Constricting

Template:Ability Template:Qlisten

Constricting, also known simply as Constrict, was an ability which appeared only in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. The ability allowed Raziel to wind a band of constricting energy around a subject which could damage and incapacitate enemies and rotate certain objects. The ability was originally gained when Raziel defeated and Soul devouring the soul of his brother Dumah.

Role

Dumah uses constrict on Raziel

Constricting was an earned ability featured in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and was first developed by Dumah as a vampire in the Soul Reaver era. Using the ability Dumah was able to quickly run around his opponents in either realm, drawing a wisp of spectral energy behind him which would solidify and tighten, squeezing and damaging his enemies. When Raziel traveled to the Ruined City in chapter Ruined City of the Dumahim in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, he found Dumah slain and impaled upon large stakes, with his soul lingering in the Spectral Realm. Removing the stakes, Raziel was able to able to revive Dumah who warned Raziel that "the centuries in limbo [had] honed [his] strength" before engaging Raziel in combat. After defeating Dumah by luring him into the Furnace Room Raziel was able to consume his soul, gaining the ability for himself..

Raziel uses constrict on a constrict object with notable circular patterns

Once gained, Raziel could use the ability in either realm by running in a circle around an object or enemy, with a band being generated after the first circuit and a constricting ring appearing after the second circuit. Constrict could be used on enemies in either realm and would usually result in spectral entities being heavily damaged, vampires being reduced to a stunned state and humans being killed outright. The ability could only be used on objects in the Material Realm and was primarily used for rotating special Constrict objects - such as dials - which were often specifically marked with circular patterns on the floor beneath them. In addition, the ability could also be used to rotate Blocks to more easily complete block puzzles.

Constrict was not seen again in Soul Reaver 2 or beyond, where Raziel was instead able to rotate objects with his claws.

Notes

Constrict activated as part of the Soul Reaver 2 debug menu - with no effect

• Constrict is notably named using two different variants of the same term. The US manual refers to the ability as "Constricting". In contrast the UK manual and Prima guide refer to the ability as "Constrict".
• Whereas the other abilities Raziel gains are originally developed as part of the Pupating and Evolution of their patriarchs, the constrict ability is of unclear development. Dumah's claims when facing Raziel, the Elder God's description of the ability and the visual similarity to the 'Draining Leash' used by Vampire wraiths suggest that the ability may have instead been a development of the wraith abilities Dumah gained through his extended stay in the Spectral Realm.
• Although it cannot usually be used through the course of the game, Constrict can be activated at any time through the use of cheats and Debug menus. These confirm that the ability has no effect on bosses.
• The constrict ability is not used in Soul Reaver 2 onward where it is apparently superseded by Raziel's ability to manually rotate objects. Though it does not appear directly, the ability was mentioned several times in pre-release interviews and materials, and is a part of the game code. As such, the ability is present in game files and appears in the debug menu, where it is activated as part of normal gameplay but does not have any effects. It is perhaps probable that the controls of constrict were deemed overly awkward and replaced with a simpler rotational mechanism, while the behind the scenes code was maintained but disabled to prevent unforeseen issues resulting from its removal.

Appearances

• Template:Icon-SR1Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

References

Template:Navbox-SR1-abilities