Stealth missions in video games will often involve you staying hidden in the shadows, killing targets silently from said shadows, and finding a way to infiltrate a location meant to keep you out. These missions can be seen as a test of skill and a player’s prowess in many of the game’s mechanics and features. Accomplishing missions such as these can fill a player with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Basim will spend some time hunting down and assassinating several different members of the Order of the Ancients throughout the story of the game. Al-Ghul, also known as Mas’ood Al-Ya’qoob, will be Basim’s target for the mission, “First Order.”
Who Is Al-Ghul
This mission will start with Basim needing to follow Roshan, which will lead the two to mount some horses. Roshan will have a heart-to-heart with Basim about the Order of the Ancients as they make their way to the target’s destination. Once the horses stop, you will once again need to follow Roshan.
The two will arrive outside of Caravanserai in Wilderness, and a cutscene between Basim and Roshan will take place. At the end of the cutscene, Roshan will give Basim a feather, which Basim will need to wet with the blood of Al-Ghul. After this cutscene, another cutscene will immediately start that will list out the sins of Al-Ghul. Al-Ghul is responsible for convincing many of the people who were poor and desperate that they could each have a better life by coming to work for him.
These people would toil away in the scorching hot desert, digging for an artifact sought by Al-Ghul. Many of these people would die digging, but it did not phase Al-Ghul, as he could always just use his influence to get more people to replace them.
Finding The Merchant’s Goods
You will now be tasked with “Look for distraction opportunities.” This gives the player plenty of opportunities to explore their options and make their own choices for how to approach this mission. You can make use of Basim’s bird companion Enkidu, as well as use your Eagle Vision to get a layout of the area beforehand. Having a firm grasp of the game’s stealth features will be a big help.
The closest distraction opportunity will be to the right of the front gate, where you will find a merchant who has had his goods confiscated. Basim will need to infiltrate the area and retrieve these goods for the Merchant. The Merchant will then be able to depart, and his departure might flush Al-Ghul out of hiding. The goods are at the very back of the area.
Do not go all the way around. Instead, follow along the wall with your left side to it. Go around the corner and keep heading forward until you come to a stream of water. Jump into the stream and dive downward, there is a hole under the wall from this stream. There are guards in this area, so be mindful of your surroundings at all times before moving and assassinate anyone who is not being observed by others.
Make your way out of the water and take out the guard in the room with you. To the west of this room will be a door frame and some stairs. You can carry the guard you assassinated into the room with these stairs, and you will see that there is a hiding spot you can put them in that is to the left of the stairs. Once they are stashed, head up the stairs. You will see a single guard looking over Caravanserai when you make your way to the top of the stairs.
Stick to the right side and as you get to the top of the stairs, steer to the right and go around the chicken cages and then up to the guard from behind. Turn and look back at the stairs you came from. To their left will be a path with another guard practicing their archery. Take them out. To the right of the stairs will be a hiding spot where you can stash both of these bodies.
Opposite the stairs will be a ladder and a door. Go up the ladder and then hop up onto the highest point. There are two guards in this area. Head south and on the south side you will see a hiding spot near the one guard. Wait for the guard nearest to this hiding spot to move out of sight of the other guard and then assassinate them. Stash their body and then climb back up to the highest point and assassinate the other.
Look southwest and then move along the railing with your right side to it. You will come to another ladder. Look down, and you will see a guard training with a large weight dangling above their head. If you would rather save your throwing knives you can simply assassinate this target from above. To the southwest of this guard is another one to take out. Head back to where the first guard was and head east of their body.
There will be a guard below the ledge of where you are, assassinate them from the air, and then carry their body into the nearby building. Stay along the right wall and you will see two guards to assassinate. You can use a throwing knife on the sack of red powder to create a cloud of smoke, and then take them both out without arousing any suspicion.
Alternatively, you can assassinate the closer of the two guards and then assassinate the second one in quick succession before they notice you. Here you will find the confiscated goods of the merchant. They are wrapped up in a blue cloth.
How To Assassinate Al-Ghul
Pick up the goods and head out the door frame on the south side. From this room, take the stairs up to the top level. Make your way to the edge of the wall and walk over it to land on the sands below. Head back to the merchant which will be marked as an orange assassin hood on your compass. Speak with them to return their goods to them. They now plan to make a big fuss over this ordeal and announce their departure. Follow behind the merchant in the group of people following him to stay concealed.
Once the merchant stops, he will begin to express his displeasure and Al-Ghul will come to look on from a balcony. Look to the southwest to see a long path of stairs going back up to the top — do not go up them, you will be seen. Walk to the base of these steps and then look west to see a large pot on the wall. Use this pot to leap up to the top of the wall.
You will have already taken out the guards up here from following this guide. Make your way up the ladder on the right-hand side and follow the ledge on the right. This will lead you to a wooden beam that you can Stealth Attack Al-Ghul from. This will trigger a cinematic where Basim does not simply stab Al-Ghul with a hidden blade but rather drags him to a nearby rope, ties it around his neck, and then jumps off the ledge with Al-Ghul.
This will trigger a cutscene where Al-Ghul lies on the floor dying. He will show no remorse for his actions and insist his intentions were right. After an exchange of dialog between him and Basim, he will die. Basim will take out the feather given to him by Roshan and move it along Al-Ghul’s blood. This will lead to a very ominous moment in the cutscene.
You will now get a tutorial on how to use Assassin’s Focus and upon completing it, Basim will notice Nehal. Roshan will appear and distract Basim, causing Nehal to no longer be where he thought he saw her. Basim and Roshan will then be seen walking as the screen fades to black before showing the two outside of Caravanserai.
This will trigger a cutscene where Roshan is pleased with Basim’s assassination of Al-Ghul. Once the cutscene is over, you will receive +1 Bloodied Heron Feather and an achievement. Al-Ghul will now be marked as Eliminated in the Investigations tab of the menu.
The Order Of The Ancients
This will conclude the mission, but there are plenty of other members of the Order of the Ancients who will become your targets as you progress through the game. Each of them will have different means in order to take them out and will each require careful planning and foresight. Missions such as these are the heart and soul that the Assassin’s Creed games were founded on and are a driving force behind the focus of Assassin’s Creed Mirage.