With six distinct Clans to choose from at the start of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, each with their own unique strengths and playstyles to consider, making the right call on the best Clan to pick during character creation can feel like a high-stakes decision.
“Clans” in VTM refer to the different, well, vampiric bloodlines. Clan membership determines which vampiric powers and abilities your character has automatic access to – so you can think of a clan as sort of your vampire’s genetic heritage, if not necessarily their familial support system. To put it in gameplay terms, your Clan in VTMB2 is basically your starting class which determines your basic skills and general playstyle.
While VTMB2 hasn’t technically been in the making since the first game was released 21 years ago, it’s been such a long wait that it can sometimes feel that way. That means even returning fans might feel a little lost when asked to throw their lot in with a Clan they’re not very familiar with yet. On this page, we outline each playable clan in VTMB2, along with their affinities, mastery rating, and an analysis of which is the best choice for your first playthrough.
Best clan in VTMB2
Before you choose your Nomad’s clan, you’ll play through a tutorial quest which familiarises you with all of the generic vampire abilities you’ll be making use of throughout the game. Once that’s out of the way, you’ll find yourself in the starting haven, and at this point you’ll be prompted to pick the clan you want to belong to for the rest of the playthrough.
Note that in a slight departure from the original game, choosing one clan doesn’t lock you out of the powers belonging to the others – but it does determine which abilities you automatically have affinity with, while learning to use another clan’s innate abilities costs you extra. (Take a look at our VTMB2 best abilities guide to learn about that in more detail.)
Let’s begin by taking a look at your options. Controversially, Bloodlines 2 doesn’t feature three fan-favourite playable clans from the original game – Malkavian, Gangrel, or Nosferatu – and a cynic might point out that these just happen to be the clans whose features necessitated the most unique options in terms of dialogue, visuals, and overall gameplay paths in Bloodlines 1.
However, BL2 does bring back four of the seven playable clans from its predecessor – Ventrue, Toreador, Tremere, and Brujah – as well as making two more VTM clans playable in a Bloodlines game for the first time: Lasombra and Banu Haqim.
Overall, there’s only one less option there than you had in the original; and while, yes, it’s true that none of these six require a totally different gameplay approach like the Nosferatu, an entirely unique script like the Malkavian, or give you the option to change species on a whim like the Gangrel, it would be grossly unfair to suggest that there are no significant differences between them. Just because the Nomad is largely coherent and basically human-looking no matter which option you pick doesn’t mean the choice won’t have a big impact on your experience of the game.
Below, we’ve listed all six playable clans in VTMB2 in roughly the order we recommend for a first-time playthrough, from “best” to “worst”. This isn’t to say that the clans at the bottom of the list are bad – in fact, they can be the most rewarding to master – but since your eventual favourite will certainly be a matter of personal preference, we’ve gone with a ranking from “easiest” to “hardest” when it comes to pick-up-and-play potential.
Ventrue
- Clan Affinities: Dominate, Presence
- Mastery Rating: Easy
Much as they’d hate to admit it, the haughty Ventrue are perhaps the simplest clan to get to grips with, earning them the only “Easy” mastery rating in Bloodlines 2 per the developers. It’s not hard to see why: they’re good all-rounders, balancing a reasonable degree of physical power with strong social dominance skills and crowd control potential. You can think of the Ventrue as something of a jack-of-all-trades in Bloodlines 2, giving you access to almost the whole spectrum of cool vampire powers but without the high specialisation of some of the other clans.
As such, Ventrue is a good choice for your first playthrough, particularly if you’re new to this series and setting. Even experienced players might like to see VTMB2 for the first time through the eyes of a Ventrue, though, since stealth and combat have their unique quirks to get to grips with here even if you’ve played other games in the franchise.
Brujah
- Clan Affinities: Celerity, Presence, Potence
- Mastery Rating: Normal
Brawlers and bruisers with a scholarly side, the Brujah function as tanks in combat, often eschewing stealthier options in favour of going loud and wading in to deal with a fight head-on. Fortunately for this approach they have high physical resistance, making them a very strong choice for a first playthrough while you get used to Bloodlines 2’s default focus on melee combat.
The Nomad can only manipulate weapons (including firearms) using their telekinetic powers, so you’re limited to what you can pick up in a scrap and can’t keep any weapons in your inventory to equip whenever you want. If this baffles you, then you might want to seriously consider playing as the Brujah on your maiden playthrough, since they’re so proficient with their fists that you don’t really need to worry about the rest of it unless you decide you want to. Breaking stealth is a lot less disastrous from the start, too, since the Brujah unlocks some great crowd control attacks early on.
Tremere
- Clan Affinities: Dominate, Blood Sorcery
- Mastery Rating: Normal
In another tabletop setting, the Tremere would be your mage class. More strongly stealth-focused than the other clans outlined above, the Tremere wield some scarily powerful blood magic spells that can cause a huge amount of damage and even one-shot weaker enemies, but there are a few trade-offs. Even though no powerful ancient vampire is deserving of being called a “squishy wizard”, the Tremere are a lot closer to the description than any other clan, with relatively low physical resistance.
Early-game Tremere powers in Bloodlines 2 don’t offer a lot of crowd control options, which is likely to be your biggest hurdle; and if you fail to get out of range of your own magic attacks after casting them, you can easily become caught in the splash zone. Once you’ve figured out how to stage manage your powers optimally, though, the Tremere becomes a bloodthirsty joy to play (and is my personal favourite clan). They’re perhaps not very beginner-friendly, but could still make a great first playthrough choice for players who prefer stealth, spellcasting, and/or ranged combat.
Toreador
- Clan Affinities: Celerity, Presence
- Mastery Rating: Normal
Clan Toreador are the archetypical sexy, cultured vampires: odds are good that if you enter a night club or art gallery during your exploration of Seattle, the owner will be a Toreador. More inclined to talk their way out of a sticky situation than get their hands dirty, a Toreador’s primary strength lies in their social skills, and unlike most other clans, they deal primarily in seduction rather than plain intimidation. To keep the D&D comparison going, in a more high-fantasy setting they’d be bards for sure.
The trade-off for playing as a sultry bloodsucker is that the Toreador – while by no means weaklings – aren’t the strongest clan when it comes to combat. Since the Nomad will be forced to resort to brute force every now and then, the Toreador will need to use their advantages in blocking and rapid repositioning to avoid damage in a brawl. As such, the Toreador is a good first playthrough choice for someone who enjoys a defensive combat style aided by a focus on crowd control, which might make a more challenging – though far from impossible – first playthrough for an inexperienced player.
Banu Haqim
- Clan Affinities: Celerity, Blood Sorcery, Obfuscate
- Mastery Rating: Hard
Bloodlines 2 marks the Banu Haqim’s first time being playable in an official VTM video game, which inherently puts everyone on something of a level playing-field when choosing this as the Nomad’s clan. Sure, tabletop aficionados have been able to play as Banu Haqim for years and thus may have some built-in advantage, but when it comes to real-time action combat we’re all in the same boat here. Those old enough to remember VTM pre-5th Edition might recall the clan operating under the name Assamite – but it’s best not to bring up that relic of a colonised past, since it pays to stay on the good side of the Banu Haqim.
The Banu Haqim utilise stealth and spellslinging in a very different way from the Tremere: while Tremere mages make the most of their ability to attack at range, the Banu Haqim use those same abilities to get in close to their targets and strike fast before they can attract counterattacks. This requires the player to have mastered some elements of speed and timing with the game’s controls, and thus the Banu Haqim is not recommended until your second playthrough of Bloodlines 2, particularly if you prefer to play on harder difficulties.
Lasombra
- Clan Affinities: Dominate, Potence, Oblivion
- Mastery Rating: Hard
The Lasombra are the most difficult clan in the game to master, and as such, you’re strongly recommended to save this one for a second playthrough, unless you’re a glutton for punishment or don’t mind turning the difficulty right down. Much like the Banu Haqim, the Lasombra requires the player to demonstrate precise timing and speedy reactions. Harnessing their unique Oblivion power allows the Lasombra to manipulate shadows, giving them unparalleled stealth opportunities when used correctly, and they can follow that up with a punch worthy of a Brujah – in other words, the trouble you go to to learn how to play as Lasombra will more than pay off in the end.
Lore-wise, the Lasombra is perhaps one of the most intriguing clans in VTMB2. Players familiar with the original game might recall that the Lasombra’s few appearances cast them as antagonists, since in 2004 they were firmly allied with the Sabat. However, changes in the VTM setting over the past 21 years have seen their official allegiance switch to the Camarilla, which has opened up plenty of interesting new storylines for the clan. Getting to see how the vampiric establishment of Seattle reacts to a Lasombra character is one of the coolest opportunities in the game for long-time fans of the series, and as such it’s well worth getting to grips with their unique skillset on a replay.
Choosing your clan is important, but it’s far from the last big choice you’ll have to make in Bloodlines 2. If branching dialogue options have you worried, check out our guide to picking the right choices when meeting Lou Graham during the second quest.