Info about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard:

Official game description:
Dawnguard™ is the first official game add-on for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim® - the 2011 Game of the Year. The Vampire Lord Harkon has returned to power. By using the Elder Scrolls, he seeks to do the unthinkable - to end the sun itself. Will you join the ancient order of the Dawnguard and stop him? Or will you become a Vampire Lord yourself? Featuring an all new faction questline and locations, the ultimate choice will be yours.
Key Features:
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*   New Weapons, Armor, Spells and Shouts. Join the Dawnguard and wield all new crossbows and craft your own arrows, bolts, and Dragonbone weapons. Use new weapons, armor, spells and shouts, including the Soul Tear shout – that rips the souls from your enemies and turns them into your minions.  
*   Become a Vampire Lord. Side with the vampires and become a Vampire Lord yourself. Hover across the ground, turn yourself into bats, levitate your enemies as you drain their life, and more. The Vampire Lord features its own upgradable perk system.  
*   Werewolf Perks added. Playing as a werewolf now has its own upgradable perk system including Bestial Strength, Animal Vigor, and Savage Feeding.  
*   New Locations and Creatures. Choose from two new fortresses to upgrade and call home, Castle Volkihar or Fort Dawnguard. Discover lost valleys and travel to a new realm of Oblivion, the Soul Cairn. Battle new creatures including Death Hounds, Gargoyles, Armored Trolls, and all new vampires and dragons.  
*   Change Your Appearance. Visit Riften’s Ratway and find the woman who can change your appearance, altering your face or hair.

Release date: Aug 2, 2012

Categories: Action RPG, Character Progression, Exploration, Open-World Exploration, Choice-based Narrative, Character Customization, Combat, Faction System

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 20; verdict: Fair; summary: The primary concern among users is the high base price of the Dawnguard DLC, with many recommending to purchase it only during sales or discounts. There is also a mention of a potentially costly in-game feature, but it is unclear if it involves real money. Overall, users suggest buying the entire package with the Legendary Edition rather than purchasing the DLC separately.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $5.00 - $15.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence consistently suggests that the community finds the DLC overpriced at its full price and recommends purchasing it only during sales or discounts. This indicates that the fair price range is lower than the current base price. The repeated mentions of waiting for sales and discounts imply that the community considers a fair price to be significantly lower than the full price.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 30.0h
  - Story completion: 16.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides direct and indirect mentions of playtime for the Dawnguard DLC. The first quote mentions 18 hours to finish the main quest with little side quests. The second quote suggests a range of 10-20 hours for full gameplay if exploring thoroughly, or 5-10 hours for a more direct playthrough. The third quote specifies 15-16 hours for the main vampire storyline. The fourth quote mentions 30 hours of additional gameplay, which seems to include extensive side content. Combining these insights, we can derive typical playtimes for different completion levels.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game starts with tedious and repetitive tasks that can be boring, but it may become more enjoyable as players progress and encounter new locations, quests, and characters.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Encountering new locations, quests, and characters
  - Time to anchor: 2h 0m
  - Friction: Tedious and repetitive tasks; Long and drawn-out quests; Exploring mostly empty maps
  - Unlock drivers: New locations; New quests; Interesting characters
  - Conditions: Playing with a focus on new content; Exploring different faction quests
- Player Archetypes:
  - Budget-Conscious Gamer (sale)
    - Motivation: Value for money
    - Playstyle: Cost-conscious, waits for sales and discounts
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: bargain hunter; sale shopper
    - Reference games: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  - Lore Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: Story and lore
    - Playstyle: Explores new content and delves into the game's lore
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: fan of the series; lore enthusiast
    - Reference games: The Elder Scrolls series


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Vampire Lord and Werewolf enhancements (weight 0.88): The introduction of the Vampire Lord form and improvements to the Werewolf form, including new perk trees and skill trees, are well-received. These additions provide new gameplay mechanics and character development options.
- Engaging and unpredictable storyline (weight 0.81): The DLC features a captivating and lengthy main questline that players found enjoyable and unpredictable. The storyline is praised for its depth and quality, making it a significant highlight.
- Serana as a compelling companion (weight 0.7): Serana is highlighted as a charming and powerful companion with rich character development and unique AI routines. Players appreciate her role as a follower and her overall character.
- Choice between Dawnguard and vampires (weight 0.55): Players appreciate the choice to join the Dawnguard or become a vampire, adding a layer of depth and replayability to the game. This choice is seen as a significant enhancement to the gameplay experience.
- New and beautiful locations (weight 0.51): The DLC introduces numerous new locations that are visually stunning and enjoyable to explore. These new areas add significant value to the gameplay experience.
- New weapons and equipment (weight 0.49): The DLC includes new weapons such as crossbows, as well as new armor, spells, and shouts. These additions enhance the combat system and provide players with more options.
- Additional side quests (weight 0.28): The DLC amplifies the number of side quests, adding significant gameplay hours and enhancing the overall experience. These quests are seen as a valuable addition to the main storyline.
- Interesting new characters (weight 0.13): The DLC introduces new characters that are found to be interesting and realistic. These characters add depth to the storyline and enhance the overall experience.

Common complaints:
- Overpriced and not worth the money (weight 0.6): Many players feel that the game is overpriced at $19.99 and does not offer enough value for the current price.
- Bugs and technical issues (weight 0.35): Players report various bugs and technical issues, including problems with transformations and quests.
- Annoying random vampire attacks (weight 0.3): Players find the constant and random vampire attacks on cities to be annoying and disruptive to gameplay.
- Lack of meaningful choices (weight 0.25): Players note a lack of meaningful choices in the game, leading to a less engaging experience.
- Tedious and repetitive quests (weight 0.25): The main quest and other quests are described as tedious and repetitive.
- Linear narrative and lack of variety (weight 0.19): The game's narrative is linear, and there is a lack of variety in loot and new gameplay features.
- Negative comparison to other games (weight 0.18): Players feel that the game does not meet the quality of other major expansions or games by different developers.
- Long and tedious missions (weight 0.13): Some missions are described as overly long and tedious, requiring extensive walking and exploration.

Gameplay feedback:
- New questlines and factions (weight 0.96): The expansion features new questlines, including faction-based quests where players can choose between joining the Dawnguard or the Volkihar vampire faction. These questlines offer distinct storylines and gameplay experiences.
- Vampire and werewolf perk trees (weight 0.84): The expansion introduces new perk trees and skill development options specifically for vampires and werewolves. Players can explore unique abilities and enhancements for both Vampire Lord and werewolf transformations.
- Vampire Lord transformation (weight 0.69): Players have the ability to transform into a Vampire Lord, which comes with its own set of perks, powers, and a unique skill tree. This transformation adds a new layer of gameplay and character development.
- New weapons and items (weight 0.65): The DLC includes a variety of new weapons such as crossbows and dragonbone weapons, along with new inventory items and NPCs. These additions provide fresh combat experiences and gameplay mechanics.
- Faction choice and conflict (weight 0.61): Players can choose between different factions, such as the Dawnguard and the vampires, each offering unique quests and abilities. This choice drives the conflict and storyline of the expansion.
- New locations to explore (weight 0.25): The DLC introduces new locations such as the Forgotten Vale, Soul Cairn, and Castle Volkihar. These areas provide fresh environments for players to explore and discover.
- Character Serana (weight 0.14): Serana is a new follower character introduced in the expansion. She plays a significant role in the storyline and can accompany the player on their adventures.
- Appearance customization (weight 0.13): The expansion includes features for changing the appearance of characters, allowing for greater customization and personalization.
- Camera modes (weight 0.13): The game offers both first-person and third-person camera modes, providing players with different perspectives and gameplay experiences.

Performance notes:
- Game no longer saves (weight 0.09): Players are experiencing issues with the game's saving functionality, which is a critical problem affecting gameplay progression.
- High optimization score (weight 0.09): The game receives high marks for optimization, indicating smooth performance and efficient use of system resources.

Recommendations:
- Game recommended despite flaws (weight 0.2): The game is generally recommended by players, even though it may have some issues that can be fixed with unofficial patches.
- Legendary edition recommended (weight 0.09): Players find the legendary edition of the game to be a worthwhile purchase, indicating it offers significant value or enhancements.
- DLC essential for mods (weight 0.08): The Dawnguard DLC is considered essential for the majority of mods, making it a valuable addition for players interested in modding.
- Engaging content in Dawnguard (weight 0.08): Players encourage others to experience the content offered by the Dawnguard DLC, suggesting it has engaging or enjoyable aspects.

Other player notes:
- Mod upgrade on Workshop (weight 0.08): Players have mentioned an upgrade to a mod available on the Steam Workshop.

Emotions:
- Excitement (weight 0.24): Players are thrilled by the new content and features introduced in the DLC, particularly the vampire and Dawnguard conflict, new Lycan abilities, and the ability to transform into a Vampire Lord. The addition of new mechanics, items, and unique followers, along with an interesting storyline and new faction choices, also contribute to this excitement.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.14): Players are satisfied with the rich content and new elements in the DLC, including new quests, storylines, and items. The detailed storytelling, new companions, and entertaining storyline, along with new weapons and magic spells, contribute to this sense of satisfaction.
- Frustration (weight 0.1): Players are frustrated by various bugs, including issues with game saving and transformations. The constant vampire attacks on main cities, lack of vampire-killing content, and the high price of the DLC also contribute to this frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.09): Players are disappointed by the tedious and repetitive quests, lack of meaningful choices, and the high price of the DLC. The lack of separated maps and the feeling that the DLC is too similar to the core game also contribute to this disappointment.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Players enjoy various gameplay elements, including vampire slaying, new locations, and the storyline. The return to familiar locations and an entertaining story also contribute to this enjoyment.
- Excited (weight 0.06): Players are excited about the positive feedback on the new content and features introduced in the DLC.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Players appreciate the well-developed characters and story, along with the rich content and upgrades for the vampire playstyle. The beautifully done quest line and new abilities also contribute to this appreciation.
- Satisfied (weight 0.03): Players are satisfied with the positive feedback on the adventure, bonuses, and new content. The comparison to other DLCs and the positive feedback on the storyline also contribute to this satisfaction.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.03): Players are enthusiastic about the vampire abilities, new areas, and the character Serana. The Vampire Lord and hunter mechanics also contribute to this enthusiasm.
- Admiration (weight 0.02): Players admire the character Serana for her depth and development.
- Love (weight 0.02): Players love the enhanced story and the power boost to vampires. The overall quality and depth of the DLC also contribute to this love.
- Frustrated (weight 0.02): Players are frustrated with issues related to the Vampire Lord transformation and various bugs and mission problems.
- Disappointed (weight 0.02): Players are disappointed with the Soul Cairn location, the content, and the price of the DLC.
- Impressed (weight 0.01): Players are impressed with the inclusion of vampires and the option to play as a vampire hunter.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Players are angry about the DLC being overpriced and hidden.
- Affection (weight 0.01): Players have affection for the character Serana due to her personality and role in the storyline.
- Criticism (weight 0.01): Players criticize the developers for failing to immerse players in the vampire lore, leading to a less engaging experience.}