PREVIOUS MISSION THIEF
2X NEXT MISSION Mission 9: Into the
Fray [This report has been updated for TFix/NewDark 1.27. Situations
affected by these patches and differences between them and OldDark have been inserted in green. All screenshots have
been updated, and new ones have been added.] One of the weakest missions in the campaign for me
this. Not only are we revisiting a previous map, but the gameplay is very
unorthodox, with scripted fights going on at every corner. As a ghoster, the unpredictability makes unwinnable scenarios
likely, and getting through tough spots relies more on luck than stealth.
Sure, observing the brawls can be entertaining enough, but it gets old quite
fast. Not one I normally look forward to this. The upcoming missions are
miles ahead in my book. First, I had to make sure both Neeson
and Grissam were dead. I assume this meant the hammerites would need to kill them. If they didn’t, would
the Ghost rules allow me to? I guess so. Next I had to loot the smugglers’
treasure cache, as well as find some important information. Outside This mission was slightly
different, as I had to dodge guards already involved in fights. This meant
most AIs jumped directly to alert level 2, which is search mode. Fight
scenarios could turn out differently every time, so my report might not fit
other mission endeavors. The first problem occurred at the waterfall. The
hammer here had fire arrows and always ended up killing the smuggler. After a
heavy battle like this, I usually waited it out a couple of minutes, to let
the ones involved get back to 1st alert mode and resume their
patrols/stations. I crossed the river downstream and cleared the bank at the
other side. The purse beside the floating corpse was possible to reach moving
slow and sticking to the shadows. As the archer patrolled with his back
turned, I snuck under the gush and across to the opposing mountainside; the
single piece of loot on the deck was now within reach. The roof was ascended to grab the gas arrow on the
slanting rock. A well-camouflaged healing potion also lay on the wooden
patio. Headed back the same way. As I crossed on the other side, the
archer just stopped (left image below). He never moved after this, although
he had been patrolling uninterrupted up until this point. I’m not sure if
this was intended or a glitch. Inside Went inside the hideout
from the stone walkway above the dock entrance. The hammers that blew up the
gate fell dead to the 3 smugglers inside. The two doors in the north lead to
another fight between a hammer and a smuggler. Strangely, when opening the
closest entry, the hammer always won and started patrolling up and down the
hallway, making it very tough to clean the area. Entering through the east
door however, normally made the smuggler flee down to the others, and
occasionally forcing the hammer to fight them all. This massive brawl can
have various results, but one time the hammer won and resumed his patrols
downstairs, totally out of my concern. Now I
could even drop down and take the fire arrow behind the statue. The
secret treasure room was located out the broken window close to Neeson’s office (right image above). I could mantle back
up without any trouble. Another fight in the
dining room further south. To loot the room I needed both individuals to
leave. Played the fight over until one of them fled the room and the other
followed. A huge brawl took place in the hallway afterwards involving two
more participants. One hammer guard survived and started patrolling the flooded
corridors. Moving slowly I robbed the kitchen and lurked upstairs. A cozy apple lay in the kitchen corner. Had
problems spotting the bottle in the window also (left image below). I
triggered another huge clash in the main lobby, attracting the hammer mentioned
earlier. It didn’t really matter who won. Emptied the barracks and
entered the hallway again through the side door for the last fight. This
spawned a smuggler and a hammerite right by the
building’s last piece of loot, a crystal in a floor crack. It was very hard to get one of them to flee,
as the hammerite usually won and the smuggler had
very low hit points. Two strikes downed him. The winner eventually resumed a
short patrol around the pillars in this hallway, making it near impossible to
get the crystal without getting spotted. Interestingly, if I left the
barracks via the western door and triggered this fight coming from the north,
they would instead spawn in the small alcove to the east (right image above).
This was much better, as I could hide in the shadows to the west and observe
the unfolding events. If whoever won was facing east, then I could rush over
and grab the piece of loot while he did his post-victory search maneuver. I
simply replayed the fight until that happened, which only took 2-3 attempts. Snuck back through the
whole compound afterwards. One surviving smuggler had positioned himself just
west of the well at the bottom of the staircase. I think it was the archer
from the dining hall earlier. Luckily, he was facing east and I could safely
sneak up the stairs to his left. Leaving Entered the docks through
the hole above the locked portcullis. Didn’t even need the key. Neeson Feredoc was fighting a
hammer at the pier, and my objective ticket off as he died. I jumped in the
water to the left and cleaned the large ship from the port side ladder. Swam
along the bottom to arrive at the small mining boat. As the hammer looked
away I could mantle up and grab the nugget. Used a rope arrow on the
starboard of my own ship to end the mission. STATISTICS: Time: 36:17 Loot: 2250 out of 2250 Pickpockets: None Secrets Found:
None Locks Picked: 2 Damage Dealt: 0
Damage Taken: 0 Bodies Discovered by Enemies: 2 Consumables: None Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Success! Supreme Thief: Success! Perfect Supreme Thief: Success! Norwegian Thief: Success! Notes: -
The bodies discovered obviously
result from the fights between the smugglers and the hammerites. |