The Animalism Discipline

[fireblade80]

Hello!

I have seen many posts in this forum severely underrating the Animalism discipline, but, as I play with a Gangrel (unofficial patch 5.5 Basic), I find that Animalism is extremely powerful, even game-breaking.

1. Nightwisp Ravens - incapacitates the victim, allowing you to easily feed on it, stealth-kill it with ease, or employ a stealthy approach in areas where you don't want to kill enemies. So what if it breaks the masquerade, you're supposed to use it in combat areas only, so it is no worse that Hysteria or Trance.

2. Burrowing Beetle - pretty useless, minimal damage, but prerequisite for the upper-level disciplines.

3. Spirit Wolf - kills one enemy at a distance (almost any enemy, even low-level vampires). In combination with Nightwisp Ravens, you can just stroll in an area stealth-killing enemies and feading on the remaining ones to replenish your blood. On par with Vision of Death and Suicide.

4. Bloodsuckers' Communion - kills one enemy at a distance, while also returning an equal or greater number of blood points than it was required to cast it and not demanding that you to stay still for the blood to return. This spell is a game-breaker, since it is the only ability that it truly self-sufficient, in the sense that you can crouch, cast it at range, and stealthily kill one enemy at a time, while not using any of your blood reserves.

Spoliers ahead:

Spoiler

With this ability, I have been able to clear the Giovanni Upper-Level and the Socieity of Leopold without firing a single bullet (except for the bosses, of course)

5. Pestilence - damages a group of enemies at a distance. Somewhat worse than Blood Boil and Mass Suicide, but 1 blood point cheaper.

[Lєviathan]

1. Nightwisp Ravens - incapacitates the victim, allowing you to easily feed on it, stealth-kill it with ease, or employ a stealthy approach in areas where you don't want to kill enemies. So what if it breaks the masquerade, you're supposed to use it in combat areas only, so it is no worse that Hysteria or Trance.

I have to disagree with you, but everything else you said was spot-on.

Personally I prefer trance because you can use it in situations where you mustn't be noticed. It's extremely useful on stealth missions (

Spoiler

parking lot, museum, getting past Chunk outside the art gallery, stopping your next feeding target going too near the other humans, etc

) and generally goes completely unnoticed.

Their MAIN use may be in combat areas to stop an annoying sniper or shotgun-wielding human from tearing you a new one, but they have other uses too

[Jhereg]

It's extremely useful on stealth missions (

Spoiler

parking lot, museum, getting past Chunk outside the art gallery, stopping your next feeding target going too near the other humans, etc

) and generally goes completely unnoticed.

Umm. for one of those you don't actually have to use trance.

Spoiler

You can miss Chunk altogether if you go into the parkade. The bars on the window opposite the museum door you go in can be torn out if your strength is high enough, and with Blood Buff if your strength isn't.

.

Just a tip

[Lєviathan]

Wow... I never knew that - that's damn cool! I'm going to have to do that next time I play it.