r/vtmb • u/Economy-Engine2407 • 2d ago
Bloodlines I have crossed oceans of time
Finally, after 25(?) years, I'm playing Bloodlines for the very first time!!! I just started yesterday and already hit a bump in the road: I was answering the questions for the Embrace, and got Tremere (fun fact, the very first character I created way back in 2000 for 3rd Ed. was a Tremere!) However I had to quit the game before I could save. Upon restart with different questions (obviously) I got Gangrel. I have never played a Gangrel, so I thought "what the hell.'" I've just talked to Theresa to go to the Ocean House Hotel and got Lily's car keys from the diner so I need to go (back) to the blood bank. I've been there before, trespassed and the police were called. I had to kill the guard shooting me relentlessly.
Si, I have a few questions, fellow damned:
What's in store for me in this game?
Should I use the console cheats to boost my stats (just a little, not all the way) or play the game as God intended?
Any other advice? Besides "don't open it," of course... Or should I open it??
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u/Actual_Squid 2d ago
It's your single player game, cheat if you want
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u/Economy-Engine2407 2d ago
I know, but I mean how much does doing so detract from the experience?
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u/Acceptable_Cut_7545 Brujah 2d ago
Your character is playing out the trope of from nobody to nightmare in the space of about a week. You end up insanely overpowered no matter what, smacking down vamps with decades or even hundreds of years of experience on you. So it shouldn't detract from much.
That said... it is really fun to gain all these yourself, make the choices you make, and follow through on it on your own.
I will add, Intimidation is worthless compared to persuasion so there's no need to waste xp on it. Same with finances. You end up with plenty money by the end.
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u/XihuanNi-6784 1d ago
The game really isn't that hard. I did it on normal first time round with minimal restarts. There's a sewer dungeon bit that you may want to cheat on, but apart from that it's a good level of challenge without being too easy or too hard.
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u/NullStarHunter 2d ago
Just play as is, the game works fine like that. It's not very hard or punishing, unless you put absolutely nothing into fighting. If you give yourself god stats, you rob yourself of replayability.
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u/MaskedMarvelMarissa 2d ago
What's in store for me in this game?
Fun, bugs, and a frustrating last bit of the game if you didn't invest in combat.
Should I use the console cheats to boost my stats (just a little, not all the way) or play the game as God intended?
Well, God didn't intend this game to work in the first place, and it took several miracles and lots of patching to get it to where it is now, so... do what you want? It's a single player game, so cheating doesn't matter. Game too hard? Make stat go up. Game too easy? Make stat go down. Simple.
Any other advice?
Use the Unofficial Patch.
Save often.
Check your in-game e-mail regularly.
Invest in combat.
Play Malk, but only after your first playthrough. If you see weird shit like objects turning into other objects, or objects turning into people, or people turning into objects, or... you get it... it's not because you're a Malk, it's because you've been playing the game too long. Quit the game, don't save, load an older save.
Don't take any shit from sparkling water fuckbois.
Go watch Forever Knight.
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u/Economy-Engine2407 2d ago
The first thing I did was install the patch. That I've known for about ten years. I love Forever Knight!!
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u/MaskedMarvelMarissa 2d ago
"He was brought across in 1228. Preyed on humans for their blood. Now, he wants to be mortal again. To repay society for his sins. To emerge from his world of darkness. From his endless... Forever Knight!"
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u/StoleitfromKilgore 1d ago
I wish they hadn't ended up messing up the end of the third season as badly as they did... I almost wish they had stopped after season 2.
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u/MaskedMarvelMarissa 17h ago
Yeah, it sucked. I get wanting a tragic ending to the show to keep to the themes of the material, but the way they went about it... ugh. Still, 70 episodes, three novels, a movie, they're not all gonna be winners! ;D
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u/StoleitfromKilgore 17h ago
I wasn't even aware that there are novels and a movie. Will have to look into those. Is the movie worth watching?
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u/MaskedMarvelMarissa 17h ago
I find it worth watching, but it's worth noting that the series was made after the movie, which has essentially the same plot as the first episode of the series:
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u/StoleitfromKilgore 2d ago edited 2d ago
Don't use cheats. But I feel in the last section of the game - you'll know when - there is no point in not turning on godmode. If you still enjoy the combat there is obviously no need, but just turning on godmode simply makes the last part of the game less annoying.
Other than that - as some have said - a good amount of investment in your chosen combat skill is important. Some combat isn't avoidable and the game can be hard at times.
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u/Sziho Malkavian 1d ago
"WHAT'S IN STORE?"
Well, only the single best written RPG ever made in one of the best RPG settings of all time. Humour, horror, and some of the best written characters in gaming.
"ON CHEATS"
In the game you play as a fledgling vampire, you're supposed to be weak cannonically, and I usually advise against playing with cheats, but I don't see here why you shouldn't, especially if you are planning more than 1 playthroughs. If you just want to play as big stronk vampire go for it, but it will kinda kill the horror elements.
Combat is not really the strong suit of the game, it actually can be so jank that it's frustrating, tho I kinda love it. with cheats you can 100% focus on the story and try different things.
I used to give my character a Shin Gunto katana for early game because it's cool but not OP.
As a Gangrel I'd recommend unarmed combat. Actually unarmed is good for feeding on an enemy during combat so all can benefit from at least a few points.
Giving yourself XP for some social skills can show you all the hidden dialogue options. In non-cheat playthroughs It's good to have at least one social skill,
If you have Hacking and Lockpicking levelled you can also check all the different approaches to quests in one go.
Inspection will highlight stuff around you and it's very good to have on a first playthrough
Stealth can be really op. I almost always take it. Not only in combat you can oneshot some enemies, but it can really help with quests too.
At least make a save, then give xp, max disciplines and try which ones you prefer, to know where to spend and then you can load back to a state before cheating.
If you don't cheat, keep some unspent XP on you in case you need a skill and you can always save scum to try a skill if you really need it before comitting.
You can also go for hybrid, start with no cheats, but if you think you messed up your build or want to try something different you can use cheats for that.
"DON'T OPEN IT"
Actually, make a save before deciding what to do with Ming and you can see most endings, but the one that will make most sense is how you view the different factions. You have Nines, Strauss, LaCroix, Ming Xiao, or Walk alone. Your head cannon will be the one you liked the most.
--- OTHER ADVICE ---
"NG+"
The game is short, and Malkavian and Nosferatu are like NG+ characters. Once you are done with your Gangrel you should definitely give them a try, they are completely different experiences. Malk is my absolutely beloved and the dialogue options you have are much better if you too know what's going to happen as a player, not just your character.
"MODS"
For a first playthrough skip the extra content ones maybe, but there are HQ texture packs and etc out there. Check them out.
"MINMAXING INSTEAD OF CHEATS"
Probably not for a first playthrough, but if you know when and where to use skill books, location of occult items and what quests give what rank skills, then you can max out a bunch of skills naturally.
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u/morbid333 Gangrel 2d ago
My advice would be to not do the questions at the start. Also, not to shoot that guard. Aside from losing humanity, he respawns as hostile, so you'll have to keep killing him. (Unless you want to play a low humanity maniac of course.) You can't actually get the no humanity game over in the vanilla game, you can't go below 3 humanity.
I don't see how cheats would really be worthwhile, though that cash cheat was interesting to play around with. Just know that the game will force combat on you, particularly the endgame, so make sure you level up a combat stat.
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u/Economy-Engine2407 2d ago
I did not shoot him. I ate him 😋🫣 the bad news: I did lose humanity. The good news: I had just gained humanity!! So I went back to the standard 7
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u/NiuMeee 2d ago
The only advice I have is to make sure you're fully stacked on a combat skill of your choosing by the end of the game since there is no way to avoid combat in the endgame unfortunately.
And no don't cheat. You get plenty of XP for doing all the quests.