Alongside the launch of Curse of the Vampire Coast, the latest DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2, comes the Aye Aye! Patch. This game update brings with it an enormous amount of balance changes. Indeed, almost every Legendary Lord in the game has seen changes, some of them quite major. However, perhaps the largest addition brought by the patch is a huge new mechanic; Vampire Counts Bloodlines.
The New Vampire Counts Bloodlines Mechanic
The Vampire Counts faction in Total War: Warhammer 2’s Mortal Empires campaign now have access to the Bloodlines mechanic. This mechanic is based upon an old but important aspect of the faction’s lore in the Warhammer Fantasy setting; that there are several old and powerful vampire bloodlines. Five of these appeared in the old tabletop game rules, and these five now feature in Total War: Warhammer 2.
The five Vampire Counts Bloodlines are the Blood Dragons, the Lahmians, the Necrarchs, the Strigoi, and the Von Carsteins. For those fans who aren’t familiar with the old lore, the Von Carstein name should still be familiar; as the most powerful bloodline in the Old World, three of the Von Carstein family members appear as Legendary Lords already for the Vampire Counts faction. However, players will now be able to awaken ancient vampires known as Arch-Lords from all five of these bloodlines; up to three from each one, in fact.
Each of the Arch-Lords has a unique skill tree themed around their bloodline. They also provide faction-wide bonuses and effects. However, awakening them isn’t easy. To awaken one, you must pay a cost in “Blood Kisses,” a new resource. You can gain Blood Kisses by vassalising another faction, killing an enemy leader, or wounding/assassinating a character with a Hero action. Additionally, some Vampire Counts Legendary Lords start their campaigns with extra Blood Kisses. Note that each time you awaken an Arch-Lord, the cost of awakening another increases.