lpowell on 25/9/2020 at 01:01
RE: vengeful spirits in mission 3.
Quote Posted by Melan
The first one is at the temple exit, and the other appear when you kill it. There is one in the mage area, one in the metal tunnel connecting to this area, one at the waterworks (large central hall where you descend with an elevator), and one at the entrance hall which you visited at the beginning of the mission. The guards should kill most of them by the time you get to them.Are their locations different on Expert or something?
I killed the first two (the one that appears outside temple/puzzle room and the one that appears nearby where the mages are) but found no others in any of those places, nor are there any floating bones to indicate they've been slain by guards.I like the mission overall, but I... kind of hate that objective. I mean aside from the fact that I'm stuck at it, it seems like it almost forces you to backtrack in a particular way, when there were several ways in.
lpowell on 25/9/2020 at 21:12
So it seems I had, by all appearances, encountered a rare glitch that broke that objective. Frustrating, because I ran around most of the level trying to track down the other apparitions. In any case I still think it's a brilliantly designed mission. The many shortcuts and alternate entrances to the sewers and tomb are very cool (though I wish some of the one-way ones had been two-way). Stinkykitty's designs in general are pretty striking and the layouts are sometimes brilliant.
I'm curious about what people who played both this campaign and the original Widow's Ire think about the changes. I played the original several months ago and am actually glad I did, since some of the changes are very significant. If my memory doesn't deceive me there is some polish in the new version that is welcome. (There was an important new-to-me areas I discovered in "Valley of the Burned" but I can't say whether it wasn't in the original or if I simply missed it.) But the major change in that mission comes after the weird garden when you enter the outdoor area. If you've played either version you know this area as two exits aside from the keep: one that leads into a ruined Hammerite complex and then the mine, and another that leads directly to a crypt. In the original, you enter the crypt first and come out through the mines. When I first played it, I thought structuring the mission that way was genius because it was so unusual. Having come through this impossible garden, you've come out into a relatively quiet interlude, which then plunges into an almost surreal crypt. I remember when I got to the area right after the golden bones, where you have to jump that huge gap, the image of peeking into that strange empty space stuck with me through the rest of the journey through the surreal cave area and the massive, forbidding mines and then back to the beginning of that section. That whole loop felt kind of like playing a "normal" Thief mission in reverse, while also being a brilliantly-paced adventure of its own. Reversing this loop keeps it a great adventure, but makes it a bit more conventional in its structure.
On the other hand, I might argue that it's an improvement in gameplay terms. The overall progression becomes an ascent rather than descent, which is a naturally satisfying way to progress. The huge mine shaft, for example, is cool either way, but it was probably cooler to go up than down.
Speaking of loops, another thing I miss from the original is how, near the end of "The Widow's Ire," we loop back around to an area near the beginning of "Valley of the Burned" before proceeding to the exit.
Brilliant missions either way, of course, but do you agree with my thoughts here? Disagree?
michael a on 26/9/2020 at 06:39
Well, I mostly agree with you except I haven't played previous versions so if I will, I could not avoid comparison with new version and I suspect that comparison would be in favor of the Gems of Provenance;) It's great campaign overall - with vast, interconnected levels and strong sense of mystery. I cannot add to what already was said by other players. Just a few nitpicks maybe: I also found that additional objective in CPWW a bit strange/glitchy. In my playthrough some of those apparitions were killed by mages and guards, and in general this objective didn't tick off. Maybe a) there are some other apparitions I didn't encounter and/or b) since some of them were killed by other inhabitants of level, the game maybe didn't count them as killed by me; and possibly a) and b) are interconnected. Also loot goal in Widow's Ire and Mercenaries felt a bit steep especially on expert.
ticky on 26/9/2020 at 09:55
Quote Posted by Aemanyl
Ticky, I don't know if you still need this information, but I'll help in any case.
For the Sky Key,
get to the very top of the level and look around carefully.For the Water Key,
as the name suggests, it is located in the water. Check the ground level of the keep.For the Fire Key,
check the fireplaces in the keep.Yes, abandoned it for a few weeks, but I want to finish it! Thank you very much.
<Username> on 14/11/2020 at 21:24
The Valley of the Burned
7/10
Finished on October 18, 2020, on Easy in 1 hour and 32 minutes with 1895 of 2765 total loot. I needed 1 hint to complete the mission. The architecture and atmosphere are impressive. I played the original version before and this time around, I noticed the mission is surprisingly linear. But the mission does a very good job at presenting you with multiple paths, all of which converge into a funnel that leads you to the next area. This prevents you from wandering around aimlessly. Well done. I did get stuck once when I missed an opening in the wall in the large circular room next to the skull pit.
The Widow's Ire
7/10
Finished on October 24, 2020, on Easy in 53 minutes with 1984 of 2299 total loot. I love how the mission switches from "odd, but still somewhat believable mansion" to "eldritch, otherworldly ruins". But even before that, there is one room in the mansion that just end in a bottomless pit. There is no explanation for it and that adds another mystery to the setting. Similarly, I still don't understand what is up with the giant heart at the end. But I don't need an explanation. Actually, I think leaving some things unexplained works in the mission's advantage.
City Public Water Works
9/10
Finished on November 1, 2020, on Easy in 1 hour and 44 minutes with 1695 of 1922 total loot. The beginning is unusual: I don't think I ever played a mission in a large water plant. One of the few missions where you enter a building and people ignore you as long as they don't catch you stealing something or see you enter a forbidden area. There is a variety of environments: rooms filled with machines in the water plant, beautiful architecture in the Precursor museum, and spooky catacombs in the Precursor ruins. World-building in the notes is done well and I appreciated the relative non-linearity. The puzzle in front of N'Lahotep's tomb is perfect: not too difficult and fun to overcome. Things that could be improved are the vengeful spirits: They alerted the AIs in the water plant, which made ghosting the last part impossible. Also, I passed right through the three rotating wheels in the sewers that I think are supposed to kill the player. I ended up in the room behind them and had to reload.
Mercenaries
8/10
Finished on November 14, 2020, on Easy in 49 minutes with 893 of 1293 total loot. The abbey is an impressive building. I had a lot of fun exploring its multiple levels and I especially enjoyed climbing around the outside. In the secret Keeper areas, I found three glyphs quickly, but then found myself in the room with the Necromancer Staff and saw that the cage was still locked. I incorrectly assumed I must have missed a glyph earlier and went back to the previous rooms. I took some time until I gave up searched and returned, only to find the last glyph in plain sight below the locked cage.
maga on 13/11/2021 at 13:22
In mission 1, I'm endlessly stuck in the mines. I even managed to climb the waterfall, but noyhing was there...... Can you pls give me some outright spoiler pls?
lordhern on 14/11/2021 at 01:01
look where the guards are - there is a button you can hit a button with an arrow (AIM CAREFULLY!)
klatremus on 2/1/2022 at 07:50
Just started this campaign (blame Skacky ;)), and getting an extreme Dark Project vibe early on. Starting area of mission 1 is a combo of Cragscleft and Thieves' Guild. Can't get much better than that. Looking forward to the rest.
Aemanyl on 2/1/2022 at 08:36
Quote Posted by klatremus
Just started this campaign (blame Skacky ;)), and getting an extreme Dark Project vibe early on. Starting area of mission 1 is a combo of Cragscleft and Thieves' Guild. Can't get much better than that. Looking forward to the rest.
I know that you are a huge fan of Dark Project vibes, so you are really going to enjoy Gems of Provenance. If you decide to play the entire campaign, I would strongly advise you to play one mission per evening, letting the superb atmosphere soak in.
lordhern on 10/1/2022 at 18:28
@Klatremus I am certain you found a supreme ghostable entry to the facility already....