Overview
As a Marked Ninja, you will encounter various enemies and hazards that will slow you down in seeking revenge on Count Karajan. This guide will take a further look into these and explain their behaviour and how to work your way around them.And, of course, SPOILERS ahead!Other Mark of the Ninja guides:Equipment of the NinjaThe Scoring of Mark of the NinjaPlease let me know if I missed anything.Changes:DateModification08.08.2017Added some specification to Stalkers that they can see outside their night vision.04.08.2017Added some specification to terrorizing Stalkers. Courtesy of Farya.30.08.2017Added more details to the Guard Dog.28.07.2017Added clarification that Sentry Turrets are equipped with machine guns or rocket launchers, a section for the Courier and a section for Corporal Kelly.23.07.2017Fixed a few grammar issues.
Hessian Guards
These are the first enemies you will encounter in the game and will also be the most common enemy in the Oshi City and Hessian Castle. They carry an automatic assault rifle with a flashlight attachment, protective headgear and blue combat uniforms. Count Karajan has hired them as bodyguards to defend his corporation from thieves, saboteurs and assassins. Once a guard hears a noise or anything suspicious, he will come to investigate by sweeping the nearby area with his flashlight. If he sees nothing peculiar, he will abandon his search and return to regular patrol. If he manages to detect you, however, he will raise the alarm and become fully alert to your presence. The assault rifle will deal 1 damage point, and can dodge some melee attacks. After the guards fail to pursue you, they will remain at alert by actively searching for you, pointing their flashlight where they’re looking and move two times faster.
Guards are completely vulnerable to stealth kills and are not a hard target if they aren’t closely together. They can also be terrorized by various means, which will make them trigger-happy. Once in terrorized state, any noise they hear will become a target for gunfire (which can also be directed at their own comrades). They will also forget to sound an alarm when they detect you and stumble making them easy to kill in any situation.
Some guards can be found having a nap on duty leaving them completely vulnerable to any attack and can be snuck by very easily. Any noise will awake them, however.
Guard Dogs
Guard Dogs act as support for guards. Instead of having a vision cone, a guard dog will have a 180° circle around it, indicating that it can smell you when you enter it. When you enter it, the dog will stop to sniff around the area. If it finds nothing, it will continue its normal routine, if it manages to spot you, it will bark loudly alerting anyone nearby. They can also detect you in hiding spots. In combat, it will pursue you and attack by biting. When in alerted state, its smell radius will become smaller (and invisible), but when you enter it, it will instantly bark.
It is worth mentioning that the dogs cannot sound the alarm and when you decide to kill it, the ninja will instead knock the dog out without killing it, for mercy (will also make no-kill runs easier). Dogs also cannot be terrorized normally, but with terror darts, they will bark randomly at nothing. Upgraded darts can make it bite its own neck as suicide.
Shielded Guards
These guards are first encountered in the third chapter. They wear white uniforms, use a riot shield, a flare gun and a pistol. Any melee attacks from the front will be blocked by his shield, so he will be harder to take down in combat. However, he is a bit more vulnerable in normal state, because he does not have a flashlight. But when he’s distracted, he will fire a flare to the spot where he heard the sound which will enlighten the whole area for a few seconds. When terrorized, he will drop his shield, forget his flare gun and alarm system from use. This will leave him extremely open for attacks.
The Courier
The Courier is only encountered in the chapter, “A Trail of Shadow” where you must track him to Karajan’s tracking device without killing him. In gameplay, he is identical to the regular guards. When you get to the objective, you can steal the device or kill him which will play a scripted scene.
Hessian Snipers
Hessian Snipers a sub-class of Karajan’s guards. Instead of wielding an assault rifle, they use a sniper rifle and don’t move while on guard. They will closely monitor an area with their scope and can detect you even in the dark. At the cost, however, they only possess tunnel vision at range, so light doesn’t effect them much. They only move when they are terrorized. When in this state, they behave like regular terrorized guards, but don’t have flashlights so they can be snuck past more easily and no longer use the scope attached to their weapons. You first encounter them in the fifth chapter, “The Fall of Hessian Tower”.
Corporal Kelly
You are assigned to kill Corporal Kelly, who led the assault to your clan’s home in the chapter, “The Fall of Hessian Tower”. In gameplay, he’s identical to the Elite Guards encountered later in the game. Since he is necessary to kill one way or another, he will not count against the “No Kill” award at the end of the level.
Specially-Tasked Guards
These are guards that have a special duty that affects how the player has to behave with them. They can be tasked to be a courier, pilot, keykeeper etc. They wear a yellow-blue uniform and a baseball cap to differentiate from the others. Despite the different cosmetic look, they behave identically to the regular Hessian troops. A first courier guard is encountered in the third chapter, “The Trail of Shadow”, where the player must follow the guard without killing him.
In the ninth chapter, “A Blade at His Neck” they are tasked in guarding two keys to Karajan’s stronghold where they can be pick-pocketed from the keys without hurting them.
Gas Mask Guards
Gas Mask Guards are encountered in the sixth chapter, “Ancestral Home” in the catacombs. These guards can see in the dark much better than normal guards, but overall have less visibility in the light. They are immune to the toxic gases underground. They mostly behave like regular guards, except that they sometimes throw gas grenades to flush out you in unreachable areas. They can be blinded when they see the distraction flare, leaving them vulnerable to any attack. When terrorized, their night vision becomes less functional, pointing more to the ground.
Elite Guards
Elite Guards are first encountered in the eight chapter, “The Inner Keep”.
These guards have a bigger vision cone, wear brown uniforms and a shotgun with a flashlight attachment. They cannot be stealthily killed, but instead, must first be stunned. In combat, their shotgun will deal 3 damage points and dodge many melee attacks. In alert state, they behave like other guards. After dozens of melee attacks, they will eventually be stunned too.
Elite Guards cannot be terrorized normally, but terror darts will make them go berserk with melee attacks and, if upgraded, eventually commit suicide. When they see a dead guard, they will sound the alarm much quicker than other guards.
Count Karajan
After the assault, your mission is to kill the man behind it, Karajan. After nine chapters, you will finally be able to do it. Here, he is 100% harmless besides the scripted scene, and can be easily killed. Since he is also required to kill, he doesn’t count as a kill at the end of the level.
Bandits
Bandits are ruthless soldiers whose only interest is their own gain. They are only encountered in the chapter, “A Shattered Stronghold” and also in the bonus chapter, “A Tale from the Past”. At the end of the day, they are pretty much the same as Hessian guards, except that they talk differently and have different appearance.
Stalkers
Stalkers are tasked to guard Master Azai after the Marked Ninja and Ora find out his terrible lie. The equipment is stolen from Hessian.
Stalkers are by far the most hard to fight. They wear night vision goggles, a proximity sensor and a laser gun module, though unlike Gas Mask Guards, they can see outside their nightvision. When patrolling, they typically traverse the environment, making them unpredictable. In combat, they use laser guns that deal large amounts of damage and dodge most of your melee attacks. They cannot be stealthily executed, and must be stunned before killing. When you enter their proximity circle, they will instantly become distracted, and in most cases, detect your presence. A concentrated terror dart will make Stalkers stand still in vain, eventually to commit suicide.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations are present when you receive the final mark. They appear, because of the effects of the ink are starting to destroy your mind. Hallucinations can appear as regular guards, Elite Guards, Gas Mask Guards or Snipers. When you kill a Hallucination, it is revealed to be a Hisomu clan warrior.
It is worth mentioning that the corpses of Hallucinations cannot terrorize others.
Security Equipment
Lights are the most common security asset as well as a convenience asset. If you stand in the light, guards can see you across the screen as opposed to standing in the darkness (corpses can also be seen if they are in the light). They can be turned off by disabling the power source or destroyed by throwing a bamboo dart. Breaking the lights will disturb nearby guards who hear the sound and will come to investigate. You can use moths to temporarily turn off a light without arousing suspicion. The area the light will cover depends on its size and direction.
Spotlights are mostly identical to regular lights, but they cannot be destroyed by darts (still make a noise when hit), are usually bigger in size and sometimes are made to sweep the area. Dusk Moths can still block them.
Chandeliers are mainly behave like regular lights, but when struck by a bamboo dart, the chandelier will fall and kill anyone under it, also making a loud noise. They are also usually bigger in size.
Heavy Doors cannot be opened without completing a certain objective, disabling a power source etc. Some cannot be opened at all.
Laser tripwires are encountered in chapter 2, “Breaching the Perimeter”. If you try to cross them, it will sound off an alarm, close nearby exits or activate a connected turret. Laser tripwires can usually be disabled by destroying a power generator, power box or whatnot that’s powering them, while some cannot be disabled, because the power generator that is powering them is not present in the area.
Laser tripwires are also temporarily switched off when a Karajan’s guard crosses them, regardless if the guard is alive or not. Smoke Bombs can be used to block laser grids. Some Tripwires have a sweeping function that would make it harder or easier to bypass them.
Fatal laser tripwires are mainly identical to the alarm variant, but instead of sounding an alarm, it will kill anything who cross them.
Turrets are usually connected to alarm tripwires, when crossed, will activate the turret and will fire at the target that crossed the wire. They are sure to finish you off quickly if you don’t escape quickly. Some use machine guns and others use rocket launchers.
Door locks are first encountered in chapter 3, “The Trail of Shadow”. These locks need to be lockpicked in order to pass through them, which would take about two seconds. This would leave you vulnerable for detection for that time. Lockpicking speed can be increased to 0.5 seconds by purchasing the Superior Lockpicks upgrade. Guard can open locked doors the same as regular doors. The opposition uses locks on other things as well, like ventilation shafts, power generators, equipment crates etc.
Proximity Sensors are first used in chapter 4, “A Change in Course”. These will sweep the area for any movement. If it detects movement, it will usually sound an alarm (except for pests) and activate a turret if connected. Sweeping proximity sensors are much easier to cross, because you can stand still while they go over you. It is possible to cross through these with the grappling hook if you go through the upper part of it, when you do this, it will make a small sound, but won’t alarm. When a guard goes through these, it will identify it and ignore its movement.
This and the following security equipment are only used by bandits. If you cross a chain that is connected to this trap, the lump of bricks will fall down, killing anyone under it.
Bolt throwers are activated after crossing a chain that is connected to it. This will make it launch some bolts that kill in one hit. Some bolt throwers shoot continually while others will only launch one pack.
Gunpowder Bombs will explode if anyone contacts it. These are usually found hanging on ropes. You can throw a bamboo dart at it to make it fall off, this will not set it to explode, neither will it be disabled. But it will give you some better tactics to go around it. Explosions will alert any nearby bandit.
Some bombs are hidden in cars to catch you without you expecting it. These, however, have a short duration before they explode so they’re pretty easy to overcome. The resulting explosion that would alert bandits can be a problem, though.
Once you enter a trapped hiding spot, a hidden bomb inside it will set off shortly after. These trapped hiding spots usually appear as pots.
Swinging Blades will cut you in half if you try to cross them. They’re usually activated by some trigger.
Other Hazards
Crows are regular birds that make a lot of noise when spooked. Anyone who comes near it will make the crow fly away cawing loudly. This will, of course alert guards. They can also be struck by bamboo darts for the same result. They’re only found outside, usually on rooftops.
Rats are similar to crows, except they make less noise when spooked and are usually found underground, in vents or in the dark corners of buildings. These are very rarely disturbing your plans, but when a rat and guard are close, the rat could alert the guard.
Loose wires are a small hazard, when crossed, they will do slight damage and knock you back. You will have to disable its power source to bypass it.
Rainstorms, in addition to setting the atmosphere, can also disturb your plans, because its lightning flashes will give the guards a chance to spot you. Rainstorms only occur in the chapters, “An Ancestral Home”, “The Inner Keep” and, “A Blade at His Neck”.
Sandstorms limit visibility significantly, it is advice to use the Mark of Farsight to look ahead. Sandstorms are only present in the Ruins.
Bottomless Pits are, simply, bottomless. Once you fall into it, you will have to restart at the last checkpoint.
Toxic Gas is a hazardous environmental element that will kill you in a matter of seconds. You are immune to its effects before three seconds in it, after that it will drain your health. Guards are also not immune and can be disabled by its effects and will eventually die. This excludes Gas Mask Guards.
Spikes are usually found in rural and underground areas. If you fall onto them, you die. Guards who are knocked out will also be killed when they fall onto them. Some are used as traps by the bandits
Unstable grappling points will shortly break off after you grapple onto them. If you need use them, you have to be quick. This will make some noise.
Unstable platforms, similarly to grappling points, will break off after someone walks on them. This will make a little noise.
Unstable Ledges will break off after being climbed, which will make some noise.
Unstable Hiding Spots will crumble after they’re used. This won’t make noise, but will still disturb guards who see it.
Electric Tracks are only seen in the chapter, “The Return”. These tracks will kill you if you touch them.
Trains are also only seen in “The Return”. If a train hits you, you die.
Weights are usually controlled by levers or cranks. If one lands on you, you die.
Spiritual Weights can be found in the clan home. These are only solid when in the dark. If a light is over it, it will become transparent. Standing in the transparent weight when it suddenly gets dark will crush you to death.