Elder Scrolls Skyrim Dawnguard DLC: Vampires, Horse Combat,Crossbows, and More?

New Elder Scrolls Skyrim DLC is coming to Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this summer! The new DLC is called Dawnguard and will have a dark theme revolving around vampires. You will be able to either join the Dawnguard to fight the vampires or side with the vampires and fight the Dawnguard. In the trailer Bethesda released, it shows the character transforming into a winged vampire creature. It looks much more disturbing than the regular vampires we have seen in Skyrim in the past. It is not yet know whether you need to side with the vampires or not to turn into this winged creature.

The movement speed of the winged vampire creature seems to be much faster than traditional speed. It also appears to be hovering over the ground when moving. This is a vampire lord that you can turn into at anytime (similar to werewolf)! The vampire lord will not be able to use conventional weapons, but will be able to use special powers like transforming into bats, conjure a gargoyle, suck blood, and more. There will be a skill tree that you will be able to use for the vampire lord. The more enemies you drain of life, the more experience gained towards acquiring new skills that will make the vampire lord stronger in Dawnguard.

A new horse with blue flames will be included in Dawnguard. This horse makes the shadowmere horse from the Dark Brotherhood look inferior! New weapons will be featured in Dawnguard as well, such as the crossbow. In the trailer, there appears to be a Dawnguard soldier using one. New creatures are shown in the trailer. One of these creatures appears to be an Ice Giant with fangs (apparently a vampire). It looks like it will be a formidable foe. Gargoyles will also be a new type of enemy that will make an appearance in Dawnguard. Note that the crossbow will require bolts (not arrows). And all the archery perks will affect the crossbow (such as slow time etc).

It is not yet known at this time, but according to the trailer of Dawnguard, it looks like if you side with the vampires you might be able to block out the sunlight. This would mean that vampires would be able to roam outside without worrying about the sunlight harming them. Considering Elder Scrolls has always been about decisions, it's likely that your decision to either side with vampires or the Dawnguard will affect the ending in some shape or form. However, it may not permanently affect the world of Skyrim itself because Dawnguard might take place in a completely different realm (much like Elder Scroll Oblivion's Shivering Isles expansion dlc).

Dawnguard will cost 1600 Microsoft points on the Xbox 360. The Oblivion expansion "Shivering Isles" cost 30 dollars originally for the Xbox 360, so Dawnguard probably won't be as big of an expansion as Shivering Isles. But still, Dawnguard looks promising with it's dark story theme, new weapons and creatures to fight, and horse combat. Let's just hope it offers enough content to keep players happy. Too often, DLC is released for games and the length does not match the price. Hopefully, Bethesda, will not disappoint fans of the Elder Scrolls series.