Mission 1: Unexpected Shelter

[This walkthrough has recently been updated for TFix/NewDark 1.27. Situations affected by these patches and differences between them and OldDark have been inserted in green. All screenshots have been updated, and many new ones have been added.]

I enjoy this simple introductory mission more than I do several missions in Thief 2. For a campaign this size, it was a very bold move to go with a different protagonist than Garret, and a female one at that. I’m also impressed by the decision to have the first mission set before Zaya starts her training. You almost feel like you are a part of her journey, both emotionally and physically. Two thumbs up!

The Streets

The only thing I was directed to do was to find Kedar somewhere in the dock area. Once meeting him, I was given further instructions to follow him back to his shop. I really liked the ambiance and sense of desolation in the streets. Zaya even made a mention of it once. Though to me, it didn’t feel like a friendly place.

Once we got to what Kedar referred to as the day gate just east of his shop, three members of the smuggling organization known as the Freetraders ambushed us. They ended up killing Kedar and came running for me. Since Zaya's gem was non-functional, they caught me quite fast. In order to avoid a seemingly inevitable Ghost bust, I needed to dodge their view altogether. I noticed there was a point at the top of the slope leading toward the ambush, where if I crossed it, a second smuggler appeared out the door to the armory behind me. As long as I stayed east of that line, Kedar wouldn’t get killed. This meant I had time to experiment. Alas, in OldDark there was no way to get past the gate without getting spotted by one or more of the smugglers. My best bet was to rush through the gate as Kedar got killed. This sometimes avoided the gaze of the armory smuggler. Then, the first smuggler might be caught up in the fight too much to care at first, then he would lose track quicker when chasing me. The archer always caught me and got a few shots off before I rounded the corner towards the manor.

In NewDark (with ‘newmantle’ turned on), I could mantle the weaponsmith’s sign in the southwest corner of this alley, but this triggered said smuggler. Before he appeared though, I was able to mantle the roof to the south. Alas, the red tiles were too steep and slippery to move around on and I fell back to the streets immediately. Next I instead tried mantling the armorer’s sign, above which there was a convenient ledge surrounding the eastern side of this alley. This was directly in view of the stationary smuggler waiting to attack Kedar, but he didn’t seem to care about me yet. They must’ve been set to neutral until I passed that aforementioned invisible line. From up here, I found I could access the grey roof to the north, and this (unlike the red tiles to the south) was easier to move around on (left image below). This was a tough mantle to make however, as the ledge below was quite narrow. I had to inch out a bit and quickly make an angled jump, again before the smuggler appeared out the door. While my cousin was getting mauled in the underpass below, I could hide out of sight on the north side of this very tower. With a bit of luck, no smuggler would see me before settling down. They did look around for a bit, but they mostly stayed in the immediate vicinity of the gate. There was a third smuggler also, an archer that came from the plaza to the west. More often than not, they all stationed themselves in the underpass or in the alley outside the armory, facing east (right image below). Occasionally one or more of them stopped in the west plaza. This warranted a reload, as there was no way to get through that area with them there.

The next problem was getting back down safely. I first tried mantling the surrounding roofs, but to no avail. Then I attempted a cushioned drop onto the small staircase railing further north. I got close, but I couldn’t quite reach it. Every time I lost quite a bit of health and made enough noise to lure all three smugglers out of the underpass. Next I realized I could squeeze between the eave and the tower in the far southwest corner of the roof. It was almost as if I got wedged between the two facades, enough for me to inch down a bit before finally dropping (right image above). This still hurt, but I took far less damage than dropping from anywhere else. Then I remembered the two healing oils in my inventory. Placing them exactly where I would drop yielded enough height to avoid falling damage altogether. In the screen capture above, although difficult to see, the two flasks are still on the ground where I landed. Notice the full health bar and all the unalerted smugglers. Ghost bust avoided. Fantastic!

The Mansion

Although I could sneak past or shake the smugglers’ tail, they still showed up outside the manor’s front doors. They never seemed to alert to my presence after this point though. I was free to explore and there were practically no ways to bust on the top two floors. Once I accessed the basement, however, things changed. The basement key disappeared upon use and thus couldn’t be returned. If so, it’s no bust to Supreme.

After this, the Supreme busts would come thick and fast. The first was in a hallway that only a moron would think was safe (left image above). Ten spears emerged from holes in the floor if I got too close. I could trigger them without getting hurt, but there was no way to get past without taking damage. A small touch and I’d lose health. Stacking objects in order to get past was a lost cause, as the trap was sprung by a proximity trigger. Even if you could get past without taking damage, the trigger itself busted Supreme. The only way was to flip the nearby lever in order to disable it. This lever couldn’t be flipped back if wanting to proceed, and that was the inevitable bust of Supreme rule #7. It might also be considered disabling a security system, as mentioned in rule #8. Not certain about that one though.

The next room involved waiting for a wisp to show the way across a poisoned pit. It left a trail of magic dust on which to walk. Unfortunately, entering the room triggered spitball traps from three heads on the northern wall (right image above). These didn’t stop firing until I left the room, so a clear Supreme bust again. Then in the very next hallway, I had to duck to avoid getting hit by what looked like flying saw blades. I couldn’t avoid triggering them as I passed the statues on the opposite wall. These were the final busts to the Supreme Ghost mode.

STATISTICS:

Time: 28:09

Loot: None

Pickpockets: None

Secrets Found: 1 out of 1

Locks Picked: None

Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0

Consumables: None

Ghost: Failed [NewDark: Success!]

Perfect Thief: N/A

Supreme Thief: Failed

Perfect Supreme Thief: N/A

Norwegian Thief: Failed!

Notes:

- When Kedar gets attacked, there is no way to avoid being spotted by the smugglers. This busts Ghost. In NewDark, this can be avoided by climbing the roof to the north and dropping down on the other side.

- Unable to flip back the red lever in the secret area below the basement. Busts Supreme.

- Spitball traps triggered as I entered the room with the poisoned pit. Again busts Supreme.

- Triggered more traps as I passed three statues in the last hallway before the caves. More Supreme busts.