When They Activate
As a Dawnwalker, Coen's vampire side emerges at night. His claws extend, his Hex Magic rune scars seal shut as vampiric regeneration takes over, and his entire moveset shifts to supernatural abilities. These powers are only available at night; during the day, Coen fights as a human.
Core Abilities
Shadowstep
Short-range teleportation. Coen blinks forward and reappears almost instantly at the target location. In combat, it allows rapid repositioning. Dodging attacks, flanking enemies, or escaping encirclement. Outside combat, Shadowstep reaches elevated platforms, crosses gaps, and accesses areas unreachable on foot. All vampires possess some version of Shadowstep, though in murohni (failed vampire transformations) it manifests as an unstable variant.
Plane Shift
Full vertical traversal. Coen can walk on walls and ceilings, defying gravity entirely. Previews compared it to Spider-Man's wall-crawling, "albeit on two feet." He can scale buildings, cross along the underside of bridges, or cling to cave ceilings. The ability opens up the entire vertical axis of the game world at night, creating routes, vantage points, and hiding spots that don't exist during the day.
Plague Shift
Coen transforms into a swarm of bats for traversal. This is a movement ability rather than a combat one. It lets him cover longer distances, reach distant platforms, and bypass obstacles that even Shadowstep and Plane Shift can't handle. The transformation is temporary, used to bridge gaps in the world rather than as a permanent flight mode.
Clawride
High-speed vertical drops and enhanced rooftop traversal. When combined with Plane Shift, this lets Coen move quickly across elevated terrain. Climbing a wall, sprinting across rooftops, and dropping down with Clawride for a fast descent. It's the traversal equivalent of a sprint button but oriented vertically.
Voracious Bite
Coen bites enemies to drain their blood, restoring health. This makes night combat inherently more aggressive than day combat. Staying on the offensive keeps you alive. The bite also helps manage the Blood Craving meter. Feeding can be partial (knocking the target unconscious) or total (killing them).
Acquired Abilities
Coen can absorb new vampire powers by draining other vampires. Each vampire has distinct abilities, and defeating them grants access to what they had. Known acquirable powers include:
Blood Whips: Ranged magical attacks manifested through blood control. Obtained from Xanthe
Boiling Blood: A timed ability that triggers an explosion if not managed. Also associated with Xanthe
This system ties power progression to the enemies you choose to fight. Going after a specific Vrakhiri member isn't just a narrative choice, it's a build choice.
Claw Combat
At night, Coen's claws replace his sword. The claws can tear through enemy armor, and dismemberment is possible. The fighting pace is faster and more aggressive than daytime swordplay, with less emphasis on directional blocking and more on sustained offense supplemented by Shadowstep repositioning.
Stealth
Using vampiric powers in populated areas carries risk. At night, Svartrau and other settlements have vampire patrols loyal to Brencis. If Coen is spotted in vampire form, consequences follow. Combat escalation, reputation damage, or locked-off interactions. The combination of Shadowstep, Plane Shift, and Plague Shift gives players multiple stealth options: teleport past patrols, climb above them, or fly over them entirely.
Skill Progression
Vampiric abilities are upgraded through the Vampire skill tree. The Shared tree also benefits night abilities. Investing in the Vampire tree makes Coen more powerful after dark at the cost of not improving his daytime capabilities, creating a meaningful specialization choice.