User blog:Essie Essex/The Powers of Dishonored 2

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Dishonored 2 releases this November, and it offers you two different playable characters. As recipients of the Outsider's Mark, Corvo Attano and Emily Kaldwin have a variety of unique supernatural powers. The Dishonored series is known for its crazy combinations of abilities, and this new set of skills will define Dishonored 2. So, what can we expect to see out of our preferred magical assassin?

Corvo’s Powers
While Corvo still retains the same basic abilities from the first game, he now has the option of upgrading them further, opening up new possibilities for their use. Here are some of the new or augmented powers you can expect in Dishonored 2.

Bend Time – Corvo Attano slows and stops time, giving himself an advantage over his enemies in combat or allowing him to sneak past them without being noticed. Now, with his new extended powers, Corvo can also cause time to speed up.

Blink – Blink is a simple power that allows Corvo to move from one spot to another in an instant. However, in the first game, Corvo could not move through solid objects. Now he can blink through windows, making it easier for him to enter a building stealthily, without breaking the glass. He can also blink over ledges and has the option of upgrading the power so that time freezes while he aims.

Dark Vision – Dark Vision is a handy ability which detects enemies through walls, making stealth much easier. Instead of giving persistent vision, Dark Vision now sends out three pulses, acting as a sort of guard-radar.

Devouring Swarm – The plague may be over, but the rats aren't completely absent in Dishonored 2. In the first game, Corvo could summon a rat swarm to attack and devour enemies. A simple upgrade now lets Corvo activate two swarms at once.

Possession – As before, Corvo is able to possess living creatures, which now includes the parasitic bloodflies found in Karnaca. Additionally, he can now possess the dead. This comes in handy when upgraded to allow longer possession and the ability to jump from one creature to another in a chain possession.

Emily's Powers
Emily Kaldwin brings her own abilities to the table, some of which mirror Corvo's and others that are completely unique. Here are some of the powers Emily has at her disposal:

Doppelganger – Emily can make a copy of herself using this ability. The doppelganger can distract guards or serve as a decoy while Emily sneaks away unnoticed.

Domino – With Domino, links three different people together, so that whatever happens to one happens to the others. The most obvious way of using this power would be to link three enemies together and kill (or knock out) one of them, but some of the developers at Arkane Studios have suggested other uses for this ability. For example, Emily can create a doppelganger, link it to her enemies, and then kill it. Alternatively, she can link a guard and a civilian together, so that when the guard shoots the prisoner, the guard dies as well.

Far Reach – Emily demonstrated this power in the E3 Announcement Trailer last year. Using a blue, ribbon-like substance, Emily can latch onto other objects in order to climb buildings, hurl distant items at guards, or simply pull an enemy into deadly melee range. However, unlike Corvo's Blink, Far Reach does not work instantaneously and Emily can be spotted while using this power when traveling from one place to another.

Mesmerize – Emily puts enemies in a trance-like daze. During this time, she can move among her enemies without being spotted.

Shadow Walk - Emily can turn into a shadow to fit into tight spaces. While the power looks a bit different than the initial trailer in which she chases down a terrified Kirin Jindosh, Shadow Walk can be used to kill people. Use it wisely though, as the spell immediately ends upon killing an opponent.

More to Come
As with the first game, you'll be able to combine powers in a variety of interesting ways in Dishonored 2. As always, you can choose to kill everyone in sight or no one at all. If you'd rather rely on your natural abilities alone, simply refuse the Outsider's Mark – no Mark, no powers.

While Shadow Walk seems to be the fan favorite, Domino will allow for a ton of creativity – an essential factor in Dishonored 2's replayability. It can be used both lethally and non-lethally, depending on how you want to play the game, and seeing as you can link just about anyone together, including yourself, it should make for some very memorable moments. Domino and Doppelganger can be combined to hilarious effect, so with a little imagination, you should be able to invent your own power synergies.

The first game demonstrated the flexibility of Corvo's powers, and now that they're enhanced, you have even more options to sow chaos and death. Use Dark Vision to detect any nearby enemies inside a building before blinking through a window. Activate Devouring Swarm and possess a rat to get into tight spaces, or have the rats quickly devour a corpse before you're discovered, speeding up time to help out. How creatively you approach Dishonored 2 is up to you.