Vampire Lord Vampire Lord is a power available in , that serves as an extension of traditional vampirism . During the quest Bloodline , the decision between whether continuing to assist the Dawnguard or join Harkon and the Volkihar Clan arises . Choosing the path of Harkon grants the ability to become a Vampire Lord , although it ' s still possible to obtain this form if the path of the Dawnguard is chosen . Vampire Lords have an altered and sinister appearance , one that is more drastically and artfully constructed than that of a regular vampire . The Vampire Lord features 11 unique perks and two combat modes — Melee Mode and Blood Magic mode . Of the newly added spells is the ability to use consumed blood to vitalize the Vampire Lord and the ability to summon Gargoyles the way atronach s are summoned via the use of Conjuration magic . The power bite attack adds a unique cinematic where the Vampire Lord wraps its wings around the victim and bites them on the neck . Background . Vampire Lords are considered to be the paragon of the species . They are typically pure - blooded vampires who have either received their vampirism through another pure - blooded vampire or Molag Bal himself . Vampire Lords are relatively rare . The only confirmed example is Harkon , although it is assumed that Valerica and Serana are Vampire Lords as well . Harkon is the only vampire ever seen assuming the form . Acquisition . Harkon or Serana can grant this power during the main questline for . Harkon offers this power during Bloodline , Serana offering it twice , once during Chasing Echoes , and once more upon completing Kindred Judgment . Transformation . When transforming into a Vampire Lord , the body undergoes drastic changes . In addition to wings sprouting from the back and height vastly increasing , the skin will pale , the eyes will change to an orange - gold hue , and the cheeks will narrow prominently . The wings grant the ability for much faster movement speed while sprinting , and the ability to hover allows the Vampire Lord to pass effortlessly over bodies of water . In addition , carry weight is ignored , so an over - encumbered Vampire may utilize this form for faster movement . As a Vampire Lord , the four stages of vampirism still apply , and as time passes without feeding , the more severe these changes become . In direct sunlight , Vampire Lords suffer the same limitations , such as stunted and decreased Health , Magicka , and Stamina . However , weaknesses and resistances to fire and frost are significantly altered with the addition of : Combat modes . There are two modes of combat for a Vampire Lord : Blood Magic mode . This mode allows the Vampire Lord to hover above the ground and cast Blood Magic spells . This mode can be augmented with Ring of the Erudite , which grants 100 extra Magicka , as well as faster Magicka regeneration . Melee Mode . This mode allows the Vampire Lord to fight on the ground , but in doing so , all Blood Magic spells cannot be used . Instead , the primary means of combat are claw attacks . Melee mode is the only mode where the Power attack bite can be performed . This mode can be augmented with the Poison Talons perk , which grants claw attacks 20 points of poison damage and the Ring of the Beast , which grants claw attacks an additional 20 points of damage . Perks . The Vampire Lord skill tree includes eleven perks . The left side of the tree deals with Night Powers , the right side deals with Blood Magic and the central column consists of passive perks that function like abilities . Consuming life blood through a power attack bite or a Drain Life spell allows new perks to be gained . Perk points allocated to the tree cannot be undone , although the vampirism can be cured through Falion ' s ritual . Requiring a filled Black Soul Gem , the affliction is reversed , but all perks remain . Aela the Huntress offers lycanthropy as a poultice for the vampirism . Unlocking perks in the werewolf skill tree also remain if the Dragonborn becomes a vampire again . Feedings . Each new perk requires a few more feedings than the last . A total of 156 people need to be fed upon to complete the entire tree . Night Powers . Night Powers are activated like powers or shouts and have an associated cooldown period . They all cost magicka to activate . Bats . This power is unlocked by default . It allows the Dragonborn to turn into a cloud of bats then flies forward several feet before reforming as a Vampire Lord . It can be activated twice in quick succession , but then requires a 20 - second cooldown . This power can be augmented with the Amulet of Bats , which adds a knockback stun when flying in the direction of enemies , but only if the Night Cloak perk has been unlocked . Vampire Sight . This power is unlocked by default . It works exactly like Vampire ' s Sight when reaching stage one of vampirism . The effect grants Night Vision for 60 seconds . Detect All Creatures . This works similar to the Aura Whisper shout and a combination of Detect Life and Detect Dead spells . It sends out a sonar - like pulse that reveals all forms of life , living or undead , in a white aura for a few seconds . It also reveals the location of corpses . Cooldown takes 3 seconds . Mist Form . This power simply transforms the Dragonborn into an invulnerable cloud of mist for 23 seconds . During this time , health , magicka , and stamina regenerate . The invulnerability effect is similar to the Become Ethereal shout in that even fall damage is negated . Cooldown takes 33 seconds . Supernatural Reflexes . This power works somewhat similar to the Slow Time shout . When activated , time grinds to a near halt for 23 seconds , but the Dragonborn won ' t be affected as much by the disparity . Cooldown takes 45 seconds . Blood Magic . Blood Magic deals with spells that are typically wielded in the left hand and can only be used in Blood Magic mode . Drain Life . This spell is unlocked by default . It is the core offensive spell in the Vampire Lord ' s arsenal and is permanently equipped in the right hand when in Blood Magic mode . It works similar to the original Vampiric Drain in that it absorbs health , but rather than a stream of energy , it is an area - of - effect projectile similar to the fireball spell . Killing creatures or people with this spell allows new perks to be gained . This spell can be augmented with the Blood of the Ancients ability , which temporarily upgrades the spell to drain magicka and stamina in addition to health . The ability can be accessed upon completion of The Bloodstone Chalice . Raise Dead . This spell is unlocked by default . It ' s essentially a very powerful version of the Raise Zombie spell because it can raise almost any creature or person for 120 seconds . Anything reanimated with this spell collapses into ash piles after being killed again , or when the spell duration ends . It is not affected by the Twin Souls perk in the Conjuration skill tree . Vampiric Grip . Vampiric Grip allows the Dragonborn to essentially lift almost any creature or person off the ground and hold them in the air at the cost of Magicka upkeep . The target can then be flung into the air by releasing the spell . The only creatures that are not affected are Dragons , mammoths , Dragon Priests , Mistmen , Bonemen , Wrathmen and Skeletons . Summon Gargoyle . This spell works much like any other conjuration spell . Casting the spell at the ground will summon a Gargoyle for 120 seconds . This spell can be augmented with the Amulet of the Gargoyle , which summons an additional Gargoyle for 30 seconds . Corpse Curse . This spell works exactly like the Paralyze spell . Targets who fail to resist remain paralyzed for 10 seconds . Other abilities . Night Cloak . This passive perk works in both modes of combat and is similar to elemental cloak spells , such as Flame Cloak . The Vampire Lord becomes surrounded by a cloud of bats during combat which Absorb Health from enemies within melee range . This passive ability can be augmented with the Amulet of Bats , which increases the amount of life drained from enemies . Power attack bite . This attack can be used while in melee mode . It is performed when power attacking a humanoid with low health and happens only a percentage of the time . It activates an animation in which the enemy is bitten on the neck and killed . This attack also counts as consuming life blood , and thus will count towards gaining new perks . It can be augmented with the Blood Healing perk , which restores all health when a person is killed . Revert Form . Unlike werewolves , Vampire Lords can transform in and out of the Vampire Lord form multiple times per day .