Tutorial - alleys | Chapter 0 DARK Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
The main purpose of this tutorial is to teach you about the game's interface and to practice using some of the basic vampiric powers (more complex actions can be unlocked later on and you'll have to do that on your own). Start off by learning what a circle appearing on the screen means to Eric - the circle is displayed when you're noticed by someone or something and it's starting to slowly turn red. Once the circle is bloody red all the enemies in the area are alarmed by your presence. Don't worry that it happened right now, because it's all for the purpose of the training. You must however avoid being spotted later in the game by leaving other people's lines of sight if you mistakenly find yourself completely in the open.
Wait for Eric to teleport himself behind one of the thugs and then hold the designated key/button to start drinking his blood. This process takes some time (you can make it shorter by purchasing upgrades later on) and it's purpose is to fill up the Vitae bar. The vital energy is extremely important, because it's used to "power" all of Eric's active abilities. One other thing you should notice is that you've received 80 experience points: 20 points is a standard bonus for killing someone and the additional 60 points can be received each time you've attacked a person that was unaware of Eric's presence and wasn't prepared for his attack.
You can now practice dragging corpses to safety if you want to, however the game will also give you instructions on that a little bit later. Hiding bodies is important, because it allows Eric to lower the chances of a guard raising an alarm. Stand next to the corpse, hold the key or a button displayed on the screen and start dragging the body in the first-person perspective. Naturally the best way to avoid detection is to leave bodies in dark places not visited by other guards. It doesn't matter if you've practiced this move right now or not, because either way you'll have to move to a new area where other bandits are currently stationed.
Push the analog stick (or a corresponding key on your keyboard) to start sneaking and then approach a large object seen on screen 1. You must now proceed to a brick wall located to the right and displayed on screen 2. Hold the key/trigger to hide behind it.
Continue moving right and press an additional key/button when you'll reach a corner so that Eric will move past it safely. Finish off by carefully approaching the second bandit from the back. The game will suggest not to rely on feeding here and you should follow this advice by only pressing the designated key/button and therefore performing a silent execution. Silent kills allow you to easily get rid of enemy units, however their main disadvantage is that they can't be used to regain Vitae.
You don't have to hide this body, because there are no other thugs in the vicinity. Proceed to the next area instead. The game will soon force you to perform a test of an ability called Shadow Leap. This is an extremely fast sprint which almost acts as a teleportation. Enter the aiming mode and move the target cursor so it's somewhere inside the purple circle. Release the trigger/key, allowing Eric to perform a teleportation.
The biggest advantage of the Shadow Leap ability is that it can allow you to quickly and seamlessly move to a different location. Sadly it also has two very important disadvantages. The first problem is that you must wait for Shadow Leap to regenerate after it's been used. As for the second disadvantage, arriving in a new place makes a lot of noise and therefore can attract the attention of nearby enemies. This all means you must be careful while using Shadow Leap, choosing destinations carefully so that they're not too close to enemy forces. An important thing to know is that you'll be allowed to counter some of the problems mentioned above by unlocking vampiric upgrades and you can find more on that from the last chapter of the guide. Wait for the final third bandit to turn around, approach him and feed on him to regain the second Vitae bar (thankfully Shadow Leap doesn't need any Vitae).
You may now proceed towards an alley located between the buildings. A new bandit will use his firearm on Eric here and the main character will suffer some injuries. Open the power selection screen and take interest in the Regeneration ability which can be used to regain health. You can add this power to your quickbar so that it can be activated using the D-pad (or corresponding keys) and you should also use it right now to get back to full health. Activating this power will of course drain a part of the Vitae energy and as a result you shouldn't forget about feeding on enemies frequently to have plenty of Vitae for more advanced vampiric abilities.
Ignore the fact that you've been discovered by the bandit mentioned above, because you can't count on him to stop searching for Eric. The best way to safely move closer to the thug is to start using Shadow Leap ability, moving between large objects found on both sides of the alley (screen 1). Once you're close enough to your opponent teleport yourself behind him (screen 2) and drain him before he's able to fight back.
The next part of the tutorial is hiding bodies and if you've been following this game guide you'll already be familiar with this part of the game's mechanic - you must stand next to the corpse, hold the designated key/button and start dragging the body in the first person view. Your objective is to leave the corpse within a new purple circle.
Approach the gate and use the Shadow Leap ability to teleport Eric to an interactive fragment. Get to the other side and drop down.