Thread 723298241

I'm about to play this for the first time. What are recommended clans to play? I was leaning towards Tremere as I usually play mages/wizards in RPGs and this feels like the closest pick.

Tremere is the best clan because it has the biggest amount of unique interactions for a non Malkavian/Nosferatu. If you play those three clans you will already have seen 99% of what the game can offer in terms of replayability.

>>723298709
Nice thanks anon.

>>723298241 (OP)
Celerity is broken
Id say everyone is good except Nosferatu and Malkavian
They break any exploration or spoils the story

>>723298970
Honestly though playing malk the first time and having no clue what's going on is fun. I think you should just go with whatever from the quiz

I thought the plus patch nerfed the shit out of Tremere discipline spells?

>>723298241 (OP)
For me, it's the chad Ventrue walking around and making people kill themselves without even lifting a finger.

>>723298241 (OP)
Also just started, enjoying the brujah. It's fun to be a punk towards all the snooty vampires and bully everyone.
Finished crawling around hospital for werewolf blood, annoying slow ass guard and hacking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz7_3n7xyDg

>>723298241 (OP)
game has a lot of sneaking
Malkavian is a no brainer

>>723298241 (OP)
Tremere is great, mostly useful powers and some unique interactions. Don't get the fan patch that changes content because it fucks with one of their powers and the original is better.

>>723298241 (OP)
>What are recommended clans to play?
it doesn't matter. the game isn't terribly long but it's more than fun enough where you'll want to play them all anyway.

>>723298241 (OP)
Always play Malkavian first if the concept sounds even remotely interesting to you.
It only hits hard as a first playthrough, otherwise there is no magic since you know everything that happens in the game already.

>>723298241 (OP)
>Run n' gun
Toreador
>Fisticuffs or melee weapons
Brujah
>Claws and armour
Gangrel
>Magic and Dominate dialogue options
Tremere
>Unique dialogue, wackiness and stealth
Malkavian

>>723299204
Why would you play with the plus patch though, it sucks

>>723298241 (OP)
Don't make the mistake of ignoring combat stats on character generation. The game has a bunch of really dogshit non-optional combat in it that's a real pain in the ass to get through if your build is too heavily leaned into social stuff.

>>723298709
Glad to see this guide is still around

>>723298709
>intimidate
Shit, I went for this as a main social skill. Oh well, might as well see how bad it really is.

>>723303445
You get enough skill points from books and just freely that you can spec into something else, if you want

>>723302310
>Unique dialogue, wackiness and stealth
Dementation is quite good in combat.

>>723303445
For better or worse, the story is when where you're largely dealing with entities more powerful than yourself, so intimidation rarely comes up.

>>723303570
>entities more powerful than yourself
The player is 8th generation.

>>723298970
>They break any exploration or spoils the story
Nah, Nosferatu can still go pretty much anywhere. You just can't get too close to NPCs but even if you do most of the time they just run away. Malkavian has some foreshadowing in the dialogue but it's not likely you'll really be spoiled by much of it because you won't understand it since it's a little cryptic.

Some people say you shouldn't play Malk first because you won't understand anything and others say it'll spoil things. I played Malk first and it was great and I kind of doubt anyone saying don't play Malk first ever tried to do so and they're just repeating what others have said.

>>723298970
>They break any exploration or spoils the story
Nah, Nosferatu can still go pretty much anywhere. You just can't get too close to random NPCs but even if you do most of the time they just run away. You can still talk to most of the main characters. Malkavian has some foreshadowing in the dialogue but it's not likely you'll really be spoiled by much of it because you won't understand it since it's a little cryptic.

Some people say you shouldn't play Malk first because you won't understand anything and others say it'll spoil things. I played Malk first and it was great and I kind of doubt anyone saying don't play Malk first ever tried to do so and they're just repeating what others have said.

>>723298241 (OP)
whichever sounds most interesting to you, dont fall into the trap of thinking there's a correct optimal way to play a fucking single player game. optimize all the fun and discovery out of the experience with some gay infographic

>>723303736
I just don't understand what's fun about having your character constantly say cryptic shit you don't get

Open it.

>>723303736
Something I don't really "get" about nosferatu in the VtM franchise is, are they actually just supposed to be freaking people out from the way they look?
Because that really doesn't make any sense. Like, no matter how ugly or deformed someone is, at most someone would be like "wow that guys ugly" and move on or maybe think you're wearing a costume for some reason.

So, is there like some magical effect that magically makes people magically scared by their looks? Because otherwise it's fucking retarded

>>723298241 (OP)
Gameplay wise? Toreador or Brujah so you can just out-strafe everything with Celerity.
Every clan has one "fuck you I win" power, but Celerity is the most fun.

Narratively? Probably best to think of yourself as largely unaffiliated, you mostly deal with humans until Hollywood anyway and otherwise get used as an errand boy by any vampire who dangles $4 and a shiny set of keys in front of you.

>play game
>do tutorial
>walk down street
>everyone screams and starts shooting at me
WOOOOOOOOOOW

>>723303961
>So, is there like some magical effect that magically makes people magically scared by their looks?
Yes, actually. Nosferatu invoke not just physical revulsion, but a supernatural revulsion too. Doesn't matter how much you try to cover up your ugly mug, normal people who look at you are going to feel deeply unsettled on a spiritual level.

>>723304074
Not violating the masquerade just by seeing you though

>>723303486
That's good to know. I saw the skill books, but wasn't sure if those are permanent or not. Got 3 points into int and it's early into the game, I'll pivot a bit.
>>723303570
Hoped I'd be able to at least "clash" your intimidation against more powerful characters. "You've got balls, kid, I give you that." sort of thing. But I guess everyone is an OP monster in this world, so another random punk tearing people apart is nothing special.
I've punched a tutorial guy accidentally and he called me cute, lol

>>723298241 (OP)
Is there a class that can just rely on social skills and powers to just avoid all combat that way? I like playing a smart ass character

OPEN IT!

>>723304038
>t.

>>723304259
No. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking you can social-fu your way through the game because it kind of has that vibe, but around halfway through the game it becomes extremely combat heavy and your smart fast talker is going to start getting his asshole eaten by sewer monsters

>>723304259
No. Game flatly tells you after the first zone to get some combat skills asap. It has a character turn to camera and say "you can't talk your way out of a bullet".

>>723303841
I was usually a bit bored with dialogue in RPGs so the way Malkavian handled it kept me interested even if I didn't get all the foreshadowing right away

>>723304312
I don't understand why people think that about classic RPGs anyway. There's Planet Escape Tournament and... that's all I can think of

>>723302310
Problem with Gangrel is their clan advantage and flaw tie to Frenzy. They're the only clan that really benefits from frenzying except you never want to frenzy in the game, if only because your character will just get stuck on level geometry at some point.

>>723304312
>because it kind of has that vibe
It really doesn't and I'm not sure why anyone thinks it does

>>723304259
Not really. You can do it to avoid fights in the first half of the game but the second half is riddled with long stretches of combat sections and mandatory boss fights so even a social character will have to pivot to investing heavily into combat later down the line.

>>723304374
Just people who've only played post-BG Bioware games and such. Become accepted since then that most old arpgs are about just killing shit with a kitted out party.
Easy to forget that 2010 era /v/ did not play nearly as many games as it pretended to.

>>723304521
The only post-BG game that doesn't require combat I can think of is Age of Decadence. Certainly all Bioware games require combat

>>723304521
>>723304374
You can social your way through Fallout 1 and 2 to a pretty large extent, it's not a new idea at all for games with social skills and a lot of dialog to give you ways to skip combat with dialog. Even when V:tMB came out, it was already an old idea

>>723304374
Fallout 1 can be finished with almost zero combat, but not 2 because of the sheer number of bullshit random encounters.

>>723304374
It's a weird player fantasy that kept appearing since ever
"Oh the game is about shooting? But what I try to go no-kill stealth all the time? Party game? I'll do it solo" I think at some point game designers noticed players love doing that and started to deliberately make 2 sided games. Where you can just shoot everyone, but that's incredibly basic and boring and the real way is to sneak ghost social character. Who gets rewarded more, generally plays better and is a real meat of the game.
Older games it was more of a challenge run thing, doing playthrough with deliberately bad character and useless skills.
Fallout and Desu Ex were the first ones that I member leaning way more into non-combat playstyles.

>>723304647
>>723304680
I'm fairly sure I remember non-optional combat in FO but it's been fucking ages since I played it. Also I guess the biggest difference there is that you have a squad so you can just let the NPCs shoot enemies (and yourself, in the head, from behind, fuck you Ian)

>>723303841
It's not that cryptic. Pretty much everything your character says is easy to understand if you're not retarded. There just happen to be references to stuff happening in the background that may fly over your head if you don't have a bit of general knowledge or aren't that well-read.
>>723303961
>someone would be like "wow that guys ugly" and move on or maybe think you're wearing a costume for some reason
Exactly that type of stuff happens throughout most of the game if talking to normies. There's an old lady that gets a heart attack when she sees you, though.
>>723304217
>You've got balls, kid, I give you that.
Personally, I really dislike that type of response to intimidation. It's usually a success of the check but it feels unearned. Essentially, people are agreeing to what you want because you were rude to them. I can see it work in a limited number of cases, but RPGs really overdo that exact archetype of interaction.
>>723304402
Comparisons to Deus Ex and the talk/sneak/fight trinity of the time.
The issue is, Deus Ex was never like that either, only video game magazines made it seem like that.
Most people never played any of these games, so they just assumed journos knew what they were talking about.
They didn't know what they were talking about.

>>723304647
Travel in 2 makes non-combat builds completely unplayable
>get into random desert encounter
>all high level enemies with heavy weapons
>die before you even get to attack

>>723304717
>Who gets rewarded more, generally plays better and is a real meat of the game.
Fighting the niggers at the beach house was way more fun than picking two dialogue options.
Also, VtMB has good combat.
>t. knower

>>723304746
I had a blast with my smooth talking Fallout 1 character but 2 is just far too combat-heavy for it to work. Only way I could see myself trying it again in 2 is with a trainer that maxes outdoor skill from the get go so you can avoid all random encounters, as many will result in instant death before you even get a chance to take a turn if you have a social build

>>723304835
based
>ok anon, you can sneak or talk your way in
*baseball bats them*

A lot of people are talking about how stupid kids must have assumed the game could be beaten non-violently because of another video game or because they're zoomers, but my experience was completely different.

I played the game around 2008 and I associated it strongly with the pen and paper role playing game, which as I understood it was a roleplaying game that was mostly played by hardcore larpers that spend the vast majority of their play sessions doing heavy roleplaying about how they're a dark and mysterious vampire and the combat stuff was pretty much just an afterthought thrown in to show off their dark and mysterious powers. So I figured it would be like that, a lot of roleplaying and then a bit of showing of your vampire powers so you feel more mysterious.

So I was going "yes yes as expected" for the first chunk of the game as I got a bunch of brooding and melodrama, and then was very surprised and got whiplash in the tail end of the game when it transformed into a janky action dungeon crawler out of the blue

>>723303612
I could've sworn it was like 10th gen

>>723304776
>intimidation
I think most RPGs, heck even most media, uses it poorly. Similar to how evil characters and options portrayed as stupid or cartoony. It can be a resistance to outside influence, an aggressive bluff, a display of power, over the top responses like Terrifying Presence perk in fallout, assertiveness in general. A smart use of implied violence. But yeah, usually it's "do thing or I hit you" while nuanced options get rolled into diplomacy.

>>723305040
A lot of this is based on the games mess of a dev process. The entire final third of the game is unfinished which is why it just turns into a pure action game around the Hollywood sewers

>>723305317
The actual answer is "we are a low generation but the dev changed the gameplay to not be boring thinblood shit" but in the actual P&P we would be 8th gen because we have 15 blood points

>>723298241 (OP)
depending on how you approach video games on a meta level
>I want the standard experience for my first run, no funny business + I want to do more than one run
brujah, gangrel, toreador, ventrue
>ok a bit funny business, but nothing wild
tremere
>fuck that, maximum funny business + I am a sneaky bastard, nobody will catch me reading their emails
nosferatu, malkavian

I picked nos for my first time, which really was something else because you move different through the city than other vampires. very fun if you love to immerse yourself in stealth games. malk is crazy atmospheric with stuff like the constant schizo whispers you hear, and lots of funny extra content.

>>723305370
The protagonist is SO powerful and grows in strength SO quickly that I feel like the game doesn't really make any sense if you're a thinblood. Being a relatively low generation makes the events of the game a lot more reasonable.

>>723305370
In an actual P&P you'd have a whole party, not just one dude with a lot of free time.

>>723305693
Yeah but can't vampires sense that shit, so they know that new vamp they keep bossing around will become stronger than them in a week? Also most of them seem to know your sire

>>723304835
>Fighting the niggers at the beach house was way more fun than picking two dialogue options.
sneaking in and stealth killing everyone is my favorite way

>>723305040
>the combat stuff was pretty much just an afterthought thrown in to show off their dark and mysterious powers
>Special directional attacks
>different movesets for different melee weapons
>multiple stats involved in combat
>most disciplines have a roll to play in combat
It was honestly ahead of its time when you think about it.
It was an action game with resource-based special abilities at a time when most western action games were shooters or simple action-platformers. It comes alive on controller, which is something I never thought I'd say since I've been playing it pretty much since it came out.

>>723305752
>Yeah but can't vampires sense that shit
They can, somewhat.
>so they know that new vamp they keep bossing around will become stronger than them in a week
They also know that you don't know that they know you don't know that. If you believe you're weaker, then you are weaker, and you're proven weaker since some use disciplines on you. Additionally, disciplines are tricky to master without a teacher, so it's unlikely for you, aimless fledgling that you are, to cause too much trouble unless someone puts you in the right place at the right time with the right motivation.
>Also most of them seem to know your sire
Keeping mum about your actual generation and hiding your powerlevel is politics 101.

I wish we had other ttgs used for Vidya.
Mage, wraith, demons and chanlings are more cooler than sukers and furry settings

Is that other Vampire game good? Redemption I think it was called?
People always said not to play it IIRC

>>723306621
Strong story
Weak gameplay

>>723306621
It's a 3D RPG from the time those were a fairly new thing, so it's got a lot of jank and clunk to it.
It has mid writing, bad acting, and decent atmosphere. If you can tolerate playing something like Neverwinter Nights 1, then you should be fine playing VtMR.

>>723306812
I do happen to have NWN1 on my backlog after I got it free on GOG.... maybe 15 years ago? Fuck
Anyway I'll remember that if I'm fine playing NWN then VTMR is worth a punt too

>>723306621
>People always said not to play it IIRC
Really? It's not that bad. Wouldn't call it bad at all.
It does fall off a fucking cliff tonally once it hits modern era and guns just fucking suck, I think I just had Christoff clearing the entire map with the chainsaw while the party waited around with their thumbs up their asses by the end, but I think it's alright.

Not a must play, but there's some fun levels, I really liked the clocktower level where you're having to maneuver party members to mad dash through blaring sunlight, first time a diablo-like level has actually stuck with me - I would just say not to go in blind. Pump the market skill to break stores, do not sell your melee weapons on entering modern era, and check the keybinds in the manual because they're a bit goofy. It's alright, but not on its terms.

>>723307171
>do not sell your melee weapons
Even if my character is specced into whatever you stat you need to use guns?

>>723307292
Yes, because I had max of whatever that skill was, it's been a while, on all party members and they're still just terrible. By endgame I had the entire party with miniguns and rocket launchers and mc runny chainsaw man outdamaged the entire party several times over, I'm not being hyperbolic when I say they're worthless.
Chainsaw isn't even great, pretty sure the max melee arms from the old era are better.

>>723307403
Sounds amazingly funny

>>723307430
It's pretty funny.
Frustrating as hell when you first make the switch to guns, get to the egypt nightclub and watch your party of dumbasses do the Morrowind miss meme at point blank on repeat for an hour straight, though.

>>723307678
I'll definitely do a mix of melee and guns to see that shitshow myself lel

It will be shit won't it bros

>>723308734
worse, mediocre

>>723308734
It will be impossible to mod, so we can never fix it.