In Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, each clan offers a distinctive set of four skills designed to enhance gameplay by providing tactical advantages during combat and fostering smoother navigation through various environments.
Among these skills, you’ll discover utilities like the Shadow Step, which allows you to teleport behind your foes, and the Unseen Aura, enabling you to effectively disappear from sight. However, players often ponder which of these skills prove most advantageous during their adventures in the dark streets of Seattle.
10. Unseen Aura
Invisibility
Unseen Aura, although it represents one of the costliest skills from the Banu Kaqim clan, stands as a versatile tool both in and out of battle. In critical situations where escape is paramount, this skill can render you invisible, granting the chance to momentarily recuperate and gain health by attacking enemies.
For those moments when you risk attracting unwanted attention from law enforcement through your supernatural antics, activating Unseen Aura can aid in evading detection, allowing you to swiftly decrease your notoriety. However, its limitations include being audibly detectable, which can compromise your stealth when moving. Additionally, the high energy cost can deter frequent usage.
This skill is particularly useful for stealth missions, such as the one involving the police station infiltration.
9. Glimpse of Oblivion
Experience Fear
Obtained from the Lasombra clan, Glimpse of Oblivion empowers you to instill terror in nearby foes. While effective in combat scenarios enabling you to scatter enemies, its most compelling utility may lie in non-combat situations.
This skill is particularly advantageous for collecting Melancholic Blood during Resonance Events. By striking fear into NPCs during dialogue, you can secure this valuable resource without having to equip the skill specifically.
8. Mass Manipulation/Terminal Decree
Mass Suicide
Here, we examine two related skills from the Ventrue clan: Mass Manipulation and Terminal Decree. Each skill possesses merit individually, but their combined potential becomes a formidable stratergy.
Initiate combat using Mass Manipulation to freeze a cluster of enemies in place. Following this, activate Terminal Decree, causing them to eliminate themselves and efficiently dispatch multiple foes. The caveat here is that this synergy is most effective against larger groups, making it less applicable in encounters with fewer opponents.
7. Lightning Strike
Flurry of Blows
Lightning Strike, a foundational skill in the Brujah clan skill set, introduces an exciting mechanic reminiscent of the Flurry of Blows seen in Dungeons & Dragons. Upon activation, time slows, marking enemies in proximity.
This unique mechanic ensures that you can prioritize marked targets, eventually unleashing a rapid succession of punches that can decimate weaker foes in a single instance. Notably, Lightning Strike proves particularly brutal against brutes, reinforcing its status as a premier combat skill.
6. Arms of Ahriman
Hold Them in Place
Another intriguing option available from the Lasombra clan, Arms of Ahriman lets players ensnare foes within shadows. This ability creates a line that holds enemies in place, allowing for more manageable combat, feeding opportunities, and other strategic advantages.
With a lower cost than many other combat-centric skills, Arms of Ahriman can be employed frequently, and its utility extends to non-combat encounters, effectively preventing fleeing NPCs from escaping.
5. Blurred Momentum
Don’t Get Hit
When discussing defensive maneuvers, Blurred Momentum shines as one of the top skills available. Found within the Toreador clan repertoire, this ability enhances your reflexes enabling evasion of damage during fights.
Once activated, you’ll find yourself moving too swiftly for enemies to land successful hits, providing an exceptional advantage as you dispatch foes without concern for taking damage, especially critical in later stages against diverse enemy types, including Hunters and Thin-Bloods. While the skill’s energy cost is high, benefits can be supplemented via passive abilities.
4. Bladed Hand
Wolverine Claws
For those inclined towards brutality, the Bladed Hand ability from the Banu Haqim clan allows you to momentarily transform your hands into lethal weapons. This skill enables swift, devastating attacks capable of decapitating multiple enemies in one swift movement.
With an attractively low cost, Bladed Hand stands out amongst the available skills, facilitating swift takedowns and impressive elimination proficiency.
3. Cauldron of Blood/Blood Curse
Things Are Heating Up
Cauldron of Blood, a potent ability from the Tremere clan, pairs excellently with the Blood Curse skill. The former inflicts pain through boiling blood, while the latter detonates enemies, causing explosive damage.
Utilizing these two skills in succession creates an effective strategy: first, summon the Cauldron of Blood to draw attention, then unleash Blood Curse to eliminate enemies crowded around the initial target, allowing you to capitalize on their numbers.
2. Blood Salvo
Blood Daggers
Blood Salvo, the concluding ability of the Tremere skill tree, allows you to summon multiple blood daggers that can be launched at adversaries. This skill melds devastating power with stealth, ideally suited for taking down unsuspecting foes.
Equipped with the ability to dispatch weaker enemies in silence, Blood Salvo can also stack up damage against tougher foes, ensuring an effective engagement. The skill’s significant cost is alleviated by passive enhancements within the clan.
1. Shadow Step
Disappear/Reappear
Recognized as the pinnacle skill in Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, Shadow Step should undoubtedly be a part of your arsenal. Among various teleportation skills, Shadow Step stands out for its overwhelming effectiveness.
This skill enables you to teleport directly behind an enemy, providing the opportunity to either attack or feed stealthily. If employed strategically with the passive abilities of the Toreador or Tremere clans, the cooldown can be significantly reduced, allowing for rapid exploitation in engagements.
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