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How to use Blood Essence in V Rising

A vampire floating in a crypt.
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Blood is the, well, lifeblood of not only your character in V Rising but also your progression. Being a vampire, you will begin thinking of blood a lot differently, but even then, there are more facets and types of blood to consider than you might suspect. Yes, your character needs blood to survive, and depending on what type of blood you drink, you will get different buffs and bonuses. However, Blood Essence is another type of blood that is arguably more important than the kind your character drinks.

Blood Essence is introduced in the tutorial of V Rising but evolves as you go further into the game. Even being explained, the fact that there are so many different blood terms in the game can make it hard to keep it all straight. That could end up being a problem when trying to progress and expand your domain in V Rising if you’re not careful. If you’re scratching your head at exactly how to use Blood Essence in V Rising, we’ll put you on the right path.

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What is Blood Essence?

A vampire entrancing a human.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the most important and ongoing projects you have in V Rising is building your castles. You can have one in each zone, and each one has a Castle Heart that is the core of your home base that you build from. Calling it a heart isn’t just metaphorical, however, since it actually does require blood in order to sustain it, as well as power tools, craft items, and make upgrades. In this case, your castle feeds on Blood Essence. Blood Essence comes in three types: Blood Essence, Greater Blood Essence, and Primal Blood Essence. Each comes from a different source (or can be crafted) and is used for different purposes.

How to use Blood Essence

A vampire standing near a red throne.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Using basic Blood Essence is fairly simple. Simply take your Blood Essence, which is a common drop from most enemies, or use the Blood Press with four rats to craft some, and take it to your Castle Heart. Click on the Heart icon and drag your Blood Essence over to power it up, similar to how adding wood or coal to a furnace would work.

Greater Blood Essence doesn’t fuel your Castle Heart and prevent decay like the basic form does, but instead is used for building new building options, high-level gear, and getting new Servant Coffins. This type only drops from enemies level 20 or higher, or take out Tristan the Vampire Hunter boss in Farbane Woods to unlock the crafting recipe. Once you do, you can craft it at the Blood Press by putting in 200 Blood Essence or four Unsullied Hearts.

Finally, Primal Blood Essence is the late-game type that doesn’t have many known uses as of yet. If you want to get it, the only way how, at the time of writing, is to craft it in your Blood Press. To unlock the recipe, though, you will need to topple Jade the Vampire Hunter, a level 62 boss that won’t go down easy. If you somehow manage to do so, you can turn 12 Greater Blood Essence or four Exquisite Hearts into some Primal Blood Essence. The only thing players have found a use for this blood type is to make a Legendary Blood Key, but what that key does or where it can be used either hasn’t been found or simply isn’t in the game yet.

Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over five years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
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