1

Wait until after dispatching the enemy at point

to break the urn. There is a “Smoke Bomb” inside.

STAGE 1 TIPS & TRICKS TO REACH GRAND MASTER

The following advice goes on the assumption that you only

have starting equipment. Refer to the rough sketch on page 6

for the points that the advice talks about.

TAKE A ROUNDABOUT APPROACH RATHER THAN CHARGING STRAIGHT IN

If you move to the front entrance and peer inside, you’ll see four lookouts posted. Head around to point , cling to the side of the perimeter wall, and stab through a crack to stealth kill the lookout there. Take the “Shuriken” after dispatching him, and use your grappling hook to scale the perimeter wall.

CONFIRM YOUR FOES FROM ABOVE THE WALL, THEN STEALTH KILL

If you climb up the perimeter wall, you can confirm the position of the enemies at the side of the wall at point and point . First, move along the wall near point , grab the enemy there from behind. If you make any noise, you’ll get noticed by the enemy at point , so drag him to the nearby weeds and stealth kill him.

CONCEAL YOURSELF IN THE SHADOWS OF A BUILDING TO CONDUCT SURVEILLANCE

For the enemy at point , cling to the wall and observe the situation. Just remember that if you're slightly exposed from the shadows you’ll be detected. Hide in the shadows of a building and grab the enemy when he’s facing away from you. Drag him to the weeds near point and do away with him.

DISPATCH ENEMIES QUICKLY TO AVOID BEING DETECTED

The enemy near point goes in and out of the room, so wait for an opportunity to enter the room, then close the door and wait to ambush. There is an enemy inside the room at point , so dispatch this enemy quickly and move on to stealth kill the enemy at point as well.

Going throughthe mainentrance makesit easy for thefour lookouts tospot you, so it’sbetter to circle around.

Just make sure to hide yourself completely, and the enemy won’t fi nd you.

Climb the perimeter wall from point and you can confi rm the locations of two enemies. First, go after the enemy at the side of the wall at point .

TIP 1TIP 1

STAGE 1 TIPS & TRICKS 1/5

TIP 2TIP 2

TIP 3TIP 3

TIP 4TIP 4

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2

STAGE 1 TIPS & TRICKS 2/5STAGE 1 TIPS & TRICKS 2/5

CHECK OUTSIDE BEFORE LEAVING THE ROOM

When leaving the room to head to point , there is an enemy patrol in front of the building to watch out for, so check outside from point

first. Wait for the enemy to pass by, then stealth kill him from behind. The enemy stops in front of the door, so be careful when he passes near by.

SNEAK INTO BUILDINGS THROUGH ROOFTOP OPENINGS

After dispatching the enemy at point , head for point , check your presence meter. It shows a reading. A quick peek in the rooms on the route shows that there’s a person in one, but if you take a closer look, it seems that he's not an enemy. It would be good to avoid him and try climbing onto the roof. When you do this, you’ll fi nd an opening up there, which you can then use to enter the building. If you fall while holding the crouch button, you can land without losing your balance.

*For green route , see tip 10.

PERFECT STEALTH KILLS & CHAIN STEALTH KILLS IN ROOMS The enemy that passes in front of the room

at point patrols a large area of the manor. Dispatch him quickly here ito avoid encountering him elsewhere. Assess the situation for yourself and determine whether to drag him into the room while avoiding the enemy at point , or execute a chain stealth kill with the enemy at point . If you choose to dispatch them separately, drag the enemy patrolling in front of the room inside. Execute a perfect stealth kill to avoid getting noticed by the enemy at point . Next, you’ll get spotted by the enemy at point even if you cling to the wall, so observe the situation from point . Grab him when he’s facing away from you. Be careful of the enemy at point , who occasionally patrols.

If you’re aiming for a chain stealth kill, wait near the door for the two targets to come near each other.

At point , after opening the door, do not leave immediately. Stay crouched and observe the situation outside.

Look closely,

this isn’t a bad

guy. Don't kill

friendlies.

Climb to the rooftop and you’ll fi nd an opening. You can enter here, and land at point .

At point , even with this kind of situation, you won’t get noticed. There is an enemy inside, so try to aim for a perfect stealth kill.

TIP 5TIP 5

TIP 6TIP 6

TIP 7TIP 7

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3

If you make no noise, the enemy won’t wake up. After executing the stealth kill, close the door, just to be on the safe side.

If you want to grab him when he peeks out and stealth kill him, this is your chance.

If you dispatch an enemy near the boss, take extra care not to draw him outside.

If you don’tdispatch theenemy near point

in the guest house, you’d bebest off bringinghis corpse in the house.

LET SLEEPING FOES LIE

The enemy at point is asleep, and even when he starts to get up, he’ll fall right back asleep. Avoid breaking down the door or slashing through it. Instead, slip in quietly, and executing a stealth kill should be simple. If you haven’t dispatched the enemy that patrols in front of point , make sure to close the door before he comes back, to avoid being spotted. Next, the enemy in the room at point will occasionally stick his head out of the room to check around outside. You can lurk against to the wall and wait for him to peek out before executing a stealth kill, or wait for him to turn around, then grab him and execute a stealth kill.

MAKE SURE TO DISPATCH THE ENEMIES GUARDING THE GUEST HOUSE

When leaving the mansion, climb up the wall. Since the boss is inside the guest house, there are many enemies surrounding it. First, head from the wall to the rooftop above point . Dispatch the enemy you see below. If you grab him, drag him as far as the wall before stealth killing him, to avoid getting noticed by the enemy at point

. All that’s left after that is to dispatch the enemy near point , as a just-in-case measure before dealing with the boss. Or, you could sneak into the guest house avoiding detection by the patrols, and stealth kill the boss instead.

FIGHTING THE BOSSFIGHTING THE BOSS

To deal with the boss inside the guest house, just wait for his shadow to wander in front of the door, then sneak in, grab him, and stealth kill him. If he notices your presence when you’re standing in front of the door, he will come outside, so be cautious. If you want an easier way to kill him, you could slash through both him and the door, or throw a corpse at him, both of which would count as stealth kills.

When the boss’s shadow can be seen through the door, you can slash right through the door to kill him.

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TIP 8TIP 8

TIP 9TIP 9

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4

MAKE CERTAIN OF ALL ENEMY MOVEMENTS

When moving from point to the point route, conceal yourself in the shadow of a screen and stay close to avoid the lanterns. The enemy near point will stay there and stand guard, while the enemy inside will patrol the pond. Wait for the enemy inside and draw him to point for a stealth kill, or you could wait for both of them to draw near one another and then chain stealth kill them. Be very careful when drawing the enemy off and stealth killing him, as the enemy inside may be able to spot the corpse. After dispatching them both, you obtain “Paralysis Dumpling” and a “Spear.” *For Blue Route , see Tip 14

FOLLOW THE ENEMY AND STEALTH KILL

For the enemy patrolling around the pond, you can dispatch him at point for a chain stealth kill, or observe him after dispatching the enemy at point and follow after him. In the shadows like point would be ideal to dispatch him, but he does glance back along the way, so be careful he doesn't see you.

BE WARY OF DOGS’ SENSITIVE NOSES

Watch out for the dog curled up asleep at point, hit him with a Shuriken from on top of the

wall using the Y button. Dogs have strong senses of smell, and would notice the scent of splattered blood, which could be trouble. If you don’t have any Shuriken, get close before he notices you and slash him, but be very careful doing this. If you kill the dog near the ronin patrolling around point , he’ll overhear it. If you draw too close to the enemy at point , he’ll panic and run to point , so grab him from behind and stealth kill him. After that, pick up the healing potion and toss the corpse into the cesspool to wrap everything up.

Be wary of the enemy patrolling around the pond. Draw your sword, lure him in, and stealth kill him.

A corpse left at this spot would get noticed by the enemy. Make sure to better conceal corpses in shadows.

When going about his business, he’s completely off-guard, making it easy to sneak up behind him.

If you dispatch the enemy at point without dispatching the dog fi rst, your Presence Gauge changes to Smell.

It’s possible to dispatch the enemy patrolling

point at point with a chain

stealth kill. Wait for both enemies to draw near.

STAGE 1 TIPS & TRICKS 4/5

TIP 11TIP 11

TIP 10TIP 10

TIP 12TIP 12

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5

USE ITEMS AS DISTRACTIONS

For the enemy patrolling around point , try using Paralysis Dumpling. When you place it down, he’ll go to pick it up and eat it, so use that chance to land a stealth kill. As long as no one eats it, you can use the Paralysis Dumpling as many times as you like. After landing this stealth kill, head for the guest house where the boss resides. Dispatch the enemy at point with a stealth kill using the advice in Tip 9 to make this even easier.

KNOCK OPPONENTS OUT WITHOUT KILLING THEM

When moving from point to point , how you deal with point when grappling with the enemy there is critical. There is a lookout posted at point . The enemy near point also patrols up this way. Any action that makes noise is dangerous. Consider the situation carefully and determine whether you can execute a perfect stealth kill, or whether you’ll have to knock the opponent out instead.

HIDE BEHIND FOLDING SCREENS AND ASSESS THE SITUATION

The enemy at point does not leave the room, so hide behind the folding screen and observe the situation in order to execute a stealth kill. If you left the enemy unconscious at point , you can stealth kill him after dispatching the enemy at point . Don’t forget to pick up the rice ball on the way out.

WAIT FOR ENEMIES TO INTERACT

The enemy at point will come up to point , and greet the enemy that was at point

. After this, take out the enemy from point with a stealth kill at point , then head for

point and continue onwards.

A Paralysis Dumpling is an effective tool to use against people. When an enemy stoops to pick it up, that’s your chance.

When there are other enemies nearby and you don’t think you can execute a perfect stealth kill, use the B button to knock the opponent out.

When observing the situation from behind the screen, the enemy will leave his back exposed, making him an easy stealth kill target.

After dispatching the restrained enemy at point

with a stealth kill, go after the enemy, who can be seen inside, from point .

STAGE 1 TIPS & TRICKS 5/5

TIP 16TIP 16

TIP 13TIP 13

TIP 15TIP 15

TIP 14TIP 14

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6

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STAGE 1 E C H I G O Y APRIVATE RESIDENCE

Below, fi nd two routes drawn out for beginners – a pink route, and a green alternate route. There are additional side options shown by the blue route. This is based on the assumption that you only have starting equipment.

You can climb up walls and reach rooftops with a grappling hook. These are ideal locations to observe enemy movement.

WALLS & ROOFTOPS

You can move through water, and you also can hide in water using the Water Evasion technique.

WATERIt is also possible to get under the fl oors of buildings. It’s an ideal hiding spot, and you can move while beneath them as well.

UNDER FLOORS

Stealth Kill Location

Item

Advice Points

ICON

ROUGH SKETCH

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