ESO Vampire is a separate world skill line that lets you feed on enemies, unlock vampire abilities and change your character’s appearance and combat weaknesses. You can contract vampirism through another player at a ritual shrine or from rare hostile bloodfiends.
You can start Scion of the Blood Matron using the free Crown Store quest starter, a shrine NPC, a player bite or an infectious enemy. Paid vampire bites were removed in Update 49. Here’s how to reach the quest, manage feeding stages and remove the condition if you change your mind.
Where to get a vampire bite
Natural bloodfiends and player bites still work, but you no longer need to hunt for an infectious enemy at night: Update 49 removed the old night-time spawn restriction near ritual shrines. You can meet another player at a shrine in Reaper’s March, Bangkorai or The Rift, or use the new marked shrines in Auridon, Glenumbra and Stonefalls. To give another player a bite, your character needs the Blood Ritual passive.
The player-bite quest steps
If another player infects you at a shrine, activate the Ceremonial Scroll and follow the Scion of the Blood Matron objectives. You can instead claim the free quest starter in the Crown Store and follow its marker to the vampire quest giver. Complete the introductory ritual to unlock the Vampire World skill line. You can also obtain the infection from a natural bloodfiend and follow the relevant quest prompt.
Free Crown Store quest starter and shrine NPCs
Update 49 removed paid Vampire bites and curses from the Crown Store. The store now offers a free Scion of the Blood Matron quest starter. The newly marked shrines in Auridon, Glenumbra and Stonefalls also have quest NPCs. If you’ve completed the introduction before and were later cured, the shrine NPC can help restore the condition without making you purchase another bite.
How to level the Vampire skill line
After unlocking, find Vampire under World skill lines. The Vampire skill line progresses through experience earned during ordinary play, with the skill line rising to rank 10. Purchase and equip the abilities or passives you want as their requirements unlock. You don’t have to bite other players or remain near the shrine to level the line. Your available active abilities and passives depend on line rank and invested points, and the regular free skill respec controls can change those investments.
How the four Vampire stages work
Vampirism has four stages with benefits and drawbacks. Feeding increases your stage; its duration runs down over time, and a stage eventually falls when that timer expires. Higher stages reduce the cost of vampire abilities and can enable additional passive effects, but they also bring penalties such as greater flame vulnerability, lower health recovery and higher cost for ordinary abilities. At Stage 4, many merchants will refuse to trade with you. If you want cheaper Vampire skills or the higher-stage passives, you have to accept the extra weaknesses that come with those stages.
Feeding and criminal acts
Approach a suitable unsuspecting humanoid and use the feeding interaction when available. Feeding can be a criminal act if witnessed, as can some vampire abilities in populated areas. Pay attention to guards and bounty indicators before using dark magic in a town. If the penalties interfere with your build, feed less often and let your stage fall before tackling difficult content. If you need to shop safely, reduce your stage or use the appropriate mechanics to avoid merchant restrictions.
How to cure Vampirism
A Priest of Arkay in a major city Mages Guild now provides a free cure after Update 50. ESO Support lists Riften, Rawl’kha and Evermore as examples. There’s also a free Crown Store cure. Curing removes your vampirism, but it does not wipe the experience earned in its skill line, so a future reinfection restores the unlocked progression rather than forcing you to train it from scratch.
Keeping or removing vampirism with Armory builds
The Armory Station saves your current vampire affiliation as part of a build, alongside attributes, skills, gear and Champion Points. Loading a saved build without vampirism can remove the curse. If you’ve also saved an infected build, loading that slot can restore the condition without resetting your Vampire skill-line ranks. Save the infected build before swapping if you intend to return to it. A blank Armory slot is an easy way to remove more than you meant to, especially when you only wanted to change a couple of abilities.
Why the Scion quest might not progress
If the infection quest isn’t advancing, check whether you activated the scroll after a player bite, whether the timed ritual is still active and which alliance-zone NPC you’re supposed to visit. Update 50’s later incremental fixes addressed repeatability after curing before finishing an introductory quest. If the quest is stuck, check which objective is active and revisit the correct shrine or quest giver. You don’t need to pay to restart the introduction. Avoid curing mid-quest unless you intend to abandon that attempt.
Related Guides
Official source: ESO Support infection and quest guide.
