So I am trying to play this game for the first time. I have never played Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines and I am completely unfamiliar with the World of Darkness universe.

But I am in an RPG mood, especially playing one I never tried before so tips for this one.

Specifically what's the best starting Vampire Clan for a beginner?

From how this game's combat works, I mostly want to stick with using Guns. The melee combat looks very finicky. (Especially after the enemies I melee in the tutorial kept counter attacking me after every hit)

All in All gameplay wise Bloodlines feels like a Deus Ex game in a way. From how its setup since its not an Open World RPG like Morrowind or something.

Pillar Men, obviously. But seriously, check out Sseth's review. He covers the clans pretty well and almost sold me on the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAIR9faz9pM

Doesn't really matter, pick anything that's not a Malkavian or Nosferatu as one spoil things and the other tries to avoid people by using stealth and different paths.

Even a Gangrel playthrough is the same as the other clans not Malkavian and Nosferatu?

I mean the Male Gangrel model is crawling on all fours at all times in the character creation list.

You shouldn’t play a Malkavian nor a Nosferatu for your first game, as they come with specificities that you would enjoy much more on an ulterior playthrough.
If you don’t want to focus on melee combat, you might want to avoid the Brujah and Gangrel clans too.

Melee is the best. Running with katana or huge hammer is fun.

But for guns for first play go with toreador

What about Ventrue? Those guys can't drink the blood of lesser people like Bums and Whores and can't drink Rat Blood.

But what's the benefits of playing a Ventrue?

Ventrue have a more powerful version of Dominate (never played one myself but they can use Dominate during conversations)

They can but they vomit if they drink their blood however Ventrue does also have fortitude ability which increases your defense, it's handy.

Toreador on other hand has clerity which allows fast movement.
Easy to dodge enemies when blowing their heads up


And now I wanna replay the game. Damnit

Any mods to recommend since I kinda think this game still janky. I mean the Intro cutscene with the trial and execution of my sire looked janky with the cuts between scenes.

The unofficial patch by wesp.

I think that would suffice. Did not try any other mods but there are bunch of them meant to expand the game beyond original version not just fix stuff and restore cut content.

Toreador is good if you want to primarily use guns. Auspex can boost your guns skills, and celerity is also a very powerful discipline in combat.

Many people say no to playing as a Malkavian for the first time. The reason for that is, the character is insane. Your responses are confusing if you have not played the game before, but that is because the character has a sort of ability to see things differently (more clearly I guess?). You'll receive hints of events, but it's hard to determine what it is. There is quite a bit of humor though, such as having conversations with objects.

Just as an example, someone will ask:

But how? I don't want this... I want to be human again.

A possible responses
In dreams, you will be. And I will be a dinosaur. RAWRRR!

If you want to get the most out of the Malkavian character though, it could be said that it should be the first clan you play. Just be prepared for some weird dialogue at times.

For me, the easiest clan to beat the game with was the Tremere. The disciplines they can have make combat quite easy, just as long as you keep a good supply of blood with you, or use melee weapons as a backup.

I disagree, imo Malkavian should be saved for a 2nd playthrough, when you have some idea what the cryptic statements of your character are probably referring to (though regarding just the gameplay it's actually a pretty beginner-friendly clan, well-suited for using guns, and obfuscation is nice for stealth).