A VL, from what I have seen and read, could wipe the floor with a WW, if it had a big enough magicka pool. A WW, with enough health and stamina, could ruin the day of a VL. It's like tossing a mage at a warrior. On is a glass cannon the other will cut you to bits when it gets in close. I know I personally hate WW because it doesn't fit my play style at all. I die nearly every time I go beast form. When DG comes out on PS3 I will test VL and the enhanced WW out myself and give a more educated opinion. But until then I believe this all boils down to three factors:
- Magicka, health, and stamina pools.
- Play style. Each has a drastically different way of murdering things, and both, if used correctly, are equal.
- Preference.
Now if you wanted to best test the two out head to head you would need to do it in a maze like arena with rooms of varying sizes spread throughout it, areas with traps, water, and multiple levels of elevation, long narrow tunnels, etc. (leading to varying advantages and disadvantages for them each under the different conditions through out this maze). Then release the two on each other to hunt each other down. Have this done 20 times with a new maze each time, and look at the results. Now since this can't be done we will never see a proper testing of which one truly has the upper hand.
On major mistake, in my opinion, people have been making is comparing how fast they can kill something. The WW is high DPS while the VL is less powerful in raw damage, but more flexible. WW charges in and kills fast while devouring his kills to prolong his survival and his transformation. VL can sit out of reach and take his time as he fights larger groups of enemies potentially unharmed. WW need to be able to make a fast kill because they need to feed often to stay in their Beast form. VL don't nee that fast killing ability due to their limitless change time. They are both very effective if used correctly
Lets compare the ups and downs of them both:
Werewolf:
Advantages:
- Massive damage potential per strike.
- Fast attack rate.
- Heals after every feeding.
- Fast movement.
- Awesome finishers.
- Can summon equally powerful assistance.
- Can see targets with a detect life effect.
- Can inspire fear in enemies.
Disadvantages:
- Limited transformations.
- Needs to feed often to stay in transformation.
- Can only self heal after a kill.
- Needs to go back to change its special howl power.
- No ranged attack.
- No night vision.
Vampire Lord:
Advantages:
- Can multiple ways to drain health from enemies and give it to yourself.
- Has a wide variety of spells at disposal.
- Can summon a gargoyle minion for assistance.
- Can travel over water and still fight.
- Can become invulnerable to damage for a limited time.
- Useful dodging ability.
- Can get a full heal on a melee finisher.
- Can paralyze enemies.
- Can throw around enemies.
- Has a night vision power.
- Can change at will.
- Has the Supernatural Reflex ability (Slows Time while increasing own speed).
- Can attack at range with magic or deal reasonable damage up close with claws in melee.
- Has a detect life ability.
- Can resurrect the dead to fight for you.
- Can change and revert as often as you want for as long as you want.
- Still has some abilities when out of transformation.
- Resistant to cold.
Disadvantages:
- Can't take many hard hits.
- Highly dependent on magicka pool.
- Looses passive health, magicka, and stamina regeneration in sunlight.
- Weakness to fire.
- Weaknesses increase the longer you go without feeding.
- Shunned if you don't feed.
While the VL seems like it has more advantages than the WW it's draw backs are far more drastic. As well the VL provides a smaller damage boost in return for more versatility, while as the WW gets a massive power increase at the cost of being able to change less. They each have been well balanced in my opinion. But of course I have yet to have proper first hand experience with VL.