to kill or not to kill

[radders]

i've been trying to get thru this brill game without killing anyone... but i wonder if this is the right way to go ... any thoughts?

[magemaster]

A really, really good thief does not need to kill.

Took me awhile in Thief I & Thief II before I could get through the entire game without killing anyone, including non-humans.

Haven't got that much experance with Thief III yet.

Practice, practice, and more practice.

[asmodian]

I normaly do not kill anyone on missions but go thru the town commando style, mainly cause rapidly respawning city watch annoys me. I wish they did it the town a little diffrently I dont realy find it enjoyable to sneak there.

[Thiloniel]

I like to go through the entire level and leave no witnesses... so naturally there blood puddles all over the place :D

[thegrommit]

Humans get blackjacked, everything else is fair game.

[Emeloy]

Since one of the (at least for me) most interesting parts of Thief has always been, that it isn't just a medieval shooter like heretic, but a game depending on stealth and avoiding conflict (which the expert difficulty in Thief1/2 reflected by making it a rule not to kill human beings), I'll never kill anybody in a Thief game. Maybe some other people like to be the massmurder of the medieval times, but this not only doesn't fit into my picture of Garrett, it also makes the games far to easy. Imo the whole thrill and fun depends on the fact, that you don't want to be seen and to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to the fact that there is someone sneaking around.

[Kheldin]

I like to not make any rules for myself with this game and just play it and deal with the obstacles as I go along. After I beat the game I may end up playing it all different ways. Ghosting and being stealth is fun, but to play the game like that all the time just gets to be a bore. Especially since some of the fun of the game IS killing and getting caught.

For all the hardcore ghosters/stealthers, for a different spin with difficulty, let me suggest when you enter a mission, instead of ghosting it crouched in the dark the whole level, make it a rule for yourself to be SEEN and CAUGHT by everything in the level. You can't kill, but you must run and make a lot of noise. If you think stealhing through a level is hard, my friend.. try that.

[Laffingtaffer]

I prefer the stealth route, as opposed to the assasin because it just gives me a thrill to rob the place blind and not leave a trace, and think about everyone scratching their heads in wonderment in the morning.

Plus it is really interesting to come up with creative ways to get a guard to move away from a well lit door long enough to sneak through without being seen that seems impossible to get through without killing him or knocking him out. That really gets the adrenalin going.

Zombies I'll kill because they are just putrid undead, but it is certainly possible to sneak past them as well.

I agree with Emeloy that it is a refreshing change from games where the only way to advance is to annihilate everything in sight.

As far as the city goes, I spent most of my time high up in the air walking on pipes and gutters never even getting close to the activity on the ground. Quite a challenge finding that thieves' highway, but it's there, and sometimes a little surprise loot to accompany the effort like in:

the South Quarter near the fence shops there is a rooftop you can climb to that goes to a crawl space that is loaded with goodies.

[Dragonscale]

How you can get into... ...favor of hammers since it needs killing. Bugs or undead.

Is killing (destroying) undead killing?

[radders]

this is a great game cos its got me really thinking what sort of man Garrett is. i know its just a game but its got to me! i keep looking at the artwork on the cover... Garrett creeping over a skyline with his knife glinting in the moonlight... i guess the occaisional kill is ok...
but would he pacify the Pagans & the Hammerites?

[Laffingtaffer]

its not necessary to be in anyone's favor.

which to me seems more fitting to Garret's personality - a loner who trusts no one except himself.

[fpk]

Killing is not a Thief's act, so I prefer to try sneaking, but blackjack when necessary.