Vampire the Masquerade – Swansong initially starts off as a game about solving a massacre while navigating the politics of Vampire society. This already difficult task becomes even harder if you invest in an ineffective character profile. You can miss out on key details and entire storylines because you are made to live with your choices. As well as experience points.
But let me make this clear. You don’t need to be perfect in order to succeed in this game. Yes, you will miss on things but that’s what hindsight is for. So, you can invest in all the wrong skills for that character and still progress the story albeit with a negative trait here and there.
Vampire The Masquerade Swansong Profiles
Investigator – Profile that focuses on Knowledge and Skills that allow you to go undercover, extort, or steal information.
Jack of All Trades – Profiles on improving Attributes and a large selection of Skills. It allows for a maximum number of interactions, but with less mastery.
Veteran – Profile that focuses on Dialog Skills and Physical Attributes. It allows you to use the character’s aura in conversations.
Free – Profile with o pre-attributed points
Emem Louis – Rebellious Star
The Diva who lights up Boston’s nights. But bringing light into a world of darkness can be perilous. Emem knows this, but she doesn’t care.
Disciplines
Auspex – Supernatural perception. Once activated it heightens your 5 senses and allows you to see possible futures and read your enemies.
Celerity – Discipline that allows you to traverse the environment at high speed and slows down your perception of time.
Presence – Discipline tied to charisma. Ability to influence the emotions of those around you.
Personally, I would go Jack of All Trades for Emem. Because, among all the characters, she has the most range when it comes to interactions.
I would also suggest investing a point in Celerity. There are optional puzzles that can only be solved in tandem with Celerity’s time slow-down ability.
Alternatively, you can also invest in Auspex early to get hints for some of the game’s obscure puzzles.
Leysha – Unstable Seer
From madness sometimes comes great clarity. A wise prince knows how to recognize this rare talent in their subjects and gives them the recognition that others deny them.
Disciplines
Auspex – Supernatural perception. Once activated it heightens your 5 senses and allows you to see possible futures and read your enemies.
Obfuscate – Discipline that allows you to move around undetected and mimic someone else.
Dominate – The ability to command others and turn them into puppets.
For Leysha, Jack of All Trades and Investigator work well. Of all three characters, she probably makes the least use of Dialog options. But that has more to do with how good Auspex is in her hands. Using Auspex, you can tips the scales in your favor in conversations and pierce the veil to make items appear and disappear.
Dominate and Obfuscate are hard to recommend, at least in terms of upgrade options. The advanced version of Obfuscate only factors in maybe a couple of scenarios late in the game. Those points are better served as flexible skills such as hacking and lockpicking.
Galeb Bazory – Eternal Protector
Mortal kings had their lackeys; the Princes of Boston have Galeb. While rulers come and go, Galeb remains, and his presence tonight is not reassuring.
Disciplines
Sense the Unseen – With this power, the vampire is able to detect the supernatural, both in creatures around it and the traces they leave behind.
Fortitude – Physical and mental supernatural resilience
Presence – Discipline tied to charisma. Ability to influence the emotions of those around you.
Dominate – The ability to command others and turn them into puppets.
Honestly, Galeb has the roughest start of all the characters. It is very likely that most players will slip up early and be forced to start the next level with 0 additional experience points.
For a first-time player, I would recommend going Jack of All Trades first to play it safe. And then I would recommend Veteran if you are confident enough.
As for his skills, invest a point in Fortitude after his first solo mission. You’ll be happy that you did. After that’s covered, you are free to invest in whatever playstyle you wish.
It’s not an easy start for Galeb. So, expect to start the next level with 0 points to work with. That’s some serious catching up.
I would like to remind everyone that, much like the profiles themselves, these are merely suggestions. You don’t need to strictly follow them in order to succeed in this game. Hindsight is still your best bet to get the most out of this game.
Maybe with a second playthrough, you can make a more focused build using a free profile that makes absolutely no sense from the start. But if it allows you to complete ALL of that character’s possible objectives, go for it. Experience is already hard to come by as is.
And that’s about it for this guide. Thanks for reading all the way to the end. See you next time.
All Vampire the Masquerade Walkthrough guides:
- Vampire the Masquerade Swansong Walkthrough Part 1 – Prince’s Quarters
- Vampire the Masquerade Swansong Walkthrough Part 2 – Loft
- Vampire the Masquerade Swansong Walkthrough Part 3 – Moore’s Apartment
- Vampire the Masquerade Swansong Walkthrough Part 4 – Unknown
- Vampire the Masquerade Swansong Walkthrough Part 5 – Prince’s Quarters
- Vampire the Masquerade Swansong Walkthrough Part 6 – Long Island
Check out our other Vampire the Masquerade: Swansong content:
- Vampire the Masquerade Swansong – Deeper Look into the Mechanics
- Vampire The Masquerade Swansong – Best Starting Profile For Each Character
- Vampire The Masquerade Swansong – Removing the Red Salon Guard
- Vampire The Masquerade Swansong – QR Code ARG
- Vampire The Masquerade Swansong – Which Coffin for Miley
- Vampire The Masquerade Swansong – The Right Dose of Trajax
- Vampire The Masquerade Swansong Secret Endings
- All Vampire The Masquerade Swansong Endings
You might also want to check out this video by Guru Hoca for some helpful beginner’s tips when playing Vampire the Masquerade: Swansong: