Vampires Live Game Basics and FAQ What is Vampires Live? Vampires Live is a MMO developed by Storm 8 that is available from the iTunes store for the iPhone and Touch. How much does it cost? Vampires Live is currently free. What is the objective of the game? There are no predefined objectives for the game. It is up to each player to set their own goals and objectives. This can take many forms including: Character Level Abilities Fight Record Income Missions etc. What are the different character classes available? Your character class is chosen at the very beginning of the game. It can only be changed through Loyalty Points or resetting your character. Berserker: Regenerates Health Faster Overlord: Earns Blood Faster Daywalker: Regenerates Energy Faster Character Status Indicators On your main screen, you will see indicators of your character's current condition. (1) Blood: The amount of Blood you currently have (not including amount in the bank). (2) Experience: Your current experience points and the number required to reach the next level. (3) Level: Your characters current Level. (4) Health: Health is an indication of your character's current health status. It goes down whenever you attack or are attacked by another player. If it falls under 27 you are unable to attack or be attacked by other players. (5) Energy: Energy is used to complete Missions. It is automatically regenerated on a timer. (6) Frenzy: Frenzy is used when you initiate an attack against another player. Each attack requires one frenzy point. It is automatically regenerated on a timer. Game Timers Vampies Live is a real time MMO that continues to run even when you are not actively playing. Each time a particular game timer counts down to 0, it starts over again. I refer to this as one cycle. Game timers continually regenerate your Health, Energy and Frenzy points up to their maximum. You will also receive your current Blood Flow Income every cycle. (1) Blood Flow Timer: Receive your income every 60 minutes for Berserkers and Daywalkers. Every 50 minutes for Overlords. (4) Health Timer: Regenerate 1 point every 2 minutes for Berserkers, 3 minutes for Overlords and Daywalkers. (5) Energy Timer: Regenerate 1 point every 4 minutes for Daywalkers, 5 minutes for Berserkers and Overlords. (6) Frenzy Timer: Regenerate 1 point every 2 minutes for all character classes. Character Level and Experience What are the benefits of increasing my Level? Every time you increase your character level, you will gain: 3 Additional Skill Points Ability to use 5 additional clan members when fighting Full recharge of your Health, Energy and Frenzy An increase in level may also: Unlock additional Missions Unlock additional Slaves Unlock additional Abilities How do I increase my Character's Level? Your level is increased by earning experience points. Each level has an increasing experience point requirement. How do I earn Experience? You can earn experience by completing missions, successfully attacking another player or successfully defending an attack by another player. Skills There are five types of skills: Attack: Increases your ability to attack other players. Initially begins at 1. Defense: Increases your ability to defend attacks by other players. Initially begins at 1. Max Energy: Increases your maximum Energy points. Initially begins at 10. Max Health: Increases your maximum Health points. Initially begins at 100. Each additional skill point increases your Health by 10. Max Frenzy: Increases your maximum Frenzy points. Initially begins at 3. Requires 2 skill points to increase by 1. How do I increase my Skills? Every time your character increases one level, 3 additional skill points are available for you to allocate as you wish. Once a skill point is allocated, it cannot be changed. Blood, Income and Slaves Blood is the equivalent of money in the game. It is used to Buy Abilities, Slaves and Heal. How do I earn Blood? Blood can be earned by completing missions, successfully attacking another play and owning slaves.  Slaves Slaves are the primary source of Blood (Income) in the game. Each slave that you buy (Enslave) adds to your Blood Flow. Each additional slave of the same type costs 10% more than the previous slave of the same type. Additional slave types become available as you increase your Character Level. They can be sold (Kill) for 50% of their original purchase price. Blood Flow (Income) Blood flow is an indication of how much blood you earn every cycle depending on your character class. Each Slave provides a specific Income that is added to your Blood Flow Income. Upkeep costs are automatically subtracted from your Income. Abilities Abilities fall under 3 categories (Physical, Sensory, Transformations) and are used by your character and Clan members when attacking or defending against other players. They can be bought (Learn) with blood and sold (Unlearn) for 50% of the original purchase price. Some abilities have an Upkeep amount. Additional abilities become available as you increase in Level. Each member of your Clan uses (if available) 1 Physical, 1 Sensory and 1 Transformation ability whenever you fight. The best available ability (for either attacking or defending) will automatically be used. Extra abilities in excess of this number are not taken into account. Upkeep Some abilities have an Upkeep requirement. This upkeep amount is automatically deducted from your Income every cycle (either 50 minutes or 60 minutes depending on class). If you do not have enough income to cover your upkeep costs (negative income) then your abilities will be automatically sold every cycle until your income turns positive again. Missions Missions are one way to earn experience and blood. They each have individual requirements in terms of Energy, Clan Size, Abilities and Level. Additional missions are unlocked depending on your character's level. Fighting By fighting other players, you can earn experience points and blood. You must have a minimum of 27 health and 1 frenzy point to initiate an attack. You can also be attacked as long as you have a minimum of 27 health whether or not you are online. It is important to understand the way fighting works in order to successfully attack another player or defend against an attack. Attacking Whenever you initiate an attack against another player, the game takes into account a number of factors: Your Attack Skill, Opponent's Defense Skill, Your Attack Abilities, Opponent's Defense Abilities, and Clan Size for both players. Winning a fight will earn you experience points and blood (depending on how much unbanked blood your opponent has). Losing a fight will earn you 0 experience points and 0 blood. Your Attack Skill: Only your personal attack skill level is taken into account. The attack skills of your Clan members are not used. Opponent's Defense Skill: Only your opponents personal defense skill level is taken into account. The defense skills of their Clan members are not used. Your Attack Abilities: Each of your clan members can use up to 1 Physical, 1 Sensory and 1 Transformation ability. The abilities with the highest attack score in each category will be automatically used. Your Opponent's Defense Abilities: Each of your opponent's available clan members can use up to 1 Physical, 1 Sensory and 1 Transformation ability. The abilities with the highest defense score in each category will be automatically used. Clan Size: You can only use up to 5 times your character level in Clan Members. Members in excess of this limit are not used. This also applies to your opponent. Defending Similar to attacking with the factors being: Your Defense Skill, Opponent's Attack Skill, Your Defense Abilities, Opponent's Attack Abilities and Clan Size for both players. Successfully defending an attack will earn you experience points but no blood. Example: If I am level 5, I can only bring up to 25 Clan Members, 25 Physical Abilities, 25 Sensory Abilities and 25 Transformation Abilities into each fight. This applies even if I have 100 members and 100 of each ability. If my opponent is level 6, they can only bring up to 30 Clan Members, 30 Physical Abilities, 30 Sensory Abilities and 30 Transformation Abilities into each fight. My Clan and Recruiting Clans play an important role in Vampires Live. Clan members are used whenever you fight. The maximum number of clan members used in each fight is equal to 5 times your current level. For example, if you are level 10 then up to 50 clan members are used whenever you attack or defend. Extra clan members are not taken into account. Clan Code This is a code unique to each player. It is used to recruit other members into your clan. Recruit You can invite other players into your clan if you know their Clan Code. Alternatively, other players can invite you if they enter your personal Clan Code. These invitations must be manually accepted or rejected. My Clan Here you can view the members in your clan and (optionally) remove them. Loot Items Loot items are special items that cannot be purchased within the game. They can be randomly earned by completing specific missions. They can take the form of items that are prerequisites for specific missions or abilities that can be used by your clan. Looted items can be sold. Occasionally, Storm 8 provides special Loot items that can be unlocked by installing products from the iTunes store. Blood Bank You can deposit your current Blood into the blood bank for safe keeping. There is a 10% charge for this service that is automatically deducted. Blood that is in the bank cannot be lost when you are attacked and can be used for Healing. However, it must be taken out of the bank in order to buy abilities and slaves. Healer You can recharge your Health to the maximum at the Healer. Cost depends on your level and must be paid from the bank. Loyalty Points and The Elders Loyalty Points Loyalty points are spent at The Elders and can be purchased through the iTunes store or at http://vampireslive.storm8.com/buy The Elders At the elders, you have the option to use loyalty points for: Blood (10 points). Amount you receive depends on your current income. Refilling Energy, Frenzy or Health (10 points). Automatically recharges selection to maximum. Add 1 clan member (20 points) Change your name (30 points) Change your class (50 points) News Feed Shows a summary of your recent fighting activity and personal comments left on your account. Broadcasts You can broadcast messages to all members of your clan or view messages from your clan members. Comments You can send or receive personal messages from other players through the Comments section. They do not have to be members of your clan. Fighting Overview Fighting against other players is an integral part of Vampires Live and can be a very effective way to gain experience and - to a lesser extent - earn income. In order to be successful at fighting, it is necessary to understand the way it works and how fight results are calculated. There are several factors taken into account in a fight: Clan Size: Number of clan members brought into the fight by each player. Abilities: The attack or defense point value of the abilities used by the clan members in the fight. Skills: The attack or defense skill points of the respective players. Luck: A random chance factor just to keep things interesting. Excess clan members or abilities, income stream, current health (as long as it is 27 or higher) and character level (other than clan size restriction) are not taken into account. Attacking In order to initiate an attack against another, you must have at least 1 Frenzy Point and a minimum of 27 Health. A successful attack generally earns you anywhere from 2 to 5 experience points. Additionally, if your opponent has any unbanked blood, you can earn up to ~2400 * their current character level. A failed attack results in 0 experience but you do not lose any blood. Defending As long as you have 27 health or higher, you can be attacked by another player. A successful defense generally earns you 1 to 2 experience points. You can not earn money by defending. If you lose against an attacker, you can lose up to ~2400 * your current character level in unbanked blood. Calculating Fight Results Although the exact fight formula is unknown, it can be approximated by understanding each of the factors involved in a fight. Definitions: Attack/Defense Points: The total attack/defense point value of the abilities that you bring into a fight. Skill Points: Your character's current attack or defense skill points. Total Attack/Defense Score: The calculated total point value based upon your attack/defense points and skill points. Total Attack Score = Attack Points * (a % of your Attack Skill Points) Total Defense Score = Defense Points * (a % of your Defense Skill Points) Clan Size It is important to remember that you can only bring up to 5x your current level in clan members into any fight. This restriction is enforced both when you are attacking and defending regardless of the level or clan size of your opponent. Example: A Level 10 player with 95 clan members will only use 50 clan members in a fight. Abilities and Attack/Defense Points The number of abilities that you can utilize in a fight is directly tied to the number of clan members that you can bring into the fight. In Vampires Live, each clan member can only use a maximum of 3 abilities (1 of each type). Each of these abilities has an attack and defense point value that is used to calculate your total attack or defense points in a fight. Attack: Used to calculate your Attack points when Attacking Defense: Used to calculate your Defense points when Defending The game automatically uses the best abilities that you own depending on whether you are attacking or defending. When attacking, abilities with the highest attack points are automatically used - the defense points of those abilities are not taken into account. Conversely, when defending, abilities with the highest defense points are automatically used regardless of their attack points. Example: I am level 10 and can bring 50 clan members into a fight. I own 50 Stealth (Atk 2, Def 2) plus 50 Thick Skin (Atk 1, Def 4). When I attack, I will be using the 50 Stealth for a total of 100 (50 * 2) attack points. When I defend, I will be using the 50 Thick Skin for a total of 200 (50 * 4) defense points. This calculated attack or defense point value largely determines the outcome of a fight. The player with the higher value will usually win. Skills Your character's current attack and defense skill points also play a role in fights. Similar to abilities, only your attack skill is used when attacking and only your defense skill is used when defending. Keep in mind that the skills of your clan members do not matter. While the exact formula is unknown, my testing has shown that your skill points serve as a multiplier to your total attack or defense points in a fight.  Example: You have a total of 500 attack points and 10 attack skill points. Your opponent has a total of 450 defense points and 15 skill points. Despite your higher attack points, you have a high chance of losing this fight. Example: You have a total of 500 attack points and 10 attack skill points. Your opponent has a total of 500 defense points and 8 skill points. You will probably win this fight. Luck While the results of most fights are fairly predictable once you understand how attack points and skills are calculated, there is still some randomness involved. It is not uncommon to win 3 fights in a row against an opponent and then lose the next one (all other factors unchanged). This "luck" tends to play a greater role when the two players are closely matched. Opponent Selection To keep things fair, you can generally only fight against players that are similar to you in level and clan size. This restriction does not apply to abilities and skill points. Also, both players must have a minimum of 27 health in order for a fight to take place. Attacking When attacking, you have a significant advantage because you can choose your opponent. By looking at their clan size and abilities, you can predetermine the outcome of most fights. Generally, the attack process begins through the Attack button on the home screen. Pressing this brings up a list of randomly selected opponents that are similar to you in level and clan size (for exceptions, see Open Season). Each of the opponents has their clan size listed and their name can be clicked on to view their profile. This profile screen contains a list of all their abilities. By analyzing this information and comparing it to your own, you should already have a good idea if you can defeat them in a fight. Defending When defending, you can only rely upon having a high total defensive score. Depending on your current income stream, it may make sense to bank your blood to limit your monetary losses if you find that you are losing a high percentage of fights. Also, keeping your health under 27 prevents you from being attacked. Open Season At the higher levels, you may suddenly see your fight list populated with players that fall out of the normal restricted range. This occurs because there are fewer players at the higher levels and the game automatically extends the range of available opponents in order to populate the list. While this may seem unfair, it is a part of the game and occurs because you have leveled faster than the majority of other players. When this occurs, it is recommended that you maximize your clan size and, depending upon your income stream, buy more powerful abilities. This will increase your chances against higher level opponents. Strategy Tips These are some general tips based upon my own experiences: Clan Size It may make sense - especially at the lower levels - to limit the size of your clan rather than maxing it out. This makes sense because it is much cheaper to fully equip a smaller clan with abilities than a larger clan. This also results in reduced upkeep costs and an increased income stream. This effectiveness of this strategy at your current level can be seen by looking at your fight list. If the players on the fight list all have the same clan size (or less) than yourself, then it should be safe to proceed. However, if you see that most opponents have a larger clan size, then you should increase your clan size to at least match theirs. I personally like to start with 9 clan members and only increase the number if absolutely necessary. Remember that building a large income stream - especially at the higher levels - is critical to your long term success. Skill Points In my experience, skill points can play a significant role in a fight. If your strategy is to focus on building income or camping at the earlier levels, I would recommend allocating a greater percentage of your skill points to defense. This will allow you to fend off most attackers even if they have a superior attack score. Abilities (also see the Vampires Live Abilities Guide) It is not always necessary to equip the best available abilities. If you are winning most of your fights with your current abilities, then it may make more strategic sense to not increase your upkeep and allow your income to build at a faster rate. If you are losing to attackers, then focus on buying abilities with the best defense point value. If you are losing when attacking, then focus on buying abilities with the best attack point value. Maximize Your Fighting Potential Because the game allows each clan member (up to 5 per level) to use 1 of each ability type when fighting, you should always make sure that everyone has at least 1 ability from each category that can be utilized in a fight. It does not have to be the best available ability, but they should at least have something to fight with.
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