Mission 2: The Trials That Shape Us

[This report has 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 new ones have been added.]

A very nice start to Zaya’s “real” campaign. She now has Garrett-like abilities, and the gameplay elements mimic that of the original franchise. I thus compare this mission to the likes of Lord Bafford’s Manor and Running Interference, and in that regard, it holds up very well. I appreciate the level of detail inside the museum, in addition to all the readables and plaques spread around. The city really comes to life if you take the time to read it all. The difficulty level is also nicely balanced for an early mission.

Malak has convinced me to avenge the death of my cousin, Kedar. After a year’s training, my first test is to break into The Bennington Museum and steal a sacred tome. Malak apparently has a use for it. I also need to acquire 750 worth of loot, as well as leave the premises. Sounds like a plan!

Second Floor

Entered the museum through the roof chute (left image below). Dropping down through the broken window was possible by the use of a vine arrow, but left me more exposed. By the way, to get the two mines from the chest I had to drop down the chute. Picking the balcony door required relocking and an unnecessary museum key grab. Everybody will see me as picky there, but I chose the chute anyways, more thief-like. Left the door open to get back out the same way later. The second floor posed few problems. Just sneaking around timing patrols. Some areas had guards on lower floors able to spot me.

First Floor

Entered the first floor in the city fathers area. The guard there seemed more suspicious than others, and took some very slow movement to pass, but in the end nothing too tricky. Moved through the room behind him, grabbing the urn on the way. I had to skip the nugget from the text/documents section; breaking the glass frame obviously counts as property damage (right image above). It seemed sort of ironic that none of the documents behind glass were even readable, but the one item that possibly could have some level of significance for a ghoster was valued at a measly 1 gold. The roaming man here even gave a comment upon inspection if taking it. Used the secret passage beside the staircase down to the basement. The Supreme rules prevented me from turning off watchers or security systems, so opening the gates to grab the tome was strictly speaking a bust (left image below). However, these are just physical barriers that open and close, they’re not electrical systems or sensory mechanisms that the rules are referring to. This is even more obvious when the rules also mention watchers, as these are sensory machines counting as AI. I mean, if the plaque by the lever had said ‘Foyer Gates’, nobody would have argued this to be a bust. People might disagree with me here, but I consider Supreme still intact.

Reaching Limes’ Office

The hardest part on the first floor was the guard just beyond the employee offices area (right image above). He guarded the staircase, a piece of loot and the key to the upstairs office. He was stationary, but turned randomly to face either towards or away from the stairs. Whenever he turned away I started to move. Realized quickly that normal walking is the fastest way without alerting him. Took the jar on my way past and hid in the corner after the second stair portion. The pillars were no good for hiding, as the guard could see me through them. I had taken the office key from Limes’ belt earlier, and it disappeared upon usage. I dropped down from the stairs beside the small table and walked out like before. This whole sequence relies on the guard staying in the captured position while you’re on the move. Sometimes he shifted after 5 seconds and at other times he went half a minute without turning.

[UPDATE Nov 7^th, 2020: I recently discovered that curator Limes also carries a copy of the office key. I never noticed that in my original run, probably because he is too big for Zaya to pick up, so I never bothered to check him for keys on my blackjack run. Anyway, this means it’s possible to relock the office door for Supreme. It is anything but straightforward, as the keys disappear upon use, even if you have two copies in your inventory. The way to do it is to steal Limes’ key first and use it to unlock the door. The key then disappears. When leaving the office, head down the stairs and steal the guard’s second copy of the key and use this to relock the door. This key also disappears, but at least then the door is locked. I highly doubt this was intended by the authors, but it’s a necessary workaround for Supreme.]

The rest was a charm, just cleaning up the first floor.

STATISTICS:

Time: 53:32

Loot: 1489 out of 1490

Pickpockets: 4 out of 5

Secrets Found: 3 out of 3

Locks Picked: 5

Damage Dealt: 0 Damage Taken: 0

Consumables: None

Ghost: Success!

Perfect Thief: Failed!

Supreme Thief: Success!

Perfect Supreme Thief: Failed!

Norwegian Thief: Failed!

- Breaking the window to grab the last 1 loot is not allowed for any Ghost mode. Skipped.

- Had to turn off the “security system” to grab the tome. Supreme rule #8 mainly refers to watchers/cameras and alarm systems, so this is no bust.