Time System, Day and Night in The Blood of Dawnwalker

Time management is one of the core mechanics in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Coen's story revolves around his need to save his family within 30 days from the clutches of Knyaz Brencis, but... how exactly does time progression work, what changes between day and night, and what happens if the 30 days run out? Here we'll explain everything you need to know.

How time progression works

Each full day in the game is divided into 16 time segments: 8 during the day and 8 during the night. If you open the Journal menu, you can see exactly which day you're on, how many time segments remain in the current day or night, and how many days are left until the 30-day deadline.

Time does not pass automatically while you explore. Instead, specific actions — such as advancing certain quests, unlocking skill upgrades or even opening certain chests — will consume a set number of time segments. Whenever an action has a time cost, you'll usually see it indicated in the interface. For example, below you can see that Meet with Anca at the old inn, part of the Echoes of Silenced Bells quest, does not cost any time, while Go to the mill, part of The Firebrand, costs one time segment.

Be careful: this doesn't mean that every subsequent objective in Echoes of Silenced Bells is free. It simply means that this particular objective has no time cost. Whenever an action is going to advance time, you'll normally see an hourglass icon together with the number of time segments the decision or activity will consume.

The main exception involves activities that trigger directly in the open world, such as clearing certain bandit camps. In these cases, you'll see the time indicator on the HUD begin to flash, with one or more segments becoming shaded to warn you how much time the activity is about to consume.

Manage your time carefully depending on which quests, upgrades and activities you want to prioritise.

Differences between day and night

Several important gameplay elements change depending on whether it's day or night.

• During the day:
  • You can use Witchcraft abilities, but not Vampirism abilities.
  • You can use Swordmastery abilities, and swords are generally your strongest combat option.
  • You can trade with most merchants.
  • Some quests and activities are only available during the day.
  • Some pieces of equipment are more effective during the day.
  • You can restore health using consumable items.
• At night:
  • You can use Vampirism abilities, but not Witchcraft abilities.
  • You can still use Swordmastery abilities, although your vampire claws become an extremely powerful combat option.
  • Most merchants are unavailable because their shops close at night.
  • You need to keep an eye on your Blood Hunger. If you fail to manage it, Coen may lose control.
  • Some quests and activities are only available at night.
  • Some pieces of equipment are more effective at night.
  • You can't restore your vampiric health with normal healing items; you'll need blood instead.

The simplest way to think about it is this: behave like a human during the day and embrace your vampire side at night.

What happens if you don't finish the story within 30 days?

If you fail to save your family within 30 days, you'll trigger one of the game's bad outcomes, known as Time Runs Out. Brencis's ceremony goes ahead and Coen's family is sacrificed.

However, the 30-day deadline does not cause a Game Over. You can continue playing after the deadline and keep exploring the open world. You can also continue progressing through the remaining content, although the outcomes that require you to save Coen's family will no longer be available, and running out of time can also affect certain side quests or characters tied to the main story.