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After beating VTMB now for the fourth time, with unoffical patch 2.0, I decided to make things a bit more difficult for Bloodlines. Enjoy the game very much, but wanted more of a challenge.

Heres a little test, boys and girls.

Complete VTMB WITHOUT completing or taking part in ANY side quest.

RULES

1-Do not enter ANY location in the game that has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR MAIN QUESTS, EXCEPT MERCHANTS (IE TRIP'S PAWN, HOLLYWOOD CONVIENCE STORE, AND TSENG'S)

2-In Main quest locations, ANYTHING GOES. You are free to pick up any items that are laying around or dropped by your enemies. So make the most of your opportunites while at the location. Because you'll never be back anyways.

3-The challenge is for VTMB version 2.0. If you are only patched up to 1.2, I applaud you. Things will be a little more difficult for those on version 1.2.

-Introduction-

-Start game, pick clan/gender/customize stats. Choose your clan carefully, because your disiplines will be much needed. What's more important to you? Taking more of a beating with Fortitude? Making yourself invisible with Obfuscate to avoid nasty confortations? Just remember, combat is INEVITABLE in many main quests. Your goal is to finish the game, not padding every vampire stat. Focus your points on physical stats like strength, dexterity, and stamina. Firearms will also come in handy during the warrens and against Xiao. Social, Haggle, Inspection, skills don't mean squat. Don't put your XP towards em. And either choose between Unarmed or Melee...focus on one or the other.

-Start Game-

Location-Downtown Intro
Do NOT accept Jacks' help after the end of the game introduction. (Unoffical patch note-the patch gives you 2 xp, lockpick, and weapons even after refusing Jack's help) Version 1.2 players I think will have to buy their own lockpick from Trip).

SANTA MONICA

The following areas are OFF LIMITS TO YOU - The Hospital, Foxy Boxes, Kilpatrick's Bailbonds, Tattoo Parlor, Gimble's Freakshow, the Junkyard, and Surfside Diner(until Bad Blood Main Quest). Trip's Pawnshop is available to you, stop in and sell your useless belongings whenever. Spend your cash wisely...cash will be rare.


Location-Santa Monica Haven
Feel free to take whatever is in your Haven, you won't be coming back. DO NOT READ Stauss's riddle AND DO NOT check your email. Leave haven, AREA SEALED OFF FROM NOW ON.

Location-Mercurio's Apartment
Talk to Mercurio to get the "Surf's Up" quest. DO NOT OFFER MERCURIO HELP for his pain, it will trigger a side quest.

Location-Beach Area
DO NOT TALK TO ANY OF THE THIN BLOODS. Go up the stairs to the crackhouse. COMBAT AREA!!! ANYTHING GOES!! Talk your way into getting the Astrolite or kill everything in sight. Don't forget the cash and the car stereo. Return to Mercurio's afterwards.

Location-Mercurio's Apartment
Tell Mercurio you've wasted the crackheads. Now, you can either give Mercurio his 250 bucks and get 1 XP or keep the money yourself. Personally, I keep the 250 because you won't be seeing much money come your way at all during mainquests. Most money made in VTMB is made from sidequests. But it's your choice. Triggered "Explosive Beginning" main quest.

Location-The Asylum
Let Jeanette humor you, talk to the bartender to get access to the elevator. DON'T TALK TO KNOX. Go upstairs, feel free to take the Gold Ring, but avoid reading the newspaper. Talk to Therese. Triggered "The Ghost Haunts at Midnight" main quest.

Location-Ocean House Hotel
Combat Area!! Okay, you won't be fighting anything...and there isn't anything picking up except the Weekapaug Thistle. Not a bad item to pickup this early in the game, don't forget it. Retrieve the pendant. Return to the Asylum

Location-The Asylum
Listen to Jeanette cry and throw a fit after refusing to give her the pendant. (well...you CAN give her the pendant...if you're a sucker for her). Trigger "Slaughterpiece" mainquest.

Location-Gallery Noir
Sneak into the gallery or talk Chunk into letting you in. You can take the charity money and sacrifice 1 point humanity. This is after all a Combat zone. Wise if you took it. Slash paintings, kill kill kill die die die, laugh hysterically, return to Asylum.

Location-The Asylum
Listen to Therese yell and scream. Trigger "Bad Blood" mainquest.

Location-Surfside Diner
Combat area...ahh yeah. Kill everything. Take the shotgun, answer phone, listen to more drama. Return to Asylum

Location-The Asylum...for the LAST TIME.
Now...your persuasion probably won't be enough to convience the sisters in coexisting...so let one kill the other. You'll miss out on 1 XP. Go see Bertram.

Location-Bertram's Haven
Talk talk talk...

Location-Sabbat Warehouse
Combat Area!!!! Plenty of 38 and shotgun ammo around. Do your best to pick up as many goodies while you're here. Blow up warehouse. Weee! Talk to Beckett.

Santa Monica Area complete

Challenge Part 2 for Downtown will be posted later...i gotta go to work. ARGH!

[QUOTE=SoberFix]After beating VTMB now for the fourth time, with unoffical patch 2.0, I decided to make things a bit more difficult for Bloodlines. Enjoy the game very much, but wanted more of a challenge.

Heres a little test, boys and girls.

Complete VTMB WITHOUT completing or taking part in ANY side quest.
[/QUOTE]
So the short form is cut off my arms and legs, commit Hara Kiru, and swim the English Channel without getting eaten by sharks. Thanks, but I like the game when it's fun. I don't much care for it as a torture device. I have far more than enough in my real life to do that. I use these games as a release.

If you want to make your life difficult, then by all means go ahead. Don't make it a contest. I can't speak for anybody else, but if I want problems, I've got an armpitful of problems waiting for me every day at work, and I don't need anymore. I spend 80 hours of every week solving impossible problems. I don't need any new ones. Especially not contrived ones that serve no other purpose than to be contrived.

If you want to make a challenge, then go to one of the games for which that is their raison d'etre and make your bone there. What do you expect? Somebody will either do better than you or not. There is no scoring mechanism you can make that will decide if you are better or not. There is no way you can put up 'rules' and use that to determine your superiority. Take a pill.

[QUOTE=yrthwyndandfyre]So the short form is cut off my arms and legs, commit Hara Kiru, and swim the English Channel without getting eaten by sharks. Thanks, but I like the game when it's fun. I don't much care for it as a torture device. I have far more than enough in my real life to do that. I use these games as a release.

If you want to make your life difficult, then by all means go ahead. Don't make it a contest. I can't speak for anybody else, but if I want problems, I've got an armpitful of problems waiting for me every day at work, and I don't need anymore. I spend 80 hours of every week solving impossible problems. I don't need any new ones. Especially not contrived ones that serve no other purpose than to be contrived.

If you want to make a challenge, then go to one of the games for which that is their raison d'etre and make your bone there. What do you expect? Somebody will either do better than you or not. There is no scoring mechanism you can make that will decide if you are better or not. There is no way you can put up 'rules' and use that to determine your superiority. Take a pill.[/QUOTE]


Hey pal, I got the world's smallest violin playing right here for you.

Yeah, we all got problems, we all work(well, the ones that make themselves useful at least), and we all need a release and an escape from our busy little lives.

I'm simply suggesting a more challenging way to complete the game, that's all. Correct me if i'm wrong, but I don't think my original post said anything about a contest. Oh, I'm sorry...you sound like one of those people who like things to come as easily and mundane to you as possible, am I right? Well, each to his own. However, I'm the type of person who likes to set the bar a little higher after the task becomes a little dry. Some games have a difficulty rating, VTMB doesn't. Anyone who has played the game and beaten it probably didn't even suffer a final death once come round 3 or 4. Maybe you're entertained and satisfied with that, however I am not.

Take a pill? Pht...take some of your own advice. Sorry if my suggestion is just TOO MUCH of a problem for you to handle on top of your millions of other impossible problems you already have.

nice idea but i think i'll give it a miss as i prefer a lot of the side quests to the main quest anyway. side quests are one of the things that make rpgs fun. as for making it a challenge. try roleplaying and sticking to the type of character you decided to have without any deviation (so if they wouldn't be good at hacking or picking locks, you hardly increase that skill at all even if it means missing out on rewards), if they are anit-authority then always be rude to those in charge even if you miss out on rewards and a haven etc. roleplaying can be a lot more challenging that simply not doing certain quests and, i might add, a lot more fun as i kinda agree with yrthwyndandfyre on that one.

Guys, last time I checked, the person who started this thread wasn't holding a gun to anybody's head in order to force use of his challenge upon the world. Should this change, let me know. Until then, please allow him to issue his challenge, get some takers, and hear their reports. Thanks.

Its not an uncommon thing for games like this to have user imposed challenges. You should see some of the ones from games like Final Fantasy X or Star Ocean: Til the End of Time.

[QUOTE=CaptRory]Its not an uncommon thing for games like this to have user imposed challenges. You should see some of the ones from games like Final Fantasy X or Star Ocean: Til the End of Time.[/QUOTE]
Done there, been that. I simply fail to see the point under these circumnstances to test yourself against others when the obvious challenge is the game itself. <world's greatest living master of Rygar>