Maybe I can, but I am not sure this area can be tail gated - would love to be proved wrong, but I just don't think I have the skills or cool yet to try that. The roon the guard goes to is one of the smallest rooms I've seen - but will add that to the list of things to try...
The Definitive Stealth Guide!
- Thread starter Ydiss
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This is the thing that bothers me. The access to the (tiny) room has '0' on the door - and he does NOT like me being in there!
Only carried an illegal thing once - and that was gone by the time I applied it. So far, I've cloned an ID and disabled the alarms (THEN dropped the ID when he turned up) as well as using an e-breach. Not having a lot of luck here...
I am a big fan of Ydiss' videos - they have MASSIVELY changed my stealth game. I am just not getting on with covert thefts; not even moved to heists yet since I think thefts are 'easier' - which isn't a good sign...
For the record also, I am not an older(ish) player too - I thought I'd learned the rules but RNG has thrown me so far at high-level military bases and this (rather strange) base.
As always, I feel sorry for non-fan Elite players - you're just thrown in at the deep end. Could anyone for the first time complete one of these missions and KNOW what they're meant to do? I doubt it.
Thanks for your advice regardless!
Yes, and I replied to them - didn't mean to spam the forums like this!
OK, glad you recognise it. When I saw it I thought 'Ooh, a Level 0 access room for the alarms' - now regretting that thought...
I forget the combinations I tried - but, if that's your advice, next time (if there is one - game-play wise, I am really going off these missions because of the amount of time they take...)
I had L2 clearance before; yet even then, when I went in, they immediately run down and go nuts. Perhaps I am doing something wrong though.
But the area says '0' for level. That doesn't sound very restricted to me! Again, I think this is a problem my end I am not understanding...
It's the kind of area when you can march in and if you time things, they'll not scan you. I clone and re-cloned. Again. And again. And again... I spend an HOUR AND A HALF IN THE ****ing place!
Sadly, tried cloning, e-breaching... There are two things wrong here: (1) my lack of skills and (2) RNG throwing rubbish hard-to-complete missions at me...
By the way, I just checked my journals and the settlement was in Mahin, "Apte Genetics Exploration" - setting myself up for failure here because I am pretty sure someone will say "Hey, that's the place where n00bs start their Covert Theft missions..." 
Probably not. I died lots at the beginning. I failed multiple missions in a row. I kept having to retreat to easy delivery missions just so I wouldn't die all the time lol.
I was actually really happy about it, because it meant there were new skills to learn. I got to be a newbie in this game again, for a bit
Again, the door isn't what upsets the guards. The restricted area is marked with a ribbon sign floating mid-air, and a warning message as you enter or leave. They don't have levels; you're not permitted in them, and any NPC will try to enforce that. This is a steep distinction, as they'll come and investigate any noise as well. The E-breach plan makes this doubly tricky, as NPCs will go into alert from seeing any tampered with equipment, and if they spot you in that state they'll go full alarm. There's no access level to permit you to stay in a restricted area, but there is a tolerance; if you've not been spotted doing anything worse than stepping into it once, you may be excused if you immediately leave. Activating panels, like the alarms control, doesn't count as nefarious action; so it's permissible to walk into the restricted area, activate the panel, and walk out. Do not stay, and do not escalate.
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OK, it makes sense now. I can't recall if the area had the 'holo-tape' across it - I just saw the 0 and assumed it granted access
As I said, this is my first step into this world - I've been doing other things, and although I'd watched Ydiss' Covert Heist video, this area and layout tripped me up somewhat.
I've already been stung with the CMD building layout - fluffed that proper, went to different systems to try different theft missions and ended up getting thefts to a base with the same CMD layout, which exacerbated things because I've not got the 'fear' when doing the CMD building one - it terrifies me! I've promised not to get myself Quieter Footsteps until I've unlocked Terra because I want to master the art without using a modification as a crutch.
OK, back to the drawing board. I'll keep trying different small sites until I get one right...
I think it's a mental block with me - I get terrified and then lose the bottle.
I've visited the site now, and simulated a Covert Non-violent Shutdown, which I reckon is the hardest stealth mission you could do there - and that site is indeed one of the hardest places to do such a thing. A Covert Theft would be slightly less challenging. I intended to record it, but it seems I failed to start the recording. I had not seen this particular settlement before, but I had encountered the layout.
My simulated mission took 42 minutes from disembark to embark, including some scouting, false starts and reconsidering.
First step was simply approaching the building. I permitted a guard to scan me. Overall, whenever a guard wanted to scan me, I let them; later on this involved dropping cloned permission levels. I walked into the foyer and examined it; I saw the lab and security room were both restricted areas, with door access level 0 to security, 2 to lab, and 1 to medbay, IIRC. There was a data port and two control panels in the security room, but there was a full ceiling on it. There was also a civilian who wandered into the foyer from time to time.
First challenge was to satisfy the Covert requirement; since I planned to do a heist, not a theft, this required turning the alarms off. I sight-scanned the civilian and guard so I could track them both on the radar, and paying attention to their focus (they turn their head to keep track of others, including you), cloned the security level off the guard (2). Then I waited until the guard was above the security room, where he'd have the furthest to walk back to it and no line of sight to the door, while the civilian was also out of sight. At that point I crouched to reduce the sound of my footsteps, snuck into the security room, stood and activated the alarms panel, crouched again and returned outside the restricted area. Covert success; even though the guard would return to stare at the alarms panel, he doesn't switch the alarm system back on.
Next came identifying my target. The guard wanted to scan me as he came down the stairs, so I dropped my privileges. Then I wanted to find a suitable terminal, and suitable access level to see what was in each room. As it turned out, there were no sample containers or similar in the laboratory; thus this installation doesn't do covert heists, but thefts or shutdowns may be possible. To find this out I cloned level 2 access (don't remember whether from the guard or some other NPC), and I selected the terminal in the corridor just before the foyer; this because only the civilian patrols there. I didn't want to have a guard come scan me while I was using the terminal.
Having satisfied the Covert requirement, I decided I had to simulate a Non-Violent Shutdown. This meant I mustn't kill any NPCs, but must still access a secured (power centre is restricted area with level 3 door) system with an opening timer. This posed additional challenges; since I didn't want to alarm any NPCs during the shutdown period, I had to get into the power centre without cutting the door open, which meant getting through the entire building with a stolen ID.
As luck would have it, there's a buggy NPC placement, where two civilians wander the roof of the building. One of them was standing still and had level 3 access. Thus acquiring high access was easy (just make sure the other one doesn't spot me while cloning), though keeping it proved tougher. I avoided the restricted area laboratory, which is challenging to sneak within as there's at least one scientist moving about in there, a guard at each exit, and an additional scientist. Instead I elected to take the upper path, also complicated by the same guards; their patrol routes take them up and down those stairs. I sight scanned them at each end and snuck by hugging the outer wall when they were in the lower corner, the furthest from the bottom of the stairs and the upper floor door that I could identify.
So, finally having a level 3 access and reaching the power centre, now I could stand just outside the door and sight scan the civilian inside. Their route took them up and down the stairs, standing by the reactor controls from time to time. I waited for the moment they turned from there to head up the back stairs, snuck in behind them, activated the panel, and snuck out. Similar to the initial alarms panel. From there, I had to wait several minutes until the power plant shuts down.
This is when I have to plan for the SHTF moment. Once the power is off, all NPCs will be on alert, and they may swarm the power plant, as they know something happened there. But before then, there are plenty of NPCs watching all the exit doors. I was going to have to run for it under fire, and I had to pass at least three sets of doors, two civilians and one guard. I didn't want to cut a door open early as this would alert NPCs there before I made my escape. And with poor timing, of course the power plant NPC was at the controls when the plant opened. In a Heist mission, this would be a severe issue as they close containers again.
Anyhow, I decided to go for it; I stood at the power centre door as the power turned off, which kept it open while the entire base went dark. I immediately switched my shield on, rushed in to grab the power regulator, and rushed back out; the power plant NPC turned hostile, and as I was seen fined me for trespassing and took a few shots. Now with the base dark, I switched on my light as well, and made a snap decision to try for the less populated upper floor again. I'm not sure which of the scientist and guard in the stairs room, maybe both, saw me; but they also had a few moments to take some shots, attracting anyone in hearing range. I quickly rushed up the stairs, which took me out of view for the civilian at least (the guard has a torch), cut open the panel, and overloaded the door. These crimes, too, were spotted; so I now had 3 fines totalling 750 credits. Once that door was open, I rushed through, losing my attackers in the twists and turns.
Now I had a moment of respite. From here, it was a simple matter of choosing my moment to overload two more doors and get out. I still had tracking on all the relevant NPCs, who were now on alert since the power was out. I took a big jump once outside bypassing the guards, boarded my ship, and flew off.
Mission success... well, even if I just imagined my mission, it took forever, and I failed to record it. My method required use of the useful suit (the one with the cutter), simply because I'd be locked inside without it.
It's possible, but certainly not easy.
My simulated mission took 42 minutes from disembark to embark, including some scouting, false starts and reconsidering.
First step was simply approaching the building. I permitted a guard to scan me. Overall, whenever a guard wanted to scan me, I let them; later on this involved dropping cloned permission levels. I walked into the foyer and examined it; I saw the lab and security room were both restricted areas, with door access level 0 to security, 2 to lab, and 1 to medbay, IIRC. There was a data port and two control panels in the security room, but there was a full ceiling on it. There was also a civilian who wandered into the foyer from time to time.
First challenge was to satisfy the Covert requirement; since I planned to do a heist, not a theft, this required turning the alarms off. I sight-scanned the civilian and guard so I could track them both on the radar, and paying attention to their focus (they turn their head to keep track of others, including you), cloned the security level off the guard (2). Then I waited until the guard was above the security room, where he'd have the furthest to walk back to it and no line of sight to the door, while the civilian was also out of sight. At that point I crouched to reduce the sound of my footsteps, snuck into the security room, stood and activated the alarms panel, crouched again and returned outside the restricted area. Covert success; even though the guard would return to stare at the alarms panel, he doesn't switch the alarm system back on.
Next came identifying my target. The guard wanted to scan me as he came down the stairs, so I dropped my privileges. Then I wanted to find a suitable terminal, and suitable access level to see what was in each room. As it turned out, there were no sample containers or similar in the laboratory; thus this installation doesn't do covert heists, but thefts or shutdowns may be possible. To find this out I cloned level 2 access (don't remember whether from the guard or some other NPC), and I selected the terminal in the corridor just before the foyer; this because only the civilian patrols there. I didn't want to have a guard come scan me while I was using the terminal.
Having satisfied the Covert requirement, I decided I had to simulate a Non-Violent Shutdown. This meant I mustn't kill any NPCs, but must still access a secured (power centre is restricted area with level 3 door) system with an opening timer. This posed additional challenges; since I didn't want to alarm any NPCs during the shutdown period, I had to get into the power centre without cutting the door open, which meant getting through the entire building with a stolen ID.
As luck would have it, there's a buggy NPC placement, where two civilians wander the roof of the building. One of them was standing still and had level 3 access. Thus acquiring high access was easy (just make sure the other one doesn't spot me while cloning), though keeping it proved tougher. I avoided the restricted area laboratory, which is challenging to sneak within as there's at least one scientist moving about in there, a guard at each exit, and an additional scientist. Instead I elected to take the upper path, also complicated by the same guards; their patrol routes take them up and down those stairs. I sight scanned them at each end and snuck by hugging the outer wall when they were in the lower corner, the furthest from the bottom of the stairs and the upper floor door that I could identify.
So, finally having a level 3 access and reaching the power centre, now I could stand just outside the door and sight scan the civilian inside. Their route took them up and down the stairs, standing by the reactor controls from time to time. I waited for the moment they turned from there to head up the back stairs, snuck in behind them, activated the panel, and snuck out. Similar to the initial alarms panel. From there, I had to wait several minutes until the power plant shuts down.
This is when I have to plan for the SHTF moment. Once the power is off, all NPCs will be on alert, and they may swarm the power plant, as they know something happened there. But before then, there are plenty of NPCs watching all the exit doors. I was going to have to run for it under fire, and I had to pass at least three sets of doors, two civilians and one guard. I didn't want to cut a door open early as this would alert NPCs there before I made my escape. And with poor timing, of course the power plant NPC was at the controls when the plant opened. In a Heist mission, this would be a severe issue as they close containers again.
Anyhow, I decided to go for it; I stood at the power centre door as the power turned off, which kept it open while the entire base went dark. I immediately switched my shield on, rushed in to grab the power regulator, and rushed back out; the power plant NPC turned hostile, and as I was seen fined me for trespassing and took a few shots. Now with the base dark, I switched on my light as well, and made a snap decision to try for the less populated upper floor again. I'm not sure which of the scientist and guard in the stairs room, maybe both, saw me; but they also had a few moments to take some shots, attracting anyone in hearing range. I quickly rushed up the stairs, which took me out of view for the civilian at least (the guard has a torch), cut open the panel, and overloaded the door. These crimes, too, were spotted; so I now had 3 fines totalling 750 credits. Once that door was open, I rushed through, losing my attackers in the twists and turns.
Now I had a moment of respite. From here, it was a simple matter of choosing my moment to overload two more doors and get out. I still had tracking on all the relevant NPCs, who were now on alert since the power was out. I took a big jump once outside bypassing the guards, boarded my ship, and flew off.
Mission success... well, even if I just imagined my mission, it took forever, and I failed to record it. My method required use of the useful suit (the one with the cutter), simply because I'd be locked inside without it.
It's possible, but certainly not easy.
Awesome write-up! I'm guessing you got a free power regulator for your troubles
To begin with, I am glad that you said it wasn't easy - I am sure Ydiss referred to this as a 'agri gauntlet' or something similar - I can see why.
By contrast, I just took a covert theft mission for an agricultural settlement - the large one with 2 sets of circular buildings where 3 buildings are connecting to each other (for a total of 6 circular buildings). It went pretty smoothly - what I liked about this one is that there's a lot of glass windows to be able to figure out everyone's movements before committing to anything. The 'hardest' part was disabling the alarms - which actually wasn't that hard - get past one patrolling working that walks between the two buildings separated by the main entrance; then wait for the worker near the alarms to wander away.
After that it was plain sailing - the entrance to the building where the locker was was unguarded, and the room itself had nobody in it - I think I must have got the simplest theft mission ever. Still it restored my faith and proved that I can at least do it
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I did one Covert Heist and one Covert Theft today. I amazed myself and didn't get caught, nor raise the alarms, on either one. And no one died.
Then, feeling a bit confident, I took on another Covert Heist. All was going well until a worker saw me using a terminal I had previously hacked. I thought they would only aggro if they saw me actually hacking it, but no. It's one more rule to remember for next time, though.
And here I thought I had 'em all down.
Unfortunately, although I have now completed 7 Covert Heists and 7 Covert Thefts, the engineer still has not unlocked for me.
Then, feeling a bit confident, I took on another Covert Heist. All was going well until a worker saw me using a terminal I had previously hacked. I thought they would only aggro if they saw me actually hacking it, but no. It's one more rule to remember for next time, though.
And here I thought I had 'em all down.
Unfortunately, although I have now completed 7 Covert Heists and 7 Covert Thefts, the engineer still has not unlocked for me.
This is one reason I don't tend to encourage ebreachesI did one Covert Heist and one Covert Theft today. I amazed myself and didn't get caught, nor raise the alarms, on either one. And no one died.
Then, feeling a bit confident, I took on another Covert Heist. All was going well until a worker saw me using a terminal I had previously hacked. I thought they would only aggro if they saw me actually hacking it, but no. It's one more rule to remember for next time, though.
And here I thought I had 'em all down.
Unfortunately, although I have now completed 7 Covert Heists and 7 Covert Thefts, the engineer still has not unlocked for me.
Heads-up to all would-be space ninjas, latest video in Ydiss' stealth missions is available:
Stealth Engineers Guide
If you've not done so, consider subscribing so you can get the latest information without having to rely on the forums...
Thanks @Ydiss!
Stealth Engineers Guide
If you've not done so, consider subscribing so you can get the latest information without having to rely on the forums...
Thanks @Ydiss!
Thanks for your work, guides, and videos. They are pure gold. This morning I run into the following situation:
- The mission failed because I had to leave the place without closing the container unit with the pathogen. (Shame on me stealth boy, pardom me)
-Mission bugged because I no longer have a pathogen to introduce.
I'd like to know if there is any way for NPCs within a room or hall to hang out for a bit. Atmospheric panel? Atmospheric panel outside buildings? (the one where you have to cut a panel to access it, although this building didn't have one) Is there any other way for them to get out of the room? Explosions outside? Gunshots?
If you could make a guide on distraction tactics I'd love to.
Would it have been quicker to kill the two NPCs in the room with the taser and wait for the sample to close?I have recently come across this topic and will read it calmly and carefully later. Thanks a lot and regards.
- Mission to introduce pathogen in agri settlement. Difficult Level 3. You must not set alarms on.
- I disconnect alarms getting level three.
- I found the sample container and open it.
- It's one of those circular rooms with two NPCs that are close the sample container when they see it open.
- They do not stay away from the area (sample container). When they see the container opened they close it.
- The most I could do was open and introduce the pathogen in the container. At that moment they discovered me.
- The mission failed because I had to leave the place without closing the container unit with the pathogen. (Shame on me stealth boy, pardom me)
-Mission bugged because I no longer have a pathogen to introduce.
I'd like to know if there is any way for NPCs within a room or hall to hang out for a bit. Atmospheric panel? Atmospheric panel outside buildings? (the one where you have to cut a panel to access it, although this building didn't have one) Is there any other way for them to get out of the room? Explosions outside? Gunshots?
If you could make a guide on distraction tactics I'd love to.
Would it have been quicker to kill the two NPCs in the room with the taser and wait for the sample to close?I have recently come across this topic and will read it calmly and carefully later. Thanks a lot and regards.
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Excuse the obvious question - I've not done things this way around yet - but did they see you put the pathogen in the container? It's not obvious from your description (to me).
I was under the impression so long as they don't see you putting in/taking out the container, you're OK - but as I said, not done this mission variant this way around before...
Yes, they saw me put the pathogen in the container (I don't know which of the two).They didn't saw me open it (no avertisement), but when they see the container opened, they change their routes and go (even the two) to close it, so it's very difficult to put the patogen in the container. Your guides and your videos have helped me to achieve many missions (and to get out of them alive). But in this case, the paths of the two NPCs were glued to the target, and when they saw (either of the two), the open container they closed it. This is the reason for this message, asking you for new videos in which you address distraction techniques to get NPCs out of rooms (explosions, depressurizations, etc.). You're an inspiration and I want to be a Stealth Boy and not kill anyone.
I was able to go back and take some pictures before the mission fails. Now it is daytime but when I first arrived it was night.
The easy thing is to kill them and finish the mission, but I wanted to suggest doing more research on the topic of creating distracting situations, for NPCs to leave rooms or change their route or positioning. In this way, the chances of successfully carrying out these missions would be even greater.
Thanks for your answer and regards.
- I opened two other containers in the room in case it served as a distraction for them and they were going to close them, but it didn't work.
- I jumped up and ran around the room trying to make as much noise as possible, in case they changed their surveillance routes but it didn't work. (Yeah it was a pathetic attempt)
- The first time I arrived to the place, I didn't found a panel to depressurize in the room, nor in the other adjoining room. (It was a building with two rooms). Nor on the roof of the building. (At least I didn't see them. I was nervous and tired)
I was able to go back and take some pictures before the mission fails. Now it is daytime but when I first arrived it was night.
- The problem is that they constantly close the container, and it is very difficult to syncronize a good "momentum" to introduce the pathogen without been seen.
- In daylight and quieter, I have seen that inside the building (first room), there was an atmosphere panel.
- Outside the building, there is also a box with another atmosphere panel.
- Put the pathogen in the container but I had to flee. Now they don't give me another pathogen and the mission can't be finished.
The easy thing is to kill them and finish the mission, but I wanted to suggest doing more research on the topic of creating distracting situations, for NPCs to leave rooms or change their route or positioning. In this way, the chances of successfully carrying out these missions would be even greater.
Thanks for your answer and regards.
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All I can say is that I was under the impression that workers were on a 'random tick' to switch things on/off if they saw something was amiss. Sounds like yours was always on to fiddle if that makes sense. Not done too many missions of this type so it would take one of the black belts around here to explain more - although, you might have just discovered a bug?Yes, they saw me put the pathogen in the container (I don't know which of the two).They didn't saw me open it (no avertisement), but when they see the container opened, they change their routes and go (even the two) to close it, so it's very difficult to put the patogen in the container. Your guides and your videos have helped me to achieve many missions (and to get out of them alive). But in this case, the paths of the two NPCs were glued to the target, and when they saw (either of the two), the open container they closed it. This is the reason for this message, asking you for new videos in which you address distraction techniques to get NPCs out of rooms (explosions, depressurizations, etc.). You're an inspiration and I want to be a Stealth Boy and not kill anyone.
EDIT:
- I opened two other containers in the room in case it served as a distraction for them and they were going to close them, but it didn't work.
- I jumped up and ran around the room trying to make as much noise as possible, in case they changed their surveillance routes but it didn't work. (Yeah it was a pathetic attempt)
- The first time I arrived to the place, I didn't found a panel to depressurize in the room, nor in the other adjoining room. (It was a building with two rooms). Nor on the roof of the building. (At least I didn't see them. I was nervous and tired)
I was able to go back and take some pictures before the mission fails. Now it is daytime but when I first arrived it was night.
- The problem is that they constantly close the container, and it is very difficult to syncronize a good "momentum" to introduce the pathogen without been seen.
- In daylight and quieter, I have seen that inside the building (first room), there was an atmosphere panel.
- Outside the building, there is also a box with another atmosphere panel.
- Put the pathogen in the container but I had to flee. Now they don't give me another pathogen and the mission can't be finished.
The easy thing is to kill them and finish the mission, but I wanted to suggest doing more research on the topic of creating distracting situations, for NPCs to leave rooms or change their route or positioning. In this way, the chances of successfully carrying out these missions would be even greater.
Thanks for your answer and regards.
If you're willing to post the system you got the mission in, and who it was for (and what base), I'd be happy to give it a pop - although it might not be until tomorrow night. If you're closely allied with the giving faction we may not be able to get the mission anyway.
If you find anything out independently, be sure to post back here!
i remember that type of mission and the layout.
the patrol paths/timings for the 2 workers are very tight, but you still should be able to operate the console while they're on the move. If you wait for them to stop before you make your move you will be seen - their stops are very short, so basically you need to make the move while they move away from the console
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A good indicator of your progress appears to be Codex/Commander/Stats/Crime/Production Samples Stolen.
Going into today I had 9 covert thefts/heists and 4 production samples stolen. I did a 10th (heist) today for a production sample and after the success my stat went up to 5 and believe it or not Terra was unlocked. All because the unlock process is bugged.
Steve 07