Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodhunt features an assortment of different playable characters based on different clans and archetypes from the tabletop game and other Vampire: The Masquerade media. Of these, the Brujah Vandal is a master of close-range combat, gaining defensive bonuses when near enemies and making use of a stunning ground pound attack to render their foes vulnerable to follow-up attacks.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt is a battle royale set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe and developed by Sharkmob. Players take on the role of vampires during a bloodhunt on the streets of Prague, doing battle with other vampires in an effort to survive the night and carry out the Bloodhunt. Complicating matters is the intervention of an NPC faction of Vampire Hunters, serving as additional obstacles or, to cunning players, as a source of weapons and blood.
Powers
The Brujah clan are masters of three vampiric disciplines: Presence, Potence, and Celerity. The Vandal character exclusively focuses on Potence, vampiric strength. As the Vandal, players have access to the Brujah Clan power "Soaring Leap," allowing them to launch themselves across the city in tremendous leaps.
This makes them excellent at quickly transitioning from street level to the rooftops, allowing them to escape ambushes or launch themselves into combat, catching their foes off guard.
The Vandal has access to the archetype power "Earth Shock," allowing them to jump forward and smash the ground, creating a stunning shockwave in a cone in front of them when landing. This is best used when entering combat to leave the foe vulnerable to further attack or prevent a weakened foe's retreat. The Earth Shock must be aimed carefully and used from the right distance, as it is possible to overshoot the target if used when too close to them.
The Vandal also has a tremendously useful passive power, "Adrenaline Rush." This causes them to gain a bonus to their defenses when close to an enemy, encouraging them to fight at close range whenever possible. This makes their choice of weapons especially important.
Preferred Weapons
The Brujah Vandal's choice of weapon is heavily influenced by their passive and archetype power, both of which encourage players to stay close to their opponent when in combat. Thus, melee weapons are especially deadly in the Vandal's hands. The Katana is useful for closing the distance when Earth Shock and Soaring Leap are on cooldown by allowing the player to deflect bullets from the front while wielding it.
At the same time, the Scourge Blades are utterly devastating once the player reaches their target, allowing them to pair the Vandal's improved defenses from Adrenaline Rush with the Scourge Blades healing effect.
The Vandal prefers weaponry used at the close-mid range for many of the same reasons detailed above. This means that keeping an eye out for a good quality shotgun should be a top priority, though SMGs and assault rifles can also work well if shotguns aren't available.
The minigun is also a good pick if players manage to spin it up in time, and is great for advancing towards enemy positions while firing.
When looking out for ranged weapons, check out the list below, in order of preference:
- Double-Barrelled Shotgun: The high damage dealt by this weapon makes it an excellent opening weapon before swapping into melee at the start of a fight.
- Pump-Action Shotgun: The improved Magazine Size makes this an ideal pick for players planning to make consistent use of a shotgun during a fight.
- Silenced SMG: This weapon deals tremendous damage rapidly, making it an excellent secondary weapon or even a primary.
- Assault Rifle: Of the full-auto weapons available, the Assault rifle is consistently effective at nearly any range, making it a fantastic choice and a suitable substitute for the Silenced SMG or even the Shotguns.
- Minigun: Despite the spin-up time before firing, the Minigun is superb for laying down fire and keeping enemies on the defensive, and can be deadly at close-mid range (especially when used from stealth.)
Meanwhile, in terms of melee weapons, it is ideal to use Scourge Blades whenever available, though the Katana is also an excellent choice and should be prioritized over any other alternatives.
Recommended Blood Resonances
When the kindred drink blood in Vampire: The Masquerade, they gain benefits from the "resonance" of that blood. Put simply, different types of blood provide various benefits based on the victim's emotional state. In Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt, carefully selecting the best resonances to drink is an essential aspect of a player's strategy during a match.
The Brujah Vandal favors Sanguine (Pink) and Choleric (Orange) resonances due to their preference for melee combat and natural boost to survivability from Adrenaline Rush. They should always seek these out as soon as possible.
Choleric resonance is especially potent, granting first 10%, then 25%, and finally 50% additional melee damage as the player acquires more. This means Choleric should definitely be prioritized whenever possible, though grabbing Sanguine for the health regeneration effect is also an excellent pick and should also be grabbed when possible.
Daring players may wish to hit a Second Inquisition camp early in the match to acquire extra resonance slots, allowing for the acquisition of more buffs early. Extra slots are also acquired when diablierizing (draining) another vampire after downing them.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt is available on April 27th for Playstation 5 and PC.