Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Patch Notes

Good evening, Kindred,To coincide with the release of The Flower & the Flame DLC, we have the Summer Update for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, adding some more quality-of-life features that the community requested, along with a large update to ranged combat so you can aim down a scope like a sniper or wield two pistols like a gunslinger. Screenshot Like a ToreadorToday we released The Flower & the Flame DLC, where you can play as Ysabella Moore, the Toreador Primogen, artist, and influencer. We thought it fitting to deliver alongside a suite of features to give you more control when taking screenshots and videos. Photo ModeFirst is Photo Mode, which can be triggered while playing as Phyre, Fabien, Benny, or Ysabella (on keyboard by pressing P, and on gamepad by clicking both joysticks at the same time). Photo Mode pauses the game’s time and puts the camera into a flying mode, so you can move around the scene and get your desired shot.For those keen to take pictures of their character, be aware that they are hidden during 1st-person gameplay, so trigger Photo Mode during a 3rd-person conversation, feed, or finisher.Description: Screenshot of Photo Mode triggered during a conversation with a pedestrian. Disable HUD & Disable Enemy Health Bars SettingFor those who want to record gameplay outside of Photo Mode, we have added two additional options to the ACCESSIBILITY tab of the SETTINGS menu: 1) Disable Enemy Health Bars will prevent enemy health bars from appearing. 2) Disable HUD turns off all UI overlays that occur during 1st person gameplay. Description: Screenshot of Disable HUD and Disable Enemy Health Bar settings in the ACCESSIBILITY tab. Noir ModeLastly, for those with a flair for the dramatic, we have added the Noir Mode option in the ACCESSIBILITY tab. Noir Mode switches the game’s visuals to black-and-white, adding to the detective fantasy of playing Fabien, or switching the Neo-Noir style of playing Phyre, Benny or Ysabella into a vintage look. Description: Screenshot of playing a Malkavian Detective with Noir Mode on.Ranged Combat ImprovementsDuring development of The Flower & the Flame DLC, we added several features to Ysabella’s ranged combat that we have also added to Phyre and Benny as part of the Summer Update.Holding FirearmsIn addition to Phyre holding a gun with Telekinesis, you can now pick them up directly to hold in your hands. Alongside the Spring Update addition of being able to wield melee weapons, this means every weapon in the game can now be picked up and used directly by Phyre, Benny, and Ysabella.Description: Screenshot of highlighting an assault rifle that can be equipped. Ammo & Holstering Each firearm’s ammo count is shown at the bottom right of the screen. Once the ammo is depleted, the weapon is discarded, maintaining the flow of combat. Firearms are powerful but also loud, drawing attention from others nearby, and larger guns make you easier to spot when sneaking. In the city, aiming a firearm at passers-by can cause a panic, eventually leading to unwanted police attention. So for those of you who want to keep a lower profile, we have added a Holster weapon function (TAB on keyboard; Y on Xbox gamepad; Triangle on PlayStation DualSense) to quickly hide or reveal a carried melee weapon or firearm. Description: Screenshot of a pedestrian running scared after having a gun pointed at them. Dual Wielding GunsPicking up two of the same firearm as Phyre or Ysabella will allow you to dual-wield them. This greatly increases your damage per second at the cost of getting through your ammo faster - it’s also really cool!Description: Phyre hunting I.A.O. agents with two of their combat shotguns. Benny can also pick up a gun to wield alongside his custom sidearm.Description: Benny mowing down Anarchs with his trusty sidearm and an assault rifle.Precision AimBenny’s Precision Aim feature is now available for Phyre and Ysabella when they are holding a firearm. Hold Right Mouse (LT/L2 on gamepad) to enter Precision Aim, slowing time to a crawl (and with certain weapons looking down the sight or scope), allowing you to get headshots in the middle of a brawl, or shoot a gas canister just as an enemy walks by to engulf them in a satisfying explosion.Description: Screenshot of using Precision Aim to look through a sniper rifle’s scope at an unwitting target. Combat Tutorial CollectablesTo tutorialize the new combat features, we have added two collectable notes which explain how to wield ranged weapons and also how to use Shunt to disarm an enemy. Top tip - Split Second + Shunt is a lot of fun.Description: Screenshot of Codex entry detailing how to use ranged weapons.Dress Like a DetectiveIt has been a while since we added a new cosmetic to the game, and we noted that many of you have wished for Fabien’s hat, so as an extra thank-you from us, we have added Fabien’s hat to Phyre’s HAIR tab for you to play out your Vampire Detective looks.Description: Screenshot of Phyre wearing Fabien’s hat, combined with The Player outfit.OUTROThat covers the Summer Update, which is available to play right now along with The Flower & the Flame DLC (see Dev Diary #33 for details). It has been an absolute pleasure to have been on this journey with you, and while development has come to an end, we know it will continue its unlife in the safe hands of the community. We look forward to seeing the mods you’ll continue to add, the art, fiction, streams, and videos you will create. If you’d like to keep up with community progress, please join us on the official Bloodlines 2 Discord.Goodnight, Kindred.CHANGELOG Gameplay ImprovementsAdded Photo Mode when playing as Phyre, Fabien, Ysabella or Benny.Added Noir Mode when playing as Phyre, Fabien, Ysabella or Benny.Added setting to disable HUD/UI overlays.Added setting to disable enemy health bars.Added ability to pick up firearms to Phyre, Ysabella and Benny.Added ability to dual wield firearms to Phyre and Ysabella.Added functioning scope to S...

Good evening Kindred,As the seasons change from winter to spring, so too does Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 with the Spring Update - our largest update, to date! Included are several quality-of-life features that the community requested, along with a large update to melee combat that now allows you to slash, stab and bludgeon to your heart’s content. Description: Phyre and Phyre wielding melee weapons.Save Last CheckpointSave Last Checkpoint is a new menu option found in the pause menu that triggers an Auto Save (the same as exiting the game) but also makes a copy of it and labels it “Manual Save”. This allows you to bookmark different points in the quests to return to if things didn’t turn out as you hoped. For example, you could use at the start of (or during) a conversation, play the conversation, and then if unhappy with the result, reload that save to play it again.Description: Save Last Checkpoint option on the in game pause menu.The save created uses the data from the last checkpoint you reached, which is typically before and after a conversation/combat encounter, or at the point an objective changes. For example if you save halfway through a combat encounter, loading that save will restore you to the start of the combat encounter, when the last checkpoint was created, rather than halfway through the encounter when you selected Save Last Checkpoint. The gap between the point of saving and where you restore to is never that large due to checkpoints occurring regularly.Description: The Load Game menu containing multiple save files, labelled Manual Save.Fabien Fast TravelDescription: Map menu with one of Fabien’s phlegmatic informants highlighted. To help reduce wear-and-tear on Fabien’s shoes we have added a Fast Travel option whenever you select one of his phlegmatic informants (Mr Lemon, Carla, Guru, Reggie, Marigold or Shelby) from the map. His informants were placed so there would always be one near to the locations Fabien visits - so not only will Fast Travel allow you to grab a quick bite to eat (as Fabien exclusively feeds from phlegmatic humans), it can be used to move within a short distance of your next lead in the investigation. Description: Fast Travel option allowing you to skip straight to the informant’s location.Melee Combat ImprovementsDuring development of the Loose Cannon DLC, we added several features to Benny Muldoon’s melee combat that we have also added to Phyre in this Spring Update.Wielding Melee WeaponsIn addition to holding a melee weapon with Telekinesis, you can now pick them up directly to wield in your hands. Each weapon plays differently and adds alternate utility to the Nomad’s unarmed attacks (though being unarmed is still useful and in some situations superior, depending on your clan choice). Knives for example stab and slash quickly, dealing damage to targets at a short range. A baseball bat has a longer range, but does less damage in favour of staggering opponents and interrupting attacks.Heavy attacks do increased damage at the cost of destroying the weapon, so use as finishers or before switching to another weapon. A heavy attack with a Hammer for example creates a mini Earthshock blast, so use it strategically. Description: Slaying ghouls with a knife.Attack While TargetingFor players that find combat can get too chaotic, you can now attack while in ability targeting mode. Ability targeting mode slows down time to a crawl, allowing you to freely look around and aim your next attack. Pressing attack during targeting mode will now return time to normal speed for the duration of the strike, then return it back to slow time. This is especially useful when you are surrounded by multiple opponents.Description: Using ability targeting mode to slow down time and aim an attack.GuardTo give more options in combat, we have added a Guard mechanic that blocks enemy melee attacks. When not attacking or doing a combat action, look at an incoming attack and the Nomad will block it, reducing the damage significantly and allowing you to strike back. Getting surrounded is still dangerous though, so evasion remains your best defence.Description: Guard stance blocking an attack.Combat Tutorial CollectablesTo help teach these new combat mechanics, as well as existing mechanics that you may have not discovered, we have added a series of collectables throughout the game, located conveniently near combat encounters that you can practise these techniques on. There are 17 to find, including 1 technique we believe no player has ever discovered. Will you be the first? Description: A combat tutorial collectable that teaches how to use melee weapons.OUTROIn addition to the bug fixes listed in the changelog below, we’ve had a spring clean of Phyre’s side quests. Several main quests (see changelog) have been changed to side quests, allowing more choice on repeat playthroughs on what quests to complete or skip. Mrs Thorn’s quests are now exclusive to Tremere clan players and Niko’s quests are exclusive to Banu Haqim clan players (NOTE: doesn’t affect playthroughs that have already reached “Keep the Peace” before the Spring Update). This change improves the pacing of the campaign for new players, reducing the time spent between main quests each night. Onda’s, Silky’s, Fletcher’s and Patience’s side quests are unchanged.Description: Safia’s quest to rescue her ghouls as a side quest.That concludes the Spring Update, which is available to play right now along with the Loose Cannon DLC! We look forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions to the update. If you’d like to be part of the conversation, please join us on the official Bloodlines 2 Discord.CHANGELOGGameplay ImprovementsUnreal engine updated to version 5.5.4. Make sure graphics drivers are up to date.Added Fast Travel mechanic for Fabien Quests allowing quick travel to the 6 phlegmatic informants (Mr Lemon, Carla, Guru, Reggie, Marigold, Shelby) on the Seattle map.Can equip and wield melee weapons, such as bats...

As romance lingers in the air, a Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 update has landed to celebrate Valentine's Day. The new patch answers requests for enemy loot, giving you more reasons to engage with hostiles in the vampire game, and in doing so introduces another way to get your hands on resonant blood. It also ramps up the character customization options, including facial hair options and the ability to dress up as Anarch favorite Damsel. But is it enough to spark the flame of love once more? Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 update finally adds custom difficulty and motion blur toggle, but delays much-requested save functionality In the wake of Bloodlines 2's struggles, Vampire The Masquerade's most famous face is leaving Paradox Bloodlines 2's disastrous $37 million write-down "lies fully" with Paradox, says its CEO, as the controversial VTM game flops

Hello kindred and welcome to our latest dev diary detailing what’s included in the Valentine’s update for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. In honour of the season of the heart, we have added blood bags, beards, a beret and more for you to sink your fangs into. Wishing you all a happy and more importantly, bloody Valentine’s!Description: New variations of the Valentine-themed customisation options for Phyre.Enemy LootTo make rooftop encounters more rewarding we have added a new feature that allows enemies to carry an item of loot (elixirs or blood bags - see below). Rather than just spawning the loot upon their death, we have them carrying it on their waist, allowing the more sneaky among you to practise your pick-pocketing skills and take it without being seen. And for those of you who prefer to get your hands bloody, the item will drop on their death. Most rooftop encounters in the city will feature an enemy with an item of loot. Description: An Anarch Ghoul carrying an elixir that can either be pickpocketed or taken from their corpse.Blood BagsTo help those of you who are hunting for blood resonance, we have added a new item type - Resonant Blood Bags. They are typically found being carried by Anarch vampires and their Ghouls on the rooftops of Seattle using the Enemy Loot feature. Collecting a blood bag will award blood resonance points of its type (e.g. 100 Sanguine points) that can then be used at a Clan Contact to awaken the Nomad’s blocked abilities. Description: A blood bag containing melancholic blood in Dale’s apartment.Valentine Customisation OptionsFor those of you who want to look your best this Valentine’s, we have added several new customisation items, including hats, an eyepatch and an homage to a fan favourite character.Description: A look for proud Anarch’s made with a Valentine’s hat and makeup. Facial HairA popular request upon launch of Bloodlines 2 was to be able to add facial hair to Phyre, and the Valentine’s update adds three facial hair options, under the Accessories tab, for you to mix and match into your favourite looks or create something new.Description: For a classic gentleman Dracula look, combine this Valentine’s hat, glasses and beard, with The Sheriff outfit.Overall, there are 7 new hair options, 8 new make-up looks, 4 new eye colours, and 7 new accessories, making a total of 26 new customisation options. Combine these with the existing 151 items and 24 outfits to create your Valentine’s look. Please feel free to share these creations with us on social media for a chance to get featured in our “Phyre Friday” social posts. Rotate CharacterTo help you admire your freshly follicled face, we have added a rotate character function to the customisation menu, so you can make sure you look perfect from every angle. Description: Pirate Phyre staring contemplatively off into the distance. OUTROIn addition to the bug fixes listed in the changelog below, we’ve added a shortcut to the Load Game Menu on the in-game Pause Menu, so you can easily jump to a previous chapter should the need arise.Description: The in-game pause menu featuring Load Game menu option. That wraps up the Valentine’s update, which is available to play right now. A quick reminder that there are two DLCs to look forward to this year: “Loose Cannon” lets you step into the shoes of Benny, the Brujah Sheriff, and the second DLC, “The Flower & The Flame”, you will play as Ysabella, the Toreador Primogen and owner of The Atrium nightclub. Thank you to everyone for all the feedback, memes, fanart and videos that you’ve been posting on your socials. If you’d like to be part of the conversation, please join us on the official Bloodlines 2 Discord. CHANGELOGCosmetics Update7 hairs8 faces7 accessories4 eyes.Gameplay ImprovementsRooftop enemies in the Seattle map can now carry loot.Blood bag items can be collected to gain blood resonance. Found in certain quests and some rooftop enemies in the Seattle map.Rebalanced input window for performing a kick to make it easier to achieve.Rebalanced Cauldron of Blood to be harder to interrupt with combat actions, making it more effective in a wider range of scenarios.Several performance improvements across all platforms.Shaders compile 90x faster.Ability descriptions updated:Charge - Added “Each enemy struck applies damage to the held victim.” to clarify that you can increase the damage of the attack..Taunt - Added “Armed opponents will drop their weapon.” to clarify its added utility in combat.Earthshock - Added that “Being higher off the ground when casting increases the size of the blast.” to clarify that your positioning when casting affects how lethal the ability is.Blood Curse - Added “Weaker opponents or targets closer to you are significantly quicker to curse.” to clarify that distance to target affects the cast speed. Recall - Added “Damages enemies standing nearby when you appear.” to clarify that Recall has combat utility.Blood Salvo - Added “can be thrown at enemies or explosives” to clarify that explosives can be targeted.Bladed Hand - Added “A silent attack” to clarify its utility as a stealth attack.Unseen Aura - Added “Staying still increases the ability’s duration.” to clarify that the ability rewards being deliberate and strategic.Possession - Added “Ventrue and Affect abilities can be cast while possessing someone.” to highlight the combination potential and stealth utility.Blink - Added “Knocks over enemies that you Blink into.” to clarify that Blink has combat utility.Save and Load ImprovementsLoad Game menu can now be accessed through the in-game pause menu.Bug fixes“Confirm Selected Clan?” UI continuously remained on screen when specific inputs were pressed after the final dialogue.Enemies affected with 'Glimpse of Oblivion' ability reset to unresonated when in stunned state, preventing players from obtaining Melancholic Blood Resonance points.Normal difficulty set for quest To Taste a Foreign Body when players select Casual difficulty d...

Coming in hot is the latest Hotfix 1.0.5.1 for Bloodlines 2. It fixes the following issues: Player unable to interact with Ryong at Weaver Tower.White screen flashes repeatedly throughout the Intro Cutscene after the Character Selection.Player falls out of the world near the right corner of the Ryong office door prevents the player from re-entering the combat area, blocking progression. Stay tuned for more updates in the future!

When was the last truly great game about vampires? I enjoyed Byte a lot, and Cabernet was a blood-drenched delight earlier this year, but the last to truly break containment was Vampire Survivors, which is brilliant but doesn't really offer the same sharpened-tooth roleplaying we want. After Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2's damp squib of a release, we were hoping for a juicy winter update to sink our teeth into. Unfortunately, with many anticipated features delayed, it seems like we'll be waiting for Blood of the Dawnwalker for our next blood-sucking fix. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: In the wake of Bloodlines 2's struggles, Vampire The Masquerade's most famous face is leaving Paradox Bloodlines 2's disastrous $37 million write-down "lies fully" with Paradox, says its CEO, as the controversial VTM game flops Chinese Room co-founder wanted Paradox to drop the 'Bloodlines 2' name, because "no one would be happy" with the final game

Season’s greetings, Kindred, and welcome to the first post-launch Dev Diary for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. Today, we will go through what’s included in the Winter Update, including details of the Custom Difficulty setting, the new cosmetic options to get you in a festive mood, and the changelog. Description: New variations of the Holiday-themed customisation options for Phyre.Custom DifficultyWhy we’ve added Custom DifficultyThe base game came with 4 difficulties (Casual, Easy, Normal, Hard) and even before launch we knew we wanted to add more options for players to make the game harder or easier, as “correct” difficulty is very personal to each player. As a post launch update, we targeted Custom Difficulty at players that have already completed the game, to provide more difficulty variety or simple mess around in their future playthroughs. Doing this allowed us to list options that are effectively cheats, or could make a playthrough for a new player impossibly hard. We look forward to seeing the combinations you will try and what challenges you set yourself.Description: The menu of selecting difficulty options.How to unlock Custom DifficultyCustom Difficulty is available for all players that have collected “An Elder Unchained” achievement/trophy. This is awarded for completing the game on any difficulty as any clan.  Once unlocked Custom Difficulty will be available in the difficulty select menu after you select New Game.Selecting Custom Difficulty presents you with a menu of options that you can tailor to your liking and will apply for the whole playthrough. NOTE: Unlike the 4 base game difficulties (Casual, Easy, Normal, Hard) you cannot change custom difficulty once the playthrough is started, so think carefully. Description: Menu selection showing some of the options you can change.What you can changeThe Custom Difficulty settings are divided into four groups: HUD, PLAYER, ENEMIES, PROGRESSION.HUD: Reactive Crosshair - Use this setting to disable the crosshair reacting to nearby secrets or collectables. Applies to both Phyre and Fabien quests. This is for players that want to increase the challenge of exploration and test their memory. HUD: Character Reaction UI - Use this setting to disable the UI shown during conversations that states the impact of your dialogue choices - e.g. “Lou liked that” or “Fabien hit a wall”. Applies to both Phyre and Fabien quests. Can make conversations more immersive at the cost of clarity. PLAYER: Elixir Capacity - Set the maximum number of Elixirs you can carry for each type from 0-10. 0 makes combat significantly harder and 10 much easier. Applies to both Phyre and Fabien quests. PLAYER: Starting Health - Sets the size of Phyre’s health-bar at the start of the game. The default balance is 2 bars of health. Can increase up to 4 bars to make the start of the game easier or reduce to a fraction of a single bar to make the early game harder. The health-bar can still be extended further by collecting the marks drawn with Phyre’s blood.PLAYER: Phyre’s Damage - Use this setting to increase or decrease the damage inflicted by Phyre’s attacks. Increase the damage to make combat easier or decrease to make it harder.PLAYER: Masquerade Sensitivity - Use this setting to increase or decrease the rate at which the Masquerade meter fills when performing actions that break the Masquerade. Can reduce the rate to make the game easier, or increase the rate to make it harder. Can also set to NONE to disable the Masquerade meter completely and freely act like a vampire across the city.PLAYER: Ability Recharging - Use this setting to enable Phyre’s and Fabien’s abilities to passively recharge over time, reducing the need to feed. Enabling ability recharging will make the game easier. PLAYER: Targeting Time Dilation - Use this setting to disable time being slowed down when you are targeting abilities (holding LT on gamepad or Right Mouse). Disabling time dilation will make combat harder. ENEMIES: Enemy Damage - Use this setting to increase or decrease the damage inflicted by enemy attacks. Decrease the damage to make combat easier or increase to make it harder.ENEMIES: Enemy Awareness - Use this setting to increase or decrease the speed that enemies will notice you. Lowering the awareness speed will make stealth easier and increasing will make it harder. Can also be set to NONE to disable enemies spotting you at all, though attacking or touching them will make them aware. PROGRESSION: Quests - The default campaign is a series of Phyre and Fabien quests. Use this option to play just Phyre’s or just Fabien’s quests back-to-back without featuring the other character’s quests. PROGRESSION: Iron Vamp - Our take on “Iron Man” modes from other games. When enabled, quests will not generate their own saves, leaving you only the autosave to record progress. If you die or break the Masquerade then the autosave is deleted, ending your run. Description: Screenshot of the Iron Vamp setting.Example Custom Difficulty SetupsHere are a few examples of how you can configure Custom Difficulty to get you started.Dramatic Irony Run - For narrative focussed players that have completed the story and want to play again with the knowledge of “who dunnit” in the game’s various mysteries, to see what clues and foreshadowing are present.PLAYER: Masquerade Sensitivity = NONEPLAYER: Ability Recharging = FASTPLAYER: Elixir Capacity = 10 Speed Run - Same as Dramatic Irony Run, but excludes playing Fabien’s quests.PLAYER: Masquerade Sensitivity = NONE PLAYER: Ability Recharging = FASTPROGRESSION: Quests = Phyre Quests OnlyPLAYER: Elixir Capacity = 10Immersion Run - For players that want to rely purely on their own intuition to play the game.HUD: Reactive Crosshair = OFFHUD: Character Reaction UI = OFF Fabien Tourist Run - For players that want to replay Fabien’s storyline with as little friction as possible.PLAYER: Elixir Capacity = 10PLAYER: Ability Recharging = FASTPROGRESSION: Quests = Fabie...