Attributes

Even as a mortal Kain was able to fend off and slay two to three assassins before being overrun and killed. When first risen as a fledgling he easily overcame nine assassins with nothing but an iron sword. However, it should be noted that Kain has always had some form of telekinesis as he's been able to drink the blood of his enemies by telekinetically tearing it out of them.

Since then he quickly rose in power with help of sorcerous trinkets and magical nexuses. Notable sources of power Kain consolidates with are the nine Blood of the Ages, also known as the Blood Fountains; three of which increases his strength, three of which increases his magical regeneration, one of which prevents the rain from harming him, one of which prevents the snow from harming him, and one upgrading his Disguise transformation to the Beguile transformation. Other than that he also collects Magical Runes and Blood vials to increase his attributes.

Weapons

Kain's primary method of engagement.

Iron Sword

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"Forged by the Serioli, the legendary weapon masters of Nosgoth, this blade will serve me well, in life and beyond..."

A high-quality sword with neither magical enchantments.

Mace

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"The mace is amongst my most useful of weapons, for it merely stuns my victims, allowing me ample time to feed."

Not much more effective than the Iron Sword.

Axes

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"Havoc and Malice. Their presence in my hands keeps me from employing magic, yet rest assured they do little to hamper my relish for slaughter."

While powerful enough to chop down large trees with a single strike they quickly lose their relevance as Kain's arsenal of spells grow.

Flame Sword

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"The sword ravages flesh with teeth of metal and flame, leaving only scorched remains."

A burning sword that leaves enemies in a pile of cinders after a few strikes.

The Soul Reaver

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"Time fades even legend, and the origin of the Soul Reaver has been lost long ago. But its purpose remains - to feed on the souls of any creature it strikes. Kindred, this blade and I."

Kain's primary weapon and the trademark weapon of the series. To quote Raziel, "The Soul Reaver, Kain’s ancient blade—older than any of us, and a thousand times more deadly. The legends claimed that the blade was possessed, and thrived by devouring the souls of its victims. For all our bravado, we knew what it meant when Kain drew the Soul Reaver in anger—it meant you were dead."

Armors

Kain's primary method of defense.

Iron Armor

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"As it was born from hellfire, forged by the Necromancer's magic, my armor resists fire and provides me with strong defense."

A magically crafted armor resilient against fire.

Bone Armor

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"Lower forms of undead fall swiftly to deception. With the Bone Armor, they are not as eager to challenge me."

Unless fighting skeletons, zombies or shadows the use of this armor is rather limited.

Chaos Armor

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"My enemies are quite vicious and the Chaos Armor extracts from them a heavy price for their bloodlust. The blows are meant for me, but it is their bodies that carry the wounds."

No doubt an interesting piece of armor. While Kain does take the damage of his opponents the opponent takes it as well. I could see a few battles where this would be the armor of choice.

Flesh Armor

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"How convenient. This armor, wrought with the blood of noblemen, drains the blood from my enemies for me, leaving me to focus on the slaughter at hand."

In-game this was an excellent armor, especially in combination with Axes, but in one-on-one battles I don't see it being too useful.

Wraith Armor

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"This armor was spawned in the most impure of spirit forges, tempered from the seething agony of tortured souls. The metal exists only partially in the human realm, causing it to fade between tangible and ethereal states."

Kain's best armor. Making him take minimal damage from both physical and magical assaults.

Spells

Spells are Kain's secondary method of engagement exhausting him spiritually—or in Blood Gout's case: physically—when used. These are abilities Kain always has access too in battle.

Sanctuary

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"The Sanctuary spell enables me to travel to my crypt, where the soil of my grave provides me respite. I often resort to this when I am weak and need nourishment."

Kain teleports himself back to his mausoleum to regain health and magic. A retreat spell. I don't see this being used in battle.

Light

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"While it is true that natural light weakens a vampire, magical light can have many uses indeed."

There's not much to say about this spell. It summons a wisp to light up darkened areas.

Energy Bolt

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"The energy bolt employs magical force in its rawest form. A messy spell, but a potent one nonetheless."

The spell tore apart Kain's enemies, limbs and pieces flew in all directions of those who got struck by it. It can also be used to trigger switches and traps.

Repel

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"Invoking this spell cloaks me under a protective aegis. Whatever spell is cast at me will be reflected back at the caster, leaving me unharmed. It will only last for a short time, however, before leaving me vulnerable once more."

Without a doubt Kain's most useful spells. It reflects back everything from physical to magical assaults, virtually rendering him invincible. The only flaw of this spell is that it doesn't protect him from the ground he walks on. So he would not be able to walk across a body of water with this spell active.

Inspire Hate

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"This spell allows me to exploit the petty prejudices of man. Minor grievance would escalate to murderous rage and oh, the sweet terror when the spell wore off and they saw their hands covered with their neighbor's blood."

Kain's first telepathy based spell. The men and animals around him go berserk and attack whoever is close. This spell would be useful if Kain was fighting a team of opponents.

Stun

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"The human mind is a fragile thing. One minor shock, properly timed, can render them catatonic and ripe for feeding."

More or less out-shined by the Incapacitate spell. I don't see Stun being used in battle.

Spells (continued)

Incapacitate

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"Through this magic, I can stop my enemies in their tracks. Frozen in time, they can do nothing to hinder their own doom. Sometimes, I draw out their fate, for the added fear sweetens their blood."

An excellent spell for fighting enemies faster than himself. It freezes a single target for a short period of time allowing Kain to follow up with other spells and artifacts in the process.

Blood Gout

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"This spell allows me to use blood from my own body as a weapon. When struck, my enemies' blood would flow from their bodies to fill me with life. 'Tis a risk, yet the rewards are a temptation."

Not to useful of a spell under normal conditions. Kain uses his own blood in conjunction with telekinesis to fatally injure his opponent.

Control Mind

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"This spell allows me to enslave my enemies, giving me control of their bodies. When I release my grip, their bodies will shrivel and die, as I displace their souls, and replace them with my own."

Kain possesses a single opponent while his own body is protected by the Repel-spell. The victim dies after the possession.

Blood Shower

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"Oh, to bathe in the blood of others! This spell is especially useful in the face of multiple combatants. Beware those with tainted blood."

Kain uses his telekinesis to tear out the blood of all who surrounds him.

Spirit Death

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"'Tis a spell worthy of the Necromancer himself. This allows me to dissect a creature's soul from its vessel of flesh. For these poor wretches, only oblivion awaits."

Kain's instant-kill spell, it destroys the soul of whomever it's cast on.[

Spirit Wrack

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"With this spell I can tear a creature's soul from its body, leaving its vacant flesh mine to control!"

A stronger version of the Mind Control-spell which now may also be applied to mindless demons.

Lightning

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"With this spell I can call upon the heavens to tear my enemies apart with its explosive power. Oh, how their bodies will rupture as the scything energy rips through them!"

Physically Lightning is the most powerful of Kain's spells. It summons a lightning storm and bolts of lightning are directed on all of Kain's enemies within reach.

Artifacts

These are artifact-triggered spells and weapons only vampires can use. Kain can forge them from his own blood in Spirit Forges and they are generally a good substitute for spells. With prep time I'd see Kain carrying a great number of these.

The Heart of Darkness

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"Reputed to have been ripped from the chest of the greatest vampire to have ever existed, Janos Audron, the Heart of Darkness restores vampiric unlife. Life is precious, Janos discovered - as it was torn throbbing and bleeding from his own body."

Healing- and revival items, as long as Kain carries these artifacts he cannot die.

Flay

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"These curious devices hurl bolts of whirling energy and eviscerate my human enemies by stripping ragged flesh from bloodstained bone."

A good substitute for- and a slightly more powerful variant of Energy Bolt.

Implode

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"Of all the methods I employ, this is perhaps the cruelest, causing my victim's body to shrink on itself, crushing bones and rupturing organs 'til the pressure inside bursts the sac of fleshy skin, spraying its contents for all to see."

The description speaks for itself.

Slow Time

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"At times, my magic extends into very exotic disciplines such as the manipulation of time. I am able to slow time down, so I can move about quick as a wolf, while all others move as though they were mired in mud."

Reduces the speed of everyone within vicinity to a quarter in-game. I could see this being a viable strategy for Kain in battle.

Font of Putrescence

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"Should this object strike an enemy, rot and decay would instantly eat their flesh, and leave only a pool of blood and tissue. For a time after, the toxins are still active, and therefore lethal to the touch."

Another over-the-top spell. Not much to say here.

Pentaliche of Tarot

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"A medley of death and evisceration. Let fate choose my enemy's demise."

Good for crow control as each enemy is killed in a randomly generated gory fashion.

Anti-Toxin

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"This cleanses my body of any dangerous poisons. Quite useful, with all the filth I find myself surrounded by..."

He might not be immune to poison, but it's not much trouble to counter.

Energy Bank

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"These artifacts filled Kain's magic reserves for a while, but when their effect faded, Kain was left with no magical energy at all. Despite this disadvantage, the Energy Banks were valuable for use with the Soul Reaver. They ensured Kain had the magical energy needed for the sword to show its full potential."

Useful if he has to spam spells. In-game these are usually consumed in quick succession to maintain an endless source of magic.

Forms

Aside from the Mist-from I don't see these being too useful in battle. Nonetheless they are alternatives in battle.

Bat

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"In bat form, I can travel great distances with ease. From my vantage in the heavens, no region of Nosgoth is forbidden to me."

This transformation was only used to transport Kain from location A to location B on the map.

Wolf

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"My lupine form enables me to move like lightning and leap over obstacles barring my path. But the guise of the wolf brings with it its own kind of hunger and rage."

Slightly faster than his vampiric form.

Disguise/Beguile

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"There are benefits to travelling beneath a human guise. The threat to my person is lessened and much information can be gleaned. However, the illusion is flimsy, and any act of aggression on my part can break the spell."

"Unlike the mask of Disguise, this spell actually allows me to cast away the guise of death for a time, allowing me to walk among the living undisturbed. The spell also provides a visage of nobility, for there are many who would easily divulge more to those of highborn blood."

There's not much use to this spell in battle.

Mist

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"When in mist form, I am invulnerable to physical weapons, blade and claw. I can seep through locked doors and cracks and move swiftly, like a shadow fleeing light."

Kain's most useful transformation. It renders him impervious to physical damage and further makes him able to cross water.