sneaksie415 on 23/5/2023 at 09:11

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I'm an experienced thief, but haven't thought about it in a while now. I suddenly felt the urge to rank the missions of Thief Gold and share it here. I know there are older threads with this topic, but here's a new one anyway! Hope you enjoy reading. Let me know what you agree or disagree with, or give your ranking.

I like all the missions in Thief Gold, so I ranked them in sections of OK, The Good, and The Best.

The OK

Strange Bedfellows
This mission is probably the weakest in the game. It starts off interesting, returning to the destroyed Hammer Temple, but the lair under the temple is a bit underwhelming. The quest for the "Builder's Chisel" seemed simple and random.

Maw of Chaos
It’s disappointing the final mission is rated so low, but here we are. The aesthetic in this mission almost doesn’t seem to fit within the Thief universe, and the layout is somewhat odd and linear. There are some interesting sections with potential, and the encounter with Constantine is cool, but ultimately it becomes somewhat anticlimactic.

Escape!
The first section of this mission is not as strong as the latter. The "difficult escape" idea is cool (get ready to fight!), and there are some interesting parts in the caves, but the bland colors and textures make the labyrinthian layout kind of frustrating. Returning to Constantine’s mansion overrun with flora and monstrous enemies is cool.

The Good

Mage Towers
At the bottom of "The Good" list is this mission. Interesting lore, locations, and enemies, but the bland structure of parts of the keep and elemental towers throws it off a little. The keep is mostly interesting, but the towers are kind of strange, have little to offer, and tend to be more frustrating than anything. Get ready for some mystical parkour! Still, a good mission.

The Lost City
This mission seems to be a fan favorite for some, and less so for others. It’s quite a Tomb Raider-esque mission, but it works. I would say it was more interesting the first few times I played through when discovering everything for the first time. Nevertheless, it’s an iconic mission. I enjoy the change of pace, the interesting locations and lore, and the terrifying fire elementals.

Undercover
I really enjoy how this mission mixes things up by allowing the player to roam freely in disguise, and what better enemies to walk amongst than the Hammers? It’s a refreshing break from sneaking. The layout of the Hammer Temple is cool, complete with interesting rooms, dialogue, and lore. Escaping the temple once the alarm has been triggered is one of the most tense things in this game for me!

Thieves’ Guild
This can be a daunting mission, and it has to grow on you. It's huge, and has some confusing and difficult areas if one is unfamiliar. Thus, it is often rated low by some Thief players. There are also a few dicey spots that are difficult or (practically) impossible to get through without being detected if attempting to get all the loot. However, on becoming more familiar with the layout, I find it a fun, challenging mission to sneak through, and there are some interesting areas, characters, dialogue, and lore. Robbing the guild of thieves highlights Garrett’s expert thieving abilities.

Song of the Caverns
This seems to be one of higher rated missions I’ve noticed. It is beautiful, the layout is interesting, and the lore is interesting and quite humorous at times. There are some rough spots, but sneaking around an opera house makes for excellent thieving. My only real critique is the Keeper tunnels in the first part of the mission seem rushed, and are somewhat uninteresting in retrospect, and the map of the tunnels made by the Keepers looks juvenile.

The Best

Down in the Bonehoard
I know this mission is a fan favorite, and it’s hard to critique such an iconic level. Similarly to The Lost Valley, err, I mean The Lost City, discovering this mission the first few times was amazing, but I still love it. I enjoy the undead, the lore, and grabbing the hidden items and loot in this level, especially the coveted Mystic’s Heart and Mystic’s Soul. Some parts of the layout could be more polished, but all-around a great mission.

The Haunted Cathedral
I love this mission! It is one of the creepiest and spookiest, and the open layout of the abandoned streets is confusing, yet coherent. Each location is interesting and distinct, and contains interesting lore. I also found the option of turning on the street lights pretty cool. Good luck finding all the loot!

Return to the Cathedral
Undead-heavy, tough, spooky, iconic, and basically the climax of the story, I actually find it hard to know where to put this mission on the ranking. A rather unique mission with a lot going on, it’s certainly one of the best in terms of lore and design.

Lord Bafford’s Manor
The first mission is so iconic, and really sets the tone for the game. It’s an excellent introductory mission, short and sweet. It is everything that Thief is supposed to be: city streets, guards, noblemen in mansions with treasures to be had, multiple entrances, sneaking, using your first water arrows, a secret passage, introduces Benny and the other guards... It sets the standard for all Thief missions.

Break from Cragscleft Prison
Another iconic mission that builds on the first - excellent lore, introduction to the Hammers, venturing through abandoned mines to reach the gloomy Hammer prison, and finally the Officer's Quarters... It’s just wonderful.

Assassins
Basically it's a larger, more elaborate Bafford’s Manor, complete with all the essential Thief elements. What more is there to say?

The Sword
It could be a tie between The Sword and Assassins, but this mission has so much going on, and with all the twists thrown at you (literally) it’s probably the most memorable of all.

downwinder on 23/5/2023 at 19:28

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thief 1/g = escape
thief 2 = trail of blood "dewdrop"
thief 3 = not sure what i felt was the best mission, i feel the city hubs were the best part

sneaksie415 on 23/5/2023 at 21:03

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I'd say MoC is similar to Mage Towers in terms of wasted potential and space. There's a little more room for it (no pun intended) since it's already a very different and strange mission, but I think there could've been more to it in these regards, and aesthetically. I saw someone refer to it once as Thief The Space Age or something like that, ha!

MayheM on 16/6/2023 at 00:43

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Nice ranking. Exactly like you, i don't dislike any TG missions at all, yes including thieves guild. The Mage Towers and the last mission are the only ones i would say they feel pretty bland like you perfectly described but that doesn't mean they're bad, still there are some quite atmospheric areas on those two.

mxleader on 23/7/2023 at 16:37

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I have a love/hate relationship with Thieves' Guild. It's such a big mission and so confusing at times that even during replays I want to quit playing it.

The Cathedral missions are some of my favorites.

Down in the Bone Hoard is great but the zombies always annoyed me until I learned out to outsmart them or just avoid them altogether.

My least favorite is the Cragscleft prison mission.

Lord Bafford's Manor is a favorite because mansion missions are nearly always fun.