The Blood of Dawnwalker: Beginners Guide and Tips (Best Early Legendary Gear and Weapon)

The 30-day timer is a currency, not a countdown. Spend it wisely. The main story costs at most 10 days, leaving ~20 for side content if you want to save your family. Total side content is ~30 days, so full completion needs save reloading. My early legendary route: grab Isbrand’s Greaves first (1 day segment, easy fight), then Durandal (2 day segments, optional boss skip), then push Ambrus’s questline for Ambrus’s Cuirass. Save Esme in the prologue with the correct medicine or you lock yourself out of endings.

 

How I Treat the 30-Day Clock

Time in The Blood of Dawnwalker doesn’t tick on its own. It’s a resource you spend on quests, intel, and skill upgrades. You get 30 days total.

Here’s the math that matters:

So a single clean playthrough can’t show you everything. Don’t panic about it. Plan around it.

 

My Route for 100% Completion in One Playthrough

I used save files to see everything without restarting. Here’s the exact order I follow:

1. Finish the prologue missions.
2. Push the main story, using core activities to draw out the three main bosses (any order works).
3. Make a save right before the final mission.
4. Use the remaining ~20 days to clear as much side content as possible.
5. When time runs out, make another save and run the final mission to save my family.
6. Reload the earlier save. Skip the final quest and do the rest of the side content — let your family die, time stops mattering.
7. For all seven endings, reload the pre-final save and make different choices during the final quest.

One hard rule: save Esme in the prologue. Give her the correct medicine before time runs out. If she dies, you lose access to ending variations. Every other ending branch happens in the final quest.

First Legendary Armor: Isbrand’s Greaves (Low Effort, High Reward)

This is the easiest legendary piece I picked up early. Run to the marked location on the map — it takes a bit of travel but nothing dangerous.

You’ll find a chest guarded by a handful of weak enemies. Clear them, then open the chest. It costs 1 day segment. Inside is the full set of Isbrand’s Greaves.

That’s it. No boss, no quest chain, no real risk. I grabbed this within the first hour of free-roam and wore it for a long stretch.

Best Early Legendary Weapon: Durandal

Durandal is one of the strongest swords in the game, and you can get it very early. It’s tied to a side quest that costs 2 day segments.

Here’s my path:

1. Go to the map location and investigate the broken cart.
2. Loot Demetar’s Orders — it describes a treasure transport carrying the former Niyaz’s legendary blade, Durandal.
3. Head down the chasm to the floor.
4. You’ll get jumped by wolves first, then two ghostly Vidmo bosses.

For the fight: kill the wolves first. Against the specters, use precision blocking and keep your spatial awareness sharp — they punish panic rolling.

Loot Durandal from the wreckage after the fight. The perk on it is strong enough to carry you through a huge chunk of the game.

How I Skip the Durandal Boss Fight (Stealth Route)

If you want Durandal without the headache, there’s a cleaner path. Come to the chasm at night in vampire form.

Head down normally, make a save, then sneak while investigating. Grab the sword before combat triggers. Use your vampire form to climb the cliff and escape.

You still lose the 2 day segments when you pick up the sword — that cost is unavoidable. But you skip the wolves and both Vidmo bosses entirely.

Getting Ambrus’s Cuirass Early

Ambrus’s Cuirass is a legendary chest piece that drops from Ambrus, one of the main vampires in the court. I made this one of my first goals once free-roam opened up.

The process:

1. Complete Ambrus’s branching side quests until he gets angry with you.
2. This unlocks his main mission, The Gilded Gauntlet.
3. Defeat Ambrus in that mission.
4. The Cuirass is yours.

This one takes more work than the Greaves, but the payoff is worth it — a legendary armor piece that early sets the tone for the rest of the run.

My Early Gear Priority Order

If you want to optimize your opening hours, here’s the order I’d follow:

That’s three legendary pieces before the mid-game, for roughly 3 day segments total. The rest of your time budget stays intact for the main story and other side content.