Werewolves are big, hulking monstrosities that hunt their prey down and shred them. But what other powers do they have in wolf mode and human form?

Werewolf Powers in Wolf Mode & Human Mode

It’s not surprising to know that a werewolf in its wolf mode reaches its full strength, speed and resilience levels. It does have a slate of battle-ready abilities.

Note: When I say wolf mode, I’m not talking about your standard timber wolf. I’m talking about the 7′ tall, upright, Underworld-looking beast.

Strength Levels

In wolf mode, a werewolf can toss around a Volkswagen Bug or knock over a passenger van, for sure. But it’s not strong enough to lift or push a tank. Some werewolves can knock over a police armored van or bus. Lifting those is out of the question. Its super strength allows it to leap well over 20 feet.

In human mode, the creature will be stronger than your average Joe. He wouldn’t be able to lift a car, but don’t be surprised if he could bench press 20% more than the strongest guy you know.

Resilience

A werewolf is one tough SOB. Its hide and muscles are so dense, handgun bullets may sting, but won’t kill it. You’d need an elephant gun or military-grade weapon to knock it down. Knives won’t do much except break.

A werewolf is also immune to diseases and poisons, though this will differ when it’s in human mode. Poisons will still affect the human version, but they’d never get sick.

Stamina

In wolf mode, a werewolf can run at full-speed all night long. It can shred, maim, tear apart people or other prey without stopping. But it needs to recuperate when it returns to human form. That means it will sleep the day away.

In human mode, they could do hard, physical labor (like cutting wood) all day with only a short break for lunch. They can also run a marathon with nary a sweat or heavy breathing.

Speed

Werewolves can run fast. They cap out around 35 mph – 40 mph, like a greyhound, but they sound like an elephant clomping away. It’s the size and density.

As for human mode, they can run a mile in less than 5 minutes, but usually don’t show off to keep their cover.

Dexterity

A werewolf has amazing reflexes and balance for such a hulking monster. They can dodge arrows and handgun bullets. Not that need it. Their hides are so tough, these weapons wouldn’t harm them.

A human could be an amazing gymnast with enhanced coordination and uncanny ability to land on their feet. They’d also be wicked dart players.

Night Vision

This is an ability that a werewolf loses in human form. A werewolf in wolf mode can see in the dark. It’s a mash-up of infrared abilities, thermal sensing and larger eyes that let in more starlight and moon light. They can run around in the dark and see everything clearly.

Human mode doesn’t offer this ability, but they’d have better than 20 x 20 vision. You’d swear they have eagle eyes and could be a sniper in the military.

Tracking

This is another ability only found in wolf mode. Werewolves can track prey over miles with barely a whiff of a scent. They never lose their target and never relent until they’ve eaten it.

As for human mode, they would have a great sense of smell, like a sommelier for odors. But they wouldn’t be able to follow someone through a forest or across a stream. A bloodhound has them beat in human mode.

Healing

Both modes have accelerated healing, but wolf mode offers near instant healing. For some reason, a werewolf heals itself when it transforms into wolf mode or back into human mode. So, if you broke your arm, your transformation into full werewolf mode would heal it. When you shift back to human mode, the injuries sustained as a werewolf also heals. It may have something to do with the mass cellular changes you go through as you transform.

Outside that, in human mode, you do heal at a faster rate. What would take a normal human 6 weeks to heal, you’d heal in 6 days. In wolf mode, that would heal in 6 hours.

Claws and Bite

Neither of these abilities appears in human mode, but a werewolf has super-sharp claws and a steel-crushing bite. The claws can shred an armored bank truck’s doors and it can bite through jail cell bars with ease. You can imagine what these could do to a person. Luckily, werewolves kill swiftly.

Sources:

Curran, Robert (2010), “The Werewolf Handbook: An Essential Guide to Werewolves and, More Importantly, How to Avoid Them,” BES Publishing, Inc.

Duncan, Ritch and Bob Powers (2009), “The Werewolf’s Guide to Life: A Manual for the Newly Bitten,” Three Rivers Press.

Brown, Nathan (2009), “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Werewolves: Shed New Light on These Creatures of the Night,” Alpha Publishing.

McCollum, Sean (2015), “Werewolves (Monster Handbooks),” Capstone Press.

Boyd, Katie (2011), “Werewolves: Myth, Mystery, and Magick,” Schiffer Publishing.