In The Blood of Dawnwalker, it’s not just the lighting that changes between day and night. Coen is human during the day and turns into a vampire at night, giving him access to different abilities and options depending on the time. Some quests, merchants, and other content are also tied to a specific time of day.
So if you specifically want to switch from day to night or back, you can fast-forward time at shrines. However, you shouldn’t use this feature unnecessarily, since fast-forwarding eats into your overall 30 days.
How to Fast-Forward Time
To specifically let time pass, you need to visit a shrine. These also double as fast-travel points. There, you can select the option to wait and choose how much time should pass.
- Visit a shrine you’ve already discovered.
- Interact with the shrine and select the Wait option.
- Choose how many time segments you want to skip.
- Fast-forward far enough to switch from day to night or from night to day.
At a shrine, you can let up to 16 time segments pass at once this way. That’s enough to skip a full day-night cycle if needed.
Why You Should Switch Between Day and Night
Time of day shapes your options in The Blood of Dawnwalker far more than in many other open-world RPGs. Coen’s witch magic is available during the day, while his vampire abilities awaken at night. Sword combat skills, on the other hand, can be used regardless of the time of day.
Certain quest objectives and merchants can also only be available at a specific time of day. You can spot these time requirements by the icons in your journal: a sun stands for day, a crescent moon for night.
For example, if you’re standing at an objective at night that’s only available during the day, you can specifically wait at a shrine until the next day.
How Time Works in The Blood of Dawnwalker
Still, you shouldn’t confuse fast-forwarding with waiting in a typical RPG. After the prologue, Coen has 30 days and 30 nights left to rescue his family from vampire lord Brencis.
Each day and night phase consists of 8 time segments. A full day-night cycle therefore covers 16 segments. Over the entire deadline, that adds up to 240 day segments and 240 night segments.
That doesn’t mean a clock is constantly ticking down in the background, though. Normal exploration of the game world doesn’t consume any time segments. You can walk around Vale Sangora, manage your gear, or investigate your surroundings without automatically losing valuable time as a result.
Instead, time passes through certain gameplay-relevant actions. These include things like quest progress, certain decisions and dialogue options, as well as learning some skills. Other interactions can also cost time. The game usually shows you the corresponding cost beforehand, so you can decide whether you want to spend the time.
Fast-Forwarding Isn’t Always Worth It
Just because you can wait at a shrine at any time doesn’t mean you should immediately skip several segments whenever the time of day doesn’t suit you. The time you spend doing that will be missing later for quests and other actions.
So check your map and journal before fast-forwarding. There are often still tasks you can complete during the current phase of day. If a quest is going to consume several time segments anyway, you might reach the time of day you want automatically, without wasting time on pure waiting.
- Are there still objectives on the map for the current time of day?
- Does your journal show a quest with a sun or moon icon?
- Can you complete a different task that’s going to cost time anyway?
- Do you still want to unlock a skill whose training costs time?
- Do you really need to switch between day and night right now?
Checking these points beforehand lets you use your 30 days far more efficiently. Waiting at a shrine is especially worthwhile when you specifically want to reach content that’s only available during the day or only at night and there’s nothing important left to do during the current phase.
What Happens After the 30 Days Run Out?
If you skip time too often, it can have consequences. That said, the game isn’t simply over once the 30 days run out.
If you fail to defeat Brencis in time, Coen’s family is sacrificed, and you get the corresponding bad ending to the story. You can then keep exploring the game world in free roam. If you want to save the family, though, you need to reach that decisive objective within the 30 days.
