DontNod Entertainment’s newest game, Vampyr, is a game built on choices. Throughout the game, users will be presented with various opportunities to drastically affect how the story and world progress. This is sometimes done in the form of story missions, but the most common is through interacting with the NPCs. Players will have the option to spare or kill almost every character in the game, however, you will need to increase your Mesmerize level.
In Vampyr there is only one way to raise your Mesmerize level and that’s by progressing through the story. As you go through the campaign, you will hit various plot points that increase your Mesmerize level automatically. Your rank will go up an average of once per chapter, usually after that part of the campaign is finished. There is no other way to raise your Mesmerize skill, regardless of what type of playthrough you are going for. Because of this, you will need to plan out who and when you feed accordingly.
Your Mesmerize level is incredibly important, as it determines whether you are able to feed on certain civilians. The number tied to every NPC is static and cannot be lowered no matter what you do. Additionally, the Mesmerize rank isn’t randomized so the NPCs will always have the same numbers. Because of this, you can plan out who you want to kill as go through Vampyr. This will make collecting hints on higher value NPCs much easier and allow you to significantly boost Jonathan’s power.
Keep in mind, killing NPCs will affect the world and the people who inhabit it. Every district has a status level that will raise and lower based on the civilians healthiness or whether someone has died. The latter will cause a big percentage drop and could push a certain area into Critical or Hostile status. This makes it imperative that you always kill NPCs when you can afford to drop your district’s general mood. You don’t need to feed on people to beat Vampyr, but the massive experience boost offered will make your playthrough easier.
Once you Mesmerize a target, you’ll need to lead them to a safe area before feeding on them. Just follow the trail of smoke that appears until the word “Embrace” pops up. This will let ou know that it’s okay to feed on someone without being seen. Don’t worry about the NPC’s body, as it’s impossible to be discovered by other characters in Vampyr. You also aren’t locked into feeding on someone once you hit Embrace. Simply release the character whenever you want and they will just wander off with a headache.