Thief The Dark Project Lost City: Mission Guide, Maps, and Loot

Thief The Dark Project Lost City: Mission Overview

The Lost City is the eighth mission in Thief: The Dark Project and the tenth mission in Thief Gold. To get inside, Garrett uses a special stone key recovered from the Keeper's Grotto in the Walled section of the city. That key breaks the Keepers' seal on an underwater entrance at the bottom of the river, and after a long swim, players emerge into caverns filled with the half-buried ruins of an ancient civilization known as Karath-din.

The mission's biggest challenge is navigation. The layout is convoluted, and identifying old landmarks is a major part of finding your way. Documents scattered through the ruins hint at the civilization that once lived here, and some "precursor" technology still works — most notably the automatic lighting in most buildings. The ruins are now occupied by burricks, Crayman, and fire elementals.

Watching an expert route through the level is a great way to learn the map. A 4:11 personal-best run shows just how quickly the mission can be completed once you know the landmarks:

Objectives and Mission Background

The Keepers' records say the Fire Talisman (and, in the original release, the Water Talisman as well) is hidden in the Lost City. The wards on the Haunted Cathedral are opened with talismans corresponding to the classical elements, so this mission is a required stop on the way to the endgame.

Your objectives vary by difficulty:

Starting Gear, Shop Items, and Loot

What you carry into Karath-din depends heavily on your difficulty setting:

The shop lets you round out your kit before entering: 20 broadhead arrows, 20 water arrows, 5 gas arrows, 5 rope arrows, 2 flash bombs, 2 healing potions, 2 speed potions (1 on Hard, 0 on Expert), and 2 breath potions.

For loot hunters, the mission contains 3,205 total loot: 725 in gold, 865 in gems, and 1,615 in goods. Keep in mind that 240 of the goods are only obtainable if you buy the papyrus at the shop before starting the mission. Typical pickups include gemstones and gold goblets, and detailed loot maps are available through community resources like the Keeper's Chapel, referenced on the Thief Wiki mission page.

Enemies and Difficulty Differences

Spiders are fewer on lower difficulty settings, and a few small item changes apply: a stack of 2 broadhead arrows in the market area is missing on Hard and Expert, one Fire Arrow (two on Expert) is missing from the market area, and a healing potion in a chest in the Fire Talisman's tower is absent on Expert.

An interesting quirk: in Thief Gold, the Crayman are replaced by Hand Brotherhood mages, but the usual Expert rule against killing humans is not enforced here. That makes this the one mission in the game where killing humans on Expert is permitted.

Thief: The Dark Project vs. Thief Gold

The Lost City received one of the most substantial remakes of any mission in Thief Gold:

• Talisman of Water: Located here in the original Thief: The Dark Project; moved to its own separate mission in Thief Gold.
• Enemies: The ten Crayman are replaced in Thief Gold by thirteen Hand Brotherhood mages on Hard and Expert, or nine on Normal.
• Arena bridge: The lever for the arena bridge isn't necessary in Thief Gold, since a new route lets players who make the arena bridge jump find their way back.
• Route: Despite these changes, the core route needed to finish the mission is nearly identical in both versions.

Tips, Easter Eggs, and Trivia

• Skip the breath potions. Although several underwater sections require long swims, Breath Potions are not actually necessary to finish the mission.
• Stock up on water arrows. Karath-din is full of Fire Elementals, which are very weak against water arrows — but the supply scattered through the mission is limited, so buying extras beforehand is wise.
• Lava shortcut: In the original version, you can grab the Water Talisman by jumping across a river of lava instead of extending the bridge.

The level also hides a few memorable secrets. Garrett mutters "Creepy" when passing a solitary statue on the way to the Fire Talisman Tower — an idol that is unmistakably H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu. A scroll references the Temple of N'lahotep, another nod to Lovecraft's Nyarlathotep. And one of Garrett's lines, "Time to... raid some tombs," is a wink at the Tomb Raider series, which publisher Eidos Interactive also owned at the time. Sharp-eyed players can even find an optical illusion on the second sarcophagus in the tomb of Va-Taraq: head-on it shows a helmeted warrior, but from the opposite side it resembles a large face with a tall hairpiece.

Frequently Asked Questions

What mission number is The Lost City?

It is the eighth mission in Thief: The Dark Project and the tenth in Thief Gold.

How do I get into the Lost City?

Use the Keeper key found in the Keeper's Grotto in the Walled section to break the seal on the underwater entrance at the bottom of the river, then swim through to the caverns beyond.

Do I need the Talisman of Water in this mission?

Only in the original Thief: The Dark Project. In Thief Gold, the Water Talisman was moved to its own mission, so you only need the Talisman of Fire here.

What is the maximum loot in The Lost City?

3,205 total: 725 in gold, 865 in gems, and 1,615 in goods. Note that 240 of the goods require buying the papyrus at the shop before the mission starts.

Are Breath Potions required?

No. The long underwater swims are doable without them, though carrying a couple can provide peace of mind.

Can I kill the mages on Expert difficulty?

Yes. Even though Crayman were replaced with Hand Brotherhood mages in Thief Gold, the no-kill rule for humans was never added to this mission, making it the only mission where killing humans on Expert is allowed.

Sources: The Lost City — Thief Wiki (Fandom) · Thief: The Dark Project — The Lost City speedrun (4:11 PB)