The best places to feed, especially for newer vampires are the lowest
security squares possible. To view a square's security level, look at the column of boxes on the left of the grid display (when viewing from desktop) or beneath the grid display (when viewing from mobile). Find the box labeled
SEC. This is the security level of your square.
WHAT IMPACTS SECURITY LEVEL?
BASE SECURITY
Every square has a base security level, which is the security level it rests at without any humans or powers active on the square. The base security varies from square to square, and can differ in even a small area or location, so it's best to be sure of a square's security prior to trying to feed.
HUMANS
Vampire characters feed on humans, which have
this icon if you're using the graphical version of the game. If you're using the text version, they will just be labeled 'Human' in the square you're in. Squares contain any number of humans from none (empty) and up. Every human adds one security to a square, meaning that squares with a lot of humans should not be fed from, as you are more likely to get caught.
POWERS
There are some powers which either impact square security or which make it easier (or harder) to feed in general. Here's a list! Yay list!
- SILENT HUNTER [Shadow Path] - Permanently lowers the security of whatever square you're in (for you only) by 1. Meaning if a square has security 1 and you have Silent Hunter, it drops the effective security level to 0.
- COMMANDER OF DARKNESS [Shadow Path] - Raises or lowers security in a square by a given amount, making it easier or harder to feed accordingly.
- SOMNAMBULISM [Mystic Path] - Expends anima to let you feed from a square of any security level without repercussion.
- LURE HUMAN [Seeker Bridge] - Summons a human to your square, which increases the security by 1 per human. However, if you're in a 0 security square to start off with, it's a great way of getting blood/feeding.
- BLOOD BOOST [Necromancer Path] - Okay, so this one doesn't actually impact security at all, but it gives you 1 blood at the cost of anima. The second level (Blood Boost 2) can be done daily, if need be.
- BEWITCH HUMAN [Allurist Path] - This power gives you a human thrall, which you can move on grid. One of the things you can do with a human thrall is feed from it, though it does increase security level of whatever square it's in, so bear that in mind.
WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
Every time you feed, especially from higher security squares, you have a chance of running into a hunter, who may attack your character before fleeing (you will occasionally get to kill them before they can flee, though this is rare). These hunters can critically wound your character. A critically wounded vampire cannot feed on more than one pint of blood per day and cannot buy blood packs.
Feeding from too high of a security square will increase your notoriety. Notoriety is an invisible score which essentially relates how criminal your character is by human standards. Characters with high notoriety are more likely to be shot at by cops in passing and soldiers, which can make gameplay both interesting and more difficult (a lot more difficult). Plus killing cops and soldiers only increases your notoriety even more, so that's a thing.
SO WHAT IS THE BEST SECURITY LEVEL?
The answer to this is simple. The best is 1 and lower. Yes, it can be lower (if you use Commander of Darkness or someone else does). Even security 2 can give you problems.
If you have trouble finding security 1 squares, you should go to a shop (green squares) either on grid or in buildings and purchase
blood packs. Blood packs restore 1 blood for a variable cost (based on how good human/vampire relations are).
WHY DO YOU NEED BLOOD ANYWAY?
Having 10+ blood at day change increases your
PXP by 1. PXP accumulate and eventually you can spend those to buy powers. Plus having higher blood makes you better able to combat NPCs (Because you last longer), and can be important if you ever get into PVP.
AND FINALLY, WHERE DO YOU LOOK?!
The best place to feed is usually wherever you frequently move your character. For example, if you own a lair (building, apartment, cabin, boat etc), you might find it easiest to buy blood from a shop you have set up in your lair. Or lure a human there (as the security will be naturally very low), or feed from a thrall there.
Getting familiar with the locations of stations, banks, and shops can also help with feeding and navigation.
Most characters (I think) usually hang around leveling or training areas, so below is a list of leveling areas and some locations near them where you can find the best places to gain blood. They are
roughly in order of level!
- ABANDONED MAUSOLEUM [Tutorial Hub] - Basically all of the squares in this area are low security. Just be sure to be careful regardless because humans can occasionally stack up in a square.
- CORVIDAE FLATS [30, 23 (world) Quarantine Zone] - Lots of zombies and at least one dedicated Feral Vampire at all times, which makes it a great transition after the Tutorial. Your best bet here is to probably buy your blood from the shop in the lobby of the Flats.
- SEWERS - The sewers have various access points all over the city (which are labeled here). If you don't mind expending a little extra energy, you can just bite rats. They give less blood, but are super safe to feed from.
- GANGLAND SLUMS [12, 31 (world) Stag Heath] - I actually want to preface this by saying I don't encourage people to level here. It can be good for certain kinds of loot, but the exp payoff isn't worth the spike in notoriety you get from killing the NPCs here. That being said, the entire area has fairly low security, so feeding there should be easy enough.
- ALGONQUIN CAVERNS [41, 9 (world) Wilderness] - With the number of gems you pick up here, you can probably just buy blood every day and still make a profit. There are no human NPCs in the area, so the security is super low. You could lure a human or use a thrall here (by this point in the gameplay you may have access to those powers). The nearest shop is at 30, 11 if you want to buy blood. There are also a few squares in Bullwood (where the shop is) that are super low security. Just look for the grass terrain (around 33,9).
- CATACOMBS & MAUSOLEUM [1, -5 (world) Cherrydale] - One can access the mausoleum from the world map, and the catacombs either from the mausoleum or from an entrance in the sewers. Due to the easy access to the sewers, you could nab rats if you're hunting in this area. Alternatively, there are a lot of low security squares in Cherrydale, from farms, to homes, to grass to road terrain, etc. So very easy to feed in this area.
- ABANDONED SEWERS [9, 9 (world) Thornside Park] - This area can be a little tricky. The grass terrain around the abandoned sewers is low security, but you usually get large clumps of humans. If you want an almost guaranteed feed, go into Jardin De Fleurs. With a low base security, you just need to find a square with 1 human (be sure to check security anyway) and feed.
- CHEMICAL PLANT [10, 32 (world) Stag Heath] - Some of the grassy terrain around the Chem Plant is low security, though there are a few buildings in the area where you can feed pretty freely like the derelict homes at 7, 29 & 8, 27 & 9, 27. All of the derelict homes have low security inside.
- There are other, higher level areas, but by this point in your journey, you should have more than enough powers and money to be able to find a way to feed safely. <3!
