New Bloodlines 2 Dev Diary Dives into the Nomad’s Legacy
Paradox Interactive and The Chinese Room have resumed publishing developer diaries for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, and the latest entry provides a deep look into the Nomad’s legacy. The Nomad is the protagonist, an Elder vampire called Phyre whose deeds and legends have reverberated across history. Seattle’s inhabitants will have different tales connected to Phyre’s exploits, and the game offers an option for players to shape this storied background during certain conversations. According to Senior Narrative Designer and Writer Sarah Longthorne, these choices about the Nomad’s past deliberately occur only after players get a feel for Seattle and its perils, ensuring that they understand what’s on the line before deciding.
This new diary clarifies that the initial history-building style from Bloodlines 1 has been replaced with a more gradual approach, allowing the game to reveal and expand the protagonist’s backstory in waves. Some moments will be critical to the main storyline, while others emerge only if you spend more time speaking with certain characters, or choose to open up to them. In doing so, you’ll sculpt a personal take on Phyre’s mythic (or infamous) legacy.
From the beginning, Bloodlines 2 gives you three principal routes to define Phyre: a legendary warrior, a curious traveler, or a desperate survivor. These first distinctions—often referred to as the theme—determine who the Nomad says they are at a fundamental level. They’re followed by a series of sub-choices unique to each theme, helping to refine your motivation: Are you after knowledge or running from old enemies? Did you instigate a disaster or simply endure it? Each choice enriches your mental picture of Phyre’s long, winding existence, giving rise to a unique tapestry by the time you progress further into Seattle’s political and supernatural intrigues. Later in the game, you’ll have additional chances to flesh out the character’s background more thoroughly, possibly even including the moments that led to your vampire Embrace in the first place.
These narrative choices don’t just affect the dialogue you receive in the short term; they also ripple through subsequent conversations and can shape Bloodlines 2’s endings. The developers note that the game’s conclusion will be visualized in stylized cinematics, blending images of Seattle with silhouettes of characters, taking inspiration from the TV series True Detective. Within these cinematic sequences, nearly forty different images may appear, reflecting the branching paths. The team at The Chinese Room created a visual map of all possible endings, then produced a series of concept art storyboards to match each “end state” with a fitting set of images.
According to the developer, the next diary update on Bloodlines 2 is slated to arrive on the official website on January 29. The overall release window for the game remains unclear. However, Paradox Deputy CEO Mattias Lilja has expressed hopes that Bloodlines 2 could launch within the first half of the year. Lilja also mentioned that if a potential third installment in the series is greenlit, it would more than likely be outsourced to an external studio, rather than developed fully in-house by Paradox.
What do you think of Bloodlines 2’s evolving approach to character backstory, and how do you envision shaping Phyre’s “Nomad” legacy once the game arrives? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
