Eavesdropping

Mission 5: Eavesdropping

[This report has recently been verified with TFix/NewDark 1.27. No changes exist between OldDark and NewDark for this mission, as far as ghosting is concerned. 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.]

Applying golf terms, this mission is par for the course. Nothing special, yet with a few interesting aspects. We get introduced to functional iron beasts, and the game’s main villain voices his opinion for the first time. I am definitely a fan of the Hammerites over these clunkers. There are indoor, outdoor and underground areas, but nothing we haven’t seen before. Karras’ plot to rid the world of all life is also eluded to at one point.

Overall score: 7.2/10

After being approached by the Keepers, my next step was to overhear Karras’ meeting with Sheriff Truart. It was to take place at the Mechanist seminary, built around an old Hammerite cathedral. I was to eavesdrop on one of the two doors marked on the map, and follow further instructions from there on. There was a 1,200 loot goal, but no requirements besides that.

The front gates were guarded by two female archers (or crossbowers actually) on the east and west tower balconies. They pivoted north and south, but could spot me from either angle. Creep-crouching out of view circumvented any comments. From my blackjack run I knew that preventing the guards and the iron beast on the west side from triggering would leave the compound a lot less crowded. Two of them (including the robot) had patrols that went through parts of the chapel, a highly unfavorable condition. Instead I worked my way clockwise around the east side of the seminary.

The toughest spot of the mission was in the south end of the chapel. The pulpit area held four pieces of loot (plus the potential deposit box key), all in view of a nearby stationed mechanist. As if that wasn’t enough, a valuable tiara was located on the chapel floor in between the pews, just in front of a guard by the main entry. In addition, the entire seating area was surrounded by noisy, metallic floor tiles. The loophole, however, was a timely conversation initiated upon entry through the chapel’s southeast door. Both guards headed for the middle of the chapel, instigating a discussion regarding tonight’s important meeting. The front door guard was still facing the pulpit, but far enough away not to take notice as I stole the valuables. The other guard had his back turned the entire time. I even managed to sneak over to the east corner before their chat ended (left image below). In order to steal the tiara within Supreme rules (without any first alerts/comments) I had to snag it as the conversation ended and the guards were heading back to their stations. Once that time came, I ran along the wall to directly out from the fourth pew. The best method from here was to creep-crouch-run across the metal until I was close enough to lean in and grab the items. By now, the pulpit guard had reached his spot and turned back around. He would now spot me and comment if I moved faster than crouch-walking. So I turned and moved back to the east wall before the second guard came to a halt. He would comment if turning around while I was close to the pews. He didn’t spot anything east of the metal, and I might have been safe closer than that too. Regardless, I could securely inch along the wall back to the entry door (right image below).

There was a strange piece of loot in the west storage closet by the pulpit. It seemed to be an offering bowl of some sort, worth 20 gold (left image below). Anyway, it looks like junk and can easily be missed.

Next I eavesdropped on the main event in the meeting hall. The hall itself wasn’t accessible, but the doors on either side were. The purpose of the conversation was to find out the location of the safe-deposit box key. The key can be found in any one of 10 fixed spots around the mission. The correct spot is randomly generated upon starting the mission. Coincidentally, the key was found on the pulpit, so I already had it in possession. The inventory name simply changed from ‘key’ to ‘safe-deposit box key’. I also got a verbal confirmation from Garrett. This was very bad news though, as the key couldn’t be placed back without setting off the mentioned guard. This was not only a requirement for Supreme, but for all modes upon successfully completing the wax impression objective. So I was forced to restart and try again. This time the key was located in the guards’ quarters, one of the safer locations. In fact, the pulpit is the only key location that will bust all modes, so there’s a 10% chance of automatic ghost-failure when starting the mission. The only way around this is to buy an invisibility potion before the mission and use it to replace the key without getting seen. This will render the ghost run a ‘chemical success’, but at least it’s a success of sorts. I would rather restart the mission and go for the clean success. If the key is found in the basement foundry, then Supreme is busted for reasons explained below. For that mode the chance of up-front failure is 20%.

I was planning on clearing the basement next, but quickly reconsidered upon discovering the conversation in the lab. The guards went upstairs after the chat and I wanted to delay their patrols until that floor was done. The small lab to the north of the seminary held a few pieces of loot. Unfortunately, it had to be skipped for Supreme as the doors were locked and the lockpicks alerted the servant inside. The doors here had a tendency to disappear when opened, a furiously frustrating bug. Anyhow, I managed to enter and found the mission’s only secret in a sliding floor panel (right image above). There was a small ring next to one of the corpses down there.

I ascended to the roof and entered the second floor of the seminary. This was the most crowded place of the compound with four enemies. A clockwise pattern around the level ended up being the most logical approach. From each tower I could reach the loot on the bottom floor, previously unreachable due to the front door guard. At first I thought the tower crossbow guards had stopped pivoting, but they just took a long time to do so.

I took the crypt entrance down into the catacombs. Two patrolling haunts were easy to circumvent. I went back up and approached the workshop via the staircase. That way I didn’t have to pick the lock on the door from the catacombs. Since there isn’t a key to relock it I figured this to leave less trace of a thief’s passing. Call me a stickler... The conversationists had left and the workshop was free to explore. There was a smaller robot roaming about, but it was blind and only detected sound. I copied the key in the wax impression machine using the nearby putting knife. Unfortunately, the knife made too much noise when replacing it onto the metal counter (a Supreme Ghost requirement). The iron beast alerted and ran upstairs. The image above to the right shows it being as far away from the wax room as possible, but it still went straight to alarm mode. I put it on the floor beside the counter instead, but still a bust. The safe-deposit box key can also be found on the counter near the generators. If returned, it also made too much noise for the robot. Regular Ghosters can muffle the drop with a moss arrow, but for Supreme that is not allowed.

[UPDATE Feb 9^th, 2021: I recently discovered that I was wrong in my original assessment of the workshop bust(s). First, the putty knife can safely be returned to the correct counter if the robot is stationed by the table where the red key is located (image below). It is beyond the threshold of any sound coming from the wax impression room. I always thought it was farther away when stationed by the workshop counters, but that is not the case. Second, you can likewise return the deposit-box key to the table if the robot is in the wax impression room. This reduces the failure chance for Supreme to only 10%. Great news!!]

I then returned the box key to the guards’ quarters and ended the mission by the front gate.

Statistics:

Time: 34:22

Loot: 2119 out of 2119 (Supreme: 1994)

Pickpockets: 1 out of 1

Locks Picked: 3

Secrets: 1 out of 1

Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0

Consumables: None

Ghost: Success!

Perfect Thief: Success!

Supreme Thief: Success!

Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed!

(Norwegian Thief: Failed!)

Notes:

- Had to skip the 125 gold in the lab north of the seminary. The stationary servant alerted on either door being picked.

- Couldn’t return the putty knife to the metal counter by the wax impression machine in the foundry. The patrolling robot went into third alert mode (alarm). Returned it to the floor just next to the counter. Small Supreme violation, but a bust nonetheless. [Revoked due to updated information. See explanation above.]