Dispatches from Northwatch: Part 5, Five Fabled Dawnguard Items

Hello.

Last Time: I wandered through my favorite Dawnguard Side Quest. Read it here.

This Time: I plunder the strategy guide treasure chest, and reveal my five favorite Dawnguard items.

“What’s your favorite item?” This is another question I’m used to answering. I usually respond with; “Well, it’s a basalt statue of Great Cthulhu that I’ve stationed to guard a secret bookcase, hidden inside my Pacific Northwest compound.” However, when I’m at one of my other abodes – the ones that only exist in Skyrim – I’ve set up a number of chests, racks, and other furniture to both store and display the extensive collection of armaments, equipment, and items I favor the most. With the advent of Dawnguard, there’s a whole load of new items tucked away across the landscapes of Tamriel. Before equipping particularly potent items for a forthcoming fracas, I tend to scan the Revised and Expanded Official Skyrim Strategy Guide’s Inventory chapter for all the statistics and comparisons I’ll ever need. “But what about my favorite items?” Glad you asked again: What follows is a “top five” of my favorites. Note that I didn’t necessarily pick the “best” trinkets in Tamriel; I favored equipment I’ve found particularly interesting and entertaining. Here they are, in no particular order:

Pro-Tip 1. Enhanced Dwarven Crossbow: Bolts fired from this upgraded Crossbow ignore most armor, piercing flesh like a hot knife through sweetroll. Upgrade this using your Smithing techniques for even more potency, and don’t forget to continue the Dawnguard Faction Quests with Sorine Jurard, so she can develop specialized bolts firing fire, frost, and electrically tipped projectiles.

Pro-Tip 2. Auriel’s Bow: Whether you’re storming a Giant’s Camp for valuables, or dropping foes with the power of the sun or cursed blood, this bow is both beautiful and potent. You’re able to really tear through the undead once you receive Sunhallowed arrows, and stay powerful as a vampire during the day once Bloodcursed arrows have been secured, and you’ve fired one at the sun.

Pro-Tip 3. Harkon’s Sword: If you’re determined to finish Lord Harkon’s prophecy, and plunge the lands into perpetual darkness, you need to slay this pompous wretch first, and claim his personal sword. Not only does it look impressive, but it absorbs 15 points of health, magicka, and stamina every time it’s used by a vampire. If sword-play and blood consumption is your way to play, pick this sword up interfrastically.

Pro-Tip 4. Zephyr: If ranged combat is more your bag, and you’ve dilly-dallied on a preciously-positioned log at the top of a frightening drop, halfway through the dwarven ruin of Arkngthamz during Side Quest: Lost to the Ages, you can claim this splendid weapon. It’s main advantage is that it fires 30 percent faster than a normal bow. This is especially useful if you’re engaging lumbering behemoths like this Centurion.

Pro-Tip 5. Totem of Brotherhood: If you’re of a hairy disposition, and want to attempt the longest bloodlust ever seen in Skyrim, do yourself a favor and obtain this Totem (as part of a Companions Faction Quest). Couple this with the Totem of the Moon Perk, and you’re able to summon two Werewolves for 60 seconds. This effectively turns you into a small pack of unstoppable man-munching monstrosities!

Perhaps you have your own favorite combination of items? Then why not share them?

Until next time, may your Crossbow bolts be enhanced, and your bloodlust never be satiated…