Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Announced

[680f5320506f1edx]

Coming in 2020 to PS4, X-Box One and PC (Steam, GOG and Epic).

The long-anticipated sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines casts you into the foggy streets of Seattle as a thin blood hungry for blood and answers.

A true successor to the original must be written by the creative mind behind the unforgettable, undying characters of that cult classic. Thus, Brian Mitsoda has returned to write the next step in the Bloodlines franchise. Fans can be sure the deep, reactive, character-driven storytelling of the original is coming back… maybe even alongside a few fan-favourite characters?

“When Paradox announced they were acquiring the World of Darkness IP, I immediately started thinking about what it would be like to return to Vampire: The Masquerade. Our aim has been to carry on the signature themes that made Bloodlines unique - particularly its dark tone, atmosphere, and humor - and I think that fans of the original will love what we’re doing with Bloodlines 2.” - Brian Mitsoda

Created in an act of vampire insurrection, your existence ignites a blood war among the vampire factions who run Seattle. To survive, you’ll choose a clan and enter into uneasy alliances with the competing factions in a world which will react to every choice you make. Unleash your supernatural powers against your prey, but be mindful of your surroundings at all times or run the risk of breaking the Masquerade -- the absolute law of secrecy that keeps Vampire society hidden from humanity. You’ll stalk the city streets for prey, maneuver complex political relationships, and balance your need for blood against your withering humanity.

Bloodlines 2 will provide you the choice of a number of clans, with more clans added to the game post-launch free of charge. Which clans and factions feature in Bloodlines 2 is just some of the information we’re looking forward to sharing with you on our way to release on PC and consoles in Q1 2020!

Official site: https://www.bloodlines2.com/

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYvWfDxhm_s

Gamespot Preview:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-brings-the-cul/1100-6465762/

There is a preorder bonus, a special edition and a season pass:

[680f5320508f8JDoran]

I've not yet played the original game, but I do have it because it sounds interesting and I've seen it recommended *so* many times (GOG.COM is brilliant, especially since they have most of the best games from years gone by), and it's interesting that a sequel is in production.

On the other hand, I'm very disappointed that at this relatively early stage the people responsible for the new game consider it important to go into details of the pre-order, instead of just actually designing and writing the game. It does give the impression that this game is being made more for profit than for love of the original game.

[680f532050a47Kolya]

You cannot create a game like this just for love. Neither was the original. You need professionals who have to pay their rent.

[680f532050bf4ZylonBane]

I'm a huge fan of VtM: Bloodlines. Played it vanilla. Played it with Wesp's patch. Even contributed to the patch and wrote a simple map editing tool for it. So I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Don't want to get my hopes too up.

[680f532050d14fox]

Will Tessera and Wesp return?

[680f532051029Marvin]

That Blood Pack DLC. 

[680f532051171voodoo47]

I really need to put my life back together enough to be able to play games again.

[680f532051291Zanderat]

Pretty stoked to see this.  Looks promising so far.

[680f5320515e2JDoran]

You cannot create a game like this just for love. Neither was the original. You need professionals who have to pay their rent.

Obviously. But still, announcing the game along with a detailed list of the pre-order packages does give the impression that the company is making the game for money rather than because they want to create a modern but authentic experience building upon the first game, with money being  much less of a consideration.

Admittedly, I know nothing of business or finance, but if I was making a press release, I'd announce the game starting with an enticing description of the game to be, with a general description of the game to explain what was intended, and then go into some deeper, spoiler free details to explain to fans of the original game how the new game would build upon what was so well liked about the original. I wouldn't mention pre-order bonuses, or other ways the game content is split up for different players, at all until much nearer the release date. Though if it were up to me there'd be no pre-order game content bonuses or anything, the game content would be the same for everyone. I don't mind pre-order or parallel purchase stuff like physical statues or art books or a game soundtrack collection, etc, but the game should be the same for all purchasers.

That's what I think, anyway.

[680f53205180cedx]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hxp0lZjrNo

Music will be by Rik Schaffer: https://twitter.com/outstarwalker/status/1109127882423492608

FYI, something that is on the website and not mentioned a lot, is that if you have a Paradox Account you can unlock "in-game rewards" (15 items listed, only two revealed currently, and they seem to be outfits/cosmetics only) by doing things like finding "hidden blood packs" in the website and referring friends .

I will leave my referral link just in case: https://www.bloodlines2.com/?ref=55e1bd4e0b35

[680f5320518f9ZylonBane]

Gamification can die in a fire.

[680f5320519d7Kolya]

It diverts fan energy into passive consumerism that can be controlled and exploited. What's not to love?

[680f532051b93JDoran]

I've just seen that the original Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, which everyone seems to rave about, calling it utterly fantastic, is on sale on gog.com, for £ 3.79, which is almost giving it away, so if you haven't got the game already then buy it now.

And if you do have it, but haven't yet played it, then, er, you're sort of like me. Too many games, not enough time. But before you play it you should download the fan-made mega-patch (something else people always recommend when talking about this game, in my (limited) experience) from:

https://www.patches-scrolls.de/patch/4647/7

[680f532051c89ZylonBane]

Apparently the GOG version includes the "basic" version of Wesp's patch. But if you want the plus version with all the added/restored content, then yes, you need to download it separately.

[680f532051d8bedx]

Yep, Gog comes with the 10.2 Unofficial Patch Basic version included, the latest version of the patch is 10.3 Release Candidate 2.

(Btw, the other game based on the Masquerade setting, Redemption, is also for sale now, for $1.49, still have to play that one)

[680f532052081Nameless Voice]

Apparently the GOG version includes the "basic" version of Wesp's patch. But if you want the plus version with all the added/restored content, then yes, you need to download it separately.

Which means you shouldn't have to download anything on your first playthrough.

[680f532052407Zanderat]

I've just seen that the original Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, which everyone seems to rave about, calling it utterly fantastic, is on sale on gog.com, for £ 3.79, which is almost giving it away, so if you haven't got the game already then buy it now.

And if you do have it, but haven't yet played it, then, er, you're sort of like me. Too many games, not enough time. But before you play it you should download the fan-made mega-patch (something else people always recommend when talking about this game, in my (limited) experience) from:

https://www.patches-scrolls.de/patch/4647/7

Wesp's patch is also mirrored here.  https://www.nexusmods.com/vampirebloodlines/mods/80  Probably a better place to download from.  Patches-scrolls site is annoying.

[680f53205273aJDoran]

Wesp's patch is also mirrored here.  https://www.nexusmods.com/vampirebloodlines/mods/80  Probably a better place to download from.  Patches-scrolls site is annoying.

Oh, OK mate, thanks for the link.

[680f53205296fedx]

Well, to update this thread a little, they revealed the starting "clan" (thinblood) and the first of your later clan choices, Brujah:


Thinbloods

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xELjqNZjmaM

Seattle has generally attracted a younger crowd and some of them unfortunately wind up on the streets of the city. For the Kindred, the thinbloods are their own version of street kids, and in recent years, their numbers have grown at what some might consider an alarming rate.

Lore & Abilities: https://www.bloodlines2.com/en/thinblood

Brujah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU6LwptKvYg

The Pacific Northwest has a long history of attracting outcasts and drifters, those looking to keep some level of anonymity and independence. The Brujah have never been a large part of the Seattle Kindred community, but when they do show up to a party, they make their presence known immediately. Many of the Seattle Brujah are leftovers from failed Anarch movements in the past century, most choosing to remain unaffiliated or loosely affiliated with the city’s political factions – or at least, they like to claim that.

Lore & Abilities: https://www.bloodlines2.com/en/brujah

[680f532052a9aNameless Voice]

How can you go from being a thinblood to being a Brujah?  IIRC, a thinblood is someone whose generation is too low to have the full vampire powers, and the only way you can raise your generation is via diablere, which is considered extremely evil even by vampire standards . . .

[680f532052c7dZylonBane]

Lengthy discussion of exactly that right here. Though the question seems to be pretty much answered in the first reply, via direct quote from the VtM 5th edition rule book:

Straddling the line between mortality and vampirism, thin-bloods have a choice. While they do not age, and can thus stay thin bloods indefinitely, most of their kind sooner or later chooses the day or the night.

A thin blood who manages to commit diablerie on a "true" kindred absorbs not only their power and spirit but also their lineage, turning them into a 13th generation kindred of their victim's clan. The Camarilla occasional dangles this prize in front of a dusk born who show themselves capable of running the dirtiest errands and surviving, offering up a Cainite sentenced to a blood hunt as sacrifice.

Conversely, every thin blood knows someone who knows someone who returned to the daylight. The story usually goes that they became mortal by clinging to their humanity until they could hunt down and end their sire, thus ending their curse.

Of course, any mortal who knows about the kindred is a threat to the masquerade.

Apparently diablerie isn't all that off-limits.

[680f532052db0icemann]

I really need to get around to playing the original.

[680f532052eddNameless Voice]

I remember reading about how a vampire who performed diablerie was stuck with the soul of the victim forever, and that soul could occasionally exert control over them (and, in extreme cases, even take over the body entirely) ... though looking it up again now, apparently that's only something that is rumoured to happen, implying it's rare.

[680f532054293ZylonBane]

I really need to get around to playing the original.

You really do. It's the best Deus Ex game since Deus Ex.