The third vampire clan is now on the hunt out there for the upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 at launch
Here we go with the third vampire clan to jump into Bloodlines 2 and it is a bit of a surprise on this end. A surprise that makes sense but one I did not think that The Chinese Room was going to go with. Here we are with the Banu Haqim as the third playable character for the launch of Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2. One that many players might never have heard of as it is a clan that even the hardcore fans are still getting used to out there. It is one that used to go by a different name but in the work to remove questionable stereotypes from the 90s version of the IP, they now go by the Banu Haqim. The assassin clan for those who need a bit of a hint while trying to not use the older name…
While it feels like having an assassin-style vampire in the mix here, it does play into some of the lore and story of the world a bit more than expected. It does look as if they will have all of the usual abilities they have in the tabletop game, just modified to fit the video game side of things. They are known to be able to hide themselves, move fast, and have other powers that make them deadly killers in the game. Not to mention that leaning into the nickname of Slayer we have been given for Phyre, the protagonist, this does make it easy to slip into random places in the world of Vampire: The Masquerade. All of that aside, though, we have a little look at a bit of the gameplay to help highlight why the Banu Haqim were selected for the video game from the launch of it all. Have a look at it below.
Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 — Clan Reveal: Banu Haqim
Nicknames
The Clan of the Hunt, Assassins, Children of Haqim, Saracens, Mediators, Lawmen
Who Are The Banu Haqim?
Cursed with a thirst for the Blood of other vampires, the Banu Haqim stalk the night as judges and lawbringers. To this end, most Banu Haqim adhere to a strict code of conduct – derived from law, faith, or personal ethics – sating their Hunger on those that breach these convictions.
Playing A Banu Haqim In Bloodlines 2
Banu Haqim takes the role of a strategic stalker, using shadows to their advantage. You are a predator on a hunt, and your discipline powers focus on stalking, assassination, and silently moving faster than your foes can track.
Banu Haqim powers focus on strategic stalking, avoiding attacks and assassination.
Now that we see that they are looking to go a little bit out-there when it comes to the clans of Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2, it does make me question which will be the fourth playable clan in the game. Not to mention that we have the Tremere, who are known for being antagonistic to the Banu Haqim, in the mix as a playable character. If we are looking at opposites, that would generally place the Ventrue in the mix for the Brujah. At this point, though, I would not be surprised if we see another that just does not make sense in general to be placed in. While it would make me happy to be able to play as a Tzimisce from the start, it is highly doubtful that will be it. My money will be more on the core clans for Vampire: The Masquerade when the next one comes with Gangrel or Malkavian being the best choices. Although there is room to see Losambra make it into the mix too.
Did you ever expect to see this vampire clan in the main four or does it make sense so we can lean into the combat of the game more? Will we have the normal rivalries in the game or will that all be fluff in the background? Will any of this lean into the Slayer aspect of things or could this all be the Nosferatu playing some kind of game too? Take to the comments to discuss all of this as we wait for more to come out there for the game. We are going to keep the coverage for Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2 coming, so please keep on checking back for all of those updates and all of the other ones that we have coming down the line.