The Warrens shortcut... [spoilers]

[Vepar]

So, after kicking Andrei's whatever he has for a behind (you never know with the Tzimisce), i found a shortcut in one of the pipes... I remembered then i saw that before but i opted to clear the whole warrens.

Do i miss a lot of stuff if i go through the shortcut? Where does it lead, and will i miss any items i might have picked up if i don't use it?

[Mr. Matt]

Take the shortcut. I've beaten the game 20-30 times, and although I don't recall where the shortcut lets you out, I do know that it doesn't let you bypass anything of relevance. Did you already find that one little locked storage room you made a left turn to get to, and it was then on your left from there where the path pretty much immediately dead ends? If so, it contains some ammo. Other than that, I do not recall there being any goodies until you get to the Nosferatu area at the very end of the Warrens, which would be sometime after the shortcut's exit.

So if you find that little storage room with ammo, THEN take the shortcut, you're not missing any items, XP, or anything. The Warrens is the crappiest part of the game, and that is one reason that shortcut exists - a reward for skill-based characters (decent hacking score) who want to skip most of that trash. It's my favorite game in the world, but there's something wrong with everything on this earth, and the Warrens and the rushed feel of some of the end parts of the game are Bloodlines' weaknesses. Skip as much of the Warrens as you can, even though it only lasts maybe 10-15 minutes if you know exactly where to go and what to do. It's just nothing but combat.

[Vepar]

Thanks! I used the shortcut, it does skip the whole warrens. There's a few enemies after that, and then it's straight to the Nosferatu hideout.

I mean, yes, if you know what you're doing they're not that long but boy are they tedious...

[Zilljah]

Wesp's shortcut is one of the nicest parts of the latest upgrade. The warrens are, for the most part, a dungeon crawl. You don't get XP for killing the monsters, there's not much down there to take, and I'd rather skip through it and get to the important stuff in the hideout.

Like Mr. Matt said, the storage room with ammo is all you really need to hit up. After that, you can either use the exit through the office to go back into Hollywood to stock up or just go for the shortcut.

[Mr. Matt]

Glad it worked out for you, Vepar, and I agree with you both that the Warrens suck. Can I finish them in like 10 minutes or so? Yes. Do I still hate them despite how brief that is? Oh yes. They are not fun and are far too long without interesting stuff to do in a game that is otherwise so wonderful. Even long combat zones with virtually no pickups, like the Hallowbrook Hotel, are better than the Warrens, because at least the vampire-on-vampire combat is exciting, and by that point, you're pretty much as powerful as you're going to get and it's kinda fun. The Warrens is a bunch of wussy monster minions that you either kill fast or sneak past (spider skanks), and it lacks atmosphere, which is something 90% or more of the game positively drips with.

[Vepar]

Yeah, i raided the storage room, that's on the same level as the shortcut. After that, i know there's another level with a boss (which later becomes a normal enemy), some hacking, lockpicking, stupid water turbines and a lot of useless fighting...

That level(s) sticks out so much from the rest of the game that the shortcut is actually more in line with the game than the actual official part.

So yeah, if there's no XP down there, the there's no point in doing that.

I think it's the level design's fault. It's so convoluted, making you go elaborate roundabout routes just to get somewhere, a few instakill traps and a ton of really not fun enemies...

The first time i played this game a long time ago i was stuck there for a while because i didn't know which pipes lead to the exit, then after the boss you can't just go through the door, you have to jump over a pot into another pipe (totally intuitive)... The whole thing is a too long, too unintuitive maze with enemies... Something that, up to that point, and after that point the game isn't. Even other combat areas have some rhyme and reason to them, the Warrens just suck.

[Mr. Matt]

*Applauds Vepar's gripe* Well put, sir.

[Vepar]

Yeah, the Warrens were always the reason i didn't replay this game as much as i wanted to lol. :P

[Mr. Matt]

Well, thanks to Wesp (patch-maker), you don't have to if you have a high enough hacking skill from now on! :D

[Vepar]

Yeah, wesp5 singlehandedly kept this game alive for as long as it's been. :)

[Mr. Matt]

Well, and the testers. I think he would've hanged himself by now if he had to play the entire game every time he put out a new patch. ;)

[Vepar]

Haha, well, yeah, that's true.

[Wesp5]

Originally posted by Mr. Matt:

Well, and the testers. I think he would've hanged himself by now if he had to play the entire game every time he put out a new patch. ;)

Yeah! Actually I only ever played the whole game through once, never found the time after starting to work on the patch. But all the players give me the necessary feedback I need :)!

[Vepar]

Well i think i speak for everyone when i say; Thank you for all your hard work in keeping this game alive! I never would have played this game so many times (Steam and non-steam), if it wasn't for your patches. Hell, the first time i played it it consistently crashed after the Society of Leopold part and i couldn't finish it, it was that broken. And now with all the patches and enhancements it's a wonderful experience whenever i get the urge to play it, and i only get the urge because i know you're working on the game.

Whoever is making money selling VTMB on Steam owes like, 90% of the sales to you. I doubt so many people would have bought it in it's vanilla state. I mean, vanilla VTMB is still a great game, but the patches make it stand out. :)

[Mr. Matt]

Oh hey, Wesp! I'm Dark Prophet who used to test a bunch a few years back...y'know, the guy who kept insisting that the guys in the temple should take area of effect damage from Blood Boil, and someone (you or someone else) figured out that certain enemies in the game had friendly fire deactivated, and that's what caused them to not damage their allies when they exploded.

Any upcoming updates or anything? I've been getting an itch to replay soon. I think the last time I played was when you had me try the alternate Grout path that was put in with the doors on the floor and everything, so I'm not sure how many patches behind I am.

And yes, Vepar, he should get a huge paycheck for his efforts. =p

[spectre_of_woe]

You can enter the shortcut, kill it's occupants, and back out, if you desire. Just don't jump down, if this is your intent.