THE CIRCLE OF STONE AND SHADOW 2

-

MISSION X

 

LOOT LIST

VIDEO REPORT

 

 

It almost hurts me to say, but ‘Midnight In Murkbell’ is no longer my favorite mission; ‘Mission X’ is. It is a masterpiece surpassing all expectations. The depth of story and variety of gameplay makes it a ride unlike anything else made for the dark engine. I have never had that many “Wow!” moments in a single mission before. I am running out of superlatives for what the CoSaS team has been able to create. All I can say is that if you haven’t played this mission, don’t read any further! I don’t want my spoilers to ruin your first playthrough experience. Instead, close this window, download ‘Mission X’, pull up Darkloader and play. I hope you’ve set aside plenty of time, cause this could take a while.

 

 

I, Dante, was to enter the Ivory Rose Casino dressed as a nobleman. Nobody would react to my presence until I picked up my gear in the first floor men’s room, my first and only relevant objective. The other up-front tasks involved no raising of alarms or incapacitation of people integral to the storyline. Those were already implied due to the Ghost rules. I would receive further instructions later.

 

The main difference between this mission and others was that I was playing as a member of a team. That didn’t really mean anything in terms of strategy; it simply made the story richer and gameplay more exciting. The biggest addition was the communications mask, which made Dante able to talk to his fellow teammates. It would lead to two junctures where I would have to make a decision as far as objectives were concerned. The copy kits were cool also, an element I never imagined could be as fun as it turned out to be. The rest of the new equipment was interesting, but not very useful to ghosters.

 

Much of the first floor was accessible before getting my gear. I grabbed the purses in the pearl gambling hall and the minister’s key from the roulette table there. I noticed that the guard’s purse didn’t count as a pickpocket, although he never saw me coming. At this point I had already listened in on the conversation in the ivory hall. There was a hard-to-find goblet behind a window curtain in the southwest hall also (left image below). That was all before I went for my gear.

 

            

 

Disabling the Cameras

On my personal agenda (as in not stated in the official objectives) was receiving the promotion to agent Glass in the post-mission briefing. Several extra tasks were then required. One was to finish the first chosen objective before Steel. I found that to be a lot easier if choosing to shut down the cameras. It involved less planning and a stealthier course of action. Shutting down the power necessitated blowing the generator with a bad fuse, directly alerting many of the guards. I don’t think that is a bust, due to the explicit instructions given in the task list, but it certainly felt like the noisier option of the two. The cameras it was.

 

I took the route through the halls east of the front lobby. Picked the service key off the maid and grabbed a few loot items on the way. Supreme rules require keys to be replaced, though with the keychain that wasn’t possible. Due to the varieties of keys available, it was tough to survey which locks each one worked. I therefore deemed it necessary to pick up one of each copy. I left the remaining ones alone. I also kept a tab on which locks I had picked, in case subsequently discovered keys would relock them, another Supreme Ghost requirement. Made my way to the second floor through the exchange lobby. Found the vent key in the utility room and snuck down the hall toward the public bath. Accessed the shaft system through the northernmost locker (right image above).

 

For me, the ventilation system made this mission perfect. It provided alternate routes between every floor and made Ghosting a lot easier. I read somewhere about a vent map left by one of your teammates, but I never found it. I familiarized myself with the routes fairly quickly though. Reached the camera room in time to disable the security system before Steel (left image below). I actually had to wait for a good 10 minutes before he finally blew the generator. This put most of the guards on high alert, but at least the lights were out. I snuck around the basement, grabbing the various pieces of loot. I skipped the basement key altogether and left back through the camera room vent. I even vine arrowed over the wall into the wine cellar, in order to avoid the lockpick count. I know the rules don’t say anything about minimizing those, but I feel it goes along with the “spirit” of Supreme.

 

            

 

Returning Cloud’s Key

Entered the first floor storeroom and found some loot under one of the desks there. I had to read the barely visible note before the desk would even highlight. Stole the copy kit from the foreman’s office while the woman faced away (right image above). Luckily she pivoted in all directions. Waited until the Rubber-situation arose. Got the objective to return Cloud’s key and chose to accept finishing Rubber’s chores. This spawned several essential keys at the front desk. Opting out of this objective doesn’t go against any Supreme rule; only tasks visible in the objective list (optional or not) are required for that mode.

 

Got the loot from the dining room before reentering the vents. Exited to the third floor men’s room. Remembered to close and relock every vent after use. I didn’t want to have to backtrack and double-check all the panels later. One of the stalls in the ladies’ room had a hard-to-see ring on the floor (left image below). Grabbed the list of chores from the hall closet. This made all items pertaining to those objectives accessible for pickup. Passed through the fine lounge on my way southward. Guards frequently entered here, so I used the carpets to grab the loot quickly. Leaned around the bar corner to grab the bottle behind on the shelf (right image below).

 

            

 

Cloud’s key could be found in one of two locations. I’ve only seen it in the theatre, on top of the curtains (left image below), but know it can be located near the elevator on the same floor. I think it depends on Dante’s location when receiving the objective, but I’m not entirely sure. One patroller passed through the dressing room to the stage and back. I exploited his route to avoid picking the doors. Plenty of loot in the dressing room by the way. Common non-value items like combs and mirrors were even worth something. I ascended the balcony by flinging a vine into the ceiling. It could be reached from the table and retrieved from the balcony railing. I quickly got in the habit of double-checking for guards through glass doors. They could easily spot you through several sets of doors. It was the case in the theatre, but especially on the fourth floor. Passing through any of the interior rooms could spawn easily missed comments from hall patrollers. Found a single coin on one of the bookshelves in the records room.

 

I discovered the immediate need to access the fourth floor ventilation system. I found the easiest point of entry being the vent above the rafters in the mahogany stairhall. I could access it by using a vine arrow from the inner balcony. Guards constantly patrolled the top floor halls in overlapping fashion. I found a gap in their routes eventually. Even from atop the rafter I got caught a few times and had to reload. Especially dangerous was the guard halting by the double doors leading to the balcony. He pivoted and could see activity going on in the stairhall. Found a hidden coin up there as well.

 

            

 

Took the shafts to the garden in the west. Rubber and Steel had already left the casino, so I needed to return Cloud’s key to his belt to have any chance of getting the promotion. I could drop to the floor and hang out by the walls in safety. There was one circling guard, but she was fairly inattentive. Cloud was positioned to the west, so coming from the windows directly behind him was my best bet. The only enemies to worry about were Raputo’s bodyguards to the north. The others were either involved in the neverending conversation or unresponsive. Neither guard first alerted, but they still gave settling remarks like “I’m getting too jumpy.” I consider this a regular first alert, despite no triggering remarks such as “Hey, what’s going on?” The way I see it, any remark indicates I’ve crossed the threshold for a first alert, regardless of what kind of remark it is. Some enemies are programmed not to say anything, but instead go straight to attack mode. That’s different. Anyway, back to my situation. I had to stay permanently crouched. If I stood up, I got a settling remark as soon as I returned to the shade. I think it was the guard in white that most often commented. The worst thing you can do in those situations is quicksave before being 100% sure you are not seen. On several occasions I reloaded only to find a comment arriving two seconds later. Good old hardsaves are your best bet. There was a patch of darkness extending from the windows up to the nearest end of the two couches. I snuck to the end of that patch unbothered. From here, I had to inch by tapping creep-walk until Cloud’s belt highlighted. I couldn’t lean in to place the key, that affected the light gem enough to give me a settling remark from said guard once I got back to the aforementioned patch of darkness. Cloud occasionally idled back and forth, especially when taking part in the conversation. This shifted his belt in and out of reach, and with some good timing I could successfully replace the strongbox key (right image above). Grabbed his money purse in the same manner.

 

            

 

Circled the room counterclockwise and grabbed the offices key from the guard outside the double doors. Made sure not to alert anyone in the hall to the sounds. My next challenge was stealing the monarch suite key from Raputo’s guard. This had to be done from the east, but didn’t prove as difficult as the Cloud situation. Here I could lean in without any first alerts, as long as I wasn’t too close. The image above shows the sweet spot.

 

I had trouble reaching the two offices in the northern part of the garden. The problem was Antoinette and her personal servant, the only individuals facing north directly. Both office entries were well-lit and brought my light gem to red. If either of them saw me, the mission failed instantly, as it busted one of the mandatory objectives. I could sneak into civil litigation and steal the magnifying glass. To get back out I had to pan left, back into the shadows. Then after the guard passed I quickly dashed across the brightest portion and continued by sneaking along the wall. The northwest office had a pipe on the desk. I had to make it back out and into the far northeast corner before the female guard started heading east. There was also a guard outside the double doors that positioned himself in the hall at this point. Finding the proper timing and speed, I managed to reach the corner undetected.

 

Rubber’s Trouble

Reentered the ventilation system and started cleaning the rest of this floor. Got the scroll-case from the procurement office via the ceiling panel there. Couldn’t enter the adjacent accounting office. One of the desk jockeys was facing the entry. He first alerted as soon as I entered the doorway. There were two other entries, but they were even brighter. Remember, lights can’t be turned off for Supreme. That meant I had to skip the copy kit in there. So I couldn’t get all the bonus objectives for that mode. [Bonus objectives are ones that don’t show up in your list until completed. They are not required for Supreme because the player doesn’t necessarily know they exist.] After each of the first three copied documents, that document gets added to the task list and the optional objective saying “Copy any other important documents you run across” remains. That means finding a fourth document is required, since optional objectives are required for Supreme Ghost. After you find the fourth document, however, the optional objective to find another one disappears. You still trigger a bonus objective upon finding a fifth (which is the max by the way), but it isn’t required since it doesn’t’ appear until you find it. I hope all that made sense. In short, as long as you copy any four out of the existing five documents for Supreme, you are good. Sadly, this meant I wouldn’t be able to get the Agent Glass promotion for Supreme.

 

I used my current copy kit on the ledger in the head accountant’s office (right image above). His safe key was hidden behind the wall painting. Entered Cloud’s office from the north side. Couldn’t copy his letter as I was out of kits. This would probably be the one to skip for Supreme. Snuck through the hallway further south to reach Cloud’s suite. There was a guard patrolling outside that had to be timed rather accurately (left image below). The suite itself was devoid of people.

 

            

 

Made my way back to the ground floor and cleaned out the money exchange office (right image above). I needed the copy kit there also. I could stay in the shadows going through the lobby. Despite the two guards and civilians, I didn’t have a hard time avoiding alerts. The biggest problem was not getting seen through the windows from inside the office.

 

Moved on to the second floor and made my way counterclockwise. Had few problems looting the various guest rooms. The biggest problem on this floor came in the observation lounge overlooking the gambling hall. A wandering nobleman is supposed to be the only one in there. However, he was joined by a guard stuck in the couch (left image below). The guard spotted me the instant I rounded the corner to grab the goblet. Regular Ghost can circumvent it by rushing past the corner and take a first alert, or by flipping the light switch. Supreme Ghost doesn’t allow either. I didn’t want to take the bust, as I saw Perfect Supreme truly within reach at this point. I realized I had to backtrack about 1 hour worth of playtime in order to fix this issue. I did so, following exactly the same path as before. Tedious, but it avoided the bust.

 

            

 

Next up was the second floor clubhouse. All entries were locked except the balcony doors. A nicely placed vine arrow from the main entrance courtyard took me up there. Two patrollers covered the inside, each carrying snaggable keys. The only difficult spot was getting the goblet from one of the bar tables (right image above). The barwoman pivoted west and north. The best entry point was through the windows in the northeast corner. There was a perfect shadow on the couch outside, where I hid from the nearby patroller. Timing the other swordsman I dropped to the floor inside. The woman did not comment if she was facing west. I leaned over and grabbed the loot, then planned my escape. It was impossible to jump straight back onto the windowsill, at least without multiple first alerts. However, by use of a vine, I could swing far enough into the window frame to be able to land onto the sill when retrieving the arrow (left image below). The outside patroller alerted to the vine, so I had to time him as well. Plus the woman had to face west the entire time. I got the hang of the moves after a while and managed to get in and out with no alerts. The jump onto the vine itself had to be a walk-jump, otherwise the barwoman spotted me in her periphery. Overall, this piece of loot proved easier than first anticipated, as soon as I figured out the right method. Afterwards I locked the balcony doors (another task off Rubber’s list) and escaped through the living room vent.

 

            

 

The last of Rubber’s chores was to move the guard passed out in the first floor bar. There were a few ways to go about it, but the easiest way involved Raputo’s personal guard, Sergeant Dendrington, patrolling the hall outside the monarch suite. Coming from the upper mahogany stairhall, I placed the empty lockbox on the table by the monarch suite door. While Dendrington picked it up and headed upstairs, I rushed back to the vents and once more snuck a peek at the conversation in the fourth floor garden (right image above). This time Raputo had a letter ready. Upon the arrival of Dendrington, he delivered the letter and sent the sergeant back downstairs. I headed to the third floor men’s room, where Dendrington was soon to arrive. Before doing his deed, he left the lockbox on the bathroom table. His nature’s calling left me with enough time to pick the lock and copy Raputo’s letter. This ticked off another bonus objective. Dendrington didn’t alert to the lockpicks or the northernmost stall door. However, he did alert to the lockbox being left open. “Hey, this isn’t right!” Only a first alert, but still a Supreme bust. At first I didn’t think the box could be closed, as it never highlighted once the letter was visible. Apparently, the letter and the box has different proximity values, but only slightly so. If both could highlight, the letter took priority. I found the right distance and managed to close it up in time for Dendrington to emerge. He didn’t alert this time. Home free.

 

As his letter instructed, Dendrington fetched Raputo’s guards in the first floor bar and left. That cleared the coast for me to grab the drunk guard behind the counter. I had to dodge the roaming servant and the two guests in the west end. Sneaking from the southeast door did the trick. I brought the guard with me through the ventilation system (left image below). The physics of the engine didn’t make it easy to navigate through the shafts carrying a body. I eventually landed in the guard captain’s office. I ended up taking his key, although I guess it can be circumvented. You can easily carry the guard through the secret shaft here and safely drop to the outside courtyard from the roof. I used the hall exit, so for me it was necessary, but if you are into absolute miminum pickups (like I usually am), you should skip it. I quicksaved before realizing, and my last real save was too far back to bother with the reload.

 

            

 

The Monarch Suite

I decided to save the best for last. Every objective was done and all I had left was loot. I entered through the side door coming from the theatre (right image above). Three guards plus a female bartender. Two of the guards were patrolling, with the one in white being extremely jumpy. He spotted the slightest flicker in the light gem at abnormally high distances. He had a longer route down the south side, but walked faster than normal guards. The second patroller did counterclockwise circles in the bar area. The third guard was stationed between the bar and the bedroom, pivoting north, south and west. Initially, I had planned on hitting the gambling tables by crossing the marbled area by the windows when he swung south, but there were too many variables needing to go my way for it to be a viable option. The noisy floor and the frequently pivoting woman by the bar posed the greatest challenges. Then you had the two patrollers that had to be timed to perfection. I found it easier to head south. The bedroom had a few comfortable spots where I was totally out of harm’s way (left image below). Timing the fast patroller I slipped further south, grabbing more loot along the way. I had to be swift picking the hall cabinets, but made it to the closet in time. Found a hidden coin atop the hat shelf here.

 

            

 

To reach the gambling area, I decided to balance the ledges in the Ivory Hall Overlook (right image above). There certainly wasn’t much room to maneuver around the corners. The toughest part, however, was dodging the jumpy patroller’s view. It was hard to hear through the windows, so I cranked up the volume and went step by step. The ledge at the halfway point was lower. I could save there and take a breather. The trickiest portion was getting into the window by the crap tables. I was bright red, so the white guard could spot me through the windows from way over in the south hall. It wasn’t more than a first alert, but enough to spoil Supreme. The safest thing was to wait for him to patrol out of sight and use hardcover as a guarantee. Of course I had to time the red guard’s patrol also, plus the barlady needed to be turned towards the back wall. Once that occurred, I slid inside and hid in the corner southeast of the nearest table. This spot was safe from the white guard soon to come along the wall to the far west. Once he passed north I could sneak over to the northeast corner and wait for the red guard to pass (left image below). Still no alerts.

 

The poker room had tons of loot. Luckily, the southwest corner provided hardcover from the white guard that would eventually return. He would alert as long as there was a clear line of sight between him and me, regardless of my light gem. I pilfered as much loot as I could before he returned, and waited in said corner for the red guard to come by again (right image below). Once he left I stole the rest and exited towards the crap tables. Getting back out through the window took more good timing between all the guards. I eventually found the right moment and leapt onto the sill. The best way from here was straight down onto the ledge below (right image above). With a little luck I took no damage in the fall and could drop onto the light fixture further down.

 

            

 

Realized at this point I had forgotten two pieces of loot; a ring in room 207 and a porcelain mug in the minister’s suite. That wrapped it up and I could leave for Supreme. Didn’t get the Agent Glass promotion, as this requires all five documents to be copied. For regular Ghost I went up to the fourth floor and grabbed the last copy kit from the accounting office. This spawned a comment from the office worker, but that is allowed for that mode. I could now copy Cloud’s office letter and leave from there. This gave me the remark from my team members indicating a perfectly conducted mission, including the agent status upgrade. The stats below are from the Supreme run.

 

 

Statistics:

Time: 2:55:53

Loot: 8385 out of 8385

Pickpockets: 10 out of 14

Secrets: None

Locks Picked: 20

Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0

Consumables: 1 Dust Bomb (to mark the door of Cloud’s mistress)

Ghost: Success!

Perfect Thief: Success!

Supreme Ghost: Success!

Perfect Supreme Ghost: Success!

 

 

Notes:

-          The guard captain’s key is strictly speaking an unnecessary pickup. I didn’t count this as a Supreme bust as I ended up using it. I thought of the alternate route after the fact.

-          Though not required, you can’t get all five copy kits without taking a first alert from the desk clerk in the top floor accounting office. You need all five kits in order to get the Agent Glass promotion at the end. I skipped it for Supreme, but got it for regular Ghost.

 

 

LOOT LIST

VIDEO REPORT