In Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, your initial clan choice dictates which abilities you unlock first. However, the game allows you to tap into the powers of other clans as well! While this typically demands more ability points and a special currency from Blood Resonance activities, there’s a smart way to make it more affordable: by cultivating Clan Affinity through completing side quests for each specific clan.
Interestingly, Clan Affinity isn’t something you can easily track within the game’s interface. You’ll primarily recognize your progress when you notice a reduction in ability costs, explicitly marked with “Clan Affinity.” Once the Clan Affinity system becomes available, you’ll generally find one side quest per clan contact, with a few exceptions like Fletcher from the Ventrue clan, whose tasks involve collecting items.
How to Build Clan Affinity
Upon assuming your role as the new Sheriff of Seattle, you’ll encounter various clan representatives who can help you forge these vital connections.
There are six key contacts to seek out:
- Silky, the Brujah representative at The Dutchman
- Patience, the Toreador contact found at Aurora Pawn
- Niko, the Banu Haqim member at Aurora Pawn
- Mrs. Thorn, the Tremere liaison at Wake the Dead
- Fletcher, the Ventrue contact located at Makom Bar
- Onda, the Lasombra representative at Glacier Hotel
Building Clan Affinity is achieved by undertaking missions for these clan representatives. These tasks can be traditional side quests or involve collecting specific items. Three of the six contacts – Niko, Mrs. Thorn, and Onda – will offer you standard side quests, usually one per in-game night. You’ll need to advance the main story to move to subsequent nights and receive more quests. The remaining three – Patience, Silky, and Fletcher – primarily deal in collectibles. Patience, for example, is looking for nine Crosses scattered throughout the game. Fletcher, on the other hand, wants you to locate and dismantle hidden Anarch Graffiti using your Vampire sense and telekinetic abilities.
Silky’s specific side quest, which involves destroying security camera collectibles across the city, becomes accessible considerably later in your playthrough. A quest marker will clearly indicate its availability once you reach the main story quest titled “We Don’t Do Ghost Stories.”
It’s important to note that you generally can’t turn in collectibles piece-by-piece; you’ll typically need to gather all of them before submitting. However, it seems that your Clan Affinity increases incrementally with each collectible you discover.
Ultimately, achieving enough Clan Affinity directly translates to a reduced skill point cost for that clan’s abilities, clearly indicated by an in-game note. This visual cue is your primary way of tracking your affinity progress, as there’s no dedicated meter. A crucial point to remember is that while you can complete side quests for your own chosen clan’s representative, you won’t receive the benefit of reduced ability costs for your starting clan.