Tutorial: Getting Started/Introduction

THE COUNCIL Left you a comment: We welcome you to the Darkside. The key to this game is UNDERSTANDING how to play. This is not a standard clicking through missions game to get to where you want to go. The Darkside is about combat, skill point allocation and learning about utilizing your bloodline to its fullest potential. For additional in-depth information and to ask gameplay questions- you will find our official group button on your in game home page. Join Us at the Sanctuary of Knowledge and ask questions. We love to help! 

Introduction: What is VDS and what is it about?  Vampires The Darkside (VDS) is a vampire-themed game you play as an application on Facebook.  You must have a Facebook profile to play it.  (It's taboo to discuss this, but the fact is that many players have a dedicated Facebook profile for VDS and/or other games.  This is, of course, not necessary, and, in fact, Facebook frowns upon it, but it's fair for you to be aware of this option prior to your beginning a game such as VDS.)  The goal of the game is to build a strong, fierce - and, in my opinion, well-regarded, respected, and/or feared - vampire.  Your vampire is built by earning experience points (XP) by doing Missions and participating in Fights against other players' vampires, strategically placing your skill points as you level, strategically and intelligently buying Slaves (which will provide you with blood, which is currency in the game) and Powers (which strengthen your vampire, but might cost blood to maintain, referred to as their cost of "upkeep"), managing your bloodflow, building a strong clan (your network of other real-life-players whose vampires you can ally with), and more.  Apart from the many layers of strategy in game-play, much of the appeal of VDS in my opinion is also the fun, (mostly) friendly, and interesting community of players that has arisen around the game.  This social element can be very rewarding!


Before You Begin:  If you get a chance to, you might want to choose your sire. Your "sire" is the player who first invites you or brings you into the game (in vampire mythos, the term refers to the vampire who first bites you and turns you into a vampire!).  You will be known as that person's "childe."  Ideally, you want a sire who knows the game fairly well and is able/willing to assist and advise you.  If you enter the game without having been "invited" by a player, you will be assigned a "Trinity" sire - Lilith, Andilaveris, or Caine.  These are not "real" players.  However, stress not!  If you end up with a disinterested or unhelpful sire, or with a Trinity sire, many players will often volunteer to help or even "adopt" you!  Also note that you will be the bloodline your sire is; you cannot change it (without leaving the game entirely from the Council page and coming back in as a new vamp with a new sire).  If your sire is a member of a sub-bloodline (there are presently only two, the House of Letalis, and the House of Northman), you will be of that sub-bloodline as well.   

For example, if you want to become my childe (hint hint!), I would be your sire, and you would be of the Varaco bloodline and of the House of Northman like me. 

Remember, you must be a "VDS virgin" (i.e. have never entered the application) and have cleared out and deleted any VDS invites from others you've received (or, as mentioned, have deleted any previous VDS account you've made via the Council page) to choose a sire.

Basic Tips for Beginners:

• When you first join, you can choose (and, later, you can change) your "sect" - it dictates which "meter" refills the fastest - your rage, energy, or blood.  To change it costs 15 FP (see my page on the Council).  (There can be some element of strategy to choosing/changing your sect at various levels or points in the game, depending on your short- or long-term goals.)
• Learn about the strategy of applying your skill points early on!  You cannot re-allocate them later!!! 
• "Clan" is the number of Facebook friends you have who play VDS and whose VDS vampires have teamed up with yours in the game. When you first begin, VDS gives you 250 essentially-imaginary clan.  One of your primary goals in the first 20 or so levels in the game should be to get 501 real clan - actual flesh-and-blood players who can assist you (in various ways) as you play.  Make this a priority early on.
• Right away, start some of your longer term goals.  
• Choose a Trinity alignment and begin filling your black blood vials.  See my Trinity/Black Blood Tutorial.
• Focus your Essence.  See my Essence tutorial.
• Bank your blood often!  You can Bank in Town.  Banking costs 10% of your blood, but it means that you won't lose blood in fights.  Make sure you bank before trying to Attack an opponent you might lose against (and definitely bank before attacking the Trinity; again, see my other post for info on the Trinity). 
• Buy your first slaves as soon as you can to start building your bloodflow.  Always buy slaves in units of 10, because their price increases as you buy.  (Beyond 50-60 of each kind of slave, you might find them no longer really worth buying more of, due to their high cost at that point.)  New and better slaves are unlocked every 7 levels.
  
• Info on Symbols 
• Info on Powers Calculation  (Many people have their sire, or adopted sire, or another experienced player, perform these "powers calculations" for them until they learn to do them themselves!  Check your powers at least at levels 13, 20, 25, 30, 35, 45, 55, 60, 65, and 70.  I am happy to personally help House of Northman players with their powers checks.)
• How to make those pretty icons/symbols in your Sanctum message or in Sanctum comments.
• FYI, if you accidentally block someone from writing on your sanctum wall in VDS, the only way to fix it (as of this writing) is to send an email to support@kwaaisoftware.com appraising them of the situation.

Tutorial: Focusing Your Essence

Focusing your Essence is a relatively new feature in VDS, and a fun way to get interesting rewards for returning to the game daily.  You will need to focus approximately once every 24 hours - for up to 30 days - to reap these rewards.

On your Home page in VDS, right towards the top of the page, you will see the third button is "Focus Essence":

Clicking this button brings you to your Sphere of Dark Essence.  It will be, at first, basically black/empty in the center.  Below the Sphere click, Focus Essence:

Doing this will add a small amount of purple "essence" to the sphere, the level of which will raise every day you click.  You will get a little box declaring that you focused, which you can publish to your wall.  You will not be able to focus again for 24 hours (after which you'll have 24 more hours to focus next), but you can always click "Focus Essence" to learn how long you have until you can make your next focus (if only Trinity assist requests did this!).  It takes 30 days to fill the sphere completely, but you will be offered opportunities to cash out your already-focused essence periodically prior to that time.  In theory, better rewards come to those who wait.

Importantly, however, this is a reward for DAILY play; if you fail to return, your sphere RESETS, and you must begin all over with an empty sphere!

Many types of rewards are granted through this process.  Favour points, rare powers, consumable items, a special Dark Orb Sanctum, and - it has been rumored - maybe even skill points, can be earned this way.

Ooooooo Preeetty.....  Click to Enlarge.

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Tutorial: How to Use Color and Icons in VDS Posts

You have probably noticed all the pretty text, highlighting, and icons that are around VDS, both in Sanctum messages:

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...and in Sanctum comments:

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Some of the basics of these can be found in the little drop-down boxes above the area where you can leave Sanctum messages.  You'll notice that when you select a color (this example shows red highlighting), a code appears in the box (in this case {#1}):

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That same code can be used in your Sanctum message.  For example, my Sanctum message, shown in the first image above, looks like this when I edit it:

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 One more example:

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For your ease of reference, I've put as much of the code for different icons, effects, and colors as I'm aware of right here - have fun!

Bold - {!B}
Italics - {!I}
Underline - {!U}
Overline - {!O}

Highlighting:

Red - {$1}
Blue - {$2}
Yellow - {$3}
Green - {$4}
Orange - {$5}
Purple - {$6}
Light Blue - {$7}
Silver - {$8}
Pink - {$9}
Default - {$}

Text Color:

Red - {#1}
Blue - {#2}
Green - {#3}
Yellow - {#4}
Light Blue - {#5}
Purple - {#6}
Orange - {#7}
Pink - {#8}
Gray - {#9}
Default - {#}

Icons Gallore:

{ XD} Big Smile
{:)} Smile
{BLUSH} Blush
{:S} Confused
{B)} Cool
{CRY} Cry
{^^} Devil
{NO} Dislike
{*} Innocent
{YES} like
{MUAH} Kiss
{:#} Mad
{VV#} Mad Nosferatu
{VV} Nosferatu
{@} rose
{:(} Sad
{:|} Shocked
{:O} Surprise
{:0} Surprise
{:P} Tongue
{;)} Wink
{WTG} Way to go
{HREAL} Heart Organ
{vv} - Vamp
{vv#} - Angry Vamp
{YES} - thumbs up
{NO} - Thumbs Down
{WTG} - Clapping
{<>} - Bat
{BOX} - boxing gloves
{BOY} - male symbol
{GIRL} - female symbol
{OUCH} - Band Aid
{CHEESE} - Cheese
{WINE} - Wine
{BM} - Batsmoon
{BC} - Blackcat
{BLOOD} - blooddrops
{LINES} - Bloodlines
{HOME} - Coffin
{EYE} - Eye
{HIT} - Hitlist
{LYNCH} - lynched
{PUMP} - Pumpkin
{VDS} - smiley_VDS1
{STAR} - star
{TOMB} - tombstone

{CANDY} Candy Cane
{GBMAN} Gingerbread Man
{XHAT} Santa Hat
{HOLLY} Holly
{XLITE} Christmas light bulb
{PREZ} Present
{BOW} Bow
{DEER} Rudolph
{SMAN} Snow Man
{VSMAN} Vampire Snow Man
{XTREE} Christmas Tree

{NZ} = Image (Nosferato)
{VO} = Image (Varaco)
{MI} = Image (Muroni)
{GL} = Image (Gayal)

{ARROWH} is an arrow heart
{VBOX} is a present with Flower.
{BROKEH} is a broken heart.
{BURNH} is a Burning Heart.
{WINGH} is a Heart with Wings
{BLKH} is a Black heart

{GLOVE} is a glitter Love
{LOVE} is love
{MINE} is Mine
{NIB} is Nibbles
{SEXY} is sexy

{ANGEL} angel
{CUP} cup.
{NEWS} newspaper
{LUVERS} AniHearts
{FECK} swearing
{ICU} eyes
{PIG} pig
{COW} cow
{FIRE} fire
{ALE} beer
{CTAIL} cocktail
{CONE} icecream
{BRUN} bloodrun
{VB} blackbat
{ANK} Ankh.
{BAT} batface
{BONE} Bone
{BZ} Byzantine Cross
{CAKE} cake
{CT} celtic Cross
{DANCE} Dancing Smiley
{DRAC} Dracula
{BDUM} dummy
{FANGS} Fangs
{GLIC} Garlic
{GDUM} Gdummy
{HMF} HalfMoonBlue.
{XD} Laugh
{LEM} Lemur
{STIC} Lipstick
{DRAG} RedDragon
{RFANG} RFangs
{ROCK} rocket
{SCAR} scarab
{SCRE} Scream
{ZOM} sickzombie
{SKEL} Skelle
{WEB} spiderweb

More here!

Tutorial: Catacombs: Consumables, Cryptogram Pieces, and Gifting

Catacombs are where you can manage and use some of your items/consumables/assets in VDS.  

Access it by clicking on "Profile" (between "Legends" and "FAQ") at the upper right of the VDS game, then clicking "Catacombs" next to where it says "Profile" on that page. 

Catacombs Button.

Profile Button.

The Catacombs consist of four "Passages."  

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Passage 1 consists of the Sealed Sarcopagus in the top portion, and the Architectural Necropolis in the second portion.   

The Sealed Sarcophagus has a picture to the left that says "Consumable Goods." This area is, unsurprisingly then, where you hold "consumable" items, which are those you can use ("spend/devour/consume") to refill a particular amount of health, rage, or energy (i.e. the "Necro Anabolic Elixir" refills 5 energy).  If you hover over the picture of an item it tells you what it is and what it does. Blue items are for energy, orange are for rage, and red are for health. Each type of item's picture will not appear until the first time you obtain one. 

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Gifting:  In this area, to the right, you'll see a blue button that says "Give." If you click it, two drop-down boxes pop up.  You do not need to have an item already in your inventory to send gifts!  In the first box, you can choose to give a specific item, but generally you want to go to the very last option where it says "Free Surprise Gift," and in the other box choose the person to give to (you must be clanned). Then click "Give," and after that, you will get a box to post the gift to their page. You can add a comment, then click "Publish" and it will post to their profile. You can give and receive 5 consumables per day in this way (often more during special events!). Sometimes it will say you should give a gift to another person - this means you've gifted that person too recently.  Note that GIFTS CAN BE STOLEN!  If the gift is not collected within one hour, someone else can collect the gift, and stolen gifts do not count against your 5 collected gifts that were actually given to you (though there is a separate limit to how many gifts you can steal per day).  Gifts also expire after 12 hours; they can no longer be collected or stolen.  On occasion, there are three useless/gag gifts that get "collected" instead of a consumable item: plastic fangs, sunblock, and sunglasses; you cannot control whether the gift you give or receive turns out to be one of these, so don't take it too hard!  :)   As for gifting etiquette, I personally often give gifts to people who have been kind or helpful to me or who I just want to help out, and I do it expecting nothing in return - but some people take it really personally when they gift you and you don't "rtf" (return the favor).   At very least, if you get gifted, it's customary to "like" the posted gift and "comment" on that gift with thanks!  (Some people also comment telling the gifter what consumable they collected, but the gifter can also get this information from his/her game feed on the Home page of VDS.)  Sometimes people also arrange to trade their gifts each day; this is very common.  :)

The Architectural Necropolis is where you store and change Sanctums you have purchased or unlocked.  These are like "skins," changing how the game looks to you, and how your Sanctum/Profile looks to others.

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Passage 2 contains your Secret Alcove, where your Cryptograms are stored.  There are three Cryptogram puzzles - one for each Trinity member - and smaller, 8-piece "Male" and "Female" cryptogram puzzle for each of the four Bloodlines (Nozzie, Gayal, Muroni, and Varaco).  As for the first three, they are "Into Battle!" (Caine),  "Time to Dine!" (Lillith) and "Uncontrollable!" (Andy).  Each of these has 35 pieces; hover over each of the cryptogram pictures with your mouse to see an overview of which pieces you have, and how many you have doubles/triples/etc of.  (You can also see your collection listed clearly in the drop-down box for cryptogram gifting.)  Cryptogram pieces, like consumables, can be granted during fights, trinity squirt assists (see the Black Blood Vial info) and during missions.  They can also be "sought" and gifted.  Click the "Seek" button to post on your FB wall a request for a single specific piece you are missing.  You can only collect one gifted piece per day (but, like consumables, pieces can also be stolen after an hour and can expire).  There are two VDS puzzle-trading groups here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_176509312366839; and here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_148475538547673.

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Passage 3 holds your Hidden Sepulcher (where you keep, for example, heads of the Slayer and other "bosses" (sort of) who you've killed in Missions) and your Mystical Mausoleum (which is still "Coming Soon" at the time of this writing).   Finally, Passage 4 is your Runic Altar, where the Grand Necromancer is located.

(UPDATE (1/27/11): See also my quick note on completing a cryptogram.)

Tutorial: Mission Battles

This entry is written entirely from my personal experience or those of friends.  If a battle's not here, I haven't done it yet.

All battles require a full clan of 501, and your chances are greatly increased if you've done a recent powers check!

Mission battles provide heads as trophies, located in your Catacombs.

Eliminate the Slayer Chapter 1/5 Act 2/2 : "You thought it was a silly notion: a mere mortal killing Vampires... but it is true. Now you have been instructed to hunt and kill this "slayer". It will be no easy task, but you must complete it."

Costs 12 Energy, 10 Clan, 1 Rage per hit.

You probably will NOT be able to complete this mission when you first open it. Bypass it and come back to it. Common advice is to wait until you have 65 for Attack and Defense and 12-15 Rage.  I did it with 62 Defense and 65 Attack and 15 Rage.  One elder recommends a minimum of 60 Defense (Drakul's Armor can bump you up) and 65 Attack (Fists of Caine can bump you up), and 12 Rage.
Must be killed four times to master the mission.

Slaughter a gang leader Chapter 3/4 Act 2/2: "Sometimes the only way to sever a threat is by taking a head. You don't mind... it's one of your favorite pastimes. This time it will be the head of the gang leader. That should stop them."

 Costs 32 Energy, 30 Clan, 1 Rage per Hit.

You probably will NOT be able to complete this mission when you first open it.  Bypass it and come back to it.  I've heard you need a minimum of 120 each for Attack and Defense, and 13-15 Rage.  I barely beat him a single time with 111 each in Attack and Defense, 100 Health, 30 Energy (I had collected off a shout-out box to get to the required 32), and 15 rage. I killed him the fifth time (it was still close!), with 123 attack and 129 defense at level 59, taking about 11 of my rage, and right after an energy BBE to get to 32 energy (BBE explained a bit here and a bit here).
Must be killed five times to master the mission.

Battle the Lycan Leader Chapter 2/3 Act 3/3: "It's [sic] giant frame looms before you, angry and snarling... but you fear not. Should you only conquer this ferocious creature, your place in the vampire legends is assured!"

Costs 45 Energy, 100 Clan, 1 Rage per Hit, 10 Lightning Speed.

This is unlocked when you have completed "Ambush the Lycans Chapter 2/3 Act 2/3," which costs 40 energy and 100 clan itself.  Not having the required energy to have even unlocked it yet, I haven't completed it myself.  A respected elder tells me it requires at least 220 Lightning Speed.  One of my Northman sisters was able to beat the Lycan Leader while she was in the mid-60s with an attack of 130, a defense of 134, and 15 rage.  She reports that it was a close call, though!
Must be killed six times to master the mission.

Tutorial: Common Acronyms/Abbreviations

There are hundreds of common chat acronyms and abbreviations that come up online.  There are guides to these all over the place, but here are ones that are specific to or seem to come up a lot in the VDS community.  (Note: A well-constructed Google search can often define an acronym if you're not familiar with it - or you can just ask!)

VDS - Vampires: The Darkside (hopefully you know this one!)
FB - Facebook
HL - the hit list (HLer for hit lister (one who puts others on the hit list), also verb forms, like "to HL someone" or "I was HLed")
SC - self claim (HLing someone and claiming your bounty yourself)
FL - fight list
OMW - on my (FB) wall (as in "rage posted omw")
RTF- return the favor
BBE - black blood exchange (used as a noun to refer to the process and also as a noun to refer to your black blood exchange partner as in "Fehu is my BBE;" also used as a verb as in "He BBEed me"); likewise, BB is black blood
FR - friend request (FS - friend suggestion)
CR - clan request
PM  - private message (the term for sending a message to someone in FB; can be used as a verb as in "PM Therese to join her VDS family!")  ;-)

TY - thank you (or TYVM for thank you very much)
YW - you're welcome (or YVW for you're very welcome)
NP - no problem

LOL - laughing out loud
ROFL - rolling on the floor laughing
LMAO - laughing my a** off
PMSL - pissing myself laughing
(combinations also common, for example: PMSLMAO or ROFLMAO)

WEG - wicked/wide evil grin

IMO - in my opinion
IMHO - in my humble opinion

FTW - for the win
BRB - be right back
AFK - away from keyboard
AFAIK - as far as I know
ATM - at the moment
TTYL - talk to you later
TTFN - ta ta for now
G2G - got to go
W2G or WTG - way to go

Feel free to add more in comments!

Tutorial: Fighting Etiquette

(My basic fighting, hit list, banking, and healing tutorial is here.)

Fighting etiquette is VERY controversial.  I should begin by being very clear that there are NO rules in VDS.  That truth - which you should never forget - notwithstanding, some conventions have surfaced.  Ignoring them is entirely your prerogative, though you should expect to earn a reputation if you make it a habit.

Note: I might discuss my personal thoughts on some of these conventions elsewhere (such as in opinion pieces); but this is a tutorial, so I will try hard not to pass judgement.  My purpose here is honestly just to try to put new vamplings in the know!

Clan cannot be attacked unless HLed.

"Whining," i.e. complaining, when you are killed is considered bad form, as is asking higher-tier vampires (such as elders or your sire) to fight your battles for you.  The better course of action is to bide your time until you are strong enough to take your enemies out yourself!  Many people also try to form "truces" by becoming friends/clan - that way the game won't let you attack each other (unless your clannie is put on the Hit List - then s/he's fair game for anyone who can claim her/him!).  You are, of course, not required to clan someone you attack just because they don't like being killed, but clanning someone can be a good faith way to end a heated dispute, and not clanning can sometimes send the signal that you don't want a peaceful resolution (HOWEVER not everyone agrees with this; understandably, some people have no interest in friending/clanning someone they've had a big dispute with!). 

It is considered bad form to fight below your tier, such as to retaliate against someone who killed or KOed a friend or childe (unless there has been incontrovertible bullying going on, and, even then, discussing it privately with the person is the best first step, and there are other options too before attacking).  It is considered bad form to attack an enemy's innocent friends, childe, family, or BBE partners just to get at them.  In addition, generally, you are expected to try to fight only off the Fight List (meaning you're not expected to target specific people repeatedly absent adequate provocation), and to try not to kill the same person more than three times in a single day (although, if they kill or HL you, killing them again in retaliation on a one-to-one, tete-a-tete basis is considered fair).   Ganging up on a person, even only amongst those in the target's tier, is bad form as well; as my VDS mom says, "Sometimes it's inadvertent and coincidental, but it should never be planned."

Again, plenty of these rules are not universally-accepted, though they are very common.  In the event you are being ganged up on or bullied, killed by people above your tier, etc, private negotiations are a good first step.  If those appear to have failed, try getting advice from an elder or a sire as to how to proceed.  Some times elders/sires will try to step in to negotiate, or sometimes people bring disputes to the developers (only do this if you have experienced abuse (TOS) - remember, the devs will only remind you that there are no rules if you come to them basically just to whine), or bring disputes to groups that have designated themselves to adjudicate such matters (though some players see these groups as "taking justice into their own hands" or as trying to enforce fictional rules, so they are also not uncontroversial).

Sometimes people bring disputes to the public discussion boards to get the opinions of the larger community, but I'll take a quick moment to highly recommend against this, as bringing private matters up in public almost always results in misunderstandings, miscommunications, he-said/she-said matches, side-taking, and arguing.  In short, it often leaves a huge social mess that others have to work hard to clean up.  A better course of action, if you desire community input, might be a hypothetical post about the situation, and even then, remember to express yourself clearly, respect people's opinions, and to try not to get goaded into behaving badly - posts on the board are public, and throwing a fit there reflects badly on you!

Expect retaliation.  :)

Aside: Hit-Listing Etiquette:  There is, of course, controversy here too.  Some people never Hit List, some only Self-Claim, others Hit List only on a tete-a-tete basis, or Hit List once for each time they are killed or KOed, and finally others are rather inexplicable serial "hit listers" (HLers)!  :)  I think most people tend to Hit List when someone they cannot kill on their own has killed them repeatedly, to send a message.  When someone Hit Lists you, however, it is usually considered fair to retaliate - don't let this surprise you if you HL someone!  While we're speaking of retaliation, however, please know that while it's permissible to fight back against the person who placed the bounty (again, the "hit lister"), it is considered very bad form to retaliate against (or whine at) the bounty-hunter who claimed the bounty (the one who did the actual killing).  "Relaying," the practice of hit listing another player while giving a friend advanced knowledge so they can claim the bounty, is also frowned upon, particularly when it's done spitefully and obviously (though note that sometimes what looks like relaying to others is, in fact, done inadvertently and coincidentally).

Tutorial: Fighting, the Hit List, and Town (Healing and Banking)

VDS is a Fight Game.  The strategy of the game, the purpose of all the aspects of the game, is ultimately for the purposes of earning and managing the skill points, powers, and items that will make you a more formidable opponent in fights.  Therefore, all of the tutorials on this blog have elements relevant to fighting, and this tutorial will just focus on the basics of actual combat itself.

Get used to getting killed/KOed (knocked out), and attacked - please try to take it with good humor!  Nevertheless, getting attacked naturally gets under some people's skin, so the subject of attacking can quickly become controversial.  I'll try to give you the lay of the land with neutrality.  :)   Note that each time you are killed, you will lose 10 XP, but this won't happen when you are KOed.  Note also that you can see all attacks on you, including the player's name and the result, in your Information Feed on your Home page in VDS.

Fight Button

Attacking:  You can attack from three places: (1) off the "Fight List," which is found on the Fight page of VDS, (2) directly from someone's sanctum/profile in VDS, by clicking the "Fight" button, and (3) from the Hit List (HL), if trying to claim the bounty.  Vampires above the 10-19 tier cannot attack childe (levels 12 and under).

Generally, it takes several "hits," several individual clicks of the Fight or Attack Again buttons, to end a fight in a "kill" or "knock out."   People unfortunately often use the word "Fight" to refer both to an individual hit/click, as well as to refer to the series of hits that lead to a kill/KO, which leads to some confusion.

Fight List

Fight List:  The "fight list" is what appears when you click over to the "Fight" page in VDS.  It is a fairly random list of a certain number of vampires in your tier, and gives you the vampire's clan, level, bloodline, age, and trinity alignment.  Tiers are defined by levels, 1-9 is the first tier, then 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, etc (until you become a master, which is one tier from levels 70-89; all elders, levels 90 and up, are also their own tier).  Your fight list will include both other "real" vampires like yourself and dummy/bot vampires (some people choose to fight only or primarily dummies/bots).  Generally when you first enter a tier, and while you are in the early levels of a tier, you can expect to get your butt handed to you on a regular basis (this is a good time to stick to fights with bots and with the Trinity!), but as you rise in a tier, you should be able to win more often. (An exception to this is levels 10-19 and 20-29. My VDS mom says, "There is no significant change from 13-25 in difficulty. Level 25 is the first level where a vamp finds himself at the bottom of the food chain.")  If you find you are losing a lot when you think you should be winning more, it's time for you, and/or a more experienced player you trust, to check your skill points allocation and powers. Watch your health while you fight!; it is entirely possible to KO yourself or commit suicide otherwise.

Fighting etiquette is very controversial, and will be discussed in a different tutorial, and perhaps in some op eds.  For now, just remember that there are no rules to how you fight in VDS, and that though certain conventions have evolved, they are not always universally accepted.

Hit List: When a player is ticked off at another vampire one option is to put them on the Hit List (we call this being "Hit Listed" or "HLed").  This is commonly (though not exclusively) used when, for example, you are not strong enough to take out a vampire yourself.

To do this, you must go to a player's sanctum/profile, and click "Hit List."  This will take you to the interface where you set a "bounty" - the amount of blood you will pay out for the kill.  The game will automatically default to the lowest amount you can hit list for, but you can increase it as high as you like.  Then set the bounty, and the person's name will appear on the Hit List (though if the vampire is "already dead," meaning his/her health is already very low, you cannot HL them).  Hit listed players usually go down FAST.  Your information feed on the "Home" page will show you who collected your bounty (and also shows when a bounty has been claimed on you!).  You can also "Self-Claim," which means you Hit List someone you know you can kill yourself, then claim your own bounty yourself (you have to be fast to claim it yourself before someone else does!).   Those who regularly surf the Hit List to collect bounties are known as "bounty hunters."

Interestingly, there are actually two separate hit lists.  The one you see depends on what server you happen to be on.  (You can't see both hit lists unless you have the relic known as the Eye of Providence.)  Therefore, if someone places a bounty on someone else you won't be able to see the listing unless you are on the same server, so you cannot claim the bounty (unless you have advance notice of the HLing and kill the target directly from their sanctum/profile; this is called "relaying," and is discussed in the etiquette tutorial.)

(Aside: People also use HLing to do "blood transfusions," which is when a player places a very large bounty on an easily killed bot/dummy vamp intended for another specific player to collect.  This practice is the only way to give your blood to another player, but it's oten tricky; it must be very well-timed to prevent some random third-party from collecting the bounty!  Doing blood transfusions where at least one of the two of you is experienced in the procedure will increase your chances of success, because then one person can talk the other though the intricacies of the process.)

Success!

Town: Banking:  For every time you hit someone and lose, and for every time someone hits you and you lose (you are notified of this in your information feed on the Home page of VDS), you are at risk of losing un-banked blood to your opponent.  The one way to avoid getting blood beaten out of you is by banking regularly!  You bank on the Town page.  Each time you bank, you lose 10% of your blood to fees.  Some activities (like healing) will automatically withdraw against your banked blood, but others (like purchasing powers and slaves) require you to withdraw blood manually from the bank before the blood can be spent.

Healing after a KO

Town: Healing:  When your vampire is killed, KOed, or injured, s/he can be healed in town for a blood fee.  Heals are performed in Town.  The blood, if banked, will be automatically withdrawn for the process.  You generally cannot heal twice in a 60 second period - the game will tell you you have to wait.  Many players keep their healing page open in one browser window or tab while they fight in the other, so they can try to heal before suffering a death or KO.

Tutorial: Relics

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Finding a FoC

Relics are items that are randomly granted during fights.  You won't generally find them as a brand new vamp, but you will start finding them in time.  Lasting an hour each, they provide benefits or boosts to various of your skills temporarily.  Any relic found by a childe is also granted to his/her sire for the same time period.  There's a list of the relics across the top of the Fight page that you can hover your mouse over for quick info.  This is also where relics you presently have, and their timers, show up.  At present, there are 7 relics.

The FAQ button in the top right of the game also has great detailed information on each relic, reproduced for your convenience after the jump (click any of the pics to enlarge them).

Tutorial: On the Dark Trinity/Black Blood

The Dark Trinity vamps in VDS are Caine, Lillith, and Andilaveris.

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They are available on the Bloodrise page.  To get there, go to Fight, then Bloodrise (towards the top-ish and just to the right of where it says "Fight").  Each member has a picture, with options to Align, Fight, go to Missions, and Publish.

You want to Align yourself (again, on the Bloodrise area under the Fight tab) with one of them (any one, it doesn't matter) ASAP. This means you can start accumulating black blood.

You accumulate black blood while aligned towards filling a small vial (1 million black blood is needed to fill each of these) and the small vials are then emptied into the large vial to the right side of the Bloodrise page. Every small vial you fill gets you a black blood slave (which you can see on your Slaves page), which are required for upkeep of black blood powers (available on your Powers page).

Assist Request; Click to Enlarge

There are 5 ways to get black blood for your vial - (1) every 12 hours you can (and should!) Publish your Assist request using the "Publish" button under the Trinity member you are aligned with (this makes a post to your wall and your friends' news feeds so that clannies can help you add black blood to your vial; people refer to these requests and assists as "squirts," because, whenever someone assists you, your information feed on the VDS Home page says they have "just assisted you with a squirt.....of black blood"),

Squirts... of black blood.

(2) when you attack other vamps of the Fight List, you get a little black blood for attacking anyone aligned with the other two Trinity members (the pic to the left of their names shows you who they are aligned with; if it's a grey symbol they're not aligned), (3) doing Trinity missions (a new book appears on your Missions tab as soon as you Align), (4) attacking the other 2 Trinity members (see below), (5) Assisting other vampires aligned with the same Trinity member as you (if you "click to assist" your friends, and they are aligned with the same Trinity member, you get a small amount of blood for your vial, too).

The Big Vial (Offering Vial): Filling a small vial with 1,000,000 blood automatically empties it into the big vial.  Buying black blood powers will lower the level in the big vial.  It takes 10 small vials (10,000,000 black blood) to fill the big vial. The one time I filled my big vial, I got a reward Sanctum (a "skin," basically) called "The Black Hall."

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Attacking the Trinity: On the Bloodrise page, after you have chosen an Alignment, hit Attack to go to a Trinity member's Sanctum, where you can Attack Andy, Lillith, or Caine. Each attack costs 1 Rage, just like attacking other vamps off the Fight List.  You can Attack either of the two Trinity members with whom you are not aligned. You'll lose - hard (I usually am dead/KOed every 3-4 hits to the Trinity if I don't heal first, for example) - but you get black blood for every hit and have a chance to get blood and rare powers. The powers are VERY worth it.  You get a couple thousand black blood for each hit, so it's also a nice way to top off your vials at the end when the Missions are used up(closed out) and your vial-filling is slow going. :)  Kills, KOs, and losses you suffer at the hands of the Trinity do NOT count against you in your stats.

(Aside: What is Biting? Biting is just to make a statement to players in the game usually - it does 1 damage, requires 1 rage, and there are no benefits that you can win per se.  Also, if they happen to have Blood Poison, you're a goner.  Biting the Trinity will ALWAYS give you blood poisoning!  So attacking is what you want - like off the Fight List; you will get the whole fight dialogue, the black blood, the chance for goodies, and all the other "benefits" (like having your a$$ handed to you by the Trinity...).)

Tutorial: VDS Relationships: Clan, Sire, Bloodlines, BBEs, and Families

Clan Members Tab

"Clan"refers to  players who you choose to accept into your VDS clan through the game.  You must be FB "friends" to clan, but you don't automatically join clans with all FB friends - you have to accept them into your clan in the game.   You cannot Fight vamps in your clan, but all others are fair game.  (For this reason, I recommend being both friends AND clan with people or neither friends NOR clan -- not being friends but not clan; it's just more peaceful that way.)  If you "de-friend" someone on FB, you must also "de-clan" them in the game; the process is not automatic.  You can manage your clan on the Clan page (more about that in the clan tutorial).

"Bloodlines" are dictated when you first enter the game by whomever is designated as your sire.  You are the same bloodline as your sire.  There are four - Varaco, Nosferatu ("Nozzies"), Gayal, and Muroni.  You can attack people of the same bloodline - in fact, your bloodline is, for practical purposes, immaterial except if there is a "Blood War" (this is a game-wide event where different Bloodlines fight each other for a limited period of time - but don't worry about this yet).  Some people are very loyal to their Bloodline, will not attack others of the same Bloodline on their Fight Lists, and will only clan with those of the same bloodline.  But, for most people, being in the same clan is more relevant.  (Bloodlines are also relevant to powers; a power with your bloodline symbol beside it is worth +1 to attack and defense.)

There are also two "sub-bloodlines" now.  Sub-bloodlines, or Houses, happen when a single person manages to sire 500+ players.  They become "regents" and earn their own House designation and icon, displayed on all their descendent's walls (childe, grandchilde, you name it).  As of this writing, there are only two Houses, the House of Northman of which my VDS mom and dad, Lisa and Eric, are co-regents, and House of Letalis, of which the regent is Darla the Deadly.  If your sire is of either of these Houses, so will you be.

Your "Sire" is the person who invited you to VDS first.  Ideally, your sire is an active player who can help you in the game!   If no one invites you, or in other circumstances, you might be assigned a "Trinity" sire, meaning you get Lillith, Andilaveris, or Caine as a sire - these are sim characters, not real players. Those you sire are your "childe."  (More about Sire/Childe elsewhere.)

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Your "BBE Partner" means "Black Blood Exchange" partner.  When you are "20 years" old in the game (every day that you sign into VDS you age one "year" in the game), you are old enough to partake in a black blood exchange. This is a once-every-24-hours process where either you or your chosen partner (another player of your choosing) clicks on the "BBE" button on the other's sanctum for a full Rage or Energy refill.  Both partners do not need to be online at the time, and if your meter is already full, a BBE will double it.  People usually pick a time of day and take turns clicking the other's button every other day.   It is considered VERY bad form to click someone's BBE button without permission.  It is often considered somewhat intimate, though of course plenty of just-friends platonicly BBE each other too.

Sometimes there are VDS "families."  This usually has to do with having a common sire/ancestor.  For example, the Northman family (of which I am a "daughter") is composed of those of us who have either Lisa Spanky Northman ("mom"!) or Eric Northman Longspery ("dad"!) as a sire.  (My childe are even considered "grandchilde" by Lisa and Eric.)  It is usually conventional to always allow family members into your clan and to help teach each other about the game.  Not all players consider themselves part of a "family" with their sire or his/her other childe, and you needn't take part if you're not interested, but for many (like myself) having and participating in a VDS family is a very fulfilling experience.  If you are looking for such an experience, let us know.

Tutorial: Powers

BB and Common Powers; Click to Enlarge

Powers are abilities for your vampire that add to your character's Attack and Defense and are necessary to your ability to fight.  Powers come every 5-10 levels.  They come in three categories on three different tabs on your Powers page: Mental, Physical, and Supernatural.  There are 3 sub-categories of powers as well - Common, Rare, and Black Blood (BB) - and you will have the possibility to have Normal Mental powers, Rare Mental powers, Black Blood Mental powers, and so on.  Common powers are those listed below, those you can purchase normally.  Black Blood powers top your powers list on your Powers page - they require black blood to purchase, and black blood slaves to sustain (see my other post for information on acquiring black blood, black blood slaves, etc).
 

Finding a Rare Power

Rare powers are found during some missions or randomly during fights with other vamps (dummy or real) or against the Trinity (see my other post for information on fighting the Trinity); they may have upkeep, but as a general rule you should never sell rare powers to adjust your blood-flow - they are too valuable, and you cannot get them back except by hoping you will find them randomly again!  Rare powers can also be purchased with Favor Points (FP). Rare powers that you have will appear below your list of Normal powers on your Powers page.  

Rare Powers; Click to Enlarge

Powers' costs do NOT increase the more you purchase.  "Upkeep" indicates how much of your blood flow (from slaves you have acquired) will be tapped to sustain the power.  It is possible to over-buy powers and get your blood flow in the negative - this can quickly become a disaster! - so be VERY careful never to let your blood flow become negative.  

Note the symbols next to various powers, especially Supernatural powers; several of these correspond to your vampire bloodline.  I and my childe are, and my brothers/sisters are likely to be, of the Varaco bloodline; the corresponding symbol is the star.  You don't need to buy any Supernatural powers that don't have your symbol, unless required for a Mission. 

See this Powers Calculation page for more advanced info.

LEVEL 1
Physical
Fangs; Attack: 2; Cost: 300; Defense: 1; Upkeep: 0
Claws; Attack: 3 Cost: 400; Defense: 1; Upkeep: 0
Accelerated Healing; Attack: 2; Cost: 600; Defense: 4; Upkeep: 0
Mental
Presence; Attack: 1; Cost: 200; Defense: 1; Upkeep: 0
Cause Confusion; Attack: 1; Cost: 300; Defense: 2; Upkeep: 0
Supernatural
Shadow Manipulation; Attack: 1; Cost: 400; Defense: 3; Upkeep: 0
Sense Evil; Attack: 3; Cost: 400; Defense: 1; Upkeep: 0
Rat Form; Attack: 2; Cost: 400; Defense: 2; Upkeep: 0
Cloak of Shadows; Attack: 2; Cost: 400; Defense: 2; Upkeep: 0

LEVEL 5
Mental
Charisma; Attack : 3 Cost : 1850; Defense : 3 Upkeep : 0

LEVEL 10
Physical
Ear of the Bat; Attack: 4; Cost: 4000; Defense: 4; Upkeep: 80
Cat-Like Reflexes; Attack: 4; Cost: 5000; Defense: 6; Upkeep: 115
Supernatural
Summon Wolf Pack; Attack: 4; Cost: 4500; Defense: 5; Upkeep: 90
Premonition; Attack: 4; Cost: 5000; Defense: 6; Upkeep: 100
Drain Lifeforce; Attack: 6; Cost: 5000; Defense: 4; Upkeep: 100
Earth Meld; Attack: 5; Cost: 5000; Defense: 5; Upkeep: 100

LEVEL 15

Mental

Temptation; Attack : 4; Cost : 8750; Defense : 5; Upkeep : 280

LEVEL 20

Physical

Eye of the Eagle; Attack : 7; Cost : 11000; Defense : 4; Upkeep : 315

LEVEL 25

Supernatural

Rat Swarm; Attack : 9; Cost : 17000; Defense : 8; Upkeep : 510

Bone Manipulation; Attack : 7; Cost : 16000; Defense : 9; Upkeep : 480

Summon Wraiths; Attack : 9; Cost : 16000; Defense : 7; Upkeep : 480

Invisibility; Attack : 8 Cost : 16000; Defense : 8 Upkeep : 480

Mental

Hypnotic Amnesia: Attack : 3 Cost : 12000; Defense : 7 Upkeep : 275

LEVEL 30

Mental

Telepathy; Attack : 5 Cost : 18250; Defense : 3 Upkeep : 675

LEVEL 35

Physical 
Fortitude; Attack : 8 Cost : 34000; Defense : 9 Upkeep : 850

LEVEL 45

Supernatural

Create Illusion; Attack : 11 Cost : 40000; Defense : 9 Upkeep : 1000

Sense Vitality: Attack : 10 Cost : 38000; Defense : 9 Upkeep : 950

Rock Form: Attack : 10 Cost : 36000; Defense : 8 Upkeep : 900

Bat Form: Attack : 10 Cost : 40000; Defense : 10 Upkeep : 1000

Mental

Iron Will; Attack : 8 Cost : 82500; Defense : 9 Upkeep : 1000

Corrupt Mind; Attack: 12 Cost : 95250; Defense : 7 Upkeep : 1100

Physical

Silent Movement; Attack : 9 Cost : 90000; Defense : 10 Upkeep : 1050

Impervious: Attack : 12 Cost : 145250; Defense : 14 Upkeep : 1325

LEVEL 55

Mental

Cause Dementia: Attack : 10 Cost : 120000; Defense : 14 Upkeep : 1350

Supernatural

Project Agony: Attack : 14 Cost : 125000; Defense : 11 Upkeep : 1500

Astral Travel: Attack : 14 Cost : 135000; Defense : 13 Upkeep : 1620

Time Manipulation: Attack : 13 Cost : 130000; Defense : 13 Upkeep : 1560

Feeding Frenzy: Attack : 15 Cost : 135000; Defense : 12 Upkeep : 1620

LEVEL 60

Physical

Lightning Speed: Attack : 15 Cost : 260350; Defense : 9 Upkeep : 1645

LEVEL 65

Mental

Precognition; Attack : 16 Cost : 300000; Defense : 18 Upkeep : 2650

Supernatural

Insect Swarm: Attack : 17 Cost : 335000; Defense:16 Upkeep : 2375

Blood Sweat: Attack : 18 Cost : 345000; Defense : 17 Upkeep : 2545

Summon Demon: Attack : 18 Cost : 360000; Defense : 17 Upkeep : 2500

Control Storm: Attack : 17 Cost : 330000; Defense : 16 Upkeep : 2390

LEVEL 70

Physical

Strength of 10; Attack : 16 Cost : 375000; Defense : 17 Upkeep : 1750

LEVEL 90
Physical
Decapitate; Attack: 18; Cost: 377000; Defense: 19; Upkeep: 1900
Mental
Reflect Unlife; Attack: 19; Cost: 302000; Defense: 19; Upkeep: 2550
Supernatural
Vampiric Transformation; Attack: 19; Cost: 332000; Defense: 18; Upkeep: 2470

LEVEL 125
Physical
Portray Insanity; Attack: 18 Cost: 575000; Defense: 21 Upkeep: 2000