10 Bloodhunt tips to ensure you can B-Positive as a Vampire

Bloodhunt tips are something we wish we'd had, as this battle royale offshoot of Vampire: The Masquerade is a lot of fun, but not particularly good at explaining all the nuances of its gameplay. Why are humans sometimes upset, and sometimes fine? What's the advantages of biting players over NPCs? Which guns are best, and where should I be going? We'll explain all these and more in our top 10 Bloodhunt tips and tricks to help you rule the rooftops of Prague.

1. Leave humans alone (unless you're biting them)

Humans are found at ground-level, and generally speaking you don't want to freak them out. Any human who sees a vampire player fire a gun, use their powers or bite somebody will trigger a Bloodhunt, permanently marking your position on the map and making you visible for one minute, even if you kill the observer afterwards. Killing humans with weapons also triggers the Bloodhunt, even if nobody sees you do it.

The only times you want to interact with humans at all is when you're chomping them for perks, health and power-ups - which doesn't trigger the hunt - and even then you want to make sure you're biting isolated humans where others won't spot you. 

2. Stay on the rooftops

As a rule, you want to stay on the rooftops unless you have a specific reason to come down to ground level (such as biting people or looking for specific gear). Rooftops are always safer - you can see further, navigate more freely, you won't alert human beings and if you need to escape an attack, it's faster to flee downwards (aka fall) then scrabble up the side of a church. 

3. Biting enemy players grants you more perk slots

Biting humans can give you certain perks depending on the person, but there's a limit to how many perks you can have at once - three to start with - until you start branching out and biting, aka "Diablerising" other players. Every time they're bitten you'll get new Resonance Slots that you can then fill with perks, all the way up to a total of 12.

4. Rapid-fire weapons are better

While there's a lot of good weapons to choose from, we find the best ones are those that fire rapidly - the assault rifle probably being the king. Players move fast in Bloodhunt, even discounting all the teleportation and special powers, and getting precision shots is difficult at the best of times. More experienced players might be able to make do with sniper rifles and pistols, but new players should look for anything that can spray bullets - it'll give them the best chance.

5. Set up ambushes and sudden strikes

Especially if you're playing solo, the best thing you can do is ambush a player. Get close if you can, then go for a heavy attack to try and bring them down. TTK (time to kill) can be quite low depending on your weapons of choice, but vampire powers can complicate matters, such as the Enforcer's ability to go indestructible. Hit hard and unexpectedly - nobody ever won by fighting fair.

6. Entity Crosses mark high-risk/high-reward areas

The map for Bloodhunt is covered in red crosses that mark "Entity" - specifically guarded areas where some of the best loot is kept, including gold chests that contain high-power gear, even miniguns. However, they're also guarded by AI humans with big, deadly assault rifles - and if one sees you, they'll all converge on your position and shred your health bar. If you feel like taking the risk, try and do it stealthily, using the telltale laser sights to work out where the enemy is hiding. Then get out the moment you have what you need!

7. Look for pink and red human auras

If you're looking for humans to drain, look for those with pink auras if you've got Resonance Slots left. These bestow the Sanguine perk, which gives constant, passive health regeneration, and upgrades it every time you bite another Sanguine human. It's a good perk in literally any situation and one that's saved us more times than we can count.

Even better, if you've lost your one spare life, look for humans with a smaller, red outline of a heart over their chest. These will actually get you an extra life, though you can only ever have one at a time. If you're killed and respawn, finding these red humans should be your first priority.

8. Remember to equip armor

Body armor is quite rare in Bloodhunt, but it's also quite easy to pick it up without realising. Make sure you regularly check your consumables menu and put it on if you can, as it'll grant you 50HP over your maximum, an advantage that might be what helps you win the next encounter. Who doesn't like that?

9. Pick your spawn point carefully

You can choose your spawn point at the beginning of the game (though if there's somebody else on it you might be shifted a little to the side), and it's worth considering as there'll be random high-loot areas marked, even beyond the Entity Crosses, as well as various other points of interest like gun shops. Consider your priorities and be careful - many players will often try and loot the high-value items early on, making them common firefight zones.