Character Building

Learn how to gain XP, level up, and build your character in Vampyr. Discover the best skills and abilities to focus on for your playthrough.

Alright, let's talk about making your Doctor Jonathan Reid into the ultimate vampire. It all boils down to how you earn experience points (XP) and how you spend them to build your character's abilities. Think of it like this: earning XP is how you get stronger, and spending it is how you choose *how* you get stronger.

Earning XP: The Different Ways

You'll be earning XP all the time, but some methods give you way more than others. Here’s a quick rundown, from least to most XP:

• Killing regular enemies: This is your bread and butter for small gains, usually around 5XP a pop.
• Entering a new district: Just exploring the city nets you 10XP. Keep an eye out for new areas!
• Finding a Hideout: These are safe spots, and discovering them gives you a nice 20XP boost.
• Finding lore entries: Digging into the world's story rewards you with 25XP. It's worth it for the lore and the points!
• Unlocking hints about citizens: Getting to know the people of London by uncovering their secrets gives you anywhere from 10-110XP.
• Treating ailments: Playing doctor and curing sicknesses earns you a good chunk, 25-100XP.
• Completing sidequests (Investigations): These are your main source for solid XP, ranging from 100-400XP. Definitely worth your time.
• Advancing the main quest: Pushing the story forward gives you a hefty ~400XP.
• Defeating bosses: These big fights offer variable XP, so expect a decent reward for overcoming tough challenges.
• Killing citizens: This is where the big numbers come in, 1000-5000XP. It's a morally questionable path, but it's fast XP.
• Killing pillars of the community: The most powerful citizens offer the absolute most XP, a massive 2000-12000XP. This is the fastest way to level up, but it comes with major consequences for the city.

As you can see, going after the citizens, especially the 'pillars of the community,' gives you the most XP. You'll get even more from them if you've spent time learning about their lives and treating their illnesses first, which is a neat little mechanic.

Leveling Up and Stats

Here's the key thing: you don't just passively earn levels. You have to spend your accumulated XP when you rest at a hideout to actually gain a character level. Increasing your level gives you a small boost to your health and makes you take less damage from enemies. The game calculates enemy damage based on the level difference between you and them, so staying a higher level than your foes is crucial for survival. The maximum level you can reach in Vampyr is 50.

My Endgame Build (for reference)

When I finished the game, this is how I allocated my points. Remember, this is just one way to play, and it focuses heavily on defense, which suited my style. You might want to tweak it based on how you like to fight!

• Autophagy: 2 points
• Coagulation: 3 points (with increased duration)
• Blood Barrier: 5 points (with increased defence)
• Bloodspear: 1 point (this is a mandatory purchase early on)
• Abyss: 1 point
• Body Condition: 10 points
• Physical Prowess: 6 points
• Medical Bag: 4 points
• Cartridge Bag: 10 points

This build made me pretty tanky and able to withstand a lot of punishment. Feel free to experiment and find what works best for you!