List of Active Powers | Vampiric powers DARK Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Shadow Kill
EFFECTS: Teleporting Eric towards an opponent and performing a silent kill.
USEFULNESS: high
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: It should be your top priority to unlock this power as soon as possible, because it comes in handy in killing more distant targets. Another advantage of this ability is that it can also be used to kill ghouls and armored soldiers (the only exception are the elite hunters with miniguns).
UPGRADE 1/3 - SILENCE
EFFECTS: Activating Shadow Kill doesn't cause any noise.
USEFULNESS: high
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: I strongly recommend purchasing this upgrade, especially since it requires only one power point.
UPGRADE 2/3 - REDUCED COOLDOWN
EFFECTS: Instant regeneration of Shadow Kill.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: You shouldn't waste your time and valuable power points on this upgrade. Situations when you'll want to perform two kills soon after each other are very rare and besides you'd need two Vitae points to pull it off.
UPGRADE 3/3 - STUN
EFFECTS: Enemies standing close to the killed target are being stunned.
USEFULNESS: high
COST: 2 power points
COMMENTS: You can ignore this upgrade for a long time as well, because you shouldn't risk attacking enemies who are standing close to other hostile characters.
Distract
EFFECTS: Distracting enemy units.
USEFULNESS: medium
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: This power may come in handy in certain situations, especially since you can choose where nearby guards are supposed to be looking. If you like to kill your enemies then invest in something more useful in performing silent executions.
UPGRADE 1/2 - EXTENDED DURATION
EFFECTS: Enemies are distracted for a longer period of time.
USEFULNESS: high
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: If you've decided to unlock the main ability then you should invest in this upgrade as well, because Distract only lasts four seconds by default.
UPGRADE 2/2 - INCREASED AREA OF EFFECT
EFFECTS: A larger area is affected by the ability.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 2 power points
COMMENTS: It's best to focus on distracting only very small groups. Besides being noticed by a more distant enemy isn't equal to an instant alarm, because you'll usually have some time to hide before you're discovered.
Regeneration
EFFECTS: Regaining health points.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: - (you don't have to unlock this power, because it's available from the start of the game)
COMMENTS: If you plan on using this guide to help you in finishing the game then you won't need to regenerate yourself, because you won't be attacked even once. The only exception is the fight with the final boss, but by then you will most likely have all powers and upgrades at your disposal.
UPGRADE 1/1 - INSTANT REGENERATION
EFFECTS: Instant health regeneration.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: Like I've already said you probably won't have to use Regeneration and when you'll start the fight with the last boss your character will already be fully developed.
Shadow Grip
EFFECTS: Performing an execution from a distance.
USEFULNESS: high
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: The main difference between this ability and Shadow Kill is that after activating Shadow Grip the main character doesn't teleport himself to his target but instead he performs an execution without leaving cover. This is a very useful power, but make sure to fully develop it.
UPGRADE 1/2 - SILENT GRIP
EFFECTS: Activating Shadow Grip doesn't cause any noise.
USEFULNESS: high
COST: 2 power points
COMMENTS: I strongly recommend that you unlock this upgrade as soon as possible, because Shadow Grip makes a lot of noise by default and the execution may easily be noticed by someone.
UPGRADE 2/2 - DESTROY CORPSE
EFFECTS: Automatic body disposal after a successful kill.
USEFULNESS: high
COST: 3 power points
COMMENTS: This upgrade is extremely expensive, however it greatly increases the usefulness of the Shadow Grip ability. Having this upgrade will allow you not only to eliminate distant enemies, but you also won't have to worry about getting to their corpses to dispose of them.
Obfuscation
EFFECTS: Becoming a shadow that's harder to spot.
USEFULNESS: medium
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: It's a good idea to have this ability "on stand-by" so that you can immediately activate it when you'll notice that you're close to being discovered by an enemy guard or by a security camera.
UPGRADE 1/2 - EXTENDED DURATION
EFFECTS: Extended duration of the Obfuscation ability.
USEFULNESS: high
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: If you like using this ability then you should also invest in the first upgrade, because it extends the partial invisibility to eight seconds (it's only four seconds by default).
UPGRADE 2/2 - EXTENDED DURATION II
EFFECTS: Second extension in the duration of the ability.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 2 power points
COMMENTS: Thanks to unlocking this upgrade you'll have 15 seconds in total, but to the be honest you won't need that long and as a result it's better to focus on gaining access to more useful powers and upgrades.
Domination
EFFECTS: Stunning an opponent.
USEFULNESS: medium
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: This is a fairly interesting ability and you may find it useful each time you encounter two guards stationed close to each other. It's not absolutely necessary to unlock it though, because in most cases you can just wait for enemies to go in their separate ways or get their attention by running next to cover.
UPGRADE 1/2 - REDUCED COOLDOWN
EFFECTS: Instant regeneration.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 2 power points
COMMENTS: Being able to use Domination several times in a row isn't something special. Once you've encountered a larger group of enemies it's better to avoid them or to use such powers as Distract or Presence.
UPGRADE 2/2 - ENHANCED EFFECT
EFFECTS: Increased duration of the Domination ability.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 3 power points
COMMENTS: This is another upgrade you don't have to unlock right away, especially since it costs 3 power points. It also doesn't improve your chances in any major way, because Domination lasts four seconds by default and that's plenty of time to avoid or kill a stunned enemy.
Presence
EFFECTS: Confusing a group of opponents.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 2 power points
COMMENTS: Being able to stun a group of enemies at the same time may seem like a great idea. Sadly Presence is very weak in its original form, because it lasts only two seconds. It's also expensive, requiring you to spend 2 power points.
UPGRADE 1/1 - FORGET
EFFECTS: Increased duration of Presence. Alert status of affected enemies is lowered after activating the ability.
USEFULNESS: medium
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: Unlocking this upgrade improves the usefulness of the main ability in a major way and that's thanks to a bonus which automatically lowers alert levels of all affected enemy units. Using this power may allow you to survive uncomfortable situations after you've been seen.
Celerity
EFFECTS: Moving very fast.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: This is by far the least useful active vampire power. It's much better to invest power points in improving standard teleportation (Shadow Leap), especially since using that ability doesn't require any Vitae.
UPGRADE 1/2 - EXTENDED DURATION
EFFECTS: Extended duration of the Celerity ability.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 1 power point
COMMENTS: Making the "vampire sprint" last eight seconds (instead of the standard five) doesn't change anything.
UPGRADE 2/2 - EXTENDED DURATION II
EFFECTS: Another extension to a duration of Celerity.
USEFULNESS: low
COST: 2 power points
COMMENTS: The deal here is same as before - unlocking this upgrade doesn't make the main power any more useful and as a result this should be one of your last purchases.