First City Bank and Trust

Mission 6: First City Bank and Trust

[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.]

‘First City Bank and Trust’ is an excellent mission. To me, it ranks in the top five as far as OMs are concerned. The bank itself is massive and you are looking at a solid 2-4 hours worth of gameplay. It is vastly challenging, which makes it all the more entertaining. There are at least six ways into the bank from the outside, plus the interior layout in highly non-linear. I wish Thief 2 offered more maps like this. Great stuff!

Overall score: 9.5/10

Introduction

Having stolen Karras’ deposit-box key, my next logical step was heading for the bank to use it. I needed to find out which box belonged to the mechanists and then somehow find my way into the vault. The bank was filled with guards and, more annoyingly, cameras. Again there was no loot objective, just the mandatory no-kill and get-back-to-where-you-started requirements.

I knew Supreme was impossible up front. Rule #8 states: “No turning off of watchers, or other security systems.” There is a watcher aimed directly at the vault door, with an off-switch nearby. Also, to enter the southwest region of the first floor, you have to pass through the lobby. The lobby is filled with security cameras, the switch of which is found on the top floor of the compound. An alternate way into the vault area is through the guard room, but that is a marble-filled nightmare. My secondary goal for Supreme was thus to avoid busting any other rules. That meant no first alerts, no removal of light sources and no use of moss arrows. That was a challenge in itself, given the amount of lit rooms and noisy flooring. The cameras give a tiny chirp indicating a first alert. The light doesn’t go yellow and the turning mechanism doesn’t stop, but you can still hear the sound. Several places cameras could catch you through windows, sometimes leaving me oblivious to the fact that I was spotted. I made sure to double-check my tracks carefully. A loophole in the watchers’ maneuverability is that they can’t spot anything directly underneath. Occasionally I’d also forget they can’t hear, spending extra time inching through a tiled room with no guards around. Anyway, watchers add an extra dimension to the game, which I appreciate and don’t think have been utilized enough in third-party missions. I’m not a huge fan, but I value their addition to the gameplay. An additional challenge for equipment purists is to get all 18 pickpocket counts. I knew of a few that would be very tough. You can actually finish the mission without picking any pockets, a different challenge altogether.

There were several ways to enter the bank. I chose the basement window in the east. The basement was filled with small robots, but they were easy enough to pass. I found the vault locking mechanism in a closed-off section beyond a watcher. I could unlock the sliding gate and avoid its gaze without having to turn it off. I noted the initial setting of the button combination, as I knew I’d have to come back to reset it for Supreme.

Second Floor

Upon arriving on the main floors the action got more intense. Watchers, robots and guards were all over the place, so I stuck to the few carpeted and wooded surfaces I could find. I headed to the second floor and immediately went for the library in the northeast. The entrance was in a dark, depressed staircase, where I could wait out the watcher for further moves (left image below). Found the deposit-box information in a library scroll. In order to leave I had to hide below the watcher and run out from there as it swung north. It worked to my benefit as there was a piece of loot in that end of the room.

Further west was a trickier piece of loot. A marbled hallway south of the Great Hall below had two ceiling cameras and an occasional wandering robot (right image above). The loot was a blue vase on an end table. The key to success was noticing the two watchers had unequal spinning speeds. Eventually the faster would catch up to the slower and they would swing away at the same time, as in the image above. Given the robot was away and the downstairs patrollers were gone, I could sprint up and steal the vase.

This is one of the few missions where I made ample use of the map’s notetaking ability. Marking all the loot locations gave me a good idea of the most efficient route to travel. For this reason, the rest of the second floor didn’t pose many problems. It took time to dodge all the patrols, but in the end it was standard sneaking.

The northwest part of the floor actually ended up being easier than first anticipated. One of the swordsmen was hung up on the railing above the Great Hall (left image above). I saw him there during my blackjack run as well, so it must be a common error. I couldn’t nudge him across the edge either. It didn’t impact my travels, so I let him be.

Third Floor

As mentioned, I had to ascend to the third floor to shut down the lobby cameras. The only other way into the vault area on the first floor was through the guard room (right image above). It had no less than three guards, an iron beast, a watcher and the entire room covered in marble. Initially, I thought the door on the upper walkway behind the robot would be my saving grace, since it was pickable. Alas, the nearby guard gave a first alert to my lockpicks, so this was only an alternate way in for regular ghost. I chose to disable the lobby cameras for Supreme. I figured that was a cleaner way than the first alert, since the cameras could be turned back on and leave no trace or hint of my presence. If it hadn’t been for the camera or that walkway swordsman though, the guard room would have been Supremable. Alas, the vault entrance watcher would bust that mode regardless.

The third floor was no big issue, I just couldn’t use the staircases due to the stationary archer on the top floor. I rope arrowed up one of the side walls instead. His arrows were reachable from the front, bending around the corner from the shade. I circled the floor clockwise, passing the Hall of Statues, ending up in the security office to the southwest.

The only real tough spot on the third floor was going for the office in the northeast. The nearby hallway was tiled, had two watchers and a patrolling swordsman (left image below). Luckily, the guard’s long route made him unable to hear me traversing the tile. I timed it so both cameras swung away and rushed around the corner. The Hall of Statues had a secret lever behind one of the sculptures, revealing a hidden torture chamber in said office (right image below). The skeletal remains inside had a tiny piece of loot.

First Floor

Considering the activity level on the first floor, I can’t imagine anyone successfully Ghosting this mission on the first try, at least not if desiring all the loot. A blackjack run to map the grounds is invaluable, if not for anything but to play such a quality mission twice. With the lobby watchers out of commission, the office directly to the north was somewhat easier. I only had to dodge the big iron beast doing rounds between here and the library (left image below). There was a door in the middle, keeping him out of view for at least a few seconds. Each cubbyhole had a pickable safe, and I returned to my hiding spot after robbing each one. The smaller robots had routes all over the place, and I still don’t have them all mapped. They were the least of my worries though, as they don’t see until they have heard you first. A way of conserving energy I assume. Distinguishing first alert comments from mechanical chatter was trickier still, but I think I got it figured out.

The large office to the southeast had a tough piece of loot (right image below). There was a vase in the far corner, with a watcher right by the entry door. An archer occasionally swung by, but his route was extensive. Timing the watcher I could enter and jump around the corner up the ramp. From the spot in the figure below, I could use the same maneuver leaving. I had to leap over a few desks and chairs in the process. It was a tough call, but doable.

The most intense portion of the mission came in the vault region to the southwest. I entered this area by passing the unguarded lobby westward. The initial office had a watcher and a patrolling archer, but nothing too bad. Next, there was a randomly placed coin pair on the lower walkway by the staircases further west (left image below). Someone must have dropped it on their way to the vault. They were in plain view of the pivoting camera to the right in the image. Directly above was the only entry to the office in the southwest of the second floor. It involved a leap from the walkway to a tiled hall. It was preferential to land in a mantle, as that makes less noise than a firm landing.

I now had in my possession the red key that unlocks all the doors in the southwest region of the bank. Returning to the first floor I made my way towards the vault. In my quest to steal all consumables within Supreme rules (aka Norwegian Thief, my personal creation), the final two pickpockets were coming up. Both were found in the guard room, on a stationary swordsman and a patrolling archer, respectively. Those were the same guards involved in a conversation overheard earlier. The closest I could get to the sentry was at the dome entrance, from a small marbled portion separating two darker, wooden halls (left image below). His silver key was my target. However, there were multiple factors to consider. First, the sentry kept pivoting east-west at a fairly frequent rate. Second, the patrolling archer had four visiting spots around the guard room, two of which were safely out of view. Third, the watcher around the north corner needed to be angled east the moment I went for the forward-lean-grab. Fourth, I also needed to be on the watch for the other patrolling archer, who made trips down to the vault as a result of me previously stealing his key. I basically had to wait for the perfect moment, sneak around the corner, pray the swordsman faced east long enough, and time the watcher as I leaned in for the lift. I managed to retrieve the key multiple times, but more often than not the swordsman caught me on my way back to the shade. After about 15 tries, the key was mine. One down, one to go.

[Old Man’s archived report from long ago (Nov 4, 2000!) said it was easier to steal this key before their conversation. I don’t see how that is possible, as the archer is facing the dome before and during their chat, and the swordsman actually walks down to meet him, not the other way around.]

[UPDATE 10/15/11: In a reply from Old Man I realised I was mistaken about the guard’s placement! I went back to the area and managed to sneak up to the first corner (south side) without triggering their conversation. Once you cross the threshold of that corner though and step onto the marble, the guard walks down the ramp and the conversation starts. In that case it is too late. Before that, the guard is placed a good foot closer to the doorway. His feet are almost touching the end of the first tile. Leaning from behind the corner and out into the guard room makes it very clear how much closer you are. The key is still out of reach if the guard faces east, since the key is on his left side. As he pivots west though, the key is just within reach if dead center. I took a screen capture shown here. Notice how the key is highlighted but the light gem is pitch black. I was confused on how the key could be stolen like this with that archer facing straight at me, but since the guard is closer the solution was simple. Thanks to Old Man for this valuable input!]

The archer’s pickpocket was easier, once I knew how. I ascended the vault stairs and exited through the locked door to the east (it responded to the red key). I was now on the upper walkway directly above the stationary iron beast (right image above). From here I could quietly drop onto the marble without taking damage. I made sure to do it when the archer was in the south end. Just to the south of the pillar behind the robot there was a dark path where I could lean in and grab the arrows as the archer came to a halt (left image below). I set auto-equip to ‘off’ in the game menu first, otherwise the bow would make the archer comment. I used a rope arrow to get back to the upper walkway. I had to loosen the drawstring to reduce the sound on impact or else the robot commented. Two for two.

I had to turn off the camera guarding the vault door to enter. It didn’t turn away from the door at all and the entire entrance was well-lit. Supreme was already busted so it wasn’t a huge deal. The two watchers inside was tricky to dodge, especially on the ground level. I made good use of the pillars and stuck to the corners. The lift was dark enough to take me up unseen. I was disappointed to see that none of the other deposit boxes could be picked.

Wrap-up

Took the long haul back up to the third floor to reset the lobby cameras. Supreme Ghost requires everything to be put back to its original state. I also dropped the silver key back to the swordsman’s patrol route in the northwest. I then descended to the basement to relock the vault door. I was surprised to see the door couldn’t relock, so all I could do was reset the buttons to the original configuration. The vault remained unlocked though and the light stayed green. Had I known this I would’ve reset it in the beginning of the mission, preventing the extra trip. There were also a few offices in the east on the first floor that had to be relocked with the red key; easy to miss those. Lastly I replaced the red key to the office on the second floor and exited via the side balcony. I had already lock-blocked it and could end the mission safely.

Statistics:

Time: 1:46:45

Loot: 2284 out of 2284

Pickpockets: 18 out of 18

Locks Picked: 11

Secrets: 2 out of 2

Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0

Consumables: None

Ghost: Success!

Perfect Thief: Success!

Supreme Thief: Failed!

Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed!

(Norwegian Thief: Failed!)

Notes:

- Had to turn off the lobby watchers in the third floor security office to reach the vault. This is necessary to get the recording, but it violates Supreme Ghost rule #8. Alternately, you can enter the vault area via the door on the western wall of the guard room. Picking the lock does triggers a first alert from the nearby guard, but at least this avoids turning off the cameras. However, you then can’t get the coin stacks under the counter in the main lobby.

- Also had to turn off the watcher guarding the vault door. Another violation of rule #8.