The Definitive Stealth Guide!

[Comandante]

Just saw your latest video on your channel - stealth combat training. Right On, CMDR!

I didn't realise that weapon sway persists for a few seconds after running with aim-down-sight - and would probably have never noticed. Nice tips in there!

@Ydiss , one thing I've noticed is that in your videos, when you are looking at scavengers who are almost looking at you is that they don't go into alert; however, I've been in similar situations and they seem to notice me, even when crouching and on a roof. Even when it's technically only your head that is just peeking over the building they seem to notice.

Also, I've been hid behind poles and machinery at night on a building yet if they're about 2-3 circles away on the radar, they still notice me, so I've given up on trying to hide behind things when they're advancing toward me (I try and hide completely). Not sure if this is working as intended - I would have thought being mostly obscured at night above someone would stop them seeing me.

Either way, keep the videos coming, they're really informative and well presented. Thanks again!

 

[Ydiss]

Just saw your latest video on your channel - stealth combat training. Right On, CMDR!

I didn't realise that weapon sway persists for a few seconds after running with aim-down-sites - and would probably have never noticed. Nice tips in there!

@Ydiss , one thing I've noticed is that in your videos, when you are looking at scavengers who are almost looking at you is that they don't go into alert; however, I've been in similar situations and they seem to notice me, even when crouching and on a roof. Even when it's technically only your head that is just peeking over the building they seem to notice.

Also, I've been hid behind poles and machinery at night on a building yet if they're about 2-3 circles away on the radar, they still notice me, so I've given up on trying to hide behind things when they're advancing toward me (I try and hide completely). Not sure if this is working as intended - I would have thought being mostly obscured at night above someone would stop them seeing me.

Either way, keep the videos coming, they're really informative and well presented. Thanks again!

Glad you like it

All npcs have a slight delay before they see you. It may be a fixed timer or it may be based on a periodic timer (and so it may trigger faster sometimes). It depends on their state as well, I think. So if they're alerted, they'll see you from further away and even through the tiniest of gaps. But if they're not alerted, there's some leeway.

In terms of using LOS, if you can see them they can usually see you (dependent on the distance which is dependent on their state and also light levels). The trick is knowing which way they're looking when you cannot see them (passive scanning them helps with this as well as just experience of playing the game). It doesn't always work when you peek out! But I find a very quick peek won't trigger them and you can see this with the 2nd kill in the combat guide.

One main message I'm trying to get across in the guide is that it's OK to mess up; just run away and get out of their LOS. NPCs will chase/investigate to the last point they saw you/heard you. They don't follow you through walls (contrary to what some claim here). In the sequence you see me running across open ground, you can see the blue shields of the NPC chasing me. If I had just ran around the back of that building and waited, that NPC would have lost me (and that sequence was mainly to demonstrate how they will chase based on LOS). Off camera, that same NPC would have chased me to the point that I disappeared behind that building, stopped, searched for 10-20 seconds and then reset, to slowly walk back to their patrol route; you see me come across them for my 5th kill as they're walking back.

It's a little gamey, but I think it's a good thing. If things go South, there's no need to fight through it if you don't want to.

 

[Ydiss]

Just to add, I'm noticing all of my early followers are always there to comment on my new videos and it's really humbling to see these kind words every time I publish a new video. Since the Buur Pit featured my channel on Friday, my subs have literally doubled over a weekend (thanks, @Buur !!) and it's been overwhelming. But you were amongst the first few who jumped aboard and I'll not forget that

 

[Codger]

Thanks for another great guide

 

[Comandante]

Just to add, I'm noticing all of my early followers are always there to comment on my new videos and it's really humbling to see these kind words every time I publish a new video. Since the Buur Pit featured my channel on Friday, my subs have literally doubled over a weekend (thanks, @Buur !!) and it's been overwhelming. But you were amongst the first few who jumped aboard and I'll not forget that

Thank you kindly, I am in turn humbled I hope to one day be a master of stealth; right now, I've got a LOT of learning (through practice more than anything) to do.

To be honest, I am completely new to FPS - I didn't even own a Windows machine let alone a gaming machine until they announced the Kick Starter and this is still my only game. However, my house mates at university (end of the 90s...) had Tenchu: Stealth Assassins and I absolutely LOVED playing that (occasionally - I was a swot). Even though there are bugs in the game and the release of Odyssey fell flat on its face, when it comes to some of the mechanics - especially stealth and how all the components of the buildings interact, FDev have out-done themselves here and done an amazing job. Immersion is 1000%.

I am just looking forward to the day (probably like a lot of others) when I unlock Bond and get Quieter Footsteps and Audio Masking - that will change the game a heck of a lot for me. However, that's a long way off. In the meantime I hope to progress to a level 2 ninja... So yes, once again, a big thanks

 

[Ydiss]

@Ydiss, quick question to the Master of Stealth.

Does accessing a data terminal in front of a NPC aggro them?

I was having a bad stealth day yesterday and spent an age staring at a data panel waiting for the Scientist to move away, I didn’t want to risk ending up at the rebuy screen again so didn’t test it for myself.

If you're downloading, no. If you're uploading a virus or something bad (sabotage missions) then yes

I found this out the hard way myself. Sabotage missions aren't something I've done a ton of. It's easy to avoid detection though, just wait until no one sees you, then go hide somewhere in range but out of LOS.

Worth disabling alarms of course (although if it's not a covert mission, the alarms going off doesn't mean much and in some cases can actually help)

 

[Ydiss]

I knew about uploading that’s why I was nervous.

I've downloaded right in guards' and workers' faces without sanction. Which is why I was caught out with uploading

The worker who saw me got a plasma ball to his face.

 

[photomankc]

Well. I really appreciate you took the time to put all this into videos. Thanks to that I got a sabotage mission done last night. That instant NPC coming over to close the sample containers thing is a major off-putting item though. They need to give that a pass and add a bit of delay to the NPC rushing to the machine, that is way too long to have to sit waiting because luck puts him too close to the machine when it pops open. Otherwise it was a pretty cool mission type and I enjoyed the work it took to pull it off.

I did note that in one video you mentioned not really often needing to clone lvl 3 authority but I've not found many instances where I can target the alarm panel without that?

As to hiding from the scavs mentioned by the other poster, Outside some extremely rare instances where they seem to have noticed me through the roof, I've usually had good luck hiding behind any solid object that completely hides me from view. Also note that if their flashlight is pointed directly at you at night you are visible from a long way off. If you see that flashlight in your face get hid better.

They give up looking rather easily.... too easily if you asked me but they do come right to the point where you last shot so you need to be like a sniper and once you take a shot... displace. I love when I can find a spot that overlooks my previous one and kill the scav that comes to investigate. I just really wish the sniper weapon was not a tennis ball launcher speed-wise.

 

[Tankard]

I don't know if this was mentioned (or even I mentioned about it) here but there is a way of save your mission if somebody will start alarm.
When you realize disaster is close (you see icon of call alarm over the AI) you have to kill the client with eg. Process Explorer. Then you can back to the mission.
But side effect is (of course) base will be empty with loot except objective element.
Another side effect is after such action I couldn't open galaxy map and I had to relog to horizon and back to Odyssey.

 

[Ydiss]

Well. I really appreciate you took the time to put all this into videos. Thanks to that I got a sabotage mission done last night. That instant NPC coming over to close the sample containers thing is a major off-putting item though. They need to give that a pass and add a bit of delay to the NPC rushing to the machine, that is way too long to have to sit waiting because luck puts him too close to the machine when it pops open. Otherwise it was a pretty cool mission type and I enjoyed the work it took to pull it off.

I did note that in one video you mentioned not really often needing to clone lvl 3 authority but I've not found many instances where I can target the alarm panel without that?

As to hiding from the scavs mentioned by the other poster, Outside some extremely rare instances where they seem to have noticed me through the roof, I've usually had good luck hiding behind any solid object that completely hides me from view. Also note that if their flashlight is pointed directly at you at night you are visible from a long way off. If you see that flashlight in your face get hid better.

They give up looking rather easily.... too easily if you asked me but they do come right to the point where you last shot so you need to be like a sniper and once you take a shot... displace. I love when I can find a spot that overlooks my previous one and kill the scav that comes to investigate. I just really wish the sniper weapon was not a tennis ball launcher speed-wise.

The worker closing the containment unit is a pain but only in restricted areas (because it's not illegal to use it so you can literally stand right next to it and jump in before any NPC can react). It definitely adds to the difficulty although I reckon if you're fast enough you can do it and use up a jail card.

Level 3 isn't needed for the alarm panel itself but it can often be behind a level 3 door. It's not stritctly necessary to have level 3 but in many cases it is, like where there are workers right by that door. You could probably get away with an ebreach but level 3 ID is the best way. I always get level 3 anyway, just because it's a matter of pride

Flashlights will illuminate up to 2 circles away on the radar. It's still better than daylight (up to 3 circles). I agree they give up easily but I definitely feel like this works well as a game and so I'm ok with it

 

[photomankc]

The worker closing the containment unit is a pain but only in restricted areas (because it's not illegal to use it so you can literally stand right next to it and jump in before any NPC can react). It definitely adds to the difficulty although I reckon if you're fast enough you can do it and use up a jail card.

I haven't done one in restricted yet so maybe the need for a stopwatch adds something to those but that 3 minute timer is a bit much to me.

Level 3 isn't needed for the alarm panel itself but it can often be behind a level 3 door. It's not stritctly necessary to have level 3 but in many cases it is, like where there are workers right by that door. You could probably get away with an ebreach but level 3 ID is the best way. I always get level 3 anyway, just because it's a matter of pride

Yeah, I just noticed in this case that I could not located the panel without level 3. So I had to start with a level 2 and work up. Curious on one thing. I heard tell that if they spot you with their cloned ID they go hostile, but last night I did not observe that to be true. Just after I got it she turned to look at me directly and nothing happened. So I'm thinking the guards have to scan you to detect it after all.

Flashlights will illuminate up to 2 circles away on the radar. It's still better than daylight (up to 3 circles). I agree they give up easily but I definitely feel like this works well as a game and so I'm ok with it

I really like the way they search when it works well. I'd like to see some more visible and escalating effects as you snipe them off. After 2 or 3 dead bodies pile up they go more edgy and more likely to investigate sounds and brief sightings. Right now they can feel a little like the deer sometimes in fall. "Hey Betty, Sam fell over dead just now when that noise happened". "Yeah, that's odd. Hmmm, lets walk over here and keep eating, I'm hungry this morning". I liked that a lot in Sniper Elite series where you could get away with a few bodies but sometimes you put the base on alert and sneaking got a lot more difficult.

Still, they are okay for a game although they need to do something other than stand still and look around when an SRV is killing them from long range.

 

[Moritz Norman]

Just to add, I'm noticing all of my early followers are always there to comment on my new videos and it's really humbling to see these kind words every time I publish a new video. Since the Buur Pit featured my channel on Friday, my subs have literally doubled over a weekend (thanks, @Buur !!) and it's been overwhelming. But you were amongst the first few who jumped aboard and I'll not forget that

Glad you're blowing up - it's well deserved. Your series really unlocked Odyssey for me and has led to a ton of enjoyment with all sorts of surface missions and infiltrations.

 

[Ydiss]

Woop

 

[Comandante]

Woop

View attachment 245146

Congratulations!

Last night I completely changed my stealth game after watching your latest video on combat stealth training.

I've realised what I was doing wrong now - I was essentially a meerkat sniper, staying where I'd made the shot and watching the scavenger responses. Inevitably, this gave away my position.

Started the evening with a power restore mission to the large fortress-style military base. Landed, got the SRV to do a head count: 14. Damn. Yet I managed to whittle them down, one by one - first time I've ever managed to do that. I made a few mistakes that were easily recoverable from by fleeing and staying hidden, then changed my position to focus on others, letting the others go back to what they were doing.

The second mission was the same base, eliminate scavengers TL2. Arrived, did a head count - 14 again. About 6 were taken out when a dropship arrives and offloads another... TEN. Undeterred, I continued through using the tactics you described. In the end, I did it - sniped 24 - TWENTY FOUR, before looting the base and getting some good drops (no Opinion Polls though )

I used the SRV a lot mainly to re-orient myself and get a decent fix on different positions; also to re-power my suit battery to save on energy cells. Because the base was so large it was also a good way to get to the other side undetected quickly and take a new route in.

Previously to this I used to take to the ship and launch a missile attack because those numbers were too overwhelming and the whole thing was too difficult for me. Not any more I am glad to say

I also noticed that some guards took a circular path rather than a linear back-and-forth path; this was quite interesting and I used that to help me take them down.

No more nuking from orbit any more

Having said that, I did a small base once where there were about 24 guards because of dropship deliveries - it looked like a damn rave, and I did use the missiles in that one because they were all so closely clustered that when you took one down, about 5 others went into alert, and stealth in that situation was almost impossible.

 

[Comandante]

One question to everyone - the Executioner scope when aiming down the sight has a little icon that goes up and then goes back to the start, like a counter.

Does this have any significance?

 

[NSR2]

I finally got my first "Live Odyssey" video guide completed and it's now available to view on Youtube, complete with a brand new intro/outro and improved audio recording. Most of the transcript is available in the description of the video but I'll add the key points here. I'll be adding to this series with a definitive infiltration guide to follow shortly and then deeper-dive guides into various settlement types and missions and even stealth-based combat and additional advance combat guides at a later date. And anything else I think might be useful (requests can be considered).

Thanks for these guides, it's really useful!

 

[Ydiss]

Congratulations!

Last night I completely changed my stealth game after watching your latest video on combat stealth training.

I've realised what I was doing wrong now - I was essentially a meerkat sniper, staying where I'd made the shot and watching the scavenger responses. Inevitably, this gave away my position.

Started the evening with a power restore mission to the large fortress-style military base. Landed, got the SRV to do a head count: 14. Damn. Yet I managed to whittle them down, one by one - first time I've ever managed to do that. I made a few mistakes that were easily recoverable from by fleeing and staying hidden, then changed my position to focus on others, letting the others go back to what they were doing.

The second mission was the same base, eliminate scavengers TL2. Arrived, did a head count - 14 again. About 6 were taken out when a dropship arrives and offloads another... TEN. Undeterred, I continued through using the tactics you described. In the end, I did it - sniped 24 - TWENTY FOUR, before looting the base and getting some good drops (no Opinion Polls though )

I used the SRV a lot mainly to re-orient myself and get a decent fix on different positions; also to re-power my suit battery to save on energy cells. Because the base was so large it was also a good way to get to the other side undetected quickly and take a new route in.

Previously to this I used to take to the ship and launch a missile attack because those numbers were too overwhelming and the whole thing was too difficult for me. Not any more I am glad to say

I also noticed that some guards took a circular path rather than a linear back-and-forth path; this was quite interesting and I used that to help me take them down.

No more nuking from orbit any more

Having said that, I did a small base once where there were about 24 guards because of dropship deliveries - it looked like a damn rave, and I did use the missiles in that one because they were all so closely clustered that when you took one down, about 5 others went into alert, and stealth in that situation was almost impossible.

That's great to hear I'm glad the strategy helps. It definitely requires some switching up depending on the settlement but the theory is pretty sound. The only issue I ever had with it is sometimes the last scav runs off due to their pathing failing. Using the SRV/ship scanner to locate them helps though.

One question to everyone - the Executioner scope when aiming down the sight has a little icon that goes up and then goes back to the start, like a counter.

Does this have any significance?

I think it's cosmetic only. The optics for all the weapons are generally bad in my opinion. The colour they've chosen contrasts very little and actually blends into many backgrounds. I really hope they change this to something more traditional like bright red or green.

 

[Comandante]

That's great to hear I'm glad the strategy helps. It definitely requires some switching up depending on the settlement but the theory is pretty sound. The only issue I ever had with it is sometimes the last scav runs off due to their pathing failing. Using the SRV/ship scanner to locate them helps though.

I think it's cosmetic only. The optics for all the weapons are generally bad in my opinion. The colour they've chosen contrasts very little and actually blends into many backgrounds. I really hope they change this to something more traditional like bright red or green.

Honestly, it really helped. As I mentioned before, never played any games before so learning these things is a slow process if I go by my own gaming instincts.

Good to know the scope counter does nothing. I thought maybe the nearer it got to the end the more accurate it would be so it's good to put that one to bed.

 

[photomankc]

Having said that, I did a small base once where there were about 24 guards because of dropship deliveries - it looked like a damn rave, and I did use the missiles in that one because they were all so closely clustered that when you took one down, about 5 others went into alert, and stealth in that situation was almost impossible.

So in those I have found that if you don't hang out to watch that the others will not have a fix on you after the shot lands. They will be on alert and likely come looking where the shot was heard from but they won't zerg-rush you. Thing is you have to be on the move the moment you let the shot go. Don't stick around to see if they died. Just get gone. I tend to go straight off the building I was on, out and swing around to a new one after each shot.

I've now knocked out a good number of clusters like that. Sometimes though I just go get the SRV because I don't want to be at it all night long.

 

[LoneTech]

I noticed a... special... way to alert NPCs today. Kind of stumbled upon it, you might say. If you jump from a high height and take a bit of fall damage as you land next to an NPC, they interpret that damage to you as an attack, and start searching for the perpetrator! Luckily they don't think you could be the perpetrator, as you are already the victim.