Ramero quests, Whats the big deal?

[gonin]

I've been reading alot and people have said that it's the hardest quest in the game. But why? All you have to do is beat up some really slow ennemies that can barely defend themselves. Well i have a strategie if you want to hear one. It's pretty basic so bear with me.

1.Get a good blunt weapon (i chose fists or baseball bat)

2.Gun are good but only if you have near perfect accuracy while running.

3.Only target the ones near the gates, or the immenent threats.

4. There arnt really good target places for shooting but at the top of the ramp you have a view of both gates.

5. If you got celerity use it!!! It helps alot and auspex will let you see them at a distance which helps just as much.

My strategy worked perfectly for a mid ranged malk (wasn't too strong but strong enough to fight)

peace,
gonin

[Shizz]

See... the problem is that while you are busy killing zombies at one gate, the other one wil be trashed. First time I did it, I also thought it was ridiculously easy - I've got a theory concerning this. For some reason, the first time in the game that you enter the graveyard, there are either less zombies around or they do less (or no) damage to the gate, not sure which one. So it actually _is_ quite easy. Should you choose to do it at a latter time, though, meaning that you left the graveyard and reentered before doing the quest, it really is almost impossible to do. I might only be imagining this, but I tested that a few times, and it seems to work that way. My advice thus is to do that quest the first time you enter the graveyard, which, I recon, you did? If not, well - I bow to you, sir. ;-)
Anybody got any experience supporting or contradicting that theory?

[Lukeatus]

This is an important quest to accomplish by killing zombies because: You get 3 XP instead of 2 (if you "pimped" for him or "gave him some lovin'" [female]), and also because Romero boosts your Firearms skill by 1 (max 3).

There are 3 "easy" ways of completing this quest:

1.) Celerity 3+
This becomes easy. With Celerity 3 or higher, you arrive at the opposite gate before even the Zombies can get there most of the time.

2.) Dominate 5/ Animalism 5
Simple - when you get to a gate, instead of hacking all the Zoombies hitting at the gate, make them all suicide or have the pestilence destroy them.

3.) High Presence (3/4+)
Use Presence Just a little before arriving at a gate - the zombies will stop for a little while, saving zombie gate-bashing time. While they trance, you kill them, and before arriving at the other gate, do this again. It really helps.

This mission is tough, you have to find the fastest way from 1 gate to the other, and if you don't have the disciplines above, you'll have a hard time. You have to be very time effective and if you get caught by a zombie, forget it, you won't make it. Save before the mission and try again. PS: Purge is useless as the zombies don't vomit....

[Outcast]

Well it would have been nice if the zombies were easy on me to start with. But from the very first time I entered the cemetary and tried this mission they are breaking down those gates like no ones business. I mean I am pulling off some amazing head shots here. I enjoy playing the game for diffiulty so my gangrels disciplines are all at lvl 1 except protean which I was forced to upgrade to two at character creation.

Everytime I get to about a minute left the zombies break down one of the gates. It doesent matter how many I kill. Im not exactly complaining it is a horror fans dream to fight zombies to a stand still with head shots and an axe. But just letting you know the theory seems off cause if it gets any harder then this I gotta say you guys are all much better at this game then I am.

[Lukeatus]

Hey Outcast,

Forget shooting, the best way to to swing your Fire Axe and kill only the ones at the gates, turn your back and go to the other gate. It's the only way. With a Gangrel character you'll have a hard time unless you have Animalism 5 (using pestilence on the Zombies by the gate kills them right away).
Don't shoot them. Instead try having good melee and the fire axe and be quick. Don't stand around on 1 gate - practice the fastest way from 1 gate to the other. Don't kill Zombies unless they're at the gate. Blood Buffing sometimes also helps to kill the zombies by the gate fast, but it costs blood, so having a certain occult item that you receive in the game first helps. (For you to have a nice blood supply to use)
To find out where to get it highlight: (Spoiler) You need an item that keeps the blood from the enemies you have killed - and than you can drink it. You get it from Pisha at the Hospital in Downtown L.A. after you give her an item found at the museum.
Anyway, this mission takes some practice. It is tough. But like I said, if your firearms skill is below 3, you get a free skill point from Romero, plus you keep the rifle and get 3 XP.

[Outcast]

Thanks for the tip on how to get through it. I will try it, right after this post in fact=P One question though. What am I doing wrong with animalism 5 pestilence then? I have pumped up the character to lvl 5 animalism and pestilence rarely kills one guy let alone all of the ones caught in it when I use it. This always happens. Am I doing something wrong or do you think its a bug?

[Lukeatus]

You must use it on the right region. It helps because it creates havock by itself instead of you having to kill them all. However, the only trully easy way to complete this mission is with high celerity.
Animalism 5 really helps, but you still must hurry from 1 gate to the other, go to 1 gate, use pestilence, turn around, go to the other gate, than do the same. If you have the occult item I talked about, it really helps you as you have a nice blood supply to use on the run.
Dominate 5 is much easier to use, (everyone just suicides, even though there's a bug - dead zombies sometimes don't disappear - their bodies die but they stand still anyway, but they can't bash the gate) but animalism 5 is great if you place it right, a lot easier than hacking through them.

[Celacena]

TBH - I have pimped since my first run-through, but first crack at it -
I chose the fire-axe method and almost did it - then got brain-sucked, which stopped me clearing the other gate.
I then tried it with moderate firearms ability, but probably chose the wrong weapon.

If I did it now, I would probably use Auspex + the killmatic on single shot (or the desert eagle). I can usually get head shots, as I practiced at the Giovanni's.
whichever way, it takes a lot more time than pimping - but if I fancy a scrap, I'd use fire-axe and celerity - it isn't always clear how close they are to bashing the gates, so you need to run around and check the other one.
blood buff makes it less likely you'll be put off by sucking.

[Lukeatus]

It's simple -
With 4 minutes left to go, zombies start respawning quick, so you'll have to kill them at 1 gate and go right to the other - do not stand around!!
With 2 minutes left to go, zombie respawning is nearly automatic - you kill one, another respawns. So you have little time - Always just kill the ones at the gate, turn around and go to the other. It's all you can really do.
If I don't have the disciplines I mentioned, I usually just do it with the Fire Axe and blood buff. The zombies killed provide me with blood to use (occult item). It's really tough, but I'm pretty good getting from 1 gate to the other.
I always do it right after I get to hollywood because I always want to get my firearms skill from 2 to 3 right away (you get it to 2 with the books you buy from Trip's Pawnshop). So, firearms 3 with no XP use.
It's a tough mission... I remember it being easy with celerity of course, and with a Ventrue I had dominate 5 - I got to a gate, had every Zombie suicide, than turned away, as soon you get to a gate you make them all die instantly. It's much better than having to hack through them. First time I played I thought it'd be a fun mission where you get to shoot helpless zombies; I quickly learned that it wasn't the case.
Just remember: It really isn't about how many zombies you kill, it is about for how long can you keep the gates from constant bashing (both of them).

[Ozofriendly]

I'm playing a Female Malk with Brawl 4, but even trying to use disciplines to slow things down at the gates (mass hysteria seems to distract the zombies) and blood buff to raise Unarmed to 9, by the time the timer's down to about 1:30 I can't get between the gates quickly enough to stop them.

I honestly don't think I could do it even if I could wipe out the immediate threats in an instant (I've got Ranged 6, but headshots are still way too improbable) because by this time, the zombies are spawning and moving so fast that I can't kill them all and get back to the other gate quickly enough.

I feel that this is a real balance issue. I mean, sure, make the quest difficult, but it has to be achievable, otherwise what's the point? How many times should I keep trying before giving up and giving myself to Romero for the measly 2XP?

I think Shizz may be onto something. Perhaps it's only doable if you try early on where the speed you run might not be the limiting factor in the quest's balance. i.e. you run just as fast, but zombies spawn and move more slowly towards the end of the 5 mins if your fighting stats are still relatively low.

The first time I played this, I was a Male Toreador with Celerity 2, good Melee and the fireaxe, and it was just about achievable.

I wonder if there's a console hack to slow the spawn rate down? I feel a bit cheated.

[Wesp5]

Originally Posted by Ozofriendly

I wonder if there's a console hack to slow the spawn rate down? I feel a bit cheated.

Not that I know off but the spawning rate has been a little bit reduced if you use the unofficial patch.

[Jhereg]

I really don't know about the infatuation with killing zombies for a mere single experience point. I found that pimping gets you 2 plus Firearms up to 3 for the equivalent of 8 xp. I give up the scholarhip boost from Beckett simply because with my play style it's more important to have scholarship to 3 well before I get to the museum, so it simply is not worth the hassle.

In any case, I did try the zombie massacre, and failed miserably at it. I technically could get Dominate to 5 before the graveyard, but the way I distribute my XP generally means I don't manage that until Chinatown.

In any case, I regularly finish the game nowadays with more than $6 large in pocket, so maybe I'll fritter away some of that hard-earned dough and see what I can do with some of the other weaponry available. I don't actually need finance five that early (although it's nice to have), so maybe I'll have a go at Beckett's bonus, too. At worst, it'll short me a few hundred bucks over the life of the game, which isn't a deal-breaker. Even the Jamie Sue can be bought, after all.

However, for those for whom the zombie battle is an immense pain, just don't do it. The single missing XP isn't likely to be missed all that much. You can always come back and try it again later when you have more (game) experience. Even for a Nossie, for whom that is the only option, just blow off Romero entirely - that quest is optional, after all.

[Lukeatus]

Insteresting...
I usually killed the zombies not because of the extra XP point (from 2 to 3), but because of the Firearms boost. I pimped for him and only got 2 XP, no firearm boost. And since I usually have Firearms 2, an extra point really helps. If you can get the Jamie Sue (Rifle) and the firearms help without killing the zombies, then go for it. I find the 6 XP for firearms 3 very helpful.

[themaelstorm]

Had a gangrel with animalism 5 at first. However, pestilence doesn't work perfectly. Well.. didn't. Say, there are 6 zombies near gates, I use it, 3 of them dies, 3 of them are left with some hitpoints so i gotta kill them. Meanwhile, a few spawn around. I used bats and had no blood problem but pestilence usually only killed half of the zombies. I had entered graveyard a few times if that really matters btw. In the end, I wasn't much of a masquarader, neither a humanist so I thought my character wouldn't mind if some zombies were let off and had the quest failed. (had 2 masquarade poo-poos and 3 points of humanity when I finished the game.. with loner ending)


Second time, had a malkavian with firearms but still couldnt do it. Actually, I tried only once then pimped him since it sounded more fun for my character =P

[][_aVey]

Originally Posted by gonin

I've been reading alot and people have said that it's the hardest quest in the game. But why? All you have to do is beat up some really slow ennemies that can barely defend themselves. Well i have a strategie if you want to hear one. It's pretty basic so bear with me.

1.Get a good blunt weapon (i chose fists or baseball bat)

I don't think using a blunt weapon is the answer here, I suggest you go for a bladed weapon as the zombies are weak to those. You can score one-hit kills every now and then.

It's likely that at the time you meet Romero you have the Sledgehammer and the Fire Axe (that is if you haven't completed other quests and you don't have better melee weapons), so you must choose: the increased power of the Sledgehammer or the probability of one-hit kills of the Fire Axe. I would go for the Axe as there is not much of a difference of power between these two weapons.

Originally Posted by Shizz

See... the problem is that while you are busy killing zombies at one gate, the other one wil be trashed. First time I did it, I also thought it was ridiculously easy - I've got a theory concerning this. For some reason, the first time in the game that you enter the graveyard, there are either less zombies around or they do less (or no) damage to the gate, not sure which one. So it actually _is_ quite easy. Should you choose to do it at a latter time, though, meaning that you left the graveyard and reentered before doing the quest, it really is almost impossible to do. I might only be imagining this, but I tested that a few times, and it seems to work that way. My advice thus is to do that quest the first time you enter the graveyard, which, I recon, you did? If not, well - I bow to you, sir. ;-)
Anybody got any experience supporting or contradicting that theory?

It seems your theory is right. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to complete Romero's quest without success, using different tactics but to no avail. I usually play with a Tremere, so that means no Celerity... Recently I played the game again and have firmly decided to pimp for Romero, but I read your post and said: "oh well, I'll try just one time"; I did it on the first try and got one mother****er "Jamie Sue" with a chest full of ammo for it! If anyone can confirm this, it would be very helpful.

Originally Posted by Lukeatus

PS: Purge is useless as the zombies don't vomit....

Nope, Blood Purge for a Tremere is a MUST! Yes, the zombies won't vomit and won't lose health, but they'll be paralized for quite a while for you to slice 'em. This becomes extremely useful at the last two minutes of the quest since you can arrive at one gate with about five zombies over it already and by using Purge you'll be able to kill them all. I just don't know if your own hits damage the gate as well...

Originally Posted by Outcast

Everytime I get to about a minute left the zombies break down one of the gates.

It seems that the game handicaps to your favor at the last minute. When I reached the last minute in the quest, I just killed the zombies going to one gate and left a Blood Purge there as a precaution, then I went to the other gate and forgot completely of the first one, even though I knew there were like a zillion zombies there... Anyway, the first gate resisted for about 40 seconds(!) and I was able to complete the quest. (Something makes me think that the number of zombies restart at both gates when you reach the lower part of the ramp in the graveyard, but it's not confirmed...)

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Now, the best advice I can give you is to learn which ones are the zombies who go directly to the gates and which are the ones that attack you. It appears that at both gates the zombies with a black shirt and long hair, and the blonde ones with a brown suit are the ones going straight to attack the gates. The bald, gray ones (and others) always attack you. Learn where are the spawning points of the first two types and always attack these, never go for the ones who want a taste of your brains.

Hope that helped, C U!