Bloodlines 2: What Really Happens If You Give Benny to Ryong or Katsumi?

Early in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, you're forced into a tense moral and political decision: the fate of Benny, a mortal who has left a trail of destruction behind him. Two powerful figures want him for very different reasons, and you're the one holding the leash. Do you hand Benny over to Ryong, or turn him over to Katsumi? Or is there another way to deal with him altogether?

This guide unpacks that choice in detail, explaining what each option means, how it affects relationships and dialogue, and what you should pick depending on how you're role‑playing your character. It is based on the content and themes of the original GamesRadar+ article, but presents a new structure and analysis in entirely original wording.

Who Are Ryong, Katsumi, and Benny?

To understand the decision, it helps to briefly sketch the three central figures involved in this quest line.

Ryong: A Camarilla Power Player

Ryong represents the hierarchical, authoritarian side of vampire society. Closely aligned with the Camarilla, he values order, secrecy, and the stability of the Masquerade above all else. Humans who cause problems are assets or liabilities to be handled as coldly as any other resource.

Handing Benny to Ryong generally signals:

• Willingness to cooperate with established authority
• Acceptance of harsh but efficient "justice"
• Pragmatism over sentimental attachment to human lives

Katsumi: The Anarch-Adjacent Wild Card

Katsumi, by contrast, is much closer to the rebellious currents in vampire politics. While not necessarily a traditional Anarch in the setting's strictest sense, she embodies that anti‑authoritarian spirit: pushing back against Camarilla control and championing more flexible, street‑level ways of dealing with problems.

Supporting Katsumi usually implies:

• Sympathy for more radical or decentralized power structures
• Interest in alliances outside the Camarilla hierarchy
• A willingness to defy the expectations of the city's older vampires

Benny: Human Catastrophe in the Middle

Benny is a mortal caught squarely in the blast radius of vampire politics. After a rampage that leaves multiple bodies behind, he becomes both a liability to the Masquerade and a bargaining chip between factions.

You encounter him after tracking the aftermath of his actions, and the confrontation that follows leads directly to the choice this guide focuses on. Mechanically he's a quest target; narratively he's a mirror, reflecting what your character values more: power, principle, or personal conscience.

The Benny Choice: Your Main Options

Once you've confronted Benny and completed the associated combat and story beats, the game asks you what to do with him. In simplified terms, you're offered three broad paths:

• Give Benny to Ryong
• Give Benny to Katsumi
• Refuse to hand Benny to either side (where available)

The exact wording and nuances of these options vary slightly depending on your dialogue choices and how you've handled earlier conversations, but the broad outcomes fall into these categories.

What Happens If You Give Benny to Ryong?

Choosing Ryong is the most straightforward "work with the system" route. From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense if you're leaning toward a Camarilla‑friendly playthrough or simply trying to keep powerful elders happy.

Narrative and Relationship Effects

Here's what this choice generally means in the story:

• Ryong's approval improves: He sees you as someone who respects his position and the Camarilla's grip on the city.
• Katsumi is displeased: She reads your decision as siding with the old order and ignoring her agenda.
• Benny exits the stage: You don't see him again in any major way; his fate is implied rather than shown.

Crucially, this doesn't lock you into a single ending or faction path by itself. It mostly flavors how characters speak to you in subsequent scenes and how they evaluate your reliability. That aligns with broader RPG design principles where early‑midgame choices typically influence tone and relationships more than core plot structure, reserving the biggest branches for later in the story.¹

Dialogue and Tone Changes

Players who give Benny to Ryong can expect:

• Ryong to speak with more confidence about your usefulness
• Sharper or more guarded remarks from Katsumi in later encounters
• Occasional callbacks to "how you handled Benny" woven into conversations

However, the main quest events in the next section of the game proceed along largely the same rails regardless. You aren't locked out of content; you're mostly changing how often characters remind you of where you stood when it counted.

When Choosing Ryong Makes Sense

Consider giving Benny to Ryong if:

• You want to cultivate a strong Camarilla‑aligned role‑play
• You see Benny as a dangerous liability that must be neutralized quickly
• You prefer to maintain stability rather than stir up factional conflict

What Happens If You Give Benny to Katsumi?

Handing Benny to Katsumi is the more rebellious, anti‑establishment option. It signals a willingness to challenge the hierarchical status quo and bet on newer, less entrenched powers in the city.

Narrative and Relationship Effects

Choosing Katsumi typically results in:

• Katsumi's approval rising: She sees you as an ally, or at least as someone who won't automatically bow to Camarilla pressure.
• Ryong's opinion dropping: He interprets your decision as undermining order and disrespecting his authority.
• Benny vanishing from the plot: As with Ryong’s path, his ultimate fate happens off‑screen.

The broad beats of the main story remain intact. Future missions unlock in similar order, and the core campaign continues largely unchanged. The real difference is the emotional color of conversations and how people talk about you behind your back.

Dialogue and Tone Changes

If you side with Katsumi, you can expect:

• More trust and openness from Katsumi in later scenes
• Sharper criticism or veiled threats from Ryong
• Occasional references to the Benny situation as proof of your loyalties

These changes help reinforce your identity in the story but don't radically alter its structure. This is an increasingly common approach in modern RPGs: giving players meaningful relationship variations without splitting the narrative into fully separate campaigns, which would require substantially more development resources.²

When Choosing Katsumi Makes Sense

Leaning toward Katsumi is a good fit if:

• You want to maintain distance from Camarilla authority figures
• You're role‑playing a more defiant, street‑level vampire
• You enjoy scenes where establishment characters are slightly off‑balance around you

Keeping Benny for Yourself (Where Possible)

Depending on dialogue and quest progression, you may have options along the lines of keeping Benny with you or otherwise withholding him from both factions. This sort of choice often appears in vampire narratives as a test of personal ethics versus political expediency.

Why Withhold Benny?

Denying both Ryong and Katsumi can be framed as:

• A moral stand about how mortals should be treated
• A tactical move, keeping a valuable bargaining chip in your own hands
• A statement that you refuse to play by anyone else's rules

In many tabletop campaigns for Vampire: The Masquerade, storytellers are encouraged to let players resolve conflicts in ways that highlight their character's personal code rather than only choosing between preset faction demands.³ Bloodlines‑style RPGs often echo that philosophy by providing "neither of the above" options where it fits.

Consequences of Defying Both Factions

Opting to keep Benny or otherwise deny both sides generally results in:

• Displeasure from both Ryong and Katsumi in the short term
• More pointed dialogue about your unpredictability and independence
• Benny exiting the central plot soon afterwards anyway

Again, the key distinction lies in tone and relationship dynamics rather than divergent quest chains. You are defining yourself as a wild card—something both valuable and dangerous in a city of immortals.

Do Your Benny Choices Change the Ending?

One of the most common questions players ask is whether this decision shapes their ultimate ending. Based on current information, the Benny decision primarily affects:

• Dialogue variations in later scenes
• How specific NPCs describe or remember you
• Short‑term relationship flavor with Ryong and Katsumi

It does not appear to drastically alter the final sequence of the game or lock you out of primary endings on its own. Larger, later choices about who you side with in endgame confrontations tend to carry more weight for conclusions, which follows a broader genre pattern in story‑heavy games such as Dragon Age: Origins and the Mass Effect trilogy.²

How to Decide: Role‑Play vs. Min‑Maxing

Because the Benny choice doesn't radically alter the rest of the game, you're free to think less about "best" outcomes and more about what feels true to your character. Here are two useful frames to help you decide.

1. Role‑Play Perspective

Ask yourself questions like:

• How does my character view human life? Is Benny a person who deserves consideration or just a dangerous liability?
• Where do I stand on vampire politics? Do I instinctively trust the Camarilla, sympathize with rebels, or reject both?
• How much do I care about long‑term alliances? Am I building a power base with certain figures, or just surviving night to night?

Let those answers guide your hand more than any attempt to find a mathematically optimal outcome. Vampire stories thrive on moral ambiguity and personal conviction; leaning into that makes the game more satisfying.

2. Min‑Max / Optimization Perspective

If you're more focused on maximizing access to content or keeping as many doors open as possible for later quests:

• Remember that no single Benny choice hard‑locks you out of main‑story endings.
• Consider which NPC you enjoy talking to more—staying on their good side might yield more enjoyable scenes.
• If you want to test different dialogues for future runs, use this as a low‑risk branch point to experiment.

Tips for Handling the Benny Mission Itself

Before you even get to the decision, you have to track down and confront Benny. Without replicating step‑by‑step walkthroughs, here are high‑level tips that stay within spoiler‑light territory:

• Use Heightened Senses whenever you lose track of the trail; environmental clues are often hidden until you do.
• Lean on stealth to thin out groups of enemies when possible—approaching from above or behind can avoid large firefights.
• Mix abilities and basic attacks in boss‑style encounters. Many modern action‑RPG designs expect players to combine crowd control, movement abilities, and standard attacks rather than spamming one button.⁴
• Take advantage of feeding opportunities on lesser enemies to restore health and resources during longer fights.

These general combat principles mirror best practices in other action‑RPGs and are adaptable to your chosen discipline loadout and difficulty level.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does giving Benny to Ryong or Katsumi change the main ending?

No. The Benny decision influences relationships and dialogue tone more than it does the fundamental shape of the ending. Later, larger choices about who you side with during the climax have more impact on which ending you see.

Is there a "good" or "canon" choice for Benny?

There isn't a universally "correct" answer. Each option can be justified depending on your character's values and the alliances you're building. The narrative is designed to accommodate multiple valid interpretations of what "good" even means for a vampire.

Will I miss any major quests by siding with one faction over the other here?

Based on current information, this specific choice does not lock you out of entire questlines by itself. It helps shape how future conversations unfold but doesn't carve off large chunks of content the way some late‑game alliance decisions might.

Can I repair my relationship with Ryong or Katsumi later?

In most narrative‑driven RPGs, early relationship hits can be moderated by later choices, and that pattern appears to hold here as well. You may not fully erase the consequences of handing Benny to the "wrong" side, but consistent actions over time can soften or reinforce those impressions.

Is Benny important later in the story?

Regardless of what you do with him, Benny doesn't remain a central figure throughout the whole game. He matters most as an early‑game test of your priorities and your attitude toward the city's power structure.

Final Thoughts: Benny as a Test of What Kind of Vampire You Are

The Benny decision in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is less about unlocking secret endings and more about defining who you are in the shadows of Seattle's undead society. Whether you give him to Ryong, hand him to Katsumi, or deny both, the major plot points keep moving—but the story remembers how you handled this mess.

Think less in terms of "optimal" choices and more about which path feels true to your version of the protagonist. Are you the enforcer who keeps the Masquerade intact at all costs, the rebel undermining the old guard, or the rogue element who refuses to be anyone's pawn? Benny is the first of many chances to answer that question.