapter 1 Vault
Hidden in the starting region of Letten is a completely optional underground vault that the game never tells you about.
- How to find it: Activate Predator Sense (hold R2/RT) while standing on the town square cobblestones at night. A hidden trapdoor will glow orange beneath your feet. Drop in.
- What’s inside: The vault contains the “Plague Surgeon’s Blade” — a mid-game quality weapon available in Chapter 1. It deals bonus damage to all “Infected” enemy types (which make up 60% of the early game enemies), and it never needs to be repaired.
🛡️ EXPERT TIP: THE TIME SLOT CALCULATOR
How to never waste a time slot again.
Before accepting ANY quest, hover over it in the quest log and look at the bottom-right corner of the description card. You will see a small hourglass icon with a number next to it. That number is the exact time slot cost of the quest. Write this number down before you commit. If a quest costs 6 time slots and you only have 8 remaining before the next story gate, calculate whether you will have enough slots left to also complete the mandatory story event. If not, skip the side quest and do the story event first — side quests in Chapter 3 are significantly more rewarding anyway.
