Werewolves vs Vampires

[Lehcar]

Which would you say is better?

 

ALL my Oblivion characters are vamps, since vamps ROCK, and they left lycanthropy out of that game. In this game I haven't really tried vampires or werewolves, but I certainly plan to!

 

And out of curiosity, does lycanthropy make you immortal like vampirism does, or does a werewolf still age like a mortal?

Edited January 11, 2013 by Lehcar

[skulleris]

Werewolves still age. Vampires don't age cause they're undead.

[marianojoey]

It's more on the way you want to play. VL is a "mage" type of char, while WW is pure "Fighter". If the char you make goes for either one, choose it. :) With Better Vampires and with Werewolf Mastery, both are really fun to play. :)

[jack013]

to me it seems like the werewolf transformation gets you to being as powerful as a vampire, and vampire lord is stronger still.

 

well, that's how it should be, you're far stronger with neither and decent equips -before modding. i upped the base damage and health on my werewolf and he's pretty effective fighting against groups of weak and middling strength enemies; the vampie lord is good at long battles but they decided that a vampire with absorbs spells has to have weak damage to compensate for not dying, mixed with the necromancer stuff they're pretty strong. the only problem with the later is you end up kitting everyone 'cause it takes a while to kill.

[lquebecois]

i played vampire both in oblivion and skyrim and it was a nightmare all the times... i do not like the fact i have to feed every day, and in oblivion, the sun damage maked it worse.

[Rennn]

I still can't believe Skyrim didn't allow the player to become a lich.

[UnknownGlaze]

I have two perspectives on this: Attribution and Gameplay. Before I say what my opinion is, I'll give out some information with those perspectives.

 

Attribution: What abilities do you receive?

As a vampire (from what I've read), you are exactly what you expect them to be... Except their backstory. "The Opusculus Lamae Bal ta Mezzamortie tells of how the vampire race came about, owing its creation to the Daedric Prince Molag Bal. The tale goes that Molag Bal thought of the Aedra Arkay as prideful of his dominion over the spheres of death among men and mer, and so sought to overcome death by traveling to a still newly formed Tamriel. There, he brutally raped the Nedic woman Lamae Beolfag and departed Nirn. Lamae was found and nursed by nomads, but death eventually overtook her. On the night of her cremation, she rose again, and killed the nomads. Wreaking havoc across Tamriel, the undead she created became vampires. This account has variations in Temple doctrine, such as Molag Bal spawning the first vampire from a defeated foe, such as a Daedra Lord, a Temple Saint, or a "powerful beast creature"."

Pros

• Speed
  
• Become stronger from blood
  
• Simple cure process
  

Cons

• Sun hurts you
  
• Not enough blood diminishes strength
  
• Must wait until night to drink
  

 

Lycanthropy is very much unlike to vampirism. It's History is described here.

Pros

• Kill at any time
  
• Kills for strength
  
• Hard to recognize in form
  
• Allies with other werewolves
  
• Spends eternity with Hircine after death
  

Cons

• Much longer cure process
  
• Cannot equip weapons, armor, books, etc.
  

 

Gameplay: Is it's experience an amusing one?

 

Vampires don't really have such advantage... But if you're a Skyrim fan, and you have Dawnguard, then the Vampire lord actually adds more advantages. Werewolves have many advantages, but on Skyrim, you can't view in third person. Not much else to say since attribution and gameplay are pretty much the same.

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In my opinion? Werewolves. If vampire lords were "official" (as in added in the game with no DLC required), I'd probably pick them.

[Rooker75]

Speaking only to gameplay and only vanilla (I don't have Dawnguard)...

 

Once you get the Necromage perk, vampires get a really nice 25% bonus on spells and magical effects that target themselves. Though if you use the Unofficial Patch, you'll have to make or download a reversion patch, because the modders decided to declare it a bug and removed that feature.

 

Werewolves are almost good, but it's a pain to play as one without mods. The no looting, no menus thing is extremely annoying. Luckily, there's a mod for that (and it lets you keep your armor rating). And another that lets you feed on animals to keep beast form going longer. And Predator Vision, which adds a very cool thermal vision effect (also works for vampires).

 

Getting the Ring of Hircine is an absolute must. You can just keep switching to werewolf form as often as you like once you get that ring.