A loose guide how to get all the achievements in the game and how to trigger all the romance options available.
Character Creation and Gameplay Tips
Attributes and Skills
However you build your character, prioritise having some things maxed out rather than diping a little bit into everything. Then just pick whatever options you have the most points in and most of the time you will succeed.
I found the social skills tend to be used most often, and while you can still beat the game fine with a combat focused character you’ll find yourself missing out on more options. (There’s often ways to solve a combat encounter with Wit or Charisma + Leadership but you can rarely use your muscles to get ahead when talking to people).
Here’s some of the skill check combos I feel I encountered most often:
Charisma + Persuasion/Leadership
Manipulation + Subterfuge
A bunch of different Attributes + DRIVE
Wits + Awareness
Intelligence + Technology/Academics
Dexterity/ Strength + Clandestine
Resolve/Composure + Several Skills
Disciplines
When you use a Discipline that’s usually an automatic success especially when it’s maxed out. It costs 1 Hunger. It’s usually best to invest in Disciplines that cover areas you don’t have a lot of skill points in, so you can use them instead of failing a check.
Also usually multiple disciplines can be used to cover similar tasks. A problem solved by Celerity can usually be solved by Potence just as well. Auspex and Obfuscate often come in handy in similar situations. Dominate or Presence usually come up in simialar spots etc.
You can learn more Disciplines than just the ones your clan started with as rewards from vampires you meet doing missions.
Willpower
Having high Willpower means your hunger won’t distract you during feeding, keeping up your humanity. Your willpower comes from Composure + Resolve so it’s useful to keeping those at at least 3 if not highier. They’re also used in skill checks fairly often so it pays off.
Wounds
I never had any trouble keeping myself alive. Some missions you’ll probably take some damage but it’s usually little enough to recover when back at your Hub, or before a feeding opportunity. Having high hunger is more troublesome to deal with than being wounded.
Hunger
Having maxed out hunger means you can’t use Disciplines until you feed. It might also prevent you from using your Blood to heal someone or as a bargaining chip at a few story points. Also if your willpower is low it’ll make you kill people when feeding.
Masquerade Violations
You’ll probably get one ot some point. There’s ways to redeem them, either by paying money or using favors you gather during the story. Just don’t get 3 or you’ll get a game over.
Spending EXP
Skills are dirt cheap, by the end of the game you can usually max out most of them.
Disciplines are also relatively cheap so it’s worth in investing in a few, though to build them to max level you need to buy a good house first.
Attributes are the most expensive especially after the first 3 dots. I’d save leveling them highier than that with EXP for Composure and Resolve. Plus maybe one other if you see your character using something else a lot and you have EXP to spare.
In early game you’ll also get two options to raise your stats for free, I usually use that to raise attributes to 4-5 dots. You can do the same at the very end of the game if you pass a skill check analysing Julian’s mystery blood.
If you keep picking similar dialogue options (for example always mentioning how much you love the masquarade), you’ll get a conviction after finishing a mission. Gaining it restores your willpower.
Relationships
Relationship with Julian gives you access to favors and car upgrades.
Relationship with the Camarilla gives you more money for completing missions and makes prices lower when buying things.
Julian’s starts with a decent relationship right off the bat and unless you’re actively working to lower it buy selling out his agents it’s pretty easy to just let him monologue at you and keep it high.
Camarilla’s starts poor so you’ll have to acctually complete some missions in their favor to raise it up.
There are no real downsides to playing both sides until the very end, so just help whoever you feel like helping.
Spending money
Buying the most expensive house is important to leveling disciplines.
Buying expensive cars doesn’t super matter. I completed several playthroughs with just upgraded starter BMV. Thought if your car gets wrecked (tends to happen sometimes in the Reremouse chapter for example) might as well splurge for something half decent.
The weapons you have get mentioned in your options but I also completed several runs without buying any so they’re not mandatory.
You also spend some money buying blood between missions.
Feeding Achievements
Feed from x 3 times
The process is the same. Pick a feeding method when prompted at the beggining and feed from a similar source two more times over the course of a playthrough. If you get an acheivement early enoguh in the story you can then switch to a different method to get two at once. Buying blood inbetween chapters doesn’t count towards this.
Alleycat
Beat someone up and take their blood three times
Bagger
Drink bagged blood three times
Farmer
Feed from an animal three times
Sandman
Feed on a sleeping person three times
Scene Queen
Worm your way into a subculture to feed three times
Siren
Feed during sex three times
Other feeding Achievements
Vegan
Never feed from a human
If you’re getting the Farmer achievement you might as well get this one at the same time. On top of picking the animals as your prefered food source, skip on feeding if no animal option is provided. This might make Hunger a bit trickier to manage so I advise using the Disciplines sparingly and having high Willpower when attempting this.
Feed from another vampire
During most missions after completing it successfuly you’ll be offered to learn another vampire’s Disciplines as one of the rewards. Accepting gives you the acheivement.
Stat based Achievements
ParagonSuccessfully end the game with maximum Humanity
High Willpower makes this one relatively easy. Don’t kill anyone to protect the Masquarade or during feeding. If you mess up you can regain some humanity by freeing the migrant prisonners from the camp or by relesing the wraith spirit at the auction house.
Masquerade
Successfully end the game with maximum Masquerade
Don’t have any Masquarade violations by the end of the game. If at any point you mess up there’s several opportunities to rectify it. Some quest rewards let you strenghten the masqarade around you (for example the info you get at the end of St Basil’s chapter) or you can pay some money to do the same between missions (though only once).
Philosopher
Gain three convictions
Pick dialogue options that give you at least one dot in either side of the 4 convictions in the game. After returning from completing a mission you’ll be prompted to commit to a conviction (one per mission). If you manage to get 3 different one in a single playthough you get the acheivement.
Messy
Trigger three messy criticals due to Hunger
Have high enough hunger to distract you then when available pick actions with ! at the end. Playing as a Brujah helps with this since their bane triggers the messy criticals more often.
Cool Car
Acquire a vehicle worth more than $30,000.
Having a good Camarilla relationship helps here since it makes rewards bigger and prices cheaper. Having good social skills helps as well since a lot of the time you can negotiate to be paid more when accepting or finishing missions.
Story Achievements
Ward Shadow
Infiltrate St. Basil’s Hospital without raising any alarms
Complete the St Basil’s questline without failing any of the checks.
Archon of Convenience
Track down a murderer and judge whether his crime merits destruction
During St Basil’s questline help Pattermuster figure out who killed one of his underlings then help him pass judgement. (make sure to NOT go straight for the data without passing judgement as that does not trigger the acheivement and you will get the data anyway)
Saboteur
Destroy a research facility
When delivering a message to Dr Caul choose NOT to assist her in faking her death then succed relevant checks when given the options to destroy her research facility.
Cleaner
Successfully hide a victim of your Hunger
Have enough hunger to distract you when feeding then after killing your vessel (you still need to win the feeding check) then succeed the check to hide the evidence of what you did. The easiest way to get this one I found was when feeding at Dr Caul’s facility when taking it on as your first mission.
Liberator
Free the migrant prisoners
During the Migrant Camp mission, choose to save the prisonners and suceed the relevant checks.
(Having Raul survive the opening chapters helps here but it’s not mandatory)
Regnant
Create a ghoul
There are 3 people you can pick from when making a ghul, you can only have one at a time.
Elena Prodan
Works at the Pawn Shop. Easiest to get. Success on a Flirting/Persuasion check to make her want to work with you (you can do this as soon as you go there to buy your first car but you can’t turn her until you complete your first mission). After completing a short quest for her she’ll express interest in becoming your retainer. Grant her wish and get the achievement.
Vani Anand
You meet her at Dr Caul’s research facility. Talk to her to try to secure her as an ally. If at the quest’s succesful completion you don’t have a ghul yet she’ll contact you and inform you she’s been fired. (If you already have a retainer you get a letter from her saying she moved to another city instead) You can then visit her and upon completing a short quest for her she’ll express interest in becoming your retainer. Grant her wish and get the achievement.
Raúl Cañedo
You need to not kill the migrant family during the opening chapters. After he survives the wight attack you meet Raul again at the migrant camp. He’ll want your help freeing the prisonners. He’ll approach you at the end of the mission asking for assistance in his short quest. Succesfully helping him grants the option to make him your retainer, gaining the achievement
Good Shepherd
Rescue five explorers from Biosphere Zero
When exploring Biosphere Zero don’t fail any checks when exploring the facility and lean towards options that prioritise keeping the explorers out of harm’s way.
Toxic Intel
Deliver dangerously inaccurate information to an inquisitor
When doing a favor for D’Espine choose to deal with the agent then succeed the relevant check.
Door to Beyond
Use Stonehenge to teleport a vampire to Mesopotamia
During the Reremouse chapter go with Julian’s plan and execute it successfully.
Sword of Prometheus
Use a Rolls-Royce and a giant crossbow to stop a vampire rampage
During the Reremouse chapter go with Lettow’s plan and execute it successfully.
Amaranth
Consume the soul of another vampire
During the Reremouse chapter go with Lettow’s plan and execute it successfully. After Reremouse is staked choose to drink his soul as the others are recovering from their wounds. You need Defy the Traditions of 60% or more, and Perpetuate Your Existence of 60% or more for the option to apear.
User bobsmyuncle made a great detailed guide how to get this one.
Thrall
End up Blood Bound to a vampire
Play as Banu Haqim. This makes Julian your sire, starting you off with the first drink.
DON’T learn Dominate from anyone who offers to teach it.
During the Reremouse chapter Julian will offer to teach you his Disciplines in exchange for following his plan. Ask what he can offer then accept. Follow the plan successfully then learn from him gaining drink nr 2.
During the final stages of the game side with Julian. Drive to his place without taking damage to your car then sleep with him gaining drink nr 3 and the acheivement.
Inchoate Metamorphosis
Use forbidden science to transform and improve your Blood
Close to the end of the game, once infected with Julian’s mystery blood, successfully pass the check to investigate what it is then use it’s powers to boost your stats.
DLC Achievements
Party Wrecker
Work with the Camarilla to ruin a Hecata/Ministry alliance
During the Auction House questline complete Dove’s side of the quest.
Necromancer’s Apprentice
Acquire a wraith’s fetter for a necromancer
During the Auction House questline complete Chiara’s side of the quest.
Dark Ceremony
Command a wraith
At the end of the Auction house questline keep the statuette for yourself either by hiding it from Chiara or requesting it as payment from Dove. If you have maxed out Oblivion you get the option to summon a wraith before picking the next mission.
Mercy for the Dead
Protect a wraith from being bound to service
At the end of the Auction house questline keep the statuette for yourself either by hiding it from Chiara or requesting it as payment from Dove then release the wraith like he asks you to.
Romance Guide
I found that romances dialogue choices didn’t apear in my options on my first playthrough where I had low humanity and low social stats. So if you’re having trouble triggering them, one of those could be the reason (my bet is on humanity but idk for sure).
Julian Sim
When he implies you had a past relationship you can indulge him or deny it doesn’t matter this early in the game.
If you keep a decent relationship with him, once you complete the first 3 missions, when he visits you, you get the option to start a relationship. It’ll have [Julian] in brackets at the end.
Follow the story while helping him out and if you choose his side in the final stages of the game you can sleep with him then be together for his crazy scheme in the epilogue.
Prince Lettow
You can flirt with him when you first meet but I don’t think it matters this early in the game.
Once you do the first 3 missions when he calls you in for a private chat you should get the option to act on your crush (smth like ‘i’m happy to finally spend time with him’) it’ll have [Camarilla] in brackets after it.
During the Raremouse chapter you can then act on your feelings and kiss him surrounded by the corpses of his underlings.
Later when you’re choosing your endgame side with Lettow and you get the option to either kiss or sleep with him.
When he decides to leave at the end, you get the option to follow him.
Ghul Romances:
Raúl Cañedo, Vani Anand and Elena Prodan
All 3 of your retainers have the same way of starting a relationship.
(For info on how to recruit each ghul see the Thrall achievement)
Once recruited visit them at their place and invite them for a date, at the end of which you can choose to kiss them, beggining your romance.
Do this BEFORE finishing the final of the first 3 missions otherwise the option to go on a date will dissapear.
Dove
When you first arrive at the Elysium talk to her about the different car accidents you been in.
After completing the first 3 missions you’ll get the option to be friendly towards her. When looking for a spy for her, you can ask her out for a drive with you if you find anything.
On your date have high Charisma + Drive and a decently pricey car if you wanna impress her.
After talking to her as you drive around you’ll get an option to propose a deeper relationship. If you managed to impress her, you can proceed. Otherwise she will reject you.
During the final section of the game if you side with the Camarilla you can sleep with her.
