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2025-01-29

Dev Diary #25: Advanced Combat and Weapons

Hello Kindred,

It’s been about a year since we last talked about combat in Dev Diary 7, so the team have put this article together to give you a deeper dive into the things you can do as you go bump in the night.

Brawling

When blades come out in BL2, unless you've taken extra care to isolate your prey, you're going to be outnumbered. While several discipline abilities can help you escape or swiftly resolve a fight, you'll need to do a bit of brawling when those options aren't available. Spacing is key - your basic attacks can make short work of individuals but are risky when you're getting sliced apart from all sides.

The basic attacks get used a lot, so during their development, I was keen to make time to give each clan their own set. Banu is sharp and fast, Ventrue firm and precise, Tremere has a bit more reach to let you maintain distance, and Brujah, well, punches stuff. It’s a small thing, but I found it really helped people get into the attitude and poise of their current clan.

Dashing is an ability Phyre can use regardless of clan and is critical for maintaining distance. It can even be used aggressively - dashing forwards into a strike right as it hits will break your opponent's guard and leave them open for a counterattack, though this is best suited for one-on-one situations.

Description: In-game video of every Clan’s attack animation set

Kicks are another useful tool and are great for handling groups - done by attacking straight after a dash, you can pick which type you use with your movement direction. A big swinging roundhouse can stumble a large group but won't create much space - whereas a backkick can send a single enemy soaring away. Both you and your opponents will be able to resist attacks used repeatedly, so you'll want to mix things up a bit to stay on top.

Description: In-game video of Phyre placing a well-timed counter which leaves enemies open to attack

While kicks are great for getting opponents away from you, telekinesis is perfect for bringing them close. You can use it to yank a chosen target in for a follow-up or a feed, though consider that Kindred and their ghouls may be expecting this.

Telekinesis can also earn a quick kill when used to pull an unsuspecting enemy near the edge of a rooftop, causing them to fall to their death on the street below.

Description: In-game video of Phyre using telekinesis to pull an unaware enemy into feeding range

Breakable objects, like bottles and ashtrays, can be grabbed using telekinesis and then thrown to create a noise, distracting enemies. If you really want to create a bang, pick up and throw an explosive, such as a gas tank – a good way to hurt several enemies at once.

Telekinesis can also be used to pick up weapons from the dead, from knives to sniper rifles. A goal of Phyre’s combat design was to be fast and fluid, so we incorporated the use of Telekinesis with weapon use to maintain speed and flow – you can kill one opponent, dump their gun’s magazine into a second, and toss it at a third to open them up for your next attack.

Description: In-game video of Phyre throwing an explosive gas tank to kill enemies

This can be even more useful when used in tandem with discipline abilities. For example, Tremere's explosive blood curse can be triggered from a distance with a well-placed shot, and Brujah's taunt (when used with mass manipulation) can encourage a whole team of opponents to drop their weapons, allowing you to turn them on their owners.

Description: In-game video of enemies dropping their weapons when Mass Manipulation is combined with Taunt

And, of course, the bigger they come, the harder they fall- When fighting enemies equipped with explosives, telekinesis can lead to an even more devastating turnabout.

- Senior Game Designer Max Bottomley

Description: In-game video of Phyre throwing back explosive bolts

Elixirs

Our setting of Seattle features a large population of Thin-bloods: weaker vampires who use alchemy to create powerful “elixirs” that give access to the vampiric powers they otherwise could not. As you explore, you can find and collect these elixirs to give you an edge in combat or help level the playing field in a difficult boss encounter.

The four elixirs Phyre can use are:

Mending Elixir – Instantly restores health, allowing you to avoid final death.
Blood Elixir – Instantly restores blood pips for your abilities, great for continuing ability combo chains.
Potence Elixir – Temporarily boosts your strength, increasing the damage caused by your attacks.
Fortitude Elixir – Temporarily turns your skin to marble, reducing the damage you take from attacks.

Description: In-game video of Phyre using a Potence Elixir

Ability Combos

Having recently started a playthrough to test out my favourite Clan Tremere, I’ve enjoyed the sense of space control a well-planned fight can give you. Starting out by placing Recall up high so that I can teleport away if it gets out of hand.

Later in the game, mixing Disciplines from different Clans can make fighting more powerful Kindred much easier. There are a lot of useful combinations that Ventrue’s Mass Manipulation can provide to manage many combatants at once. The effect of Banu Haqim’s Mute on a group can make sure the battle will go unnoticed by nearby enemies. And it’s not just your own powers but the environment that you’ll have to observe, helping you find tools that are left lying around.

Not all enemies will go down that easily, and I’m really excited for you all to learn how much trouble you’ll be in when you face off against your first Kindred foe. Their powers can quickly make well-planned fights go wrong if you’re knocked over and surrounded.

Using Cauldron of Blood to draw everyone to the screaming victim and then picking one of them to explode with Blood Curse can blast a lot of the crowd away before I even get close to the fighting. And when it does go wrong, as it always will eventually, a quick Blood Curse on the ghoul chasing you can serve as a very handy projectile if you kick them into the people behind them.

Description: In-game video of Phyre triggering the Blood Curse put on an enemy with a thrown bottle

Nobody’s invulnerable to an exploding gas bottle telekinetically thrown at their head, and they’re easier to aim at when you’ve locked them in place with Mass Manipulation. If everything else fails then you can just use Possession on a ghoul and make them jump somewhere nobody will notice them…

Description: In-game video of Phyre possessing an enemy and then controlling them to jump off a roof.

- Josh Mathews, TCR Community Manager

Difficulty Settings

While difficulty settings are a standard feature for action RPGs, we thought we’d mention that they are included because we recognise our audience's varied preferences for challenges and strive to accommodate them with carefully designed difficulty settings.

For players primarily interested in narrative and exploration, Easy mode ensures a smooth experience by making combat encounters more manageable.

Normal mode represents the intended balance of the game, challenging players to adapt and use a mix of stealth, combat, abilities, and elixirs to succeed.

For those seeking a more formidable challenge, Hard mode delivers an Elder Vampire experience, demanding mastery of all your skills and strategies.

- Project Design Director Jey Hicks

Description: In-game screenshot of the difficulty settings screen.

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