Mark of the Ninja Beginner Guide: Read Guards, Light and Vents

These are real images from the original Mark of the Ninja. They teach you how to read a screen like this; they are not a promise that your next room will have exactly the same layout. First find your masked ninja, outlined near the lower middle. Then look up to the two blue-clothed guards on the bridge. The pale triangles below the lamps show where the floor is lit. The dark passage under the bridge is a different route.

The score at top left and DARTS box at bottom left are part of the game interface. You do not need to use a dart for this first decision. Find the white down arrow by the ninja before moving toward the guards.

Look at the bright cone under the hanging lamp in the next image. The guard stands inside it, and the ninja hangs above. Do not drop straight into that lit patch in front of him. Stay on the higher hold and watch where the guard faces and walks; move toward a darker spot when his view is no longer on your landing place.

A patch that looks dark can become bright when a moving light or guard changes direction. Pause after every short move. If the next landing spot is still lit or watched, stay above or look for a route below instead of trying to sprint through.

Go back to the first scene. Under the words “LOOK FOR VENTS,” a white arrow points down beside your ninja. The dark rectangular opening in the floor is the vent entry. Move the ninja onto that opening and use the entry prompt your game shows there. Button labels can differ on PC and Xbox 360, so follow the prompt on your own screen rather than a copied key.

Follow the passage under the guards. Before coming back up, stop and check the next visible lamp and guard direction. A vent is a way around this watched bridge, not proof that every exit is safe.

In this rooftop scene, the ninja crouches on the high post near the middle. The guard is lower and to the right, near a yellow question mark. A high perch keeps you away from the guard’s walking path while you watch. Do not jump into the bright area simply because you are above him.

Look for the next reachable perch or a shadowed landing place. If there is no clear route, wait for the guard to face away before you move. Klei’s own explanation of the game recommends using darkness and higher ground; the screenshot shows why both matter.

The ninja is high at the left of this image. A yellow ? floats over the guard on the lower walkway. Treat that icon as a warning that the guard has noticed something and may change what he does next. Do not cross his route just because he has not reached your hiding place.

Stay in shadow or on the high hold, watch where the guard turns, and only continue when the next landing place is no longer being watched. If a light or guard moves toward you, back up to the last dark perch and look for another route.

Klei says a bamboo dart can break a light. In the screenshot below, the DARTS choice sits at bottom left, and a lamp shines on the corridor ahead. If your game lets you target a breakable light, choose the dart shown by your interface, aim at that light, then wait and see how the guard reacts before stepping into the newly dark space. Do not assume every bright object can be broken.

If the lamp cannot be targeted, return to the earlier rule: watch the guard, look above and below, then take the dark opening you can actually reach. You do not need to fight every guard to pass the room.