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LADY LISA’S HARBOR I played this mission over
10 years ago, but never ghosted it until now. A nice creation from the early era
of map making, by a very influential author. An industrial dockside section
of the city, a fortified castle, and caves with some critters, all glued
together by a cool story and clever layout. Don’t expect spectacular design,
but rather a classic Thief romp. I was tasked by the
Merchant Association to turn on the inner harbor lights, as well as the
generators for the lighthouse. I also had to grab 10,000 in loot, including
Lady Lisa’s statue collection. Lastly, I needed to break into the
weaponsmith’s, though I didn’t need to steal anything. Electrics The biggest problem early
on came in the electric company. I had to turn off the top generators, while
turning the bottom ones on. The latter was definitely the hardest. A
stationary guard faced north, east and south. I could drop from the top
walkway onto the edge of the closest generator quietly, but the guard had to
be facing south (left image below). In fact, he had to stay that way until I
got to the inner half of the generator, beyond the metal beam. In this area,
I was dark enough to stay undetected. All 8 generators triggered a flash bomb
effect once I had flipped the switch. This spawned a first alert comment from
both guards once. This took them a long time to settle down from, so they
were in a constant first alert state for a few minutes after this. I couldn’t
drop to the floor between the generators, I got spotted immediately.
Additionally, the generators blocked my view although the guards could see
straight through them. I could mantle the switch mechanisms to stay
completely hidden all along the wall, though I suspect this to only be
possible in NewDark.
To get back out I had to
be a bit lucky. For this the guard had to face north while I had to scoot to
the end of the generator and drop quietly (right image above). At this point
he could turn east, but not south. I flipped the main doors, then flipped it
again to rush out, hoping no patrollers were around. I got there in the end. Water Company The water company was
almost worse, especially for Supreme, as I couldn’t use moss arrows. The
biggest problems were the metal walkway and the flickering electric lights.
Also, the last two rooms were fully lit on the inside, so even if I could get
in there unseen, getting back out was impossible without first alerts from
the nearby workers. They were stationary and staring straight at said doors.
I managed to get into the first office without Supreme busts by rushing from
the doorway around the left corner, but getting back out with that mode
intact was not doable. Over 400 in loot thus had to be skipped.
For regular Ghost the
toughest spot was entering the final office without a second level alert. I
could navigate around the patroller by dropping onto the last pumping machine
and furthermore onto the floor (left image above). When approaching the door,
it really depended on the flickering lamp’s illumination. I found I could
rush into the doorway and be hidden from said lamp by the north door jamb
(right image above). Here I waited out the first alerts, then rushed fully
into the room around the door. After a few attempts I got no hunt mode. Same
method going out, really. Again, leaving the doorway had to be done quickly,
without making stepping noise, and being lucky with the light flickers. Lady Lisa’s The estate really wasn’t
that difficult to sneak through. The statues in the garden was a bit tricky;
I had to enter from the second level balcony. Coming from the kitchen wasn’t
possible without at least a first alert from the maid. Taking Lady Lisa’s key
was necessary in order to get the lighthouse key, but it was located in a
metal-framed rack by the front entrance (left image below). Needless to say
it would be impossible to return without alerting several guards, thus
another Supreme bust. Outside Lisa’s bedroom was another guard that caused a
bust. I had to douse the torch in the corner in order to pass him unnoticed,
which spawned a first alert (right image below). I could’ve squeezed by
behind him, but not without a slight nudge and that’s only allowed as a last
resort. Once hearing the torch go out, he was in a first alert state for a
few minutes and didn’t give further alerts until settling down from that.
When entering the bedroom,
after not too long a running guard came in. He spawned at the foot of the
stairs to the second floor and carried the key for the door there. He wasn’t
alerted despite running, but would instead reduce his speed to a walk if
first alerting. I could get all the items in the bedroom in three loops of
his patrol. Took the loot from his room and dropped the key back. I couldn’t,
however, close the door back up to Lisa’s bedroom without waking her up. It
was either this or leaving the door both open and unlocked, I chose to lock
it back up, taking the alert. I also wouldn’t be able to return the
lighthouse key later, as this would trigger another first alert from the
outside guard. Lighthouse
Passage The first issue was
getting into the river without alerting the red spider nearby. I could hop
across without hearing an alert, but I suspected I was simply too far away to
notice it. Instead, I leaned out and shot a rope into the ceiling so the line
hung into the water (left image below). This way I could lower myself and
grab the rope without making a splash.
In the crayman caves came
the biggest issue. In order to exit the caves, I needed three keys. One of
those was located in a chest guarded by two red spiders in a brightly lit
cave (right image above). There was no way to avoid fully alerting them and
busting Ghost. In order to circumvent this, a big crate stack had to be made
to bypass the gate requiring said keys. This maneuver was developed by Galaer,
so all credit goes to him for this move. I needed five crates, which all had
to be hauled from the streets. I brought two from behind the barrels close to
the dock, and three more from the warehouse. I could transport them into the
west tower through the small window next to the door (left image below). This
skipped needing to the pick the lock. Back by the river I had to toss them
along the left wall to avoid alerting the spider, while still having them
land in the pool. To transport them down where the guards fought the blue
crayman, I had to fetch two fruits from one of the smaller caves. This way I
could grab the other crates from below without having to douse any of the
torches in this cave (right image below).
After returning the fruits
and getting the two nuggets down here, I started my stack. A patrolling
crayman walked through the cave with the bridge above. The only dark spot in
that cave close enough to reach the bridge, and where the crayman didn’t
walk, was on the south side, just east of the cave with the dead pirate. In
order to reach all the crates to build the stack, I had to toss two crates up
onto the bridge from below first (left image below). They had to be far out
on the edge, almost falling off. I could make a stack of the remaining three
crates from below, then from atop it, I could lean and jump to grab the final
two. My successful setup is shown in the screenshot below to the right. I
also managed to bring along with me one crate when mantling up. The other
four were left behind.
I could now exit the caves
in the lighthouse to the south. The frogs in there couldn’t see me, but did
alert to sounds. Had to drop the crate under water in order for them not to
hear it. Flipped the switch on the roof and dropped in a mantle so that I
could retrieve the crate. Using the door alerted the frogs. Got all the loot
on the harbor floor and returned the crate before ending the mission. Statistics: Time: 1:39:06 Loot: 14377 out of 14377 (Supreme: 13940) Pickpockets: 9 out of 11 Locks Picked: 9 Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0 Secrets: None Consumables: 1 Water Arrow Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Success! Supreme Thief: Failed! Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed! Notes: -
Got first alerts in the electric company building, from
each guard when the first flash bomb effect triggered on each floor. Not
exactly sure how many alerts I got, three or four. Supreme busts nonetheless. -
Skipped 437 loot in the water company bedroom and office.
Couldn’t enter either room without first alerts. -
Couldn’t return Lady Lisa’s key to the guard room without
alerts. Supreme bust. -
Had to douse a torch in the hallway outside Lady Lisa’s
bedroom. This also spawned a first alert. Supreme busts. -
Woke up Lady Lisa when locking up the door to her
bedroom. It was either this or leaving it open. A Supreme bust either way. -
Left behind 4 crates in the crayman caves when climbing
up to the bridge to circumvent the gate. Supreme bust. -
Couldn’t return the lighthouse passage key without
further alerts, so I hung on to it. Supreme bust. |
