Before anyone questions my patience, let me explain my off day to you. I finally finished Down in the Bonehoard today, after a few days of trying and restarting. After hours of frustration I found there was a little cave leading into an area I hadn't seen that led me directly to my booty. I was happy.

I played through Assassins and I have to say, I loved it. It was just a great level from start to finish. Exciting and heart pounding through and through.

Then, Thieves Guild came. I had to remind myself constantly that my keyboard and monitor were expensive to keep from slinging them across my small, office like, room. Two hours, twenty-three minutes and eight seconds... That is how long it took me to finish the level. Again, I missed a whole section of the map...

My question is, what am I doing wrong? I love the way this game feels. Excellent atmosphere and great stealth gameplay. I want to enjoy it thoroughly but I can't. I can't spend two and a half hours trying to finish a level in frustration. Am I missing something that would make this game significantly easier for me? It's really just the navigation part I'm having trouble with. The map sucks and is no help so I feel like I'm just wondering around hoping I come across whatever I'm looking for.

If the ingame map doesn't do it for you then draw your own. I did that on some fan missions. Then again, it won't help if you're unable to find a specific place, but it helps navigate. Also, use the compass, it's in your inventory for a reason.

More importantly, be patient. Don't try to rush through levels. Two hours is a reasonable time for a Thief level IMO.

Don't know what else to say, hope you get the hang of it. :)

I'm fine with two hours, actually. I played through to finding the safe and then realized I didn't have the key. This was about an hour into the level. The rest of the hour and a half was used trying to find the key. I left most people standing on my way to the safe, so I went through and knocked everyone out so that I could run to look for the key, and I still couldn't find it. Maybe I'm not using the map good enough. I'll try looking at it more and see if that helps.
Thanks.

Isn't the location of the key specifically mentioned in the mission objectives? Check your objectives screen (the "O" key I believe) to see if Garrett knows where to look for the key.

I might be misremembering though, it's been a while since I played.


EDIT: I was thinking of a different mission.

I'm not sure that you're doing anything wrong. Both of the levels you mention - Bonehoard and Thieves' Guild - are sprawling maps. Guild, especially, is a bland mess of sewer corridors that I dislike navigating.

I don't think the key in that level is on the objectives list, but I could be wrong. I did play the mission last week, but I won't swear by my memory! As I recall, there are a pair of thieves that discuss the argument between the guild leaders, and the whereabouts of the key and the safe. If you miss that conversation, it is easy to miss the safe key!

Edit to the thieves' location: The two thieves that discuss the locations of the safe and the safe key are found just after entering the sewers via the secret door in the casino.

The safe key wasn't in the objectives. I didn't even know what I was missing until I looked at a guide.

Whoops! I was thinking of the previous mission, Assassins. Turns out I've actually never played Thieves Guild because it's one of the new missions added in Thief Gold, and I only ever played the original Dark Project. I'm looking forward to playing the new missions with my new copy from GOG, but I haven't got to it yet... too many other games to play at the moment.

Anyway, I just want to echo those who are offering encouragement. Thief can be quite tough and the missions take a long time (I would often need several play sessions to finish a single mission) but it's absolutely worth it. I found I really grew in skill as I played, so you might things getting easier as you progress. The storyline and ending are also fantastic... I often cite all three Thief games as examples of game endings done right. Also, if you find you are enjoying the more thievery-oriented missions rather than the grave-robbing and spelunking missions then you might find you enjoy Thief 2 even more. Definitely finish this one first though, since the story carries over.

Thief has been very fun for the most part. Even with being frustrated, I didn't think about playing something else in that hour and a half looking for the stupid key. I was just upset that I couldn't find it.
I really can't believe a stealth game this old could be this good. That's one of the reasons I like this site, it constantly reminds me that older games have more substance than most newer games can even hope to achieve.
I may enjoy Thief 2 more. The zombies really rub me the wrong way for some reason.

It pretty much started the whole genre of stealth games, precisely because it was so awesome. Playing it back when it was released kind of ruined other games because they simply couldn't match up.

If you're interested, the same studio responsible for Thief made a lot of other classics as well. After Thief they made Deus Ex, which is a fantastic game (and much better-known). It's also available on GOG. They also made the sequel, Invisible War, although most think that's not very good. I haven't played it myself, but it was just added to GOG's catalog.

Moving backwards from Thief, the original System Shock is also a really amazing game, although it's older and has some really outdated controls. There are mods that introduce mouselook that help a little. And before that there were the Ultima Underworld games, which are available on GOG. I haven't tried these yet, but like System Shock they're pretty old so there will be some acclimation necessary. Some claim they're even better than System Shock, though.

OK, I'll stop blabbering on. Enjoy Thief!

I'm not even going to lie and say I don't get satisfaction from the splat sound.


I have Deus Ex, and I'm about two hours in. It feels amazing so far so it doesn't surprise me the same people were involved. I have always heard of System Shock but unfortunately, I've never gotten to play it. Hopefully GOG can help with that. I haven't played the Ultima Underworld games, either. Because of my age, I missed a lot of good games. My dad also never had a gaming computer so I was stuck with consoles.

I also hope that GOG will get System Shock because it's truly amazing. I played it for the first time a few years ago and was blown away. Sadly, it's not for sale anywhere, but you can check out System Shock Portable in the meantime:

http://www.systemshock.org/index.php?topic=211.0

Might still be a little trouble to get it working fully, so keep in mind that you may have to fiddle around with things.

Yea I loved System Shock 1 and 2 both were unbeilevable good to bad SS2 removed the cyberspace of SS1 and the gun types but other features are compensated in SS2. First time you play SS1 cyberspace you will trip the fuck out especially if you are on narcotics. Back to the point of the Thieves Guild thats the level I hated the most out of the whole Thief franchise. The key you are looking for is hidden in the tavern and you have to use the roullette as it is leads to a secret passage. Once you pass the Thieves guild level the rest of the game/series will not disappoint you.

I did finally find that stupid key. I was so happy when I found it. The rest of the game has been less frustrating. It's still hard but not to the point of frustration.

Hopefully System Shock will be on here soon.

Sadly, it probably won't be. I don't know the whole story, but apparently the rights belong to an insurance company or something.