How to Quick Slot Items & Abilities: Day/Night Loadouts

Mid-fight inventory digging kills more runs in The Blood of Dawnwalker than any boss. The game hands you two entirely separate forms - a human swordsman by day, a vampire by night - and expects you to run two entirely separate combat kits. The quick slot system is where that dual life is managed, and most players only discover half of it: there are not one but two independent quick-slot sets, one per form. This guide covers how assignment works, where the menu hides, and loadout templates that keep both Coens combat-ready.

How Quick Slots Work

Quick slots are radial-menu shortcuts for abilities and usable items, opened in combat with a held button and selected with the stick or mouse. Two structural rules define everything:

• Two sets, one per form. Day Coen and night Coen each maintain their own quick-slot wheel. An ability assigned to the night wheel does not appear by day, and vice versa - the game swaps wheels automatically at the day/night transition.
• Assignment happens in the menu, not in combat. Open the main menu and go to the Active Abilities tab to place abilities into slots; consumables are slotted from the inventory. There is no in-field rearranging, so set your kit before picking fights.

This separation is the single most underused convenience in the game. Players who manually swap loadouts every sunset are doing by hand what the game will do for free - if both wheels are configured.

What Belongs on Each Wheel

Day (Human) Wheel

Human Coen is a stamina-based fighter with healing items and witchcraft. The default template that covers 90% of situations:

1. Primary heal - your best brewed tincture, on the muscle-memory slot
2. Secondary sustain - a cheaper heal or stamina tonic for chip damage
3. Combat buff potion - brewed buffs are disproportionately strong (see crafting)
4. One witchcraft utility - a situational ability like a stun or mobility option
5. Throwables - knives or bombs for pulling camps

Night (Vampire) Wheel

Night Coen drinks blood instead of potions, so the wheel is ability-heavy:

1. Core vampire power - your build’s signature (mobility, fear, or damage)
2. Second power - the combo piece, e.g. a gap-closer paired with a nuke
3. Emergency heal - night sustain still exists; do not leave it empty
4. Activation-charge spender - whatever converts your meter into damage
5. Situational slot - anti-supernatural tools for echo fights

The full ability roster and which powers are worth slotting are covered in the best skills guide; the rule of thumb is one heal, two bread-and-butter powers, two flex slots on each wheel.

The Consumable Slot Discipline

Crafted potions only work if they are slotted. The classic failure is brewing a stack of damage buffs, leaving them in inventory, and never feeling the 5% weapon damage the whole run. Discipline:

• Slot before the fight, not during it. You cannot rearrange mid-combat, and opening the inventory in a brawl is how perfect-block timing dies.
• Refresh after every major fight. A half-empty heal slot is a trap; restock at the same shrine visit where you bank loot (see storage).
• Match consumables to form. Human heals on the day wheel, night sustain on the night wheel. Cross-assigning wastes a slot on each wheel.

Because potion buffs in this game persist until a time segment is consumed, the optimal rhythm is: brew at a bench, slot everything, buff up, then do as many fights as possible before the segment ends. The economy guide covers affording the habit.

Common Mistakes

• Leaving the night wheel empty. New players slot a day kit, transform at sunset, and find four empty slots in a boss fight. Configure both wheels the moment you unlock the second form.
• Slotting situational abilities in core positions. Your every-fight heal belongs on the fastest muscle-memory position; the once-a-quest utility belongs on the far slot.
• Ignoring throwables on the day wheel. A knife pull turns a 4v1 camp into four 1v1s and costs nothing but a slot.
• Never revisiting after respec. If you reshape your build, your wheels are stale. Quick slots are build artifacts, not set-and-forget.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many quick slots are there per form? The wheels hold a fixed ring of slots (abilities plus items share it), which is generous enough for a full kit but tight enough that throwables compete with heals for space. Prioritize by fight frequency.

Can I use the same slot layout on both wheels? You can mirror positions so muscle memory transfers between forms - same button for “heal” on both wheels is a popular setup.

Do quick slots persist between saves and New Game Plus? Assignments are per-save. Starting New Game Plus means re-slotting from scratch, so screenshot your wheels before finishing a run.

Why does my ability disappear from the wheel? You swapped to the other form, or the ability was changed by a respec. Check the Active Abilities tab for the form you are currently in.