I haven't seen anyone bring this up so I apologize if this is relatively well-known but as we all know, there is a perk that causes blood magic and night powers to cost 33% less. After reading that, I closely watched the health and magicka meters during the Vampire Lord gameplay segments and noticed that the Vampiric Grip spell (and possibly others that we haven't seen, because I have a feeling there's more VL spells that haven't been revealed yet) reduced the players health by a small amount whenever he used it. This would explain the need for the Blood Healing perk; if we have, to our knowledge, no way of healing ourselves in VL form and our most powerful attacks use up our health, it would only make sense that we have attacks that replenish our health. Aside from that, when the player used Bats it reduced his magicka a bit, but I remember reading in an article (possible GI) that you can use it twice before it has to recharge like a dragon shout. I believe that is the way Night Powers work; during immediate use it depletes magicka, and after a certain amount of uses it has to recharge. All of these things make me feel like the Vampire Lord plays like a traditional Warlock of sorts. What are your opinions on this? I think it's probably the most unique playstyle in Skyrim so far.

It sounds like a lot of fun. I'm not sure whether I'll care to use a lot of the Vampire Lord's stronger powers, but I'll definitely enjoy some health-draining ones that aren't complete trash.

I think it drains a bit of health because vampire lords use blood magic.

the thing i noticed is that they didnt sparkle when sunlight hited them,this pleased me greatly

Team Edward all the way.

On a tangentially related note, they really should have made a sparkle shader for the snow. The pure white is pretty to be sure, but it's missing that tiiiny little touch.

I wouldn't get your hopes up maybe the werewolves will start running around with there shirts off.

i do that in skyrim already

That's kinda what I was trying to get at.

Well done then chap.

Grazzi
I'm just glad to see that Bethesda is actually adding in a form that is completely unique in its mechanics. Sure, the Werewolf was rather unique as well, with its heavy reliance on fear and knockdown attacks on top of its swift melee battering, but it wasn't as dynamic as High Level Spell = Lose Health - Use Life Draining Spells = Gain Back Lost Health - Throw in Night Magic.
I've also began to wonder if the Gargoyle is meant to tank for us while we toss spells from afar. That would be identical to a Warlock, atleast in WoW. The more I think about it, the more interesting it is to me.

Vampiric Grip actually drains the opponent's health and gives it to you when they're being choked, which occurs once you Grip them close enough. The Life Drain spell in Vampire Lord Form has a small AoE and absorbs your opponent's health as well. Killing someone with the Life Drain spell counts as a feeding towards acquiring perks.

That's exactly what the Gargoyle is for.

If you watch the E3 footage of the Vampire Lord in Riverwood, pay attention to its health bar when it casts Vampiric Grip. The player actually LOSES health as soon as it's cast, and this is further exemplified by the description of Vampiric Grip which starts out by saying "Blood Magic." Also, I don't believe Vampiric Grip actually gives you the health it drains from the enemy, as it does not specifically state that in the spell description. I could be wrong though.

Yes, it drains their health. I bet the grip is what damages you. It keeps you from just throwing around your enemies all the time.

I would hope it gives their health to you... that's why I like it! D:

Haha, I dunno! I like the fact that you can just toss them around like they're meaningless xD

What I'd like to know is if the Magic Classes affect the Vampire Lord at all, or if the spells and whatnot are set. If it's the former I want to know if the Vampire Grip is Destruction, or alteration.

It does. While you're holding them in the Grip and they're next to you, you Absorb their health, damaging them and healing you. Gripping however constantly consumes Magicka for as long as you Grip, though. The reason why the Vampire Lord in the video was losing health during the Grip, was because he was getting attacked by other NPCs at the same time.

No, in the specific moment I'm talking about he was not being attacked. Trust me, I watched it multiple times because I thought the same thing.

Vampiric grip drains your opponents health while restoring your own.

Also search "Vampire Lord Perk Tree". You can get a better understanding of the VL from there.

Blood Magic is basically drain life spells.

It sounds like it will be awesome to play as

I always got the impression that Blood Magic meant using your own blood (health) for damage. I never looked at it that way.

I would not like Vampiric Grip if it didn't give me health.... That is the main reason it is so awesome.

I thought I lost all my stuff when I first turned into a Werewolf, and then turned back.