Shopping Spree *possible spoiler*

[Deidre]

Or when not to buy equipment.

If you are careful with your purchases, you can maintain a decent cash balance for when you really need that money. Many weapon items are found along quests soon after they become available for purchase though not all. Your most common purchases will be specialty ammo.

Tomes and Occult items. Buy them, hands down. Anything that can raise a stat or skill without spending exp points is worth it's weight in blood. The only Tomes available for purchase are at Trip's, and are for new fledgings. Some Occult items are available for purchase later, save up for them. Other tomes will be found, though many have minimum requirements to be used.

Clothing and Armor. Only can be bought except for the body armor. It is optional for you to purchase them, depends on how you play your character. One set is available with a vendor at each hub as soon as you have access to that hub with the exception of Santa Monica, your starting hub.

Weapons. Generally you are better off not buying weapons, since they are usually available in a quest soon after you can buy them. There are some notable exceptions. With many weapons, it is best to sell them as soon as possible instead of buying them. Here is a rundown on them.

Melee Weapons:
Tire iron. Common in the early quests. Sell
Baseball Bat. Common in early quests. Sell
Severed arm. Quest loot, can't sell, but fun to use. Everyone can use an extra hand now and then.
Knife. Very common. Keep but do not buy. Good fast weapon, especially for stealth attacks.
Fire Axe. Rare. Rumored to be found on a quest, but otherwise can be bought. Slow attack speed.
Sledge Hammer. Only bought at a vendor. Not necessary unless you are breaking rocks.
Katana. Once you reach Chinatown, they are a dime a dozen. Expensive to buy, you won't have long to wait to find one soon after you arrive in Chinatown. Keep. My favorite melee weapon.
Baton. Semi-Rare. You may find one of these on a dead cop or security guard. Optional, depending on fighting style.
Bush Hook. I have only seen this one for sale, but it may be available somewhere else. Good damage with a reach but slow.
Torch. Rarish. Hunters may have one, and they can be found late in a late quest. Slow, does aggrevated damage with fire.
Tal'mahe'Ra Blade. One only. Special Katana. Best melee weapon period. Found durning a late quest, but cuts though vampires like butter. Fast and sharp.

Ranged Weapons:
There is a quest that does provide almost all these, but it is a very late quest. When you complete this quest, you should be maxed out on almost all your ammo.
Pistols
Thirtyeight. Very Common. Sell often.
Brokk 17c. Semi-Rare. Don't buy, but keep when you get one. Ammo is cheap and it is good when you can get several shots off before your enemy can reach you, so you don't waste more expensive ammo.
Colt Anaconda. Rare. A must buy. Found on guards late in game, but buy it at your first oppurtunity. Makes hamburger of supernaturals. Use the Brokk on Kine.
McLusky .50 Caliber. Buy, only sold. Better than the Colt. nuff said.
Automatics
Braddock 9mm. Common. Sell. You have to be close for these to have any effect, and most melee weapons take down enemies quicker.
Lassiter Killmatic. Semi-Rare. Found in China town. Optional, keep if you like sub-machine guns, otherwise sell. Fire in short bursts or your shots will to wild.
Steyr Aug. Semi-common late in game. Don't buy, but keep. I did not use it much, it does have a scope and works as a submachine gun.
Long Guns
Utica M37. Common. Keep. Great close range high damage gun, but slow reload times. Keep that in mind when using. Usually I retreat or switch to another weapon when it is time to reload this one.
Jaegerspas XV. Bought only. Semi Automatic Shotgun. Fast reload. Great close weapon. Ammo can get expensive.
'Jaime Sue' hunting rifle. Rare. Can be obtained from a very difficult quest. Otherwise can be bought later or be found on certain hunters. Scoped. Need high Ranged skill to use with scope, otherwise gun sway is difficult to manage.
Other Ranged
Flamethrower. Best killer of supernaturals, but ammo is very limited. It is found during a late quest soon after it becomes available for purchase. Use in short bursts and follow up with gunfire for guaranteed kills on everything but bosses.
Crossbows. Found during late quests, low ammo load out. Silent, but slow and takes a few shots to kill mobs by the time you get one.
Flaming Crossbow. These are not found, but are used against you. Does aggravated damage. You can get them through the console, but hey, thats cheating.

[_tmp_]

..Must comment...

Fire Axe: The cheapest item in Fat Larry's inventory. Buy it and he gives you a quest next time you talk to him. Also, at least on my computer, if gfx settings are low, the axe is bugged. Attack speed goes way up. You can do a credible imitation of a combat lawnmover. I wondered why combat was so childishly easy...

'Jaime Sue': The quest is not actually THAT difficult. Of course, there is a trick that is pretty difficult to discover. There is much frustration to be had before that. Or celerity.

I'm a consummate melee fighter myself; I find that the times when I most need excessive force are when something has really gotten too close for comfort. The enemies bounce around pretty satisfactoriy when I swat them, too.

[Stilgar]

Isnt the sledgehammer needed for the gargoley quest?

[_tmp_]

Yes. Breaking rocks was a reference, I believe.

[falconis_99]

Update: Torches do aggrevated damage.

when getting attacked by a hunter with a torch it does aggrevated damage to your vampire.

[Deidre]

Added info on some miscellenous weapons.

[Lucinda]

Gangrel claws is all you ever really need, 50 aggravated dmg per hit

[Stilgar]

[QUOTE=Lucinda]Gangrel claws is all you ever really need, 50 aggravated dmg per hit [/QUOTE]
Lucinda, please post something that adds to the discussion, or dont post at all.
This thread is about the items in the game,
not about how good your Gangrel is.

[fable]

As Stilgar notes, please, let's keep focused on the "shopping spree" aspect of this useful thread, with its list of items, locations, and damage, rather than personal preferences. Thanks.