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COMPULSORY EGRESS DirkBogan’s first mission is a stellar creation. A semi-abandoned city mission
with a cryptic, yet solid story. Although this is a Thief 2 mission, it plays
and feels like Thief 1. The street layout is highly unorthodox, with
spiraling design and layered residential buildings. Definitely give this one
a go. My
tasks were fairly simple. Firstly, I had to find out why Navenvolk
was empty and had been evacuated. I also had to break into City Hall and rob
its vault, while amassing 6,000 worth of valuables around town. City The
streets outside city hall were surprisingly easy to ghost. The only area that
was slightly challenging was the rooftop level in the southwest (left image
below). I had to enter the stonemason’s via an open window on the west side.
This corner was fairly well-lit and there was a patrolling lanternguard roaming about. I used a rope arrow into the
wooden overhang when the coast was clear. Inside
this building were two stacks of copper coins that had to be skipped for
Supreme. A woman heard the sliding vent shaft door when climbing up the
ladder (right image below). This was the only entrance. She did a hunt
maneuver too, but this was a scripted response and not a second alert, so
plain ghost was fine to take the coin stacks.
City Hall The
front courtyard offered multiple viable points of entry: an open window or
either of the front doors. Two stationary guards were in close proximity, but
they seemed to be caught up in some kind of argument, as they were
gesticulating and not giving any first alerts. There was also a third side
entry behind a stationary archer, but it was impossible to pick open without
a first alert. However, I ended up using a slightly different entry route.
Let me explain. A mandatory objective as well as the vault key were both
located in Ricardo’s office on the top floor, the front entrance of which was
guarded by a camera and a stationary swordsman (left image below). The only
way to get in that way was by dousing at least one of the gas lamps and
getting a first alert from said guard. He usually gave a hunt maneuver and
relit one of the torches, but like before, that was a scripted response and
not a second alert. In the next room, I furthermore had to turn off an
electrical light, which another guard turned back on. I could turn it off a
second time and he would disregard it, but it would have to be left off for
me to loot the room cleanly. In conclusion, at least five busts.
Unacceptable.
Instead
I found a way up to the rooftops in the northwest corner of the top street
level, close to the archway that led to the city hall courtyard (right image
above). A rope arrow could be fastened to a wooden overhang, and a nearby
sloped roof could be mantled. I managed to retrieve the rope also. This
gained access to a back window to Ricardo’s office, circumventing all the
previously mentioned busts. I could now grab the vault key from his belt
without issues. The problem, however, was the journal on his office desk.
Ricardo had a relatively short, but predictable patrol route. I waited in the
dark corner of the southeast tower for him to pass (left image below). I
could rush out and round the corner, then quickly grab the journal and vase
from the shelf. I then waited by the wall for Ricardo to appear again (right
image below). Occasionally he caught me by suddenly making weird, 90-degree
turns. Something must be off with his pathfinding.
I managed to return to the tower without any alerts from Ricardo, but I couldn’t
avoid a comment from the guard in the distance. He first alerted the instant
I appeared in the office doorway. However, going from five busts to one was a
solid improvement if you ask me.
Vault and Beyond The
rest of the city hall was easy. When I got past the vault, however, things
got dicey. Arriving in the pottery store, a stationary thief guarded the
first door (left image below). He heard the door to the store open, and this
was the only way to proceed to the thieves’ hideout. Furthermore, in the
hideout, another door to the leader’s bedroom triggered another first alert
(right image below). The rest was possible to Supreme easily enough. This
meant I had to skip 400 more loot and backtrack all the way through city hall
to get home.
Statistics: Time: 2:19:16 Loot: 10,090 out of 10,090 (Supreme: 9,380) Pickpockets: 14 out of 14 Secrets: None Locks Picked: 4 Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0 Consumables: 1 Water Arrow Ghost: Success! Perfect Thief: Success! Supreme Thief: Failed! Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed! Notes: -
Had to skip two copper coin stacks worth 10 in a small
apartment above the stonemason’s for Supreme. The resident first alerted to
the vent shaft. -
Took a first alert from the guard in Ricardo’s office
when taking the journal. Supreme bust. -
Had to skip a trophy worth 50 and a necklace worth 200
in Ricardo’s office for Supreme. Getting them required dousing at least one
gas lamp. -
Skipped a candlestick worth 50 outside the city hall
security office for Supreme. It was a light source. -
Couldn’t enter the pottery store or the thieves’
hideout for Supreme. The thief in the back room heard the door opening. This
meant 400 more loot had to be skipped for that mode. |
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