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Patriot, Mission 9 3/4: Reanimator Another
very solid mission from Zontik, although it
probably doesn’t reach the quality of the previous three. Visit Shalebridge and ascend the two towers linked together by
Birds’ Bridge. You have to dodge plenty of already alerted guards, which
might not be everyone’s cup of tea. The concept of a secret mission is new to
me, so this was very interesting to explore. This
mission will only show up if taking both the Alchemist’s Book from mission 8
and the Phoenix Ashes from mission 9. My directions were to throw the ashes
into the torch of the statue on Birds’ Bridge. That was it. East Tower Couldn’t
enter the tower by the intended route on the bottom floor; a stationary
mechanist was positioned right inside the doorway. Instead I leapt from the
bridge and mantled into a window on the south side (left image below). This
side accessed the whole east tower. Moved my way up via the floors. Level 3
had a lot of guards, but none of them first alerted. They were probably
permanently alerted from the fights on the top bridge. This was great for
Supreme, otherwise I would never have been able to loot this floor. I used
the barrels to wait out the patroller and the pivoting guards. Both guards on
the floor above first alerted like normal, however. Not sure why they behaved
differently from the ones below. I was not able to get a piece of loot on
this level for Supreme, a gold goblet between some boxes right by a
stationary guard (right image below). For regular Ghost, I even had to douse
the torch behind him in order to reach it. Quite a nasty loot placement by Zontik there.
Unfortunately,
my travels up the east tower was halted by a stationary archer on level 5
(left image below). He never moved and there was only one entrance to this
floor. I had to get to the roof on this tower in order to proceed with the
objectives, so I had to backtrack and think of something else. I went all the
way down and ascended the service staircase. This gave me the warden’s note,
which triggered access to the service shaft key in the warden’s house south
of the opening plaza. Back in the main plaza, the big robot had gone kaput
and the guards were on high alert. Luckily, they roamed the entire plaza, so
I could easily wait them out. I could get into the warden’s house without
alerts. I used the porch pillar to block the stationary guard’s view (right
image below). That way, I could run up fast when the patroller was facing
away, then mantle the railing and sneak inside. Used the same method going
back. I
lock-blocked both grates leading to the west tower, then returned the service
shaft key right away. I thought perhaps I could cross the bridge from the top
level of the west tower, but with the lights on, this was absolutely
impossible. I could creep along the railing, but the fighting guards always
saw me. The lights could only be turned off from the east tower anyway, so no
hope there. I was thus forced to douse the torch by the aforementioned guard
in the east tower and accept the Supreme bust. However, when ghosting the
mission a second time for my YouTube recording, this guard had gotten alerted
by a running mechanist on the roof. He was searching around with his mace
raised and after a few reloads, he went down the hallway to the west. At this
time, I quickly ran south, grabbed the purse from the stationary female and
flew up to the roof. Excellent! Unfortunately, I had already taken a water
arrow when this situation occurred. Is this a bust? I thought I needed the
arrow at the time, but then didn’t, and since arrows can’t be returned, I was
stuck with it. I think this would be comparable to using weapons that you
later realize could’ve been avoided, like my use of a holy water vial in
Death’s Dominion. The only difference is I realized this water arrow wasn’t
needed during the playthrough, as opposed to after.
Furthermore, rule #13 says “return what
is not usable”, indicating that picking up unnecessary items does happen.
Rule #7 says about items that you are required to pick up: “Some items stay permanently in inventory
or disappear from inventory so they cannot be put back. These are excused.”
Another similar situation would be taking a stack of items from a footlocker
instead of only a single item from a shelf. Is it a bust to take 5 when you
only need 1? I’m not sure.
The
four enemies on the roof were highly unpredictable. One guard stayed up here
permanently, randomly entering hunt mode. He often alerted a female arbalist in the northeast corner. She would usually
return to her spot, but might be positioned differently and with increased
vigilance. The two guards involved in the conversation by the bridge usually
ended up running downstairs. If one of them didn’t, I replayed the scenario
until they did. That’s when I adjusted the catapult. I could do that without
turning the lights off if said guards were downstairs. With a bit of luck, I
could also sneak over to the stairs up to the top office. Getting the loot up
there was no big deal, as the guard here wasn’t alerted at all. Now
came time for the elevator and getting the fan. This was no small task.
However, there is no point in explaining all my experimentation, because once
I realized the bafflingly simple solution, I was dumbfounded. I namely found
I could run up the slope outside the balcony from the lower level bridge
(left image below). Strafe-running at a certain angle got me up there every
time. I could even grab the fan without mantling the railing (right image
below). Slid back down without issues. I climbed up the opposite side the
same way to get the searching patroller’s purse. This way, I never even had
to take the mace to turn on the elevator. Perfect!
West Tower The
top level had a difficult coin pair on a shelf (left image below). One guard
seemed to be in constant hunt mode, while the stationary one entered this
mode only intermittently. I snuck over when the patroller had his back turned
and grabbed it. The level below was problematic. Another guard was in
constant hunt mode, but he was a lot more vigilant than the others. Instead
of being scripted, it seems like he repeatedly got alerted to the fights
above. I needed to pass him to get to the ventilation room. I also preferably
needed two flares from the other room on this floor. There was a pack of 5
flares in a footlocker in the east tower, but I’d rather just pick up two
singles. First I waited until said guard started searching down towards the
storage room with the other guard in it. At that point, I could head down to
the ventilation room and place the fan there. It made a clang, but I don’t
think this triggered anyone. While there, the guard suddenly started
patrolling normally. This was the first time I had ever seen him in this
state. I waited a few rounds for him to settle further, and then snuck into
the storage room and grabbed the flares (right image below). Great!
On
the next level down I could take a coin stack, but couldn’t move past the
next doorway. A stationary guard looked my direction. Fortunately, there was
a way up to this level from the streets. Instead I headed down to the bottom
floor and attempted to sneak outside. Another stationary guard watched the
front gate (left image below). I could sneak along the north wall safely, but
once the light from the lamp further east struck me, he gave a first alert. I
realized, however, that the torch in this room flickered. This meant that its
luminosity was variable and I might be able to use this to my advantage. I
kept reloading to test it out, and suddenly I managed to reach the corner
without an alert. Experimenting some more, I’d say once every ten moves or so
he didn’t alert. I had to be lucky and catch the torch on the weakest part of
its cycle as I passed the middle portion of the north wall. I could also get
caught right at the corner of the gate, but this was only about 50% of the
time. Took
the loot in the streets without issues. Climbed the archway of the tower
entrance, then furthermore the sloped wall up to the balcony (right image
below). I could now get the last purse for Supreme and also reach the fuel
can. I didn’t find a way to turn on the elevator on the roof for Ghost, so
this was the only way to get it for Supreme. The lid I could drop on the
ground without anyone hearing it. I had previously left the gate to the main
entrance open, so I carried the fuel can all the way to the roof.
Fortunately, the fighters had all congregated in the middle of the bridge, so
I could sneak by the barrels unnoticed. Both guards up here were stationary,
but the drain for the fuel was luckily a few feet behind one of them.
Although the tank made a clang, this must have been scripted, as the guard
didn’t say anything.
In
order to get back down, I dropped from the gutter spout directly onto the
lamp above the balcony (image below). Landing in a mantle was silent and
harmless. Remembered to close up the gate before lighting the torch and
burning the ashes. Great mission!
Statistics: Time: 1:05:13 Loot: 2000 out of 2000 (Supreme: 1975) Pickpockets: 14 out of 14 Secrets: 3 out of 3 Locks Picked: None Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0 Consumables: 1 Water Arrows & 2 Flares
(Supreme: 2 Flares) Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Success! Supreme Thief: Success? Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed! Notes: -
Had to skip a gold goblet on level 4 of the east tower
for Supreme. A stationary guard went into hunt mode unless I doused the torch
behind him. -
I ended up taking a water arrow that I planned on
using, but due to my circumstances, didn’t need to. A bust? I’m not sure. It
seems silly to be penalized the player for being able to avoid a bust. |
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