- TL;DR
- Each skill tree has one specific perk that unlocks extra ability slots — not a general level-up reward.
- Swordmastery — unlock Master Fencer (requires Sustained Focus first).
- Witchcraft — unlock Forbidden Sigils (requires Unnatural Resilience first).
- Vampirism — unlock Vrakhiri Might (requires enough Corruption level).
- You can equip up to 4 active abilities per tree once slots are maxed.
- Some slot upgrades cost time segments on top of skill points — watch your clock.
- Abilities must be manually equipped in the Active Abilities panel after you unlock them.
Learning how to get ability slots in The Blood of Dawnwalker is one of the most important things to figure out early on. You can unlock new abilities from the skill trees, but you cannot use any of them in combat without first having an open slot. The game does not hand these out automatically as you level up. Each tree hides the slot unlock behind a specific perk, and if you miss it, you will be sitting on great abilities you cannot actually equip. If you are still building your character from the ground up, check out our guide on the best skills to level up in The Blood of Dawnwalker to plan your build alongside your slot unlocks.
There are three skill trees in the game — Swordmastery, Witchcraft, and Vampirism — and each one works differently. The slot perk for each tree is also unlocked in a different way. This guide breaks it all down so you know exactly where to go and what to invest in first. For a full picture of the game before diving in, our release date, platforms, and editions guide covers everything you need to know about what you are playing.
How Ability Slots Work in The Blood of Dawnwalker
Abilities in this game are the active moves you trigger manually during combat. Things like stuns, damage attacks, lifesteal, and area-of-effect hits all fall under abilities. Perks are different — those are passive bonuses that apply automatically once unlocked.
To use an ability in a fight, two things need to happen. First, you need to have unlocked it in the skill tree at a shrine. Second, you need an open ability slot in that tree to equip it. Without the slot, the ability just sits there in the menu doing nothing.
There are separate Day and Night loadouts for your abilities. Day is your human form, used for Witchcraft and Swordmastery builds. Night is your vampire form, used for Vampirism and Swordmastery. Swordmastery abilities can be placed in both loadouts since they work at all times. You can hold up to 4 active abilities per tree once all slots are unlocked.
To equip an ability after unlocking it, open the Active Abilities panel from the character menu and assign it to a Quick Slot. Unlocking at the shrine does not equip it automatically.
How To Get Swordmastery Ability Slots
Swordmastery is the tree most players invest in first because it works day and night, in both human and vampire form. This makes getting the Swordmastery ability slots a priority for almost every build.
Step 1: Unlock Sustained Focus
Before you can get the Swordmastery ability slot perk, you need to unlock Sustained Focus first. This perk increases the number of activation charges you can hold, and it sits above the slot perk in the tree. You cannot skip it. Spend skill points into Sustained Focus and level it up. At level 4, it gives you the maximum number of activation charges, which power all your active Swordmastery abilities.
Step 2: Unlock Master Fencer
Once Sustained Focus is available, the Master Fencer perk unlocks below it. This is the node that increases your Swordmastery ability slots. Each level of Master Fencer gives you an additional slot to equip more active abilities. Level it to 3 to reach the maximum number of Swordmastery ability slots.
Some higher levels of Master Fencer will also cost time segments on top of skill points. Check the hourglass icon on the perk before you commit. Time is a limited resource in this game — you only have 30 in-game days to complete the story — so spending time on perks that are not worth it early on can hurt your progress elsewhere.
What Manuals Do You Need?
Unlocking and upgrading certain Swordmastery perks requires Manuals — items found in the world or bought from merchants. Read them from your inventory to unlock the relevant perk tier in the skill tree. Any locked perk shows a small book icon indicating a Manual is needed. Grab Manuals whenever you see them, even if you are not ready to spend on the unlock yet. Reading the Manual is what opens the perk for purchase, so do it as soon as you find one.
How To Get Witchcraft Ability Slots
Witchcraft abilities only work during the day while Coen is in human form. This tree is focused on spellcasting, buffs, and area-of-effect attacks. Getting extra Witchcraft slots requires going through a prerequisite perk first, just like Swordmastery.
Step 1: Unlock Unnatural Resilience
The first requirement is Unnatural Resilience. This perk increases Coen’s armor whenever any Witchcraft ability is active. It sits in the Witchcraft tree and must be unlocked before the slot perk becomes available. Invest skill points here first.
Step 2: Unlock Forbidden Sigils
With Unnatural Resilience in place, Forbidden Sigils becomes available. This is the perk that adds extra Witchcraft ability slots. Each level opens up another slot, letting you equip more active Witchcraft spells to your daytime loadout.
GamesRadar+ also flags Forbidden Sigils as one of the most important Witchcraft perks to grab early, specifically because having more ability slots lets you stack multiple combat spells for daytime fights. Without it, you are stuck with the default number of slots regardless of how many abilities you have unlocked.
Witchcraft perks and abilities can also require Manuals in the same way as Swordmastery. Some tiers will remain locked until you find and read the corresponding Manual. Keep an eye out for these while exploring Vale Sangora.
How To Get Vampirism Ability Slots
The Vampirism tree is your nighttime power set. All Vampirism perks and abilities are locked to Coen’s vampire form after dark. Getting ability slots in this tree works differently from the other two — it is not gated behind Manuals but behind Corruption level instead.
How Corruption Works
Corruption rises every time Coen drinks blood. Feeding on humans or animals builds the regular Corruption track. Drinking Vrakhir blood builds a separate Vrakhiri track. Perks in the Vampirism tree require regular Corruption level, while some Vampirism abilities can also require Vrakhiri Corruption specifically.
Each time your Corruption rises high enough, you will see a “New Vampiric Powers Available” notification on screen. This is your signal to head to a shrine and check what has unlocked in the Vampirism tree. If a Vampirism perk or ability is still greyed out, you need more Corruption — more skill points will not fix it.
Killing a powerful Vrakhiri enemy increases your Corruption significantly in one go, which is a fast way to push through the early Corruption requirements. For more on managing the story timeline while building Corruption, our Live Bait quest walkthrough shows how early quests can be used to feed efficiently without burning too many time segments.
Unlock Vrakhiri Might
The Vampirism ability slot perk is called Vrakhiri Might. It sits in the first column on the left of the Vampirism tree. Unlike Swordmastery and Witchcraft, you do not need a prerequisite perk before this one — you just need enough Corruption level to make it available, then spend skill points to unlock it.
Each level of Vrakhiri Might adds another Vampirism ability slot, letting you equip more active vampire powers to your night loadout. Level it up as you push your Corruption higher throughout the game.
How Many Ability Slots Can You Have?
You can equip up to 4 active abilities per skill tree. That means 4 Swordmastery slots, 4 Witchcraft slots, and 4 Vampirism slots at maximum. Since Swordmastery abilities can go into both day and night loadouts, you can actually have a very full combat toolkit once all slots are unlocked across all three trees.
Reaching the maximum across all three trees takes significant investment across the game. Prioritize based on your playstyle. If you fight mostly at night and lean into vampire abilities, push Vrakhiri Might and Vampirism slots first. If you prefer sword combat around the clock, Master Fencer in Swordmastery is the most impactful early investment.
Tips for Managing Ability Slots and Time
Do Not Buy Abilities Before You Have Slots
This is the most common mistake early on. You see a great ability in the tree, spend skill points to unlock it, then realize you have no slot to equip it. Always unlock the slot perk in each tree before spending on the abilities themselves. An ability without a slot is completely useless until you fix that.
Check the Time Cost on Every Perk
Some perk upgrades — including higher levels of Master Fencer and Forbidden Sigils — cost time segments shown by an hourglass icon. Each time segment spent training moves the in-game clock forward. With only 30 days to complete the story, every hour matters. Check the cost before committing and make sure the perk is worth the time investment at that stage of the game. For tips on managing the clock efficiently while completing side content, our Under Watchful Eyes quest walkthrough is a good example of how to maximize what you do in a single day.
Equip Abilities After Every Unlock
Unlocking an ability at a shrine does not add it to your combat loadout. You have to go into the Active Abilities panel from the character menu and manually assign it to a Quick Slot. It is easy to forget this step, especially when you are unlocking several things at once at a shrine. Make it a habit to check your loadout after every shrine visit.
Use Separate Day and Night Loadouts
The game has distinct Day and Night Quick Slot sets. Set up your Witchcraft and Swordmastery abilities in the Day loadout. Set up your Vampirism and Swordmastery abilities in the Night loadout. You do not have to re-equip every time you transform — the game switches loadouts automatically when Coen changes form. This is a big quality-of-life feature once you understand it.
Feed Regularly to Stay Ahead on Vampirism
Do not wait until you need a new Vampirism ability to start feeding. Keep your Corruption rising consistently throughout the game so the tree unlocks ahead of when you need it. The Hastened Corruption perk also speeds this up significantly if you want to push through Vampirism ability tiers faster. Our guide on improving Coen’s mother’s condition runs alongside the main story progression and shows how feeding opportunities come up naturally during the campaign.
Read Manuals Immediately
The moment you find or buy a Manual, read it from your inventory. You do not need to be ready to spend skill points on the perk it unlocks — just reading it is what opens the perk for purchase later. Holding onto Manuals without reading them delays your access to tree upgrades for no reason.
Summary: Which Perk Unlocks Ability Slots in Each Tree
- Swordmastery — Unlock Sustained Focus first, then Master Fencer (level up to 3 for max slots). Works day and night.
- Witchcraft — Unlock Unnatural Resilience first, then Forbidden Sigils. Day only.
- Vampirism — Raise Corruption by feeding, then unlock Vrakhiri Might (no prerequisite perk required). Night only.
All three trees allow up to 4 active ability slots at maximum. Do not skip the slot perks — they are the gateway to actually using everything else you unlock. Once your slots are set up, abilities from the best skills to invest in will start making a real difference in combat.
If you are still deciding whether to pick up the Eclipse Edition for extra content from the start, our Eclipse Edition DLC unlock guide covers what it includes and how to access it.
