Ming Must Die! is a quest available in Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines.
Acquisition[]
This quest is triggered during the Anarchs, Camarilla, Prince LaCroix, and No Allegiance endings, since all of them require the disposal of Ming Xiao, the Kuei-jin ruler of Chinatown.
The mission brief, below, is preceded by a sequence where the cab driver takes the fledgling to a location specific to the allegiance chosen based upon dialogue choices made in conversation with the driver. For example, siding with the Anarchs takes the player to a hotel in Hollywood where they can speak with Nines Rodriguez, who gives them this mission (and can also be asked to provide a fragmentation grenade).
Wherever the player arrives first, they then return to the cab driver and can optionally be taken to buy supplies from Trip and Mercurio (the latter will comment on the player's choice of allegiance), the blood bank, and to their haven (where stored supplies can be obtained and email checked). Finally, the player can ask to be transported to Chinatown where the quest proper begins.
Walkthrough[]
Brief[]
- Arrive at the Golden Temple.
- Kill or sneak past the two guards.
- Pass through reception hall to next part of yard.
- Kill or sneak past the three guards.
- (Optional) Search the two guard rooms.
- (Optional) Lockpick and loot the ammo chests.
- Enter main structure.
- Take the stairs down to reach the inner temple.
- (Optional) Search the guard room.
- (Optional) Lockpick and loot the ammo chests.
- Reach the large room with the water wheel.
- Drop down and face barred door.
- Move the plank away.
- Kill the two guards and continue forward.
- Take the corridor leading to a room with a large Buddha statue.
- Depress the pressure plates on either side using movable statues, revealing a secret passage.
- Enter it and reach the lower part.
- Grab the four jade statues.
- Place the statues on the corresponding pedestals. (
5 XP)
- Jade Dragon (on the pedestal with horizontal stripes)
- Jade Elephant (on the pedestal with vertical stripes)
- Jade Crane (on the pedestal with diagonal stripes)
- Jade Cat (on the figure 8 pedestal)
- A portal leading to Ming Xiao's Lair will open.
- Defeat Ming Xiao. ( 10 XP)
- Pick up the Sarcophagus Key.
Detailed[]
The ground level of the temple is heavily guarded by Kuei-jin warriors armed with Katanas/Shin Gunto, Knives, and Crossbows. These enemies take a serious amount of punishment and can dish out just as much. If playing with the Unofficial Patch Plus, Yukie will arrive to fight alongside the fledgling if she is helped and kept alive.
The main points of interest here are locked storage lockers (lockpick skill of 4+ required) filled with a variety of ammunition. When done looting, enter the main temple toward the back and take either set of stairs down.
In addition to multiple crossbow bolts from swarming Kuei-jin, there are also hidden traps lying in wait. When sprung, sharpened bamboo poles protrude from the walls. Since they do a considerable amount of damage, keep an eye out for pressure plates on the floor that trigger such traps and jump over them. Additionally, there are Kuei-jin hidden in the canvas walls.
Before looking for the level's exit, first make way to the barracks on this floor. Pop open the trunks in this room (lockpick skill of 5+ required) to find an assortment of ammunition and a Crossbow. Other than the side quest Gone Fishin', this is the only known method of acquiring this weapon. Head toward the large room with a waterwheel at its center. Drop down to the lower floor and move the wooden bar sealing the large red double doors.
Once through the red doors, take the hallway to the left and keep following it until arriving at a three-way intersection. Hang a right and then cautiously move through the next set of hallways (there are Kuei-jin hidden in the canvas) to get to a long room with a large golden statue at the far end. Push two of the stone carvings onto the pressure plates near the large golden statue. This will reveal another staircase leading to a lower level.
This level is guarded by several traps, a handful of regular patrolling Kuei-jin, and eight Kuei-jin armed with Crossbows and flaming bolts. These eight are split up into four groups, and each group of two guards a different jade statue. Obtain all four jade statues (the Jade Cat, Jade Crane, Jade Dragon, and Jade Elephant) and place them on the pedestals in the first room entered. There are two guards with either flaming crossbows or, if playing with Unofficial Patch Plus, Steyr Augs.
The blade traps located in the hallway leading to each jade statue can result in an instant Final Death, so either crouch through them or disable them using the lever found on this floor. To reach the lever from the first room, take the left hallway and then another left immediately at the intersection. This will lead to a room with a secret door on the left wall. Through this door is a standard locked door, (lockpick skill of 8+ required) followed by the lever needed to disable the traps.
Once all four jade statues are in hand, return to the entrance door and place them on the pedestals in the following order, going clockwise: dragon, crane, elephant, cat. For this sequence to work, face away from the original entrance door. The idea is to match each statue to its particular pedestal base, with the solid plinth corresponding to the dragon, the spiral base to the crane, the four-legged stand to the elephant, and the remaining pedestal to the cat. Immediately after all four statues are in place, a portal will open in the center of the room allowing travel to Ming Xiao's inner sanctum.
Ming Xiao appears in human form before transforming into a monstrous demon with tentacles for arms. The tentacles inflict a substantial amount of damage when they connect, as does her spit, but the main problem is Ming's massive health which will make this into a battle of atrophy.
Ming Xiao Transformed
During the battle, Ming Xiao may lose all her tentacles, which will actually respawn into smaller versions of her demonic form. When left alone for a while it will transform into a clone of Ming, but only one of the tentacles can spawn into a full size version at a time. This "second Ming" will not take damage in the boss health bar, however it has much less stamina and is much easier to kill.
There are three general strategies for this battle:
-Concentrate on the primary Ming and avoid the second one. After a while all Ming's tentacles will be severed and she can no longer preform her long-range and wide arc attacks, relying only on charges instead. Her clone can still do this though. If the clone proves to be too troublesome, you might still want to kill it, it will then take about 15-20 seconds for a new clone to appear.
-Kill the little clones before they can transform. They have only about 10hp, so this is no difficult feat if you can reach them. Because they will run away from you, this might be a problem for brawl and melee types unless you have Celerity. Each time you kill a small clone, the tentacle will regrow on the main Ming. Little clones may take a while to actually fall down after being killed, making it hard to see if they are dead or just standing still.
-You do NOT want to shoot off any tentacle, so you don't have to worry about multiple monsters. Run around Ming, always try to stay behind her so she can't hit you and shoot her in the tail!
After emptying the health bar, you might still have to kill the big and small clones left (they die automatically in the Unofficial Patch). Once she is defeated, ( 10 XP) Ming will drop the Sarcophagus Key. Grab the Key then leave through the newly opened portal.
Quest Log[]
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Items[]
Notes[]
- If playing on the Unofficial Patch Plus, it is possible to skip the lower parts entirely if one talks to Yukie once the courtyard and ground level have been cleared(Persuasion skill of 10+ required). (Assuming she was helped and survived Gone Fishin')
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