How To Get Phial Of Ambrus’s Blood In The Blood Of Dawnwalker

TL;DR

• The Phial of Ambrus’s Blood is a Unique consumable that permanently unlocks the Scarlet Shield passive in Coen’s Vampirism tree.
• Drinking it significantly raises Coen’s Corruption — this is permanent, so think before you sip.
• There are two ways to get it: the Lost Blood side quest in St. Tyna’s Grove, or the Court activity Xanthe’s Recruiters: Just a Bit More.
• Lost Blood starts automatically north of the Pilgrim’s Trail Shrine — no quest giver needed.
• Xanthe’s Recruiters: Just a Bit More is east of the Silty Mug Inn — talk to the Blood Guard, clear the camp, then collect the Vrakhiri blood from the golden box.
• Lost Blood also rewards 200 XP and the Medicus II manual after completing the Silberstein follow-up.
• The Court activity rewards 100 XP, 1 Skill Point, and 200 Denarii alongside the phial.

The Phial of Ambrus’s Blood in The Blood of Dawnwalker is one of the more interesting consumables in the game. It’s tied to Ambrus, the youngest of the vampiric vassals, and drinking it gives Coen a defensive vampiric ability that most players want sooner rather than later. This guide covers both ways to get it, step by step, along with what the phial actually does and whether you should drink it right away or hold onto it.

If you want a broader look at the game’s quest structure before diving in, our full quest list for The Blood of Dawnwalker covers everything available. And if you’re managing your in-game economy at the same time, check out our Shiny Tooth farming and selling guide to keep your Denarii topped up while you explore.

What Does The Phial of Ambrus’s Blood Do?

The Phial of Ambrus’s Blood is a Unique-tier consumable. Drinking it permanently does two things:

• Unlocks the Scarlet Shield passive ability in Coen’s Vampirism skill tree.
• Significantly increases Coen’s Corruption level — this cannot be reversed.

Scarlet Shield is a defensive vampiric passive built around blocking. It restores a portion of Coen’s health after he successfully blocks an attack. The better the block, the better the heal. At base rank it restores 20% of a Health Segment after a Perfect Block, with a 20% chance to trigger on a Directional Block and 10% on an Omniblock. As you invest more skill points and corruption rises, those numbers climb — eventually adding lifesteal on follow-up attacks and a chance for any block to count as a Perfect Block.

It’s a strong passive for anyone who plays defensively, but it won’t do much if you dodge everything and rarely hold your ground. Think about your playstyle before drinking it, especially since the Corruption increase is permanent. For players still working on their build, our guide on the best skills to level up in Blood of Dawnwalker can help you decide where Scarlet Shield fits.

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Method 1 – The Lost Blood Quest (St. Tyna’s Grove)

This is the easiest and most story-rich way to get the Phial of Ambrus’s Blood. The Lost Blood side quest starts automatically — no NPC to trigger it, no quest board. You just need to walk into the right area.

Lost Blood Quest Overview

• Quest Type: Side Quest
• Starting Location: North of the Pilgrim’s Trail Shrine, St. Tyna’s Grove
• Quest Giver: None – auto-triggers on location
• Fail State: None
• Reward: 200 XP total + Medicus II Manual
• Time Cost: 3 Time Segments for the quest + approximately 16 Time Segments waiting for the merchant

Step 1 – Find the Destroyed Blood Cart

Fast travel to the Pilgrim’s Trail Shrine in St. Tyna’s Grove. Walk north along the road. You’re looking for a smashed blood transport cart surrounded by broken barrels and pooled blood. Coen reacts to it as soon as you get close, noting it looks like a mess — that’s the quest triggering.

You can also trigger Lost Blood in reverse if you happen upon the cave to the west first. Enter the cave, fight the boss inside, and the quest starts from there. Either direction works fine.

Step 2 – Investigate With Focus Mode

Hold Focus Mode (L2 on PlayStation / LT on Xbox) and inspect the barrels, the broken cart, and the blood on the ground. You’ll also find Blood Transport Orders and a dead soldier nearby. The investigation updates the journal and reveals that whatever destroyed this transport wasn’t a common thief.

Step 3 – Follow the Blood Trail

Keep Focus Mode active and follow the gold-highlighted blood trail heading west from the cart. It passes a severed arm, scattered loot, and other gruesome remains along the way. The trail leads directly to a cave entrance just south of the main path. Follow it all the way in.

Step 4 – Defeat Murohn, Malformed Monstrosity

Inside the cave, you’ll face Murohn, Malformed Monstrosity — a proper boss encounter. This isn’t a standard enemy. A few things to keep in mind:

• It can teleport, so don’t commit to long attack strings or you’ll get caught mid-combo.
• Block on the timing of its attacks rather than spamming. Its telegraphs are readable but punishing if you’re greedy.
• Dodge the charge attack cleanly and counter in the opening it leaves.
• Come with full health and enough consumables. The cave approach itself is safe, but don’t go in depleted.

Once Murohn is dead, one Time Segment passes.

Step 5 – Loot the Corpse and Explore the Cave

Loot Murohn’s body. You’ll pick up:

• Phial of Ambrus’s Blood — the main reward you came for
• Mysterious Ring — needed for the quest follow-up
• Murohn Blood — a crafting resource

Before leaving, use Focus Mode to find a Letter from Father on the bed inside the cave. Reading it reveals that Murohn was once human — a man whose father still lives in Svartrau City. This opens the second half of the quest. While you’re here, grab any Cave Fungus and other loot scattered around the chamber.

Step 6 – Travel to Silberstein in Svartrau City

Open your map and fast travel to Silberstein, the southeastern district of Svartrau City. Head to the General Trader’s shop on the southwestern side of the district, south of the Silberstein Shrine. Speak to the merchant and show him the Mysterious Ring. He recognises the emblem from his family tapestry and realises the creature you killed was his son.

You can respond with either “He wasn’t human anymore!” or “I am sorry.” Both lead to the same result. The merchant shuts the shop to grieve.

Step 7 – Wait and Return

You need to wait roughly one full in-game day (approximately 16 Time Segments) before you can finish the quest. Don’t stand around waiting — use the time to do other side quests or Court Activities. When a day has passed, return to the Silberstein merchant. He thanks Coen for ending his son’s suffering and asks if you still have the ring.

• Say you still have it: He buys it back for coin. Good if you want the Denarii.
• Say you don’t: You keep the Mysterious Ring. It has no stats, so this is purely a cosmetic choice.

Either way, the quest closes and you receive the Medicus II Manual and the remaining XP payout. The phial itself was already secured back in the cave, so nothing here puts it at risk.

For the full walkthrough of this quest, see our dedicated Lost Blood quest guide.

Method 2 – Xanthe’s Recruiters: Just a Bit More (Court Activity)

If you want a second phial, or you’d rather skip the cave boss entirely, there’s a faster route through one of Xanthe’s Court Activities. Xanthe’s Recruiters: Just a Bit More is one of the easier activities in Xanthe’s set and hands over the Phial of Ambrus’s Blood as a direct quest reward.

Activity Overview

• Activity Type: Court Activity (Xanthe)
• Location: East of the Silty Mug Inn, in The Silts area
• Missable: Yes
• Reward: Phial of Ambrus’s Blood, 100 XP, 1 Skill Point, 200 Denarii
• Time Cost: 3 Time Segments

How To Complete It

Travel to the Silty Mug Inn area and head east to find the recruiter camp. Like all Court Activities, it won’t appear on your map automatically — it shows as “Unknown Activity” in the Court menu until you physically walk into the area or climb a nearby tower to reveal it.

The camp has only a small number of Blood Guard recruiters guarding it rather than a full outpost. Clear them out. Once you approach the golden box after the fight, a Blood Addict interrupts you. You can kill him or spare him — the choice makes no difference to the reward.

Interact with the golden box and choose to collect the Vrakhiri blood. This consumes 3 Time Segments. The activity completes, and the Phial of Ambrus’s Blood lands in Coen’s inventory along with the XP, Skill Point, and Denarii.

Tip: Don’t leave without looting the camp containers. They can hold a Majestic Greatsword, Golden Tableware, Skender’s Sins, and a Vial of Human Blood — worth more in raw value than the quest reward itself. Note that some of these pickups flag as theft and will trigger an Infamy increase.

This activity also contributes to Xanthe’s Anger meter, which you need to fill to unlock her boss quest, The Cycle of Love. Doing it alongside the other two recruiter activities — Come Home and Taste of Power — gives you all three Legendary phials in quick succession. Want to know more about all the Court Activities available in the game? Our guide on all Infamy Edicts covers the broader system.

Should You Drink the Phial of Ambrus’s Blood?

The phial is a consumable, not a quest item, so it sits in your inventory until you choose to use it. Here’s how to think about the decision:

• Drink it if you block a lot. Scarlet Shield is a blocking-centric passive. If your combat style involves holding your ground and countering, the health return is excellent — especially in longer fights where chip damage adds up.
• Hold off if you’re keeping Corruption low. The phial raises Corruption significantly. If you’re on a playthrough where you want to manage how vampiric Coen becomes, save it for later or skip it entirely.
• Don’t drink it just to drink it. Unlike the Phial of Brencis’s Blood from The Beast of Balaur quest, which you might want early for its unique unlock, this one benefits players with a specific defensive playstyle more than those who dodge-focus.

Corruption is permanent and feeds into how Coen’s vampiric abilities scale. Getting the ability unlock is one consideration — but so is how much of the meter you’re willing to give up. If you want to get ability slots properly set up before committing, see our guide to getting ability slots in Blood of Dawnwalker.

Other Phials in The Blood of Dawnwalker

The Phial of Ambrus’s Blood is one of four vampiric phials in the game. Each unlocks a different ability in the Vampirism tree and raises Corruption. Here’s a quick reference:

• Phial of Ambrus’s Blood – Unlocks Scarlet Shield (health restoration on block). Get it via Lost Blood or Xanthe’s Recruiters: Just a Bit More.
• Phial of Bakir’s Blood – Unlocks Shadowstorm (slows time, sacrifices 15% health). Get it via Xanthe’s Recruiters: Come Home or from Ambrus’s leech collector quests.
• Phial of Brencis’s Blood – Unlocks Piercing Shriek. Found in the hidden study room during The Beast of Balaur quest, or via Xanthe’s Recruiters: Taste of Power.
• Phial of Xanthe’s Blood – Found through her related questline.

None of the phials stack — drinking two of the same type doesn’t double the ability. They’re each a one-time unlock tied to their specific vassal’s blood.

More Blood of Dawnwalker Guides

• Ambrus Dungeons – Judge and Executioner
• Ambrus Dungeons – Evil and Convenience
• How to Save Lacra
• How to Ally With Xanthe
• A Study in Crimson Quest
• A Pilgrimage for Power Quest
• Night of Horrors – Mandrake Ward Perk
• Where Old Devils Lie – Font of Life Perk
• Stronger Than Achilles Quest
• Prologue Walkthrough

Where to Get The Blood of Dawnwalker

• PlayStation Store
• Xbox Store
• Steam (PC)

Frequently Asked Questions