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PREVIOUS MISSION THIEF
2 NEXT MISSION Mission 4: Ambush! [This
report has recently been verified with TFix/NewDark 1.27. Although the
original text for OldDark has been preserved, any situations affected by
these patches are discussed in green. Keep in mind that there is a difference between playing the game in
NewDark with or without TFix. TFix updates the core mission files, as well as
applies .dml files that tweak the environment in numerous ways. These changes
aren’t supposed to have a significant impact on gameplay, but when ghosting,
slight changes could occur. If wanting as close to the “vanilla” experience
as possible, install just NewDark, without any further patches. I have
ghosted the game 1) in OldDark, 2) in plain NewDark, and 3) in NewDark with
TFix. This walkthrough will discuss differences between all varieties.] I appreciate this premise
of this mission, as there are none like it in The Dark Project. Although the
town’s design is good, it is way too empty. More detail would’ve gone a long
way. As with many Thief 2 missions, it seems rushed. With all the great city
missions released by fans over the years, this one has definitely not aged
well, and is firmly placed in my bottom 3 of this campaign. Overall score: 5.6/10 As the title has it, I got
ambushed at the local pub and needed to dodge my way home through the city. No
kills were allowed, but there were no additional objectives besides that. I
would try to obtain all the loot along the way. I knew I’d be redirected to
Shalebridge later, so I planned my route accordingly. I had a feeling this
would be a tricky night for Supreme. I would also
attempt to pick up whatever consumables I could find, and especially tempting
were the eight existing pickpockets. The post-stats say nine in total, but
Thief II always displays one too many. Lots of areas can be avoided if only
going for the objectives and loot. Skip the blue sections if so desired. I started by
the back door to the south of the pub. The
archer by the front door had arrows, but they were impossible to obtain
without causing commotion. I tried waiting the patrollers out until they were
synchronized. One was a few yards in front of the other, but that was ok as
his route extended further down the street in front of the pub. The sentries
by the gate to the northwest were irrelevant; they only commented as a
response to the other guards. I could mantle up the wooden walkway to the
south okay. I even creep-crouch-strafed over to the door and could reach the
archer’s arrows from here. This maneuver was too slow however, as the
patrollers commented the very next instant. They had reached the end of their
patrol and pivoted to head the opposite direction. All the guards alerted on
the pub door as well. This left me with accepting a comment, or skipping the
arrows and the scroll inside the pub entirely. Both could be taken within
plain Ghost rules without the use of consumables (left image below). I ascended the roof garden
to the west of the pub and started my route home. There were several options,
but I found the best way through the adjacent building to the north. An oddly
placed purse was located in an entryway just north of here (right image
above). The water arrows in the marketplace
fountain could only be taken without alerts during the guard and woman’s
conversation, but even then I had to check for settling remarks when they
were done chatting. I snuck through the market unseen and looted an
empty apartment to the southwest. The manhole outside took me to the canal on
Helena Way. Found another purse in the water just up ahead. The entire northwestern
region of town didn’t pose any problems. The grocery store had some more loot
before reaching my apartment. I entered by way of the back window. The
patroller inside my quarters didn’t alert to the door if located at the far
end of the living room (left image below). I eavesdropped at the door to be
sure of his position. When the footsteps changed from wood to carpet I knew I
was safe and made my entry. I grabbed the key from the hidden closet and
left. The female guard in the hallway also alerted on the door, so I timed her
patrol route accordingly. I reached
the arrows from the front door archer by sneaking along the outside wall to
the east. I didn’t actually see the arrows, but could still snag them around
the corner (right image above). Don’t ask me how. The way to Shalebridge
contained much of the same. Plenty of dark nooks and shady entryways made
dodging guards easier than first anticipated. The last piece of loot posed
the most difficult challenge of the night though. A swordsman stationed on
the marketplace bridge had a purse on his belt. Stealing it would complete
Perfect Supreme Ghost, something I thought would be way out of reach. The
problem wasn’t the swordsman as he had his back turned, but instead a
prostitute by the tables further north. She initially has a conversation with
the guard, then stations herself over by the eating area facing east. The
entire plaza was lit up by lampposts and my indicator was bright yellow at
best. I could ccc (creep-crouch-crawl) in between the nearest lamp and the
bridge railing. When rounding the corner to get onto the bridge itself my
indicator went red and the woman commented. It took a lot for her to say
something, but she started hunting soon after. Trying this move several times
made me realize I needed other options. I understood mantling the railing was
my only choice. Despite it being a fast maneuver, the girl didn’t comment on
the actual mantle. She didn’t react until I clunk-landed on the metal.
Naturally it set off the guard too. Normally those sounds can be avoided by
releasing the jump-button at the appropriate moment, but I couldn’t get that
to work here. Perhaps metal surfaces are too sensitive. Instead I
experimented with various soft objects such as fruits, vegetables and
potions. Either of those placed in the right location would cushion the
mantle and prevent any sound. I chose a healing potion but any other similar
object would do (left image below). I could then inch up the railing and lean
in for the grab. The sloped part going back down easily set off the woman if
I generated too much speed. I turned around and tapped the backwards-key to
go slower. The final drop down to street level was a tricky one. It had to be
as stepwise as possible. I used the invisible outer rim to prevent the last
drop from being too long. I snuck away without comments. I repeated this move
alert-free several times (right image below). The move
described above is much easier in NewDark, because you can mantle the rim of
the bridge railing directly without making any noise. No soft item is thus
necessary. Shalebridge Road contained
some guards but they were all patrolling in packs and easier to dodge that
way. I had to pass through an apartment to get by a stationary guard in one
of the east alleys. From there the gate wasn’t far away. Luckily, the key was
an objective and couldn’t be returned to my apartment. Statistics: Time: 50:55 Loot: 1970 out of 1970 Pickpockets: 7 out of 9 Locks Picked: 3 Secrets: None Damage Dealt: 0 Damage
Taken: 0 Consumables: None Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Success! Supreme Thief: Success! Perfect Supreme Thief:
Success! J (Norwegian
Thief: Failed!) Notes: -
Had to skip the archer’s
arrows by the pub front door, as well as the crumbled scroll inside the pub.
They were both impossible to take without alerting the patrollers. |
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