When I play stealth games I like playing a lethal assassin, not an enemy-dodger. I stay quiet and reload if I trip and alarm, but I do kill damn near everything. Just more fun for me that way.

Knockouts all the way baby...much more diffcult that way.

once again from memory - I think it might be the case that once you're blown, you're aslo ...

Headshots don't matter. Thief 1 and 2 don't have location based damage, so you can snipe them in the kneecap and it will work just as well (applies to the blackjack as well -- you can K.O. guys by swatting them across the ankle).
Make sure you draw the bow all the way back or it won't work.
Like others have said, they need to be totally unaware or it won't work. The problem is, Hammers seem to be jumpier than most guards, so it's easier to put them on alert. Also, killing is noisy, so if you kill one guy, it's going to raise the alert level of everyone nearby.

Yeah, I set off an alarm early in the level so I am assuming everyone after that was at least partially alert. I am going to play level 4 today which has human enemies, so we will see what happens there.

Well? Did it work? Or did you get your lousy taffer arse pinched again?

I actually forgot to check in that mission, I knocked everyone out with the blackjack. The next mission has humans too though, so I'll check then. Probably gonna play it in a few.

He's probably right, but besides alerted enemies(either just individually alerted temporarily from them seeing or hearing you a bit or all level enemies being alerted due to an alarm set off.) you can also lose one hit capability by standing in light that's too bright and trying to knock them out/kill them sometimes.
Btw if you want to play expert level difficulty but lose the no kill restriction and keep the added objectives there's a fix or cheat to allow kills in expert.

Yes, if they are completely unaware a shot anywhere kills them. I didn't try the foot but I did try the gut and the head. If they are alerted at any time though, even if they go back to normal afterward, you can't do it and they take like 8 arrows to kill.

Also "The Sword" was creepy as hell.

I kno right. I think I got as far as past getting the eye, so plz don't spoil past that. TIA.

P.S. Garett pre-metal eye or post metal-eye? Which is cooler IYO?

If you mean visually I like the eye, it makes him unique. If you mean overall I like him most in Deadly Shadows... more snide comments and a better sense of his justifications and thought process.

Deadly Shadows is my favorite of the series overall actually, at least for now. I know it suffers from some console port issues but I still love it and think it holds up well. I am replaying the first two games right now though, so we shall see if my opinion holds. Like I said it's been like 14 years since I played Thief and I barely remember it.

I remember it pretty good....all the zombies and Trickster Gods and whatnot.....even if I never finished it.

Thief 2 I finished every bit except the last level. (Mainly because some areas were just so damn dark and confusing I couldn't get through them(especially with my OCD dictating I have to look at every wall clearly and all....) I especially loved Karras as a(Mostly) hidden adversary and the whole Mechanist/Hammerite thing going on in-game. Plus those damned walkers......:D

I only finished PART of Thief 3 mainly because of the open worlded nature making my OCD go rampant(all those extra areas lol)....someday I have to finish it, although I must say the whole Opal mission thing was fun to complete and make sure I found all the loot...and selling loot was a blast as well.

Shoot them? Real Thief players only go for the knockouts and never kill enemies. Well, except the zombies, they deserve to die.

Lol yeah....the zombies AND a few of the hammers for what they were doing to the pagans......