Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodhunt – Are Guns Or Melee Weapons Better?

The upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt pulls various mechanics from other battle royale games, but it puts its own twist on things. Its movement system seems to be the biggest factor setting it apart, as players are able to climb almost any building and leap from roof to roof. When it comes to loot, though, Bloodhunt is similar to most battle royales, with a tiered rarity system that includes both guns and melee weapons.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt’s weapon drops come in green, blue, purple, and orange rarities and include a wide variety of weapon types for each category. There are assault rifles, light machine guns, submachine guns, shotguns, marksman rifles, spiked baseball bats, katanas, and more. In footage from the game’s closed alpha, guns seem do dominate most combat scenarios; due to the game’s verticality and emphasis on rooftop free-running, it appears quite difficult to get in close most of the time, especially because of each class’ dash-like ability.

Guns allow players to stay away and shoot from afar – or pack a big punch up close, in the shotgun’s case. But even though guns appear to be Bloodhunt‘s main method of battle, melee weapons are not completely useless.

Bloodhunt’s Melee Weapons Are Situational & Require More Skill

Depending on each player’s chosen Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt class and clan, close-range abilities such as the Brute’s shockwave, Siren’s flashbang, and Vandal’s ground slam can be used to boost the effectiveness of melee weapons. Still, melee weapons are more situational than guns and better used in solo combat. When it comes to team battles, they may seem a bit lackluster. Due to this downside, they will likely be used less often than guns, but they do have their own bonuses.

Bloodhunt‘s melee weapons are the Spiked Baseball Bat, Fire Axe, Scourge Blades, and Katana. The Spiked Baseball Bat and Fire Axe are basic weapons that should be used for very close combat and on enemies with low health. The Scourge Blades and Katana, however, have potential for wider utility. The Katana can deflect incoming bullets back at the enemy, dealing a decent chunk of damage as the player closes in to finish off the firing opponent with a few swings or even fully downing an enemy with just the deflection, if used correctly. The Scourge Blades allows players to dash towards enemies while slashing for immediate bonus damage.

While most Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt players will likely be using guns as their primary tactic for defeating opponents, skilled players should also be able to utilize melee weapons and their favored vampire clan’s ability to their advantage. Melee weapons can kill in four to five hits, so those who get good with the Katana and Scourge Blades will be able to take out other players with relative ease. Sneak attacks are also a viable option in Bloodhunt, and melee weapons should be a great choice for that type of playstyle.

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