Do you want to increase your infamy in The Blood of Dawnwalker? Coen’s Infamy or Notoriety represents how effectively you’ve disrupted the operations of the vampire boyars in Vale Sangora. The more activities you complete, the greater their ire, culminating in epic battles where you can finally put them out of their misery. We’re going to tackle all of these mechanics, but be forewarned that there are some spoilers ahead.
The Blood of Dawnwalker – Vampire Court and Infamy
You can check your Infamy in The Blood of Dawnwalker via the Court menu. In it, you’ll see the knyaz, Brencis, and his three lieutenants/boyars: Ambrus, Bakir, and Xanthe.
- The three boyars have their own respective operations denoted by smaller diamond heraldry connected to their portraits.
- The smaller pips are missions, which you can click on and track via the Journal. This makes it easier to spot them on the world map.
- The color of each boss’ portrait also shows if they’re active, angered, or defeated. (Note that clicking on a portrait shows that boyar’s “anger meter” of sorts.)
- The bottom of the panel shows your current Infamy level.
Court activities – Types and completion
The Vampire Court in The Blood of Dawnwalker has their own fiefdoms and responsibilities. Ambrus, whose strongholds are in the northern part of Vale Sangora, handles blood tithes and transportation. Bakir, who controls the southwest, mixes alcohol with blood in distilleries, while also punishing innocent people in pillories. As for Xanthe, she conducts research into the esoteric, as well as abducts young women for her experiments.
The vast majority of these activities cost 3x Time Segments to complete. It’s important to plan ahead in case you want to tackle several of them in quick succession. Likewise, there are activities that won’t be available until you discover clues:
- Ambrus: Prisoner Processing Camp – Head to the military camp in Stoneward Post and free prisoners. This is done during The Firebrand/Under Watchful Eyes.
- Bakir: Uriash Village – Ally or destroy the Uriash Village. This is done during Song of the Mountain.
- Xanthe: Gargoyle Manufacture – Escape the astrologer’s trap and complete Home Sweet Home.
From left to right: Destroying Ambrus’ blood supplies, rescuing people from Bakir’s pillories, and exorcising demons in Xanthe’s excavation sites.
Infamy effects and Edicts
Each activity that you complete increases your Notoriety in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Upon reaching new levels, Brencis will enact a new Edict that’s meant to impede your progress. This happens at the start of each day, where a cutscene shows a herald holding a scroll.
- Level 1: Additional patrols in settlements.
- Level 2: Military checkpoints appear throughout the valley.
- Level 3: Price increases throughout the valley.
- Level 4: Additional soldiers patrol the roads and commanders now recognize you.
- Level 5: Fewer people outdoors between dusk and dawn.
- Level 6: More military checkpoints and further price increases.
- Level 7: Headhunters appear in the valley and all soldiers now recognize Coen.
- Level 8: All soldiers become stronger.
- Level 9: Svartrau City’s gates are shut.
Think of Infamy and Edicts in The Blood of Dawnwalker as akin to your Wanted Level in the Grand Theft Auto series or similar games, except the punishments are permanent. The level 8 Edict makes combat a slog, while the level 9 Edict creates hassles if you’re trying to enter Svartrau City. Your best bet is to climb the walls at night, though you can also look for openings and damaged sections to squeeze through during the day.
As such, we recommend focusing on exploration and doing non-Court-related quests for the first dozen hours or so of the campaign. If you’ve already completed a lot of side content early on, then the added challenge presented by these Edicts won’t be as impactful.
What else happens when you have high Infamy?
There are other things that need to be considered as you raise Infamy or anger vampire lords:
- At Notorious tier–i.e. Infamy level 4–you’ll fulfill the first step of the Where Loyalty Lies quest. This allows you to finally meet and join the Manumits.
- Also at Notorious tier, a messenger will give Anca a letter. Pay her a visit in the Crossroads Inn and read the notes. You’ll learn of components that you need to find to make the legendary Arbiter armor set. We discuss this process in detail in our A Bulwark Against Darkness guide.
- If you keep disrupting the operations of a particular vampire lord, to the point that their anger level is maxed out, you’ll unlock a quest that allows you to finally fight them.
- Lastly, if you max out your Infamy level, Brencis will actually ask for a parley. He’ll offer you a deal: Your family’s freedom in exchange for betraying the Manumits.
That does it for our guide on how to increase your Infamy in The Blood of Dawnwalker. While we’re on the subject of angering the vrakhiri, you might be curious as to what quests you’d unlock. We tackle these in our article about Ambrus: The Gilded Gauntlet, Bakir: The Lunar Game, and Xanthe: The Cycle of Love.
Lastly, if you’re raring to duke it out with these major bosses, we encourage you to read our vrakhiri boss guide and legendary weapons/armors guide.
