Animal Magic

Celacena · Post by **Celacena** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 4:02 am

This is my first time through as a well-developed Gangrel - I am amazed that people hardly mention the very useful 'bloodsucker's communion' power. It is better (perhaps) than the Tremere's bloodstrike and not only fills you up, it also incapacitates the victim. used along with sneaking, you can down quite a few enemies - pop your head round the corner - 'commune' and duck back without being seen - one dead guard goes down at a time and you go on your way nicely full. unlike blood-strike, you can move as the red bat seeks you out to deliver the package.

I found it particularly useful in the situations like Ming's - a sprawling complex with lots of guards that I didn't want to alert.

[for those in the know - I got the jade objects with virtually no aggro and you know how difficult that can be!]

the wolf does a lot of damage to those it does not kill BTW - so gangrel has gone from 'tank' reputation to being an accomplished assassin.

Faust · Post by **Faust** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 10:34 am

I've not played much with Animalism. I suppose I've tended to focus on the other two disciplines when playing a Gangrel or Nosferatu. From your description it sounds like Animalims might be really useful in conjunction with Obfuscate, making Nosferatu interesting stealth killers.

Teodor · Post by **Teodor** » Thu Apr 28, 2005 12:44 pm

[QUOTE=Celacena]This is my first time through as a well-developed Gangrel - I am amazed that people hardly mention the very useful 'bloodsucker's communion' power. It is better (perhaps) than the Tremere's bloodstrike and not only fills you up, it also incapacitates the victim.[/QUOTE]

I've used Blood Strike a lot as a sniping tool. The thing to keep in mind about Blood Strike vs. Bloodsucker's Communion is that Blood Strike is the level 1 Thaum, where BC is level 4 or 5 Animalism.

I was tempted by Gangrel for Animalism too.

Celacena · Post by **Celacena** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 5:55 am

communists are red

blood strike is lower in points but communion does give a good return - when you kill with blood strike, the blood point is lost, whereas when commune kills, the blood still comes back. that is probably why I found it better: that avoiding of losing a blood point when you down them and the bat seeking you out even when hidden.

I was surpised at how good gangrel powers were - mix protean with fortitude and that gives the wild approach, use animalism and become as the wolf.

Raa · Post by **Raa** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 11:34 am

I also found Animalism useful during 'Ming must die'. Communion was my favorite way of dealing with the crossbow guys, while sword-dancing with the others. At a distance, I used it completely instead any firearms. Too bad you must wait for the bat to return, to launch another communion. However, while waiting for the bat, I sent Spectral wolfies to the others, and Communion replenished the bloodpool quite lavishly to use that combo to wipe them all at a place.

Anaximander · Post by **Anaximander** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 5:07 pm

For sniping and general killing, as well as filling up your blood meter, communion is indeed superior to blood strike. The advantage of blood strike is that it can be "chain gunned" at bosses to kill them quickly. I don't think you can do that with communion.

I wasn't all that impressed with the rest of the animalism line. The ravens seem less effective than Trance, the wolf is almost as good as Suicide, but there are some opponents later in the game that it can't kill with as much consistency. The insect plague never worked really well for me either. Sometimes it would kill an enemy or two, but for the most part it just seemd to sting them a little. Mass Suicide and Blood Boil are far superior for killing groups of enemies.

Blood suckers' communion is nice, but in my opinion it's the only worthwhile power in an otherwise lackluster set.

yrthwyndandfyre · Post by **yrthwyndandfyre** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 8:45 pm

[QUOTE=Anaximander]Blood suckers' communion is nice, but in my opinion it's the only worthwhile power in an otherwise lackluster set.[/QUOTE]

I tend to go with the same drill. Animalism isn't as useful as Thaumaturgy for combat situations. Even with blood strike, you can poke out from behind cover, strike, duck back, and the blood will still return to you, even through walls. It's very handy. You just can't run away and have the blood chase you.

The advantage I find in the Gangrel is that you have some useful disciplines in animalism for ranged attack, plus you have strong melee and defensive disciplines. That is what makes up the difference. Animalism might not be as good as Thaumaturgy, but Feral Claws is a heck of lot better than bare fists. Overall, I find the Gangrel easier to play, but the Tremere more satisfying.

Johnny · Post by **Johnny** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 6:06 am

Was it just me? I don't remember the Bloodsuckers power returning any blood. Perhaps I had to stand in place for a while for the blood as with Bloodstrike?

phodin · Post by **phodin** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:30 pm

The problem with Blood Communion is that the blood only comes back when you kill someone.

And yes, you need to stay at a reasonable distance from the target to get the blood back to you.

yrthwyndandfyre · Post by **yrthwyndandfyre** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 6:45 pm

[QUOTE=Johnny]Was it just me? I don't remember the Bloodsuckers power returning any blood. Perhaps I had to stand in place for a while for the blood as with Bloodstrike?[/QUOTE]

More to the point, with Communion, you have to wait for all of the bats to enter your target, and then wait for the single blood-bearing bat to make it back to you. You have a finite range of motion while all of this is occurring, and you can't use offensive force against the target, otherwise the discipline breaks, all of the bats self-destruct, and you get nothing. Communion takes a lot of nerve to use in a combat situation. It's not easy to crouch there and get shot at while you wait, or deliberately and systematically attack anything but the target that is so conveniently distracted and helpless.