The Blood of Dawnwalker offers three romanceable characters tied to multi-quest storylines: Anca, the village healer of Laslea introduced in the prologue; Lacra, a ruthless vampire encountered while investigating Brencis' history; and Crake, leader of the rebellion against Brencis. Each romance hinges on completing a chain of connected quests and eventually choosing an intimate story option, which triggers an explicit scene. Guidance suggests being nice rather than mean, pursuing optional questlines promptly, being honest in dialogue choices, and openly declaring romantic interest. Because of the game's 30-day time limit, characters generally cannot be romanced more than once, though outcomes vary: Lacra explicitly says afterward she isn't looking for anything serious, while Crake is described as the most willing to commit long-term, saying he'll be with the player character, Coen, once Brencis is defeated.
The best weapon found so far is the Imbued Sword of St. Mihai, a legendary greatsword obtained through a lengthy quest chain rather than found or purchased. Players start the chain via Anca's questline, eventually fighting an undead ghoul to obtain the Broken Sword of St. Mihai. From there, three Sword Shards must be located in Kobold dens across the map, guarded by enemies such as a kobold named Munch-Munch, before being combined with the broken sword by a Uriashi Blacksmith found in the map's northwest. A final boss fight against spirits called The Echoing Anger allows the sword to be imbued at an altar, producing a weapon with strong bonuses against supernatural enemies, a higher critical rate, and a spinning weapon art, though it still needs regular upgrades to keep pace with the player's level.
Character progression is split into three perk trees: Witchcraft, Swordmastery, and Vampirism. Witchcraft perks are generally restricted to daytime and focus on spells, resource gathering, and crafting bonuses; recommended picks include Mercurial Fervour, Frugal Witchcraft, Forbidden Sigils, Amalgam, and Life Lock. Swordmastery perks apply at any time and are considered broadly essential, covering combat, stamina, and armor use, with suggestions such as Sustained Focus, Second Skin II, Perfect Block, Sharp Eye, Master Fencer, Endless Effort, Broad Swing, and Swiftness. Vampirism perks are exclusive to night and govern mobility, healing, and claw attacks, with recommended options including Shapeshift, Death From Above, Voracious Bite, Endless Hunger, Nourishing Blood, and Hastened Corruption. Each tree also contains three Ultimate Perks, but only one per tree can ever be unlocked; suggested top picks are Runic Bulwark for Witchcraft, Last Stand for Swordmastery, and Renounce Death for Vampirism. Perks are purchased with points earned from leveling up, some require time to learn, some need collectible Manuals, and Vampire powers are additionally gated behind a Corruption stat that rises when drinking blood.
Time in The Blood of Dawnwalker does not pass automatically while exploring; it only advances through specific quests, dialogue choices, or entering certain areas, and players are generally warned before a time jump occurs. Some quests are time-limited and will disappear if not completed in time, while others are locked to either day or night. The day-night cycle is divided into eight segments each and determines which abilities are available: Witchcraft powers function during the day, while Vampiric powers, including teleportation, wall climbing, and claw attacks, are available at night and make the character notably stronger overall. At night, if health drops too low, dialogue options can shift to allow the character to give in to hunger and attack whoever they are speaking with. Healing methods also change between day and night, shifting from potions and food to blood sources. Once the tutorial ends, players are given 30 in-game days and nights to complete the main quest, though the story can be finished sooner, and there is no option to disable or alter these time mechanics, which are described as an intentional part of the design.
Early in the game, players face a difficult choice over whether to force-feed the character's ailing mother, Esme, at her husband Pieter's insistence, or refuse to feed her against her will. Testing both outcomes reportedly showed no real difference: Esme knocks the food away regardless of the choice, and both paths lead to the same next step, in which the player is sent to obtain medicine for her. Related to this sequence, when brewing medicine from herbs given by Anca, players must use hot water and add three spoonfuls of herbs to match the recipe, a step that must be recalled from memory rather than checked at the time, though the exact consequences of getting it wrong were not tested.