Vampire Hunters & Where to Find Them

Overview

This guide will tell you the approximate spawns of vampire hunters in three of the four main hubs of the game.

1. Introduction & Basis

Hello, people. This guide will be a quick and simple introduction to the Vampire Hunter system & spawn locations in Wesp’s Unofficial patch 9.8.

The short and long of Vampire Hunters (hereby referred to as ‘VH’ for brevity) is that they only appear when the player has suffered two or more Masquerade infractions, with the amount of VH NPC’s spawned increased per amount of Masquerade masks ‘broken. Please note that for the sakes of clarity I have taken these screenshots and analyses on the maximum amount of masks breakable without a game over (4).

VH spawns are set up in such a way that, after the player reloads the hub area (by entering another area then returning, transiting between areas, or going to scripted areas) then Vampire Hunter spawns will take place, and VHs will seamlessly pop into the world In areas like Santa Monica where the map is relatively tight and one would be able to see ‘pop-in’ NPCs, they are scripted to simply spawn as soon as the level loads.

HOWEVER, in levels such as Hollywood and Chinatown, where there are far more sneaky avenues and blind turns, VH spawns are set up so that they will pop into existence in the player’s way when they take certain paths. I’ve tried to memorise how they spawn, so that I can guide you how to avoid running straight into them (or to do exactly that if one wishes), but due to the finicky nature of the spawning I might miss a couple.

Please note that due to the way Vampire Hunter spawns work and lack of prior documentation I may not have covered every individual spawn. If you find another, please leave a comment and I will try to update the guide ASAP.

Downtown L.A. does not have any VH spawns that I was able to find. I believe this is because, in lore, Downtown L.A. is the seat of Camarilla power and the likelihood of a vampire hunter surviving is very low.

2. Santa Monica

The first spawn in Santa Monica is directly outside the Player’s Haven entrance, and is activated upon approaching from Main Street or the hospital, but not if the corner alley next to the hospital is used. On Four Masks, this is comprised of three Hunters — Two with crossbows, one with a torch.

The second spawn in Santa Monica is to the right of Trip’s pawn shop, in a little dark alcove. This, like the previous spawn, is only triggered by passing it via Main Street. This does
despawn the Hunters previously seen outside the player’s apartment, and thus the player can only be chased by three. They are scripted to sprint out and chase the player as soon as they pass, rather than waiting for line of sight.

The third spawn in Santa Monica is right next to the entry to the Blood Bank. Two Hunters, one with a torch, one with a crossbow, will instantly sprint into the alley should the player come around the left of the Asylum. A third will ambush from the right, usually before his two comrades, with a crossbow. This spawn is only if the player misses the fourth spawn and takes the alternate route around, seen next.

The fourth spawn is possibly one of the harshest in the game. When the player exits the Asylum (or approaches it from the diner), to the right of the front door in the alleyway lies three Hunters, one with a torch, two with bows, as usual. Somewhat nefariously, if the player dodges this spawn (intentionally or not) by going the alternate route, they will run into the third spawn, seen above.

These three Hunters are scripted to pop into the world when the player crosses the threshold between Kilpatrick’s building and the chain-link fence of the junkyard. Even if you exit Kilpatrick’s and just mosey on down the street, these arseholes will spawn behind you and sprint into the street, often winging you in the back with a crossbow bolt or shoving a torch where the sun doesn’t shine.

3. Hollywood

(There are no spawns I could find in Downtown L.A, as explained in the intro.)

If the player takes the route behind the Red Spot all the way to the back of the Fast Buck (where the tape buyer is met), then two Hunters will rush into the alley and ambush them. A third also spawns across the road from Vesuvius, but the likelihood of him approaching you before you approach him is very low.

This second spawn is very clever and nefarious. Should the player take the route to the left of the Red Spot through the alleyway, they will run into this lovely lady with a torch. If they attempt to backtrack, then they will blunder straight into this Connor MacLeod looking dork with a crossbow who *blocks ur path* back the way you came. Yowsers! (There doesn’t appear to be a third spawn for this.)

Should the player take the route from behind the big mausoleum (IE coming back from the graveyard, or exiting the Peep Show basement) then this big boy will decide to come out to play immediately to their left at the first gap to the street.

Pressing on to the route toward Vesuvius will let you meet these jolly chaps. Hello! Please don’t make my insides into outsides!!!

4. Chinatown

This first spawn is a doozy. Should the player go through the standard route to Glaze but ignore the club’s entrance door and keep going, then they’ll be beseiged by two of the Belmont family, as per usual. However if they turn around and decide they’re having none’a this and they can’t be doin’ wi’ it, they’ll find themselves beseiged by this jolly feller, who I caught on camera menacing an old bag with his crossbow. Cheeky sod.

I am a saaaad orphan. Give us your gold teeth, you old witch!

This one’s pretty clever, too. If the player goes down this seemingly innocuous alley expecting to be rumbled then one will be sorely disappointed, as it’s just a dead end. However, coming back will end up with the player facing this.

Welcome to Chinatown. The worst part of the game.

And this, the last spawn of the game I’ve found so far, is in the alleyway past the Glaze alley on the route to Zhao’s imports. This is one of those spawns that seems like the player is destined to run into it, as most of the routes lead past this. The only way you’d avoid this is by willingly doing so. Three blokes, two crossbows, one torch.

5. Finale – Hunter Mechanics & How To Avoid Them

This section is text-only and gets a bit wordy, but I highly suggest reading it as it breaks down the mechanics a bit more in-depth…

1. Hunters cannot spawn in the sewers.
2. Hunters primarily spawn in alleyways, but some spawns are set to bleed into the streets.
3. I’ve seen no evidence of vampires hunting the player, despite what some have said. That only happens during the scripted blood hunt at the end of the game.
4. Sticking to the streets is the safest option.
5. Only one hunter squad can be active at one time, but they will endlessly spawn until you buck your masquerade masks back up.

I don’t have a whole breakdown of combat for the Hunters, as I have never organically run into them in a game — this was a project undertaken out of curiosity. I’ve done some rudimentary fighting with them in the makings of this guide, and I’ve fought them, of course, at the Society of Leopold. However fighting in the streets is tricky, as cops and gangsters will try and tan your hide.

Avoiding them, however, is much more simple: Stick to the sewers, avoid known spawns, and generally keep your wits about you. What I can say is that when you trigger one squad of Hunters, no more can spawn until that squad de-spawns, so it may be worthwhile to trigger a squad in one side of the map, quickly break yer arse and run to the other side and do what you need to before they despawn, then hunker down.

If you’ve broken the Masquerade enough to get hunters on you then I honestly suggest getting some redemptions. Or, if you’re doing it willingly for additional difficulty, then you’re braver than me.

I hope this guide has been useful to you. If you like it, please vote it up and add it to your favourites.