Thief 2/any % normal ILs

Any% Normal Individual Level Runs Guide

By JakePlissken et al.

Introduction

This guide seeks to provide up-to-date routes and tactics to help players learn and compete for IL records. There are two predominant paradigms for IL records: money runs, and "single-segment safe" IL's. The latter uses money carried over from the previous mission, usually the maximum loot available, to purchase extra supplies to make the route faster and more consistent or safe. "Single-segment safe" IL runs use only the money that you would normally have after completing the previous mission in a single-segment any% full game run, which is often 0, as only 5 of 15 missions have loot requirements on normal difficulty. "Single-segment safe" runs are more beneficial as practice than for achieving record times, so for the purposes of this guide we will only focus on money runs. There is a third, much more uncommon playstyle known as Low%, where no purchases are made at all and players collect the minimum amount of loot required to complete the mission. This is an older challenge run that is no longer commonly seen.

If you are new to Thief speedrunning, it would be beneficial for you to review the SDA Game Mechanics and Glitches page to learn about general movement and how to perform the various glitches that will be referenced in this guide.

Thief 2 IL's are timed by in-game time, which is measured in full seconds. The timer rounds down; for example, a 2:05.97 will be displayed as a 2:05. The timer is exceptionally accurate. I personally have frame-counted many of my runs and the timer has always proven to be accurate. There exist several rumors of circumstances in which the timer is inaccurate, but so far no definitive proof has been put forward. However, saving and loading invalidates the in-game timer, because on loading the timer reverts to the time of the original save, meaning the additional game time is not added to the final game time. Hence, all IL runs must be completed in a single segment, with no saves or loads of any kind.

Running Interference

As the level loads, spam your strafe keys to make sure you get moving as soon as the level loads. Head inside the mansion to the Butler's Quarters. If you play with item auto-equip enabled, you want to grab the key that is resting on the wall near the door and immediately open the locked door on the left. If you do not use auto-equip, grab the key on the table with the coins instead to give yourself time to equip it and open the door.

The tricky part about this run is developing a pattern of AI manipulation that works for you, in such a way that Jenivere is less likely to get blocked by the guards as she runs through the narrow hallways. My method of choice is to grab both keys in the Butler's Quarters, drop one of them by the first door on your right in such a way that the guards hear the noise and open that door, tap the torch with my blackjack, and continue onwards. It seems to work most of the time. Knock out the obvious guard in your way. You also want to throw a box here to first alert the guard who is standing in the alcove. For some reason if he is alerted by the box, he's less likely to third alert and start chasing you when you run by, and he will second alert instead. This also gives him a favorable position for Jenivere to get past.

Next is alerting Jenivere and you can do this in one of two ways: either with a key which is faster but takes some practice, or with the blackjack, which is slower but simpler. To use the key, approach Jenivere's door while straferunning and when you get close, drop the key. It will inherit some of your momentum and hopefully hit the door. If it doesn't, it can still alert her if it hits the ground right in front of the door. This takes practice to get the angle and the timing right, but since you travel less distance it is the best way to get a fast time.

I would recommend you use the blackjack instead if you are just starting out running Thief 2. There are two ways to do this consistently. One is to hit the top-left corner of the door either with a swing or with a block-tap (performed by blocking when close enough to the door). The other is to stand with your back to the door, look straight down, and swing. You will hear a more distant, quieter "clang". This is actually the sound of your blackjack hitting the opposite side of the door due to the blackjack's unusual hitbox. Both methods are fairly consistent ways of freeing Jenivere. You can also try leaning forward to squeeze out just a little bit more time.

A quick note on why these methods open Jenivere's door. Jenivere has a very simple AI script which only knows how to idle, read a scripted line to Basso, and escape. Since Basso's "rescue" flag hasn't been activated yet, she doesn't read her line, and proceeds to just escape because her AI is no longer idling. She has the ability to unlock the door mainly to prevent buggy interactions with the player when doing the intended route.

You should exit the mansion ahead of Jenivere. Proceed to knock out anyone who presents such an opportunity to do so, as it will limit the number of guards Jenivere can get stuck on. Some players open the side doors on their way out, thinking the AI's might wander into them. This may be true, but it is poorly understood and need to be tested. Run towards Basso's building and blow the birdcall. Then run back towards the stairs and stand near them. When Jenivere escapes, the mission will end.

That is really all you need to know to achieve a 1:06, which is the fastest known time on the NewDark engine. However, for those interested there is some deeper theory about the timing of this mission. Using the slower blackjack method, CatharticGaming was able to achieve a 1:05 on the original "OldDark" engine. In the OldDark engine, if all objectives are completed and Jenivere is knocked out, the mission ends almost immediately, whereas in the NewDark engine this glitch and other objective priority bugs were fixed. On 1.07 OldDark it is not unreasonable to assume that a 1:04 or even 1:03 is possible.