klatremus on 20/2/2016 at 03:28
Game:
Thief GoldFM:
The Chalice of Souls, Mission 2: Beyond the Secluded PassageGhost -
SuccessPerfect Thief -
SuccessSupreme Ghost -
SuccessPerfect Supreme -
Success :D
Time - 2:21:14
Loot - 2500/2500
Pockets Picked - 6/7
Locks Picked - 4
Backstabs - 0, Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0
Healing taken - 0, Other Kills - 0, Bodies Discovered - 0
Consumables - None
See the entire report with screenshots (
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2.htm) here!
Loot list (
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_L.htm) here!
YouTube Let's Play here:(
https://youtu.be/2t23KjJCbnU) Part 1 & (
https://youtu.be/k-o5VTL7RSY) Part 2!
Comments:The second mission in the Chalice of Souls campaign is another masterpiece. The brothel underneath Fidgewick's Hollow is certainly a place to remember, for more than one reason. It's highly welcoming to see such quality missions are still made for Thief Gold. There's a certain simplicity to the brilliance too, which I enjoy more than most. I appreciate the variation in tone once you leave the brothel also; a healthy change of pace if you will, similar to the break between the city streets and the sewers in the first mission.
My ultimate goal was of course the Chalice of Souls. Rumored to be in the brothel itself, it was probably going to be more challenging than that. I also had to obtain a ledger with some information on the rich clientele. Besides that, I needed 2,000 in loot and to find a way out.
Brothel, Main FloorThe below above says it all. The first story of the brothel was one of the most intimidating areas I've ever had the pleasure of ghosting. Imagine the parlor in A Winter's Eve, except an entire floor of it. The brothel foyer was my first challenge. There were no less than ten people in, patrolling through or situated near enough to alert. Behind me was a patrolling swordsman from the starting entryway. He only made loops in the outside hallway, so not much to worry about. You likewise had two swordsmen patrolling either hall up the stairs to the east and west. One can be seen to the left in the picture. Then there was a pivoting archer facing north, east and west. North meant he stared straight into the foyer. Yet another swordsman (also in the picture) had a longer patrol route coming down the stairs to the left and leaving towards the north. Two noblemen and two girls also passed through the foyer on a regular basis, one of the girls and both men coming to a short halt close to where I'm standing. The second girl stopped in the east hall before returning. Lastly, you had a stationary nobleman with loot in the sitting area in the back right corner. Not enough to make you scared? Does a bright chandelier and tons of candles boost the fear factor? Hardly any shadows either except for the area where the capture is taken.
Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image001.jpgBefore tackling this room, however, I stole the loot from the bedroom in the southwest. The door was pickable, but I don't like to pick locks unnecessarily. An alternate access through a vent and an attic space enabled me to circumvent the main entry altogether ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image002.jpg) see image). The woman went back and forth between the bed and the fireplace. I could descend and hide by the door if need be. There wasn't much time to spare, but I got all the loot Supreme clean. I headed back to the foyer and continued to plan my route.
I stood in the foyer entrance watching the patrollers for a while. When I thought the coast was clear, I made a run for the nobleman's purse. I found any time two patrollers were leaving to the north simultaneously, usually a 5-10 second window of calm followed. Sneaking was not at option, so I ran. I grabbed the purse and barely got up the stairs to the east before the nobleman in gold emerged from the western hall. Close, but good enough.
Timing the patrols, I could enter both bedrooms in this hall alert-free. One of the doors was pickable, and the swordsman heard the lockpicks if too close. Inside were three women and two pieces of loot (see image 1 below). Had to skip the flute on the desk for Supreme. One girl was stationed in the back corner and the only way to avoid her gaze was by dousing the fireplace flames, only allowed in regular Ghost. Using the water arrow also spawned first alerts.
When re-ghosting this mission for my YouTube let's play, I realized at least three of the women on this floor are chosen a randomly selected facing angle at start. The girl in this room is one of those three. On my second playthrough, she faced east, which meant I could obtain the flute without busts of any kind (see image 2). That meant Perfect Supreme was still intact!
1Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image003.jpg2Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image020.jpgThe east hall was impassable to the north. A woman facing south by the pool commented every time. [This is the second girl that randomly change angle. If facing east, you can easily enter the bath area without getting spotted.] In order to proceed, I had to return to the foyer and take the west exit. Again, this took a long time, basically waiting for a break in the patrols. At least the stairs and the floor to the south was rock and not tiled. It meant I didn't need more than a 5 second window to make it. Even more difficult was getting up the western staircase. An extra swordsman covered that hall, plus a blue-coated guest roaming between first and second level came by from time to time. As if that wasn't enough, the stationary nobleman in the foyer commented if I headed up the stairs too fast. There was a pillar that blocked his view for a part of it, but I essentially had to creep-crouch-strafe my way to safety. The initial safe spot was a few feet into the hall and to the right (green area in the image below). Between the doorway and the next window was a dark spot. I could stay here until the man in gold came along. His patrol went right along that wall, where he jumped to third level alarm mode. Nobody else would catch me here, but I had to get across the hall to the door on the west side to be completely safe (left image below).
Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image004.jpg Brothel, Upper FloorLooted the bedroom here. Next, I aimed for the top floor. In order to avoid needless backtracking, I wanted to hit the two glyphs accessible from upstairs first, before getting the keeper key from the kitchen. At least the upper floor was less crowded. Two patrolling guards, Lady Demetra and the nobleman in blue occasionally visiting from downstairs. More shade to work with also. The swordsman coming down from the nearest walkway was the hardest. He could see me through a window atop the stairs in Demetra's study. Plus he alerted to every little shoe tap. I managed to reach the bathroom without detection first ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image005.jpg) see image).
To move around further, the smartest thing proved to be using the pillars as hardcover. Getting the rest of the objects in Demetra's quarters this way didn't prove to be that grueling. As long as there's only one patroller to worry about, most situations can be Supreme ghosted with a bit of tact and patience. Found a dark area in the corner to the left in her bedroom. The lever on top of the mantelpiece opened the sanctuary access passage. Another lever under the armoire revealed her ledger. I quickly scooted down to the sanctuary entrance to frob the first glyph there. Then sprinted back to Demetra's. Nothing to report in between.
I entered the hallway to the north by mantling past the fenced window up the small flight of stairs. It was a difficult move to repeat consistently, especially dodging both patrollers on the other side. I got to the dark corner beyond after a few tries. The main reason to be here was to loot the bedrooms to the northwest. The entry door was pickable, but could be circumvented by using the shaft directly above ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image006.jpg) see image). I told you I don't like picking those locks! Watching the guards complete their loops a few times, they ended up patrolling conveniently enough for me to slip out and climb up unnoticed. Got the loot and returned.
Next, I had to try a bold move. The second glyph required to obtain the keeper key was located behind an ornamental statue in the foyer north of Demetra's bedroom. A woman in the small foyer downstairs gave unavoidable first alerts if jumping from her balcony (the intended method, by the way). [This is the third woman that could change angle. If she faces west instead of south, you can't use the methods described below. Instead, you have to descend/ascend by use of a rope arrow into the wooden beam sticking out from Demetra's balcony.] My only remaining possibility was from the archer's balcony across the room. There was some shade to the left, but the archer caught me every time when restarting his patrol after a little stance. He always turned to his left, right into my corner. It took me quite some time to figure out the somewhat easy solution. Mantle the northern fence post and wait there ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image007.jpg) see image). Once he turned his back, hoping for no keen eyes below, I leapt for the window on the wall, then hopped and mantled up the ledge by the statue (see image below). Piece of cake! Well...not really. It took me a staggering long time to figure out these moves. But it was fun!
Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image008.jpg From here, the most convenient (though not the
easiest) way to get downstairs was a direct jump to the northern side of the stairs, preferably landing in a half-mantle. Testing it out a bit, I realized the perfect jump made me bounce back somewhat upon impact, landing on the nearby carpet (no sound), yet absorbing the impact enough to prevent damage. From here, I could scurry into the dark corner directly to the north (image below). I needed a good 8-10 second break in all the patrols below to make it work. The biggest problem actually turned out to be the archer and Lady Demetra on the upper floor. Every time the archer turned his back and Demetra was elsewhere, I leapt down and observed my surroundings. When the coast seemed clear, I reloaded and retried until I got it. Once grounded, the swordsman patrolling the pool saw me from across the way unless I creep-crouched across the rug. It took a while to get this right, but not nearly as long as it would've taken to go back the same way as before.
Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image009.jpg Wrapping Up the CathouseMy next goal was to get the service key from the servant. This proved more difficult than anticipated, as he had an awkward patrol route on the bright side of the hallway, in clear view of the entire foyer. The swordsman alternating between this hall and the dining room didn't help the situation. I ended up having to go into the kitchen to get it. There was only one spot of shade in there that I could find; to the right of the fireplace. However, the servant caught me when about to leave. Instead I waited in the opposite corner, behind the shelving unit, wherefrom I snuck out and stole his key as he waited ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image010.jpg) see image). The bedroom next door and the basement posed no challenges whatsoever. Had to reenter the kitchen to get the keeper key ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image011.jpg) see image). Made sure to leave the panel open, as I'd have to return the key later (ugh). Snuck west in the hall and prepared to tackle the dining room.
The right corner atop the stairs was safest. The dining hall had a few new enemies. First, there was a stationary woman over by the fireplace; no big deal. Second, the swordsman from before came up the same flight of stairs as me. He waited at the top for a bit, only to turn around and leave. Third, the servant from the kitchen also came up and positioned himself by the dining table. Fourth, the two patrolling guards from the upper level walkways could easily spot me. One other guard and three civilians also patrolled through here with regular intervals. Needless to say, this room was a pickle. Coming from the north was easier than leaving out the southern exit. Both benches along the walls had spots of shade. This was my first area of rest (image below). Three pieces of loot could be snagged from the north side, two were on the mantelpiece, and the last three from the south. I used the pillars as hardcover where possible, and after all was taken, hid atop the bench on the south wall. From here, I could monitor the swordsman that patrolled the hallway going down the next set of stairs ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image013.jpg) see image). Every time he turned, I emerged and scoped the territory. After a few loops, the coast was clear. Sneaking my way back to Demetra's was the same as before.
Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image012.jpg The SanctuaryOpened the sanctuary doors, but then came the conundrum. I needed to relock the door due to Supreme rule #7, yet I also had to return the keeper key for the same reason. The doors weren't frobbable, so I couldn't lock-block either of them. If I stood in the way, the doors just went straight through me. I was just about to give up when I (for some reason) thought back on my Supreme run of Kidnap. There was a strange situation there where you have to separate Cavador from his entourage by using the patrol route of a mech bot. Long story short, bots get blocked by single crates while human enemies don't. I was hoping perhaps this situation would be similar. Perhaps the doors would be blocked by objects, even though I didn't. I first went looking for boulders or crates. They would have to be on the sanctuary side, as I'd have to return whatever I ended up using. I didn't find what I was looking for close by, at least. Then, merely as a fluke, I decided to try the keeper papyrus just beyond the sanctuary entrance. Voila! It worked!! That insignificant piece of paper kept the door from budging as if Superman himself was holding it (image below). That of course meant Perfect Supreme was still intact! I still had to return the keeper key though, which was a pain all in its own right. It alone added probably a whole hour to my playtime. The kitchen panel could be closed up from above easily enough. Returned to the sanctuary, grabbed the papyrus, and saw the door lock up behind me. Wonderful!
Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image014.jpg The sanctuary itself was a nice change of pace. It was almost too easy to sneak through compared to the first half of the mission. A few craymen wandered around, but everything could be taken without any trouble. One piece of loot, a gold goblet, was cleverly hidden outside a railing in one of the two story towers ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image015.jpg) see image). Another piece of loot towards the south was hidden on a high ledge above a stationary crayman (image below). I could get up by use of a rope arrow, but getting back down was tougher. I found dropping onto the statue while the crayman was facing the wall didn't spawn any first alerts. From there I could fall onto the slanted metal grate.
Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image016.jpgI didn't find anything of value in the multi-floored tower except for a gas arrow at the bottom. I really thought climbing to the very top would yield something, but no such luck. Several times though, one of the craymen alerted on the floor above or below without me making a peep. There must be an error in the transparency of some of the structures there; unless he alerted to the dead crayman at the base level and came looking automatically.
Jumped into the water next. I could feel the chalice getting closer. None of the blue floating orbs in the grotto gave first alerts, as far as I could tell. They reacted differently to spotting me though. Two of them sunk to the bottom, while the last two started to inflate. Unless I saw a change in their behavior, I considered myself undetected. Found the chalice and the final nugget in the innermost grotto ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image017.jpg) see image).
After taking the main objective, more swordsmen spawned back at the sanctuary entrance. It made me wonder how they got there, as the doors were still shut and the key sealed beneath the kitchen. Regardless, one of them carried a scroll with an interesting read. This was the last pickpocket too, for those prioritizing that stat count.
An alternate underwater cave took me to the exit. I had to pass an engine room with a patrolling thief ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image018.jpg) see image). He carried the key for the exit door. Was slightly tricky to get the final loot here without him commenting. Got it eventually. Lock-blocked the door and dropped the key atop the staircase before escaping back to the snowy streets ((
http://www.klatremus.org/ChaliceOfSouls2_files/image019.jpg) see image). Thank you dear authors for a wonderful campaign!
Notes- If the woman in the bedroom in the southeast on the first floor of the brothel faces south, you have to skip the flute in there for Supreme. Her angle is chosen randomly upon starting the mission. The second time I ghosted it, I got lucky.
skacky on 20/2/2016 at 14:03
Insane. This man is insane! I didn't think it was possible to supreme the mission, let alone perfect supreme ghost it.
Some clarifications with regards to the randomized AI directions: I did not set any random directions. The AI in the bedroom should face east, the one in the baths east as well and the one in the hall west. If they don't, then it's a bug. It never happened to any of us, but Thief is weird like this sometimes. You can also mantle on top of the door that's unlocked with the Service Key, so you don't actually have to steal it from the servant and return it. The floating orbs in the water are water elementals, they're almost blind, deaf and only catch you if you get too close to them.
I agree with your comments on the Keeper ruins, but time was running short and I wanted the place to feel very forsaken. It hasn't seen human activity in over a century.
Tannar on 20/2/2016 at 20:34
Thanks for the report, klatremus. I'm looking forward to reading it when I have a bit of free time.
klatremus on 20/2/2016 at 22:25
skacky:
Thanks for your input! The first two times I played the mission the three women you mentioned all faced south. Then suddenly when I recorded my let's play they faced east/west. I guess I showed how to supreme them either way then, once in the report and once in the video. Never even tried mantling the service door. I could've skipped the key like you said, but since I returned it, supreme should be good. The biggest challenge with the brothel was figuring out what spots were safe from candle flicker. You could stand in complete darkness at one moment, then the next you were lit up if all the surrounding flames suddenly got bright. Then planning the most efficient route was crucial, not needing to backtrack through dangerous territory. For the longest time I though not being able to block the sanctuary doors would cause the bust. Then a little voice told me to try the papyrus and it worked. I liked the sanctuary, don't get me wrong, and from a story perspective the solitude and forsaken atmosphere makes sense. Please don't take it as a complaint; I appreciate so much everything you guys do for this community. Keep it up! :thumb:
Grandmauden on 13/9/2016 at 17:32
FM:
Thieves' HighwayGame:
TMAPlay Mode: Ghost (
Success!!), Perfect Thief (
Success!!), Supreme Ghost (
Failed…)
Time – 2:56:33
Loot –
3944/3944Pockets Picked – 7/17, Locks Picked – 8
Back Stabs – 0, Knockouts – 0
Damage Dealt – 0, Damage Taken – 0, Healing Taken – 0
Innocents/Others Killed – 0, Iron Beasts Destroyed/Disabled – 0
Bodies Discovered – 0
Secrets – 5/5
Consumables – 1 gas arrow
Comments:
The only major objective for this mission was to collect 3600 loot. However, the loot total is 3944, meaning I could only afford to skip a mere 344 loot if it meant achieving Supreme. There are two locations in this mission – a dining room under the banner beam near the center of the level, as well as the basement of the Fembound Gallery – with more than 344 loot, so getting to these places was mandatory by default. Another location, the fancy apartment building with the ballroom, had just under 344 loot, but it would still be nice to get there in case too many other loot pieces were unobtainable.
Alas, as I quickly found out, 'twas not to be. None of the three locations mentioned above could be reached without busting Supreme. I just had to hope Perfect Thief was still attainable…
I left my apartment without taking any equipment, and I overheard two other thieves on their way to pilfer Figalily's collection at the gallery. One of the two air vents nearby led into a Mechanist building. Picking the lock on the priest's bed woke him up, so that was already a piece of loot unavailable for Supreme. A stationary guard kept me from continuing down the hall, so I'd have to use the other entrance to reach the rest of the loot in here. Instead, I entered the other air vent, picked open the door, and went upstairs once the coast was clear.
In the guard barracks, I found a pair of rope arrows in one of the chests. Out on the rooftop with the banner beam, I ducked into a shadow in the northwest while the archer was looking away and the patrolling swordsman was out of sight. I carefully slid down to the ledge with the yellow pipe, then inched my way west so the archer wouldn't notice me (see image below). The window at the far end led to an apartment with a gem ring (Secret #1).
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/V3etd2w.pngThe wooden ledge brought me to that dining room I needed to visit, but there was a big problem. Inside was a stationary guard facing the room, he never moved, and the room was well-lit (see image below). I couldn't even step through the window without getting a first alert. Already, Supreme Ghosting this mission was out the window.
I managed to reach the vases behind the guard by hugging the ledge along the way and crawling around the flowerpot, and he didn't get beyond a first alert. However, the same can't be said about the loot on the far side of the room. I exited and climbed back onto the rooftop, then took an air crystal from the smoking pipe in the southeast. Returning to the dining room, I doused the closest torch, which caused the swordsman here and the archer above to first alert. The swordsman gave a few more first alerts as I dropped to the floor and crawled along the south and east walls, but thankfully, I was able to clean the place out and escape.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/Q3EmxPc.pngBack on the roof, I let the patrolling swordsman go north to the barracks before heading through the east door. Beyond this building was a spire, which I could access through an open window on this floor or another window on the lower floor. I chose the lower window, partially because there was a gold coin stack behind a vase in the office (Secret #2), but mostly because this let me avoid the archer on top of the spire. I had to move a flowerpot off the windowsill in order to continue to the castle ramparts.
There were two archers on the castle roof: one who pivoted, and another who patrolled and held a purse. I mantled up the outer ramparts instead of using the trapdoor so I could be in a shadow right away. I kept the banner pole between me and the pivoting archer so that when the patroller got close, I could swoop in and nab his purse (see image below). Below me, in the barracks, was an easily-missed pair of lucky coins on a desk. North of the castle was the Mechanist building I had visited earlier, but from this direction, I could reach the gear in the hallway once the coast was clear.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/OwmgIRZ.pngNow it was time to enter the ballroom. Only the easternmost window could be picked open, and when I dropped inside, I was already getting first alerts from the nobles there (they even starting searching for me if I wasn't careful enough). I stuck to the shadows as I quickly moved to the southeast corner. I turned off the lights, then crept around the ballroom and stole five purses from the nobles.
A guard patrolled back and forth in the hallway. If I waited until he just passed the doorway, I could run out, grab the horn, and be back before he turned around. Next, I made my way downstairs. A second guard patrolled up and down these stairs, and they were too narrow for me to avoid him. However, I found a couple of tiny shadows where I could sit and wait for him to pass, and he only gave a first alert as he bumped into me (see image below). From there, I cleaned out the lower floor of the fancy apartments. A woman staring out the kitchen window prevented me from continuing any further, so I'd have to backtrack. I snuck up the stairs just as the swordsman came down in order to avoid another first alert from him, but the nobles happily commented away as I returned through the ballroom. I was just happy to have regular Ghost still intact and Perfect Thief still in my sights.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/0kRNeco.pngBack in the building west of the spire, I exited through the south window onto another rooftop. From here, I went east and south, leaping to the ledge around an inn. I crawled in the window and waited for the archer in the hallway to enter a workshop before I continued out the door to another rooftop in the southeast, which held yet another archer. In the nearby barracks, I opened the window shutters to find a purse (Secret #3).
A pipe extended from this roof to the pump house across the street. However, the archer pivoted between facing east and facing south towards the pipe. After mantling onto the pipe, I was in shadow most of the way across, but as I approached the pump house, I became illuminated enough for him to give a second alert if he was facing me (see image below). I had to creep quickly and quietly into the building and drop down before the archer noticed me.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/QxARF7c.pngAs I jumped out the window to the ledge around the next building, the pivoting archer gave a first alert, no matter which way he was facing. I used my two rope arrows to enter the south castle and grab some loot. To retrieve the arrows on my way back, I had to grab them the nanosecond after I jumped off of them; they were too high to reach from below, and too far to reach from each other. Close by, I found Figalily's brother, still tied up after his encounter with the two thieves. A letter on his table explained that to enter the storage area in the basement of the Fembound Gallery, which held Figalily's collection, I'd have to flip a switch on every floor of the gallery. After a quick visit to the condominiums to the north, I was ready to backtrack again.
The archer gave another first alert as I jumped back into the pump house. To get onto the pipe without him alerting again, though, I had to first mantle on top of the open window and step onto the pipe from there. Now it was just a matter of timing my way across the pipe with the archer's pivots and his friend's patrols onto the rooftop. Once I was safely across, I went back down the hallway to the inn.
In the rafters above the sleeping men was an air vent that was easy to overlook (see image below). I quietly shot a rope arrow at a rafter beam to get up, then crawled through the vent. The room beyond contained a money box with a gold coin stack inside, but unfortunately, there was also a sleeping swordsman who would wake up when I picked open the box. It was just a first alert, though, so I was still in the clear. I returned back to where the guys were sleeping and exited through the west window. After crossing the street with a rope arrow, I arrived in another inn, this time with sleeping women. I continued through the next window onto a ledge.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/cRQbF8y.pngThere was a small alley between this building and the bank to the north that held a few points of interest. An air vent led to a bedroom with several ancient jars in the corners by the ceiling. Meanwhile, an open window took me on a convoluted route to an apartment in the south, where I found a purse tucked under the bed and a gold candlestick. Continuing north from the alley, I could avoid a first alert from the guard on the balcony below by slowly creeping along the ledge. From here, I just had to climb into a window, pick open a door, hop out through another window, and I was finally back on the rooftop with the banner beam. Now I could start my journey west to the gallery.
Or, rather, my journey would have to be put on hold. As it turned out, the archer on this roof was too close to the banner beam. No matter what, he would see me crossing the beam and go into search mode. Even if I shot a rope arrow at the middle banner and climbed up halfway along the beam, I was still in his visual range. And the banner beam was the only way to get across here; the skybox was too low for me to climb onto any rooftops in the area. My only option left was to nudge the archer out of the way.
But nudging this guy is easier said than done. He pivots between facing northwest and southwest, and I needed him facing southwest so I could push him south to where the building I'd just come from would block his view. To make matters worse, I had to stop nudging and hide in a shadow whenever the patrolling swordsman showed his face outside. I had approximately 30 seconds between the time when he walked into a door and the time when I'd have to run for cover before he came back out. And rarely was the archer facing southwest for all 30 of those precious seconds. What's already a long and slow process was now much longer and much slower.
Fortunately, whenever the swordsman was heading towards the barracks to the north, he had his back to me longer, so I had more than a 30-second timeframe to nudge the archer (assuming the swordsman didn't get turned around in the doorway and comment on me). Also, as the archer got further and further south, I had less ground to cover between him and the shadows in the southeast corner, meaning I could spend more of that timeframe nudging instead of creeping back and forth.
So, in the end (over an hour of in-game time later!), I finally had that taffer pushed as far south as possible (see image below). Once the swordsman was away, I carefully stepped down onto the banner beam. After confirming the archer was looking southwest, I crept all the way across the beam with no comments whatsoever. The adventure continued!
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/whgD1US.pngTo avoid the Mechanist who patrolled into this machine room, I mantled onto a pipe, and from there, onto the gas lamp over the door (see image below). As soon as she walked in, I dropped silently behind her and raced through the door, avoiding a first alert. Downstairs, I tailed the other Mechanist and dodged around him just as he turned around. From there, it was back outside.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/3PbTniV.pngI used a rope arrow on a windowsill to the south to reach the upper roof. I waited for the patrolling swordsman to come outside, then entered the barracks behind him. I had to move through the shadows just at the right spot to avoid a first alert from the servant, but I got the purse in the chest and got back out with no hassle. On the lower roof, I found Benny drinking with another guard; listening to them sing and chat was especially beautiful after what I went through to get this far.
Continuing into the office building to the south, I found the hallways were wide enough that I could sit in the shadow and let the patrolling swordsman pass me without him noticing me. Halfway up the stairs was a healing potion behind a flowerpot (Secret #4). I grabbed it to get credit for finding it, then put it back. Once I was out the next window, I could parkour my way to the bell tower. In an apartment to the south, I waited for the guard to look away before creeping in and taking the nobleman's glasses, then waited for him to turn away again before returning to the bell tower.
At last, I was ready to tackle the Fembound Gallery. The intended entrance is a window north of the bell tower, but getting close to the window will trigger a script where the two thieves from the start of the mission will get into a loud fight with a guard and a combat bot inside. This would make sneaking around in there a real pain. Fortunately for me, there was another way into the building.
I jumped from the bell tower onto a ledge around the red brick building in the northeast (left image below). From there, I mantled onto an outcropping on the gallery building, then onto a window frame, and then onto a higher ledge on the red building (right image below). Around the north side of the building was a room with some loot, but I couldn't reach it without a first alert from the guard inside. Regardless, there was another open window into the gallery up here, so I was finally at my destination.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/RPbFKcw.png Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/KQ1hU5F.pngThis floor of the gallery was set up like a ring. In the center was a crawlspace with a ladder on my side, and an elevator on the far side. Two guards patrolled back and forth on this floor, and to make it to the crawlspace, I had to drop down from the window and quickly creep across the tile floor when both of them were looking away or on the other side. I took a first alert doing so, but I suspect I could've avoided it if I was more patient. From the crawlspace, I could easily time my movements through the shadows with the guards' patrols to snatch the two paintings in the opposite corners and flip the first switch in the northwest. Then, it was back to the crawlspace.
Climbing up the ladder to the attic, I realized the patrolling guard up there had gotten too close to the ladder and was now stuck. Initially, I feared this was going to ruin my Ghost run, but luckily, I was able to mantle up behind him, flip the second switch behind the beds, and drop back down onto the ladder without him giving a comment. I continued down to the floor where the thieves were supposed to get into a fight, but because I wasn't meant to enter the way I did, the script that started the fight never triggered. In fact, the two thieves, the guard, and the combat bot never reacted to my presence at all, making it a piece of cake to flip the third switch behind the guard and be on my merry way.
At the bottom of the ladder, I crept out when the combat bot moved away, then followed it around to the south. There was a bit of a sound propagation issue on this floor, as I couldn't always hear the combat bot very clearly. In any case, I hid in a shadow on the south wall until the bot came past again, then hurried over towards the elevator and waited there. Once it had passed by going south again, I continued to the northeast corner, where the fourth switch was hidden.
All that was left was to get into the basement, but in my way was a partially-illuminated marble staircase with a swordsman waiting at the bottom (see image below). To get past him, I had to carefully creep down the exact center of the stairs so as to remain in shadow. Once I reached the bottom few stairs, I was able to slightly angle myself away from the guard (but not so far as to step into the light) and gently move, inch by inch, the rest of the way down. I was amazed, yet thankful, that I was able to pull this off with that swordsman looming right over my shoulder. Now it was just a matter of creeping through the doorway. With the marble floor ended, I could relax as I took the stairs down to the basement.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/jMuXkEQ.pngWhen the swordsman down here was looking away, I stepped into a shadow to the right of the doorway. I waited for him to be looking east so I could follow the combat bot around the north corner. It commented on me as I hid by the wooden doors, but that wasn't of any concern. Through the wooden doors, I found a cleverly hidden silver coin stack on top of the armoire, as well as a switch to the left of the bed which opened a small attic containing a purse and an ancient hammer (Secret #5; see image below). I had to jump onto the bed itself without waking Figalily in order to reach the fifth and final switch on the right side, but once I had, the gate to the storage area was open. I exited this room, went past the gate, and happily swiped everything I found there. Not only did this finally complete my loot objective, but this meant I had managed to acquire all the loot in the mission!
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/9ognDIG.pngGetting back out wasn't much harder. I hid by the wooden doors again until I could safely dart back to the staircase, and the combat bot first alerted several times as I did so. Back on the marble floor, I had to repeat my slow and careful steps up the stairway to avoid any trouble with the guard. At the top, I realized I could climb onto the ledge above the stairs and jump to the ledge on the other side without getting a first alert, thus giving me a shortcut to the crawlspace. I ascended the ladder two stories to where I had entered. The patrolling guards here were now more in sync, making it easy to escape through the window without another first alert.
I jumped back to the bell tower and returned north to the office building, dodging the guard by hiding in the hallway like before. The Mechanist building was much easier to navigate from this angle. I simply tailed the female Mechanist down the hall, ducked over to the stairs before the male Mechanist turned around, let the female enter the machine room, and hid further down the hall so she wouldn't see me on her way back. From there, it was a simple matter of crossing the banner beam again (nice of that archer to be looking away so I didn't have to worry about him anymore), going north through the barracks, out the air vent, and back to my own apartment. It was time for me to sleep, and now that I successfully managed to Perfect Thief this mission, I had earned it!
Notes:
- The ten pickpockets I didn't get were arrows from the various archers scattered throughout the mission.
Shadowdancer on 22/9/2016 at 21:24
That sounds like a really nice run. @Grandmauden
It's been quite some years since I played this mission so I couldn't remember all the locations you were describing. Ever thought about decorating your post with some screenshots? That'd be really cool.
I very much know all of the Seventh Crystal mission though. It was a nice read!
Grandmauden on 23/9/2016 at 01:17
Fair point. It doesn't help that most buildings in the mission are simply labeled "castle," "apts," and such. I'll go back in and take some screenshots, then upload them somewhere and add them to the post.
Grandmauden on 21/12/2016 at 01:36
FM:
So Long HammersGame:
TMAPlay Mode: Ghost (
Success!!), Perfect Thief (
Success!!), Supreme Ghost (
Failed…)
Time – 1:56:07
Loot –
2112/2112Pockets Picked – 3/7, Locks Picked – 6
Back Stabs – 0, Knockouts – 0
Damage Dealt – 0, Damage Taken – 0, Healing Taken – 0
Innocents/Others Killed – 0, Iron Beasts Destroyed/Disabled – 0
Bodies Discovered – 0
Secrets – 7/7
Consumables – 3 water arrows, 2 moss arrows
Comments:
I didn't anticipate much trouble while attempting to Supreme Ghost this mission. There were only a couple of tricky spots I could think of, and for each of them, I already knew of a workaround from earlier tests or had a workaround in mind. I suspect that one maneuver I did is only possible with NewMantle turned on, though.
When the guard patrolling in the courtyard walked away, I shimmied up the pipe and entered Lord Siniori's Manor through a window. After looting the kitchen and dining room, I hid in the doorway and watched for the patrolling guards. One of them walked a reverse-C around the first floor, while another walked up and down the northeast staircase and popped out at the first and second floors. Once the coast was clear, I tailed the second guard up the staircase and continued up to the third floor. The purse on the patrolling swordsman and the coins in the bedroom were easy enough, but to reach the gold vase in the corridor, I had to hug the east wall and slowly creep towards it so as to not alert the stationary guard down the hall.
I returned to the staircase and opened the door to the second floor, then slowly inched forward until the two guards in the hall began their conversation without first alerting. One of them decided to go to the kitchen, leaving the other to patrol around the floor. When he was looking away, I could creep to the large shadow in the living room. There was a statuette on one of the pillars, but the nearby fireplace meant I would be visible to an archer by the grand stairway if I went directly for it. Instead, I crawled immediately in front of the fireplace to the south corner, then crawled west past the couch. This kept me far away enough from his visual range until the pillar blocked his view, at which point I could grab the statuette and retrace my steps around the room.
Now I needed to cross over to the west side of the manor. The third floor hallway was definitely not an option, with the stationary guard and a watcher present, and the archer from earlier had a view of both the first and second floor halls. Fortunately, I found a blind spot. Down on the first floor, I could creep south to the grand stairway and use it as cover to avoid being spotted by the archer (left image below). I was still illuminated, though, so I had to duck into a shadow alongside the stairs when the patrolling swordsman came past.
Next came Siniori's exhibition room. The two watchers covered most of the room, but it was simply a matter of standing directly below them and stepping forward until I could lean out and grab each of the Lost City artifacts (right image below). When the patroller showed up, I hid in a shadow by the couch until he left. I couldn't reach the masks from here without getting busted, but luckily, there were some windows between this room and the hallway, and the hallway had plenty of shadows. I could easily lean into the windows and pick up the masks without a reaction.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/NNoezqu.png Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/RNkUvjC.pngI snuck under the watcher by the camera control room to enter the barracks. The swordsman here had a purse, but he was looking straight at a door that led to a silver coin stack, so I would have to skip that 12 loot for Supreme. I took the northwest staircase to the second floor and entered the library. A nobleman wandered between the third and fifth rows, but only paused at the third row; this proved to be the best time to nab the lucky coins on the windowsill in the fourth row. Meanwhile, there was a switch under a pillar between the first and second rows, and it opened a secret passage to the camera control room below (Secret #1). There was nothing down there for me, though, so I opened the passage to get credit for the secret and closed it back up.
From the second floor hallway, I stepped onto the upper balcony of the exhibition room. Stealing each of the masks up here simply required me to wait until the watcher turned away, dart out and grab them, then get back to the shadow before the watcher looked my way again. The mask to the south also required me to crawl past a window so that the archer by the grand stairs didn't see my thievery, but there were ultimately no problems here. I returned to the northwest staircase and climbed to the top. A ladder hidden in the shadows led to a small attic with some loot, including a single coin that was almost invisible (see image below).
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/lw7ruf5.pngI listened at the door to the third floor hall until I was sure the patrolling swordsman was gone, then opened the door. The second door on my right led to a bathroom with a purple vase, though entering and exiting without a beep from the watcher required a bit of timing. Across from the bathroom was a spice bag under a statue, but the electric light and the tile floor meant I couldn't get close without alerting the stationary guard nearby, so that was 30 loot I had to skip for Supreme. I hid in the shadow by the first door in the hall under the patroller left, then picked it open to enter a bedroom. A switch under the nightstand revealed a tiara behind a painting (Secret #2).
I exited onto the balcony and quietly dropped to the lower roof, then mantled below the window leading to Lord Siniori's room. When he turned away, I opened a window and climbed in. The diary on Siniori's desk mentioned the cistern in his basement led to some catacombs, but I needed a key into the cistern. To get past Siniori (see image below), I waited for him to face north or west, then hopped onto his bed. When he turned south, I quietly snuck to the shadow in the northwest corner and pulled the lever behind the bookcase. This opened a secret room near the double doors, and after making sure Siniori was still facing south, I was able to enter. Inside was the cistern key and a piece of paper with the number "5358" written on it. Clearly, this was the combination to a safe or vault. I employed a scouting orb to see when it was safe to return to the bedroom, closed the secret room, and made it past Siniori to the window. I used a rope arrow to climb back onto the balcony, then made my way back to the northwest staircase and descended all the way down to the basement level.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/KQCQBn3.pngSiniori's vault was down here, but I decided not to bother trying to break in. A guard stood right in front of the door, and he pivoted so frequently that I stood no chance of running in, grabbing the loot, and getting back out without being caught, especially because the vault had a metal floor. That was 250 loot I had to skip, which meant I was cutting extremely close to my 1800 loot requirement. Instead, I waited for the patrolling guard to walk south towards the vault, then headed east across the loud gravel and unlocked the door to the cistern.
I followed the passage to an underground lake with a silver nugget that was easy to overlook. Up ahead was a fork in the road, with the left tunnel leading to a spider's den. Normally, it stood still with the occasional glance around, but sometimes, it moved its legs as if it was patrolling in place. This meant I had to wait to cross the light until I was sure the spider's cone of vision was facing away from me. Because stationary spiders see from their butts, my best chance was when the spider stopped "patrolling" with its head towards me. I crossed the light, took the silver nugget, and made it back.
The other tunnel brought me to the entrance of the catacombs. This first room had two zombies, but by sticking to the shadows, I had no problem with them. The next room had a broken bridge over a river of magma. I slid off the east side of the bridge with no comment from the zombies in the previous room, then took the gold vase above the ladder to the west.
Now, here's the biggest problem with Ghosting this mission. The intended route to the Church of St. Lazanar, which held one of the items I needed to steal, is through a tomb off to the side of the broken bridge chamber. Inside the tomb is a haunt and a casket with several golden bones on it (see image below). By bringing the missing golden bones (the skull from the first room and an arm from the other side of the broken bridge), a passageway will open for me and the haunt will fall over dead, apparently because returning the golden bones allows the soul in this tomb to find peace – I even get a "thank you" for my deed.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/mqy7pvd.pngHowever, the official Ghost rules state that I cannot kill AIs, nor can I cause them to commit suicide, unless an objective explicitly tells me to. None of my objectives relate to this haunt or the golden bones. I am not directly killing the haunt, nor am I causing it to kill itself. What happens here is when I place the golden bones on the casket, a script is triggered that opens the door and kills the haunt. Technically, albeit indirectly, I am responsible for the death of this haunt (not that I would ever cry over a dead haunt, mind you). Therefore, in the spirit of the rules, I would have to find an alternate route to the church.
Theoretically, there are three other paths that lead to the church. The first is a locked gate that connects directly to the church, but it can't be unlocked from my side and I doubt I could glitch through it for regular Ghost. Option #1 was out. The second is a hallway just past the broken bridge, but the ceiling caved in and the author put in an invisible barrier to stop me from climbing over the rubble. Option #2 was out. The third and only possible route left was to reach one of the spaces with a casket along the east wall of the broken bridge chamber; two of them had an opening in the back that led to the same passage I would enter from the golden bone tomb. Option #3 was…potentially doable.
Of the six casket spaces along the east wall, the two in question were the upper-middle and upper-left spaces. I certainly couldn't mantle up from the ground, and stacking was impossible due to the sloped floor and wandering zombie. There wasn't even a ladder on that side of the magma river, just the slanted ladder on the opposite side, leading to the only upper casket space without an opening in the back. But could I climb up that ladder and jump to the upper-middle casket space? It was my only shot.
In theory, I would have to climb to the top of the ladder, strafe-run-jump, and grab ahold of the middle casket space so I could mantle up (see image below). Several factors made this maneuver much more easily said than done, however. Surprisingly, the wandering zombie across the magma river wasn't one of them; the ladder was far enough from his visual range that he didn't react to me while I was on the ladder (I still played it safe and waited until he was out of view). The first issue was the ladder. Because it was at a weird angle, I didn't have much of a chance to gain momentum and make a decent jump. Most of the time, I fell short of the casket space and was burned to a crisp in the magma. Not to mention that ladders were never the easiest things to jump off in this game. The second issue was the casket space that the ladder was leading to. When I would attempt my jumps, if I was directly against the wall or not facing the right angle, I would simply mantle into the undesired casket space rather than actually jump.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/0jzC7PX.pngUltimately, I had to climb the ladder to the very top, tap the jump button in order to "detach" from the ladder (evidenced by the screen slightly shifting without me dropping a few inches), back up a smidgen, angle to the left, strafe-run, and jump without falling off the ladder. Eventually, to my own astonishment, I pulled it off! It took me far too many attempts to even count, but I had made it to the upper-middle casket space! I even reloaded and tried it again, just to make sure it was repeatable (which I did, after another dozen or so tries). Now I just had to climb over the casket, which I'm not sure can be done without NewMantle, and I was past the golden bone tomb with Supreme Ghost still intact! Sadly, though, it wouldn't last much longer…
I found a gold vase in the opening behind the other casket, then descend a pair of ladders into some red catacombs, where I found another gold vase, plus a lever above a casket which revealed a gold nugget nearby (Secret #3). Back up the ladders, I opened a door to a hallway with two haunts. One of the haunts patrolled back and forth, while the other stood off to the side and pivoted. To get past the pivoting haunt, I had to slowly creep behind it when it turned north, then creep around it when it turned south, all while making sure the patrolling haunt didn't see me. Yet, despite all my efforts, I inevitably had to bust Supreme here. The door at the end of the hall could either be picked open or unlocked with a key held by the pivoting haunt. Supreme rules require me to relock all doors I unlock and return every key I find to where I found them. While pickpocketing the haunt's key and lock-blocking the door isn't a problem, when I tried to drop the key at the haunt's feet, it clacked on the stone floor and the haunt went into search mode, busting my Ghost. I could not return the key, and therefore, Supreme was no longer possible. On the bright side, there was still a chance I could steal all the skipped loot within normal Ghost rules and attain Perfect Thief. With that in mind, I picked open the door at the end of the hall, moved the crates in front of the secret passage, and climbed the ladder up to the Church of St. Lazanar.
Another unavoidable Supreme bust revealed itself in the church. The Stone of Lazanar that I wanted was hovering above the altar, which was illuminated by two torches. An apparition patrolled around the church, while a haunt stood to the side and stared straight at the altar (see image below). Even when crawling as slow as I possibly could, I always got a first alert from the haunt before I could reach the altar, and it was extremely difficult to discern if or when the apparition first alerted. So, yeah, Supreme was definitely not doable in this mission. I doused the torches and claimed the Stone of Lazanar as my own.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/fQWkkTM.pngThe passage I used to enter the church had sealed up behind me, so I was forced to exit through the gate. I used a rope arrow to reach the balcony east of the pews, timing my jump to avoid unnecessary alerts from the apparition below or the haunt on the other balcony. Through a pair of doors was a stationary haunt with the gate key. I waited until he turned away, then creeped forward across the tile floor, leaned in, snatched the key, and slipped back into the dark doorway before it could turn around and slaughter me. I quietly dropped down onto a pew, then unlocked the gate. Because regular Ghost doesn't require me to return keys, I waved goodbye to the church and took the stairs back down to the catacombs.
I went down the stairs to the lowest level. Beneath the stairwell was a lever that opened a hidden room with one of Siniori's missing guards and a gold hammer (Secret #4). The hallway at the foot of the stairs was patrolled by a zombie, but following behind him was pretty easy. I took the first fork, which brought me to a casket with another gold hammer, as well as to the opposite side of the magma river. Here was another missing guard with a purse, not to mention a gold vase over by the wall where I performed my tricky ladder jump. To reach the vase without the zombie noticing me, I tailed him into the light and dodged past him as he turned around. I returned to the hallway with the patrolling zombie and went to the other end, where two apparitions were patrolling around a crypt sealed by three gates. The levers for the gates were all along the south wall, though one of the apparitions only walked back and forth in front of them. While there were dividers between the levers that helped me to hide, I'm pretty sure the apparition first alerted to me once or twice. Regardless, once the levers were flipped, I could enter the crypt. Inside was a holy hammer that I would need momentarily and a gold nugget in the corner that I could only reach by climbing over a casket. Using the darkness as cover, I escaped past the apparitions and took the hallway back to the staircase.
This time, I exited the stairs at the middle level. Up the hall was a four-way intersection with a haunt. South led to the other side of the broken bridge, east led to the collapsed hallway with the pivoting haunt and its key, and west led to a dead-end…or so it appeared. I followed the haunt halfway down the west hall, then hid in a shadow by a statue until it went back. At the end of the wall was a relief with an inscription telling me that I could only proceed by lying on the floor. In fact, the lower half of the relief was non-solid, so by crouching down, I could pass through the relief into a hidden chamber.
In here was another river of magma, with what appeared to be a crypt built like a chapel on the opposite side. To extend a bridge over the magma, I had to place my holy hammer on the pedestal nearby (left image below). Earlier, I had considered jumping across the river and thus skipping the holy hammer altogether, but the river was too wide; despite catching onto the other side, I'd burn my legs off in the magma. So the hammer and the bridge were necessary to cross. Hidden behind the chapel crypt on the east side was a silver nugget, and in the crypt itself were two gold hammers and my last objective: a book containing the Builder's last written words. Also, an easily-missed switch north of the book opened a small library with a gold candlestick (Secret #5; right image below).
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/FAcSIAe.png Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/AN6Rrwq.pngAt last, I was ready to leave this place. I crossed back over the bridge and followed the haunt to the intersection. With a strafe-run, I was able to leap across the gap in the broken bridge and catch the ledge without injuring myself. I exited the catacombs, retraced my path through the cave and the cistern, and I was back in Siniori's basement.
It was time to give the vault another try. I hid in a shadow in the basement's center room until the patrolling swordsman was away, then snuck down the south hall and hid in another shadow halfway through. The pivoting swordsman ahead of me would face either east towards the vault, north towards the hall I was in, or south towards the metal door hiding a combat bot. When he looked south and the patroller wasn't around, I snuck up and stood west of him. From there, I could wait for him to turn north before slipping into the shadow in the southeast corner. Here was a watcher gazing upon the number lock that opened the vault, but from my shadow, I could lean forward, type "5358" into the keypad, and open the vault without either the watcher or the swordsman noticing me (see image below). I just had to be careful not to step hard on the gravel floor.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/aG73pVJ.pngNow came getting into the vault. My only option was to nudge the guard far enough so he couldn't see me rob the vault, and ironically, the best place to nudge him was into the vault itself. I stood immediately west of the guard so that every time he pivoted, he'd shift closer to the vault. Whenever he looked north or south, though, I had to move slightly behind him to not get caught. Though I didn't have to worry about the watcher, I did have to worry about the patroller. After he left the room with the vault, I had to listen to his footsteps to determine when he was on his way back so I knew when to duck into a shadowy corner. This gave me a little over a minute at a time during which I could nudge the guard towards the vault. And with the guard's frequent pivoting, he shifted towards the vault somewhat quickly.
There was a minor hiccup with getting the swordsman past the vault door, though. The door stood open at an angle, partially blocking the path, and the door's collision box was slightly wider than the door itself. If I nudged the guard directly east, he'd eventually wind up inside the door's collision box and I couldn't push him any further. I had to slightly angle the guard south to the edge of the path to avoid that scenario. Once I was past the door, getting the swordsman the rest of the way into the vault was a relative breeze. I kept to the angled stone floor to not have to step on metal while nudging the guard, but once he was fully inside the vault, I shot a moss arrow at the middle of the metal floor so I could stay unheard.
More than a half hour of in-game time later, I had the pivoting swordsman fully up against the shelves in the vault with nothing worse than several first alerts from him or the other guard (see image below). Now I could safely collect the addonizio crystals and Lost City gems inside, and thanks to the moss arrow I used, I could silently jump to reach the crystals on the top shelf instead of trying to climb the ladder. With that done, I reset the lock to the original "0000" to close the vault, and I left the basement. Hope somebody finds that poor guard before too long…
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/aCfVjbK.pngBack in the manor, the other pieces of loot I skipped were much easier to grab. In the barracks, I doused the torch so the swordsman couldn't see me as I opened the door and picked open the first chest for a silver coin stack. There was also a torch lever near the guard that opened a secret compartment with a mine and a gas mine (Secret #6), but I only opened it to get credit. Up on the third floor, I shot a moss arrow in front of the statue, then leaped across the guard's field of vision with only a first alert out of him. I tapped the button under the statue, allowing me to grab a spice bag (Secret #7). At last, I had all 2112 loot in the mission!
I didn't need to return the cistern key anymore, so all that was left was to get back outside. I took the northwest stairs back down to the first floor and crossed to the other end of the hall by using the grand stairs as cover again. The only obstacle left was that guard from before who wanted some leftovers from the kitchen, though he made it as far as the dining room. Generally, he stood facing towards the grand stairs, allowing me to sneak into the dining room and go around him to the kitchen. However, on occasion, I've seen the guard facing towards the kitchen instead, which would mean I'd have to exit the front door (which is perfectly doable – the two guards out front only first alert to the door opening, and there's enough space for me to sneak behind them without incident). Today, the hungry guard was looking at the stairs (see image below), and though I took a first alert going around him, I was now free to exit the way I came in.
Inline Image:
https://i.imgur.com/wNJyTFs.pngI shimmied back down the pipe and went home with the knowledge that I was a Perfect Thief.
Notes:
- The four pickpockets I skipped were the broadhead arrows of the archer above the grand stairway, the key on the stationary guard on the third floor, the key on Lord Siniori, and the key on the pivoting haunt below the church.
klatremus on 2/5/2017 at 04:13
Game:
Thief 2FM:
Morbid CuriosityGhost -
Failed :tsktsk:
Perfect Thief -
FailedSupreme Ghost -
FailedPerfect Supreme -
FailedTime - 5:11:57 :eek:
Loot - 5487/5987 (Supreme: 4797/5987)
Pockets Picked - 15/16
Secrets - 5/6
Locks Picked - 38!
Backstabs - 0, Knockouts - 0
Damage dealt - 0, Damage taken - 0
Healing taken - 0, Other Kills - 0, Bodies Discovered - 0
Consumables - 4 water arrows (only 2 for Supreme), 1 moss arrow, 1 gas arrow and 1 fire arrow
See the entire report with screenshots (
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity.htm) here!
Loot list (
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_L.htm) here!
YouTube Let's Play here:(
https://youtu.be/eIaYtCUOGmA) Part 1 & (
https://youtu.be/dgVbVB_O7p4) Part 2!
Comments:Reading the comments in the ‘Best Fan Mission of 2016' thread over at TTLG opened my eyes to this masterpiece. Several players claimed this to be their favorite mission of the year. After my first playthrough, I can't say I disagree. It was even good enough to interrupt my long awaited NewDark Supreme Ghost run of Thief Gold three missions in. More impressive still, this is Pukey Brunster's first release! Although it clearly wasn't made for ghosters, I was looking forward to the challenge. Supreme was guaranteed to be unsuccessful, but I was gonna go down guns blazing.
My initial tasks were simple. Get to the Swinging Taffer Inn, read my fence Peyton's letter, and grab some gear. We were also instructed not to steal from anyone visiting the inn. More duties were to follow later.
Swinging Taffer Inn...and OutI started by the shore of the canal in the far south, directly underneath the guardhouse. Hit a snag right off the bat. The swordsman patrolling the opposite side alerted when opening the large entry door ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image001.jpg) see image). He never settled and probably maintained a constant first alert state due to using that door on a regular basis. This left me hesitant to using that route to enter the guardhouse. I knew there was another safe way in from the street level anyway, so I left that guard be for now. There were two other ways up to the streets. One was through the offices of Vance Shipping, but that required unlocking the entrance door using the key from one of the desks there. I wanted to avoid picking up keys unnecessarily, especially since this mission employs the keychain, where keys can't be returned for Supreme. Returning keys isn't enforced if they stick to your inventory, but rule #13 still prohibits picking up items you don't need. I instead cleaned the offices for loot, including the hard-to-find spice bag in the reception ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image002.jpg) see image), only to descend back down to the canal through the crate chute.
I could grab the guard chest key through the grated window from atop a big crate east of the canal. That avoided having to utilize the aforementioned big door with the patrolling guard. Also found some tiny coins on the metal beam above and through the manhole leading to the locked off section of the street ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image003.jpg) see image). From the same beam I could access a second manhole further north. This was the third and last way to access the streets. Two swordsmen had slightly different patrols through this fountain plaza, and they both could alert to the manhole opening, so I listened for footsteps before emerging.
The intended route past the locked gate in the southwest involved dodging a spider in the underground sewers. It could easily be done without alerts, but I couldn't reset the vermin gate controls until later. There was nothing else of interest down there, so I skipped that whole section. I instead mantled the wall by the gate using the sewer manhole cover and a nearby lamp (see image below). The two street guards plus two more guards on a balcony to the south could see me make the leap, so I had to properly time the patrols to make it work.
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http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image004.jpgThe inn was devoid of enemies, so I got my gear and objectives without interruptions. My main task was getting the Builder's Rattle from the hammer abbey in the north. In addition, I had to get a sword and some rope arrow, steal 4,000 in loot, visit the pawnshop, and figure out why Brockwyn was tailing Peyton. A busy night indeed. Taking any of the gold in the guest rooms failed the mission. They didn't count as loot anyway, so no value missed there. I loved the warm and welcoming feeling exuded by the inn. The kitchen scene was my favorite, with the cook's grin absolutely perfect ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image005.jpg) see image). To get rope arrows, I had to visit the Jacksberry Garden Shoppe via the basement sewers. Along the way I stumbled upon two more spiders. They were guarding a box with a spice bag ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image006.jpg) see image). Coming from the vent, it was tough enough just passing the generator without alerts. I suspect the spider was able to see through it. The box had to be picked open, spawning a first alert from the patroller. There was a small part of his route, at the western end, where he didn't alert for about a second. But there was no way for me to get out of the way quick enough afterwards not to get caught. If there had been, I could've picked the lock in one-second increments and avoided the Supreme skip. Alas, it had to be passed up for that mode. I predicted it would be the first of many.
My prediction got verified already at the garden shop. The only pieces of loot there, two spice bags in the laboratory safe, also had to be skipped for Supreme. Picking the safe lock alerted one of the nearby frogs. Neither of them alerted to anything else though, which was strange. They didn't see me standing in the light or hear me jumping about. For some reason though, those lockpicks triggered them every single time. Oh well, such is life. The rest of the building was easy. I left the entry door key be and returned through the sewers to the inn. It saved me another unnecessary pickup. It was difficult to dodge the sewer spider passing back through the generator room. I had to time it from the southwest corner to leave successfully.
Guards and SuchWith ropes and lockpicks, I was fairly free to roam wherever. I decided to try to avoid picking any of the four town gates though. It would add a nice challenge, plus I generally try to avoid picking locks for Supreme. Brought the only piece of loot left in the southwest part of town. A spice bag on a rafter outside the Rattoner ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image007.jpg) see image). With that I roped back across the western gate and got ready to tackle the guard house.
I entered through the upper balcony door. Used the wooden planter boxes to ascend and hid around the corner to the west ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image008.jpg) see image). Two archers patrolled the balcony on occasion, but I could slip in behind them quite easily. You could get upstairs from the first floor too, but not without picking locks. The floor above (the top floor) held the captain of the guard in a sparring room. He was in a constant third level alert state due to the practice dummy. All I needed was his key, which was easy enough to steal. A hidden vent from the rafters led me near a crawlspace bedroom with some loot. The other end of the shafts took me to the guards' barracks downstairs. I could now pick up the captain's sword from his office; another objective checked.
Reentered the guard house through the street access a bit east of the balcony. A lone swordsman patrolled this floor, between the downstairs hallway and the prison office. The loot past the prison had to be skipped for Supreme, another 100 loot missed for that mode. Although the jailbirds never went to hunt or alarm mode, they all first alerted like normal, so I took that as Supreme busts. There was no way of passing the hall by the cell without such alerts. It was either that or dousing the torch, which the inmates also complained on and which is a bust to Supreme regardless, so no dice. I guess you could come back here later and see if the prisoners have moved. I did this once, and the woman that always alerts was tucked in the nearest corner, out of sight. The guy doing the squats was still facing the bars. I imagine one might encounter a situation where you can pass this hallway unseen, although I wasn't interested in experimenting any further. It borderlined engine exploitation, so I rather took the skip. They also alerted to me opening the northern door to this hallway, although this could be circumvented by waiting in the shadows outside for the guard to come by. As he opened the door, I simply blocked it shut; then when leaving, I frobbed it so the guard blocked it ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image009.jpg) see image), then he would close it himself on the way out. A nice trick to avoid alerts from doors utilized by enemies.
I couldn't pass the gate northeast of the south plaza without picking the lock. The archer on the lookout had too tight of a patrol. It was a nice challenge getting his arrows though, and to get out of there dodging the swordsman below. Instead I headed east, past The Ornery Boar. A few more pieces of loot in this area, including some well-hidden coins on a windowsill just east of The Blue Knight Inn ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image010.jpg) see image). Had to skip Benny's lunchbox for Supreme. He gave a comment when opening his cellar hideout. This would mean another 100 loot gone for that mode down the road.
Far EastMantled the next gate without issues. Headed north from here and cleaned the weaponsmith's effortlessly. Found some more loot behind a hidden wall-panel here. The swordsman in this area could spot me through the store window. Entered the daily news past the next plaza. The front door was locked and unpickable, but I found an open window and an unlocked back door on the north side. An attic space with some loot and a pipe to the roof across the street. I love it when missions freely let you explore vertically. I was rewarded with a single gas arrow.
One of my favorite places in the mission was the smuggler's warehouses to the east ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image011.jpg) see image). Its tight corridors offered a nice changeup from the open streets plazas. I barely fit behind the first thief by the hidden entrance without nudging. Lucky, as you're not allowed to push enemies for Supreme Ghost (only a last resort for plain Ghost, but at least it's allowed for that mode). If not I would've had to go in through the gate by the homeless people, but I wanted to avoid picking that lock if at all possible. Both the thief on the second floor and the female arbalist in the streets could hear me picking the lock on the footlocker with the valuable dice. I needed three patrol cycles to go by before getting enough time to finish the pick. It wasn't a difficult lock, but there was only a few seconds to spare.
No further problems until I got close to Brockwyn's main office. One of my objectives was in there, so no skipping this place. A thief patrolled from a receiving bay, through a few hallways and into a meeting room of sorts. He circled the table in this room and headed back through the hallways. The hallway closest to the meeting room had another stationary thief, facing away. He commented on either door leading to this hallway opening or closing, plus he heard me picking the lock on the door to the inner office, if the meeting room door was open. I could easily follow the patroller and block the hallway doors open. There was a dark spot in the first hallway where I could hide and wait for the thief to pass going west. The trouble was shutting the meeting room door in order to reach the office safely. I found I had to wait behind the open door and close it right as the thief came in (see image below). With a bit of luck (and good timing), he would open it just before it shut to make noise, then he would close it himself before starting his dance around the table. I had to stay right on his heels until he left the room, as there was no shade anywhere.
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http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image012.jpgInline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image013.jpgCleaned the office next. On my way back I had to use a similar tactic. I stopped the door as he left the meeting room. Luckily, the other thief didn't alert to me closing the office door. I guess lockpick sounds travel farther than door closing sounds. When the patroller came back going west to east, I planned to close the meeting room door and have him block it like before. I had to follow him from behind to do this and it was difficult to hide without getting a first alert when he passed. The lights in the west hallway flickered somewhat, and standing in exactly the same spot sometimes yielded a comment and other times not (see image above). Also, thieves patrol rather fast and keeping up without him hearing me was tough, especially on wood floors. I could lean forward and reach the meeting room door without fully entering the second hallway. I had to do this whole setup a second time to close the last door I had left open also. Overall, this was the toughest area in the mission so far, but with Supreme still intact.
I got the psychic's key from the homeless girls for regular Ghost. As mentioned earlier though, I did not pick the lock on the gate to the underground tunnels. I planned on getting to Madame Rowena's via another route. Looted the blacksmith's first. Couldn't get the nugget in the basement footlocker for Supreme. The smithy heard the door open ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image014.jpg) see image). I tried for the life of me to pull the gate control lever from the outside, but the frob distance was too low. Normally you can lean through gates and portcullises, but that didn't work here. Another piece of loot skipped for Supreme then, a total of 370 so far, including the ring at Cartwright's coming up.
Headed back to the second floor of the thieves' warehouses. Was planning on reaching the underground tunnels (and the psychic's for regular Ghost) via the wells, but realized that the patroller heard me enter the water even with the door closed. I even timed it so that he was the farthest away from the well, and he still alerted to hunt mode. A rope arrow from the ceiling silenced the drop, but then he first alerted when entering the room. There was no way to reach the rope from the water either. I bit the sour apple (as we say in Norway) and revisited the gate by the homeless people. This was the only remaining safe way to the tunnels. The only item of interest for Supreme was a purse on another roaming thief. For Ghost I got the aspirin pill from Rowena's safe also. Didn't take her key though, as I could retrace my steps all the way to outside the daily news. Made sure to reset the elevator and close all the panels along the way.
Postage and Other TidbitsVisited Perciville Cartwright's for regular Ghost. I guess he was one of the town doctors, though his methods were highly questionable. Skipped the entire establishment for Supreme. Putting the aspirin in his coffee upstairs opened his downstairs “clinic”. There was a ring in there, but staying in the room too long damaged me from the toxic ether. Managed to get it without injuries though ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image015.jpg) see image). This area also counted as a secret.
Got a new objective at the pawnshop. I was to deliver six parcels to different establishments around town. Seemed like a decent thing to do I guess. Took care of the news editor first. I actually ended up delivering it through the gate from the inside. Passing through the lit plaza was too risky with that wary archer on the gate to the southwest. Skipped the butcher's for now. I wasn't sure on how to tackle the burricks in the basement just yet. Perhaps I could come in from below. Found two masks in an attic just northwest of here ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image016.jpg) see image). Had to rope arrow to a nearby ledge to get in. Cleaned the dressmaker in this area also. Dropped to the streets after this and worked my way east.
The swordsman at the market plaza was very difficult to deal with. He patrolled faster than the other guards, almost like a thief. In fact, I suspect it being a thief in a guard's (or wolf in a sheep's?) clothing, as he seemed to alert much easier than anyone else in the area. Picking the door to the dairy store was tough without him noticing. He even alerted to picking the box of loot inside the store! Managed to time his route well enough to avoid busts, but it was a pickle. Found some hidden coins at the market close by ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image017.jpg) see image). There were more coins in the alley by the spell shop too. When visiting the fishmonger, one of the guards had gotten stuck in the northeast fountain and heard me opening the entry grate. I had to replay about 20 minutes to free him up. Annoying, but I guess it could've been worse. Pillaged the bakery and produce store, no issues. Delivered my final package at the potter's and checked off that objective.
Moved west along the northern part of town. Found another spice bag in a hidden attic space southwest of the abbey. The metal rafters crossing the street gave it away. Dropped into the canal just north of the bridge ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image018.jpg) see image). Three swordsmen patrolled the streets here, but nobody heard me get wet. The gallery couldn't be entered via this route. Instead I swam south and cleaned out the three remaining areas from below. The first was a basement service station of some sort. One piece of loot, a silver vambrace, and a patrolling ghost ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image019.jpg) see image). He was tough to spot, but the swarming bugs helped. Killing him would spawn one of the four fountain keys. However, this is strictly against all ghost rules and had to be skipped. The 500 loot resulting from the secret of the keys could therefore not be obtained. Perfect Thief just left the building, sad but true. The bookseller's was devoid of individuals and I robbed his safe in peace.
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http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image020.jpg Further east I bumped into a couple of housebreakers. One was doing a lookout patrol while the other attempted to open a nearby door. I anticipated this to be a tricky situation, as the guy by the door had loot on his belt. All I had to do though was follow the patroller and slip by him on the right (see image above). This area also had a locked door leading to the butcher's burrick stables. It was pickable and could be opened without the patrolling thief noticing. It had to be done in increments though, and always alerted the burricks inside. I found it more discreet to skip it and attempt to get in from the streets. I backtracked to the abbey and circled the streets to the butcher's main entrance. I could get to the basement without alerts, but opening the door to the stables again spawned a first alert. By rushing in behind the critters, I could take the coins in the corner without further alerts. Regrettably, this was another piece of loot needed to be skipped for Supreme.
Hammerite's Abbey & CryptThe abbey presented a nice change of pace. I liked the ambient music and relaxing atmosphere. Three patrollers and two stationary staff members, but there was enough room to move around quite straightforwardly. Managed to read the bell-ringer's journal without alerts ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image021.jpg) see image). I've started to enjoy the challenge of reading as many texts as possible for Supreme. Ultimately, wherever I can add extra tasks that harmonizes with the Supreme rule set, I'll take it. To a thief, information can be as valuable as gold. Upstairs, the kitchen servant was actually the most difficult one to pass. I had to creep-crouch through the southern doorway to avoid a comment. In the guards' bedroom, the northeast bunk bed was the only place to hide from the patroller ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image022.jpg) see image). I could take the rings through the banner in the opposite corner. This is not considered an engine exploit towards Supreme. Slashing the banner isn't allowed when ghosting, although that was the only way to get the secret count.
The rest of this building didn't pose any problems. Both the library key and Saint Merek's hammer disappeared upon use, so no need to return anything for Supreme. Using the holy water arrow to enter the crypt is allowed for all modes, since I could use the font and not a holy water vial to bless my arrow. The use of potions is not allowed for the Supreme Ghost mode. Getting Frick and Xander's hammers wasn't that tough. There was a dark spot right outside each doorway where I could observe them both ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image023.jpg) see image). It was tense, but just standard sneaking. Made sure to get the loot from the caskets before opening their tombs.
Swimming through the flooded mausoleum took a bit of practice. I couldn't get the gold nuggets on my way past without losing health. Using a breath potion is against Supreme rules, and I didn't want to take a bust (at least not yet). Instead, I swam all the way through and emerged in the north gatehouse. Then I caught my breath and went back down to get the loot from this end. The distance must've been less, as I could get both nuggets and return with oxygen to spare. Dodged the fire shadow at the north gatehouse quite easily. Found a nicely hidden purse on a ledge by one of the torches there ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image024.jpg) see image). Had to take the north gatehouse key upstairs to proceed; a necessary pickup. Arrived at the gallery by the boarded up canal delivery entrance.
Gallery Di GrimaldiI had tried squeezing past the boards in my initial blackjack run, but felt like I never really gave it a proper shot. That was not going to happen this time. If it was possible, I was going to do it, come what may. After all, property damage violates both Supreme and regular Ghost. No crates or other movable objects around, so I was limited to weapons and inventory items. I could get on top of the upper board using a stack of items or a rope arrow. Since Supreme frowns upon items pickups, the rope was my best bet. Climbing up, I could swing around about 90 degrees, retrieve the rope and land on the edge of the board, still on the outside. I could even crouch and lean from up there. Leaning through on the west side usually got me stuck just inside the doorframe. Jumping from this position either did nothing or pushed me back to the north side. A few times though, wiggling my mouse while leaning, I fell down on the inside. My point of view was clearly inside both boards, but I was still unable to go anywhere. I tried shooting more rope arrows straight up, trying to use their attraction to propel me free from the boards. Regardless, it didn't matter what I tried in this position, it got me nowhere. At this point I was about ready to give up. Then I got the idea of trying to place a rope hanging down right into the top board. My thought was perhaps I could manage to grab it as I leaned through the hole the way I had done earlier. If Garrett is partly stuck somewhere, but able to grab a rope, the magnetic effect of the rope can sometimes exert a force great enough to fling you in the direction of least resistance. I figured if I was pushed through far enough on the south side, I might be hurled into the hallway. That is exactly what happened! It was a shock when I suddenly landed a good 6-8 feet away from the door (see image below). A big sigh of relief came as I realized I had avoided the bust. I have repeated this maneuver multiple times, proving it was not a fluke encounter. I don't even consider this an engine exploit, which would've been a bust to Supreme. In my opinion, a thief fitting through the top corner is plausible enough.
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http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image025.jpg Turned off the fog inside the gallery. It was more unrealistic than immersive there anyway. Got my first undeniable Supreme bust entering the curator's secret chamber. A book in the main office opened a hidden doorway leading to said chamber. Inside was what I assume to be the curator himself, zombified. Opening the door triggered a growl constituting a first alert (see image below). Absolutely no way around that one. To be honest, I was surprised that mode had stayed intact this long. Last time I played I encountered him facing the door though. I remember I had to douse the hallway candle to avoid a second level alert. I'm not sure what determines his angle, but this was definitely preferred.
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http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image026.jpgDewdrop disappeared and left behind the front entrance control key. I didn't pick it up for now, though I was quite sure I'd end up needing it. Had to skip the ‘Strange Creatures' exhibit for Supreme. All five creatures in there saw me go for the loot. For regular ghost I had to douse two lamps, the one outside the entry and the one in the corner by the loot. There was also a second lamp in there that lit me rounding the corner. Occasionally the stationary green sprite saw me and started searching, but I eventually got in and out without a bust ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image027.jpg) see image).
Upstairs I got spawned into the closed-off gift shop. It seemed like Dewdrop was behind the shenanigans. Had to hide in the corner of the shop not to get caught by the spawning zombie ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image028.jpg) see image). It only took a few seconds before it appeared, but that was more than enough time. It disappeared after not too long. Got the gallery tour token and left the gift shop doors open. Looted the pavilion without issues. Heading for the gallery tour, the Unrequited Hand entity was loose, patrolling (or floating) around the upper floor walkway. It was totally deaf, but could see me like a normal enemy. I just followed it clockwise around the room to avoid it.
The Gallery TourI could raise the token statue, so I did that for Supreme. I could not, however, close the entry door. The second door closed on its own and the elevator could be raised back up once in the underworld section. The purse in the zombie pit was not a problem, but it was difficult to differentiate alerts from the scripted groans. I think the patrolling zombie upstairs also alerted to the noises below. More difficult still were the skeletons in the upcoming exhibits. I could choose which way to go to pass this area. My best bet would be towards the right. There was only one skeleton here, and it circled a zombie corpse rather angrily. Occasionally, it would have its back turned enough for me to make a dash for it. Dousing a few torches would've made it heaps easier, but I wanted to avoid that at all costs. It didn't take too long before I rushed past it unseen. It didn't give any verbal cues, so as long as it didn't come charging, I was fine. Found a hidden control room just past this area (see image below). A switch turned off all the protective seals for the valuables and removed the barriers between the different tour sections. This was another bust to Supreme, as disabling security systems is not allowed following rule #8. The lever wasn't frobbable afterwards, so there was no way to reset the system.
[UPDATE 5/28/2020: Recently discussed in the ghosting discussion thread on the forum was the definition of “security systems” in rule #8. We came to a semi-conclusion that it only involved systems that are meant to catch an intruder and alert to his presence, as in watchers or alarm systems. It does not include measures meant to hurt the player, like protective seals or traps. Those are still allowed to disable for Supreme. Thus, flipping the lever described above is no longer considered a bust for that mode.] Inline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image029.jpg The tormentor was intimidating enough, but no problem to sneak past. The other phantoms here didn't alert at all. Reached my loot goal for regular Ghost when grabbing the treasures. Got my first statuette also, before leaving the underworld. Nothing to report from the Lost City.
The mummy in the Keepers section was tough mostly due to tiled floors and few shadows. Rope arrowed up in the dining hall to get the loot there and wait for him to pass ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image030.jpg) see image). More loot in the storage closet up ahead. Nothing else to report from this section, although I have to say the librarian's dungeon was one of the creepiest places I've ever visited.
The Old Quarter wasn't that difficult, as haunts are easy to hear alerts from and quite predictable in nature. The most challenging place was getting the rattle. Picking the lengthy lock required two trips. Both haunts had this room as part of their route, and there were no shadows in there at all. I had to hide up the stairs close to the exit for the one haunt to head back. The archer haunt only went to the chapel and back. For some reason, the other haunt alerted to something in the chapel long before I got there, and this put him in a constant first alert mode. I could tell as he was laughing relentlessly. It wasn't a big deal, it just meant I had to rely on hardcover to evade his looks. I also saw the archer haunt take damage at one point, right as he was entering the chapel. I only saw it once, but that could've been what the other haunt alerted to.
The big problem came in the pagan forest. In order to bless the rattle, I had to use one of each elemental arrow on four flower pots surrounding the blessing pool. The southernmost pot required the use of a fire arrow, and therein lay the conundrum. No less than five enemies heard the shot, going straight to hunt mode; three ape beasts up above and the two haunts in the old quarter. If I was to get rid of this bust, I had to think of something utterly ingenious. The main problem was nothing can deaden the noise of fire arrows. Not the surface you're hitting, not the drawstring pullback, not the angle of impact, nothing. The only variables were the positions of the enemies. Also, when the blessing pool activated, it made a noise almost like broken glass. I'm not sure if this alerted the enemies further, but it made doing the fire shot last highly desirable. Luckily, two of the patrollers had such long routes that they didn't hear the shot if they were at the farthest end of their path. The patrolling swordsman haunt had part of his patrol behind the doors at the beginning of the old quarter section. One of the apes likewise patrolled well into the maw of chaos section by the tree beast. The latter normally didn't come back from his patrol once he left the pagan forest, which indicated he was so far away the engine no longer prioritized it. That left three enemies. One of them was a stationary ape on a bridge directly above the pool. The only way to manipulate his position would be to nudge him. I imagined up the ramp and through the portal would be possible. However, I quickly realized the only place he ended up was through the vined railing to his front and into the water below. This caused him to drown, which is in violation of Ghost rule #5: “Garrett must not cause suicides of AI”. Yet, his body was already somewhat through the railing when I started the nudging, which made me think perhaps he moved on his own. Watching him for a few minutes made it apparent that he did, and markedly so. After about 10 minutes, his entire body was outside the railing (first image below). A few minutes later, he dropped to where the top of the railing was at his armpits. At this point he didn't move forward any longer, but instead started to slide left. When I by accident saved and reloaded, he fell to his death instantly (second image below). This is not in breach of rule #5, as Garrett wasn't the cause of the suicide. Instead, it is probably an engine exploit and hence a (small) bust to Supreme rule #11. For regular Ghost, such exploits are allowed as a last resort.
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http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image031.jpgInline Image:
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image032.jpgThree down, two to go. First I found I could activate the pool by shooting the fire arrow into the ground a foot or so on the south side of the pot. Every inch helped. Next I timed the final ape beast and the archer haunt so they would be farthest away. The ape walked through a dark, empty exhibit somewhat north of the pool, while the haunt patrolled all the way past the double-doors by the Scripture of the Master Builder. I had to wait quite a few cycles before their routes were synchronized. I also had to make sure the other patrollers were away. Finally, after a lot of prepping, the moment of truth had arrived. I shot the arrow, activated the pool and ran up to check. The ape beast was in a definite second level alert mode. In the old quarter, the archer haunt was also roaming around looking for me, alerting the other haunt in the process, who now had reappeared and was on his way towards the chapel. I replayed the scenario half a dozen times, with exactly the same results. In the end, it was an easy bust to accept. After all, I had tried everything under the sun. Unless I am missing something very obvious, I don't see this situation ever to be ghostable. Please chime in if you have any suggestions. I am open to all ideas.
It was very difficult to get the gas arrows above the bridge in the maw section without any first alerts. But doable it was, and a nice challenge at that. Took both patience and a bit of luck to get past both the ape and the tree beast in order to finally leave the gallery tour.
Wrap-UpIn order to leave the gallery, I had to use the front entrance key. There was no way to get back through the boarded delivery entrance door. Since the boards are on the outside, there's no way to get on top of them and thus no way to lean through. I tried a bit with some ropes, but didn't even get close. This also meant I had to leave the front door open, as I couldn't reach the lever from the outside. I almost accepted the additional Supreme bust, when I rather dumbfounded thought of the obvious solution of blocking the door. After a bit of testing, I realized any potion or vial would do. Looking through my equipment list, the closest and easiest to return was the holy water vial from the basement in the north gatehouse. There was one by the corpse close to the patrolling fire shadow. Sure enough, it did the trick (see image below).
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http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image033.jpg Since I couldn't get the mission's last piece of loot without slaying the beast by the canal, I skipped getting any of the fountain keys for Supreme. Besides, that mode doesn't like cluttering up the inventory. If you value maximum loot over the extra bust, go right ahead. With this difficult of a mission, I can totally see that decision justified. The stats will then display 1 back stab, 30 damage dealt and 1 others killed. Once getting all four keys, an extra objective spawns to discover their use. At that point, it is a mandatory task for Supreme, despite saying ‘optional'. After killing the beast though, you don't have to take any further Supreme busts to get the key to the city ((
http://www.klatremus.org/MorbidCuriosity_files/image034.jpg) see image). The stats below are from my regular Ghost run. What an incredible mission!
Notes- Skipped a spice bag (40) in toolbox in the sewers for Supreme. The nearby patrolling spider alerted to the lockpicks.
- Skipped two more spice bags (80) in safe at the Garden Shoppe. Again the lockpicks caused an alert, this time from one of the laboratory frogs.
- Also skipped a spice bag (40) and a coin pair (60) in the storage closet in the prison office at the Guard House for Supreme. The prisoners alerted when passing the hallway leading to the office. The prisoners shifted position quite a bit during the mission and you might be lucky and find them facing away or tucked away in a corner at some point, enough for you to pass the hallway unseen. I did not encounter such a scenario, and I wasn't interested in experimenting, as engine exploits aren't allowed for that mode anyway.
- Skipped a silver nugget worth 50 at the blacksmith's for Supreme. He alerted to the basement door opening.
- Skipped the ring (100) in the secret lab at Cartwright's for Supreme. Taking Benny's lunchbox, which is needed to reach the psychic's and get Cartwright's pill, can't be taken without spawning his comment.
- A pair of coins (20) in the butcher's burrick stables had to be skipped for Supreme. The burricks heard the door to the gate control room open.
- Couldn't get the key to the city worth 500 gold. Killing the ghost in the canal power room busts all ghost modes and is necessary to get one of the fountain keys.
- Busted Supreme when opening the door to the gallery curator's secret office chamber. He gave a first alert when opening the door.
- Skipped the loot (300) in the ‘strange creatures' exhibit at the gallery for Supreme. No way to get in there without alerts. Used two water arrows for regular Ghost.
- Waited for the stationary ape above the blessing pool to fidget into the water and drown. I counted this as an engine exploit, which is not allowed for Supreme.
- Busted Ghost when activating the blessing pool in the pagan forest. The patrolling ape beast above and the archer haunt nearby went to second level alert mode. The other patrolling haunt in the old quarter also alerted to the first haunt already searching.