Harding Museum - main hall | Chapter 1 DARK Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
I strongly recommend activating Vampire Vision frequently while exploring this location, because the main hall is well-guarded by enemy units and an alternative vision will help you in noticing and avoiding them (the same applies to other areas of the museum). Start off by heading left. The first soldier is easy to avoid, but nothing is stopping you from killing him.
Be careful, because there are some glass pieces in a nearby corner. If you eliminated the guard described above then you can take the risk and walk on the glass. Otherwise it's best to use Shadow Leap to avoid this obstacle and not make additional noise. Make a stop when you're close to the stairs leading to a lower balcony. Take some time and notice that one of the guards stops on that balcony from time to time.
There's one more soldier patrolling the top balconies which you currently occupy. The most obvious resolution would be to ignore this person, however you can also try to kill the guard to earn additional experience. If you prefer the hostile approach then you must wait for the soldier to start moving the other way. Use vampiric abilities or get closer to the guard using normal ways, eliminating him before he turns around. Important - Don't attack the guard when he's leaning on a balustrade, because his body may fly over the railing and land on a lower level, causing a risk of being found and an alarm being raised.
Return to the stairs with the guard from the lower balcony I've mentioned not long ago. The safest method is to kill this person using long distance powers like Shadow Kill or Shadow Grip. If you don't have these abilities or if you ran out of Vitae then you must wait for a right moment to surprise him from the back to perform a quick execution on him. Another important thing is to hide the body after a successful kill. If you plan on avoiding this guard you will have to be extremely careful, because he may be able to surprise you during the next parts of your descent.
Two other soldiers are guarding the stairs located in the left and in the right part of the main hall (screens 1 and 2). It's a good idea to eliminate both of them, either by using advanced vampire abilities or by approaching them from the back immediately after they've started their patrols.
No matter how you've acted while exploring the upper balconies eventually you should choose the left staircase seen on screen 1. If the guard stationed here is still alive then you will have to quickly sneak behind him (after he's stopped on the stairs) or kill him right now. If he's already dead then there are no other dangers waiting for you in the vicinity. Don't use the stairs to head all the way to the ground level, because you would enter a field of vision of one of the soldiers from the reception. Instead make a stop half way on the stairs and use Shadow Leap to teleport yourself towards one of the big pillars (screen 2).
Start moving forward after a successful teleportation. Check the nearest corner of the main hall to find a PDA (200 experience points) displayed on the screen above. Quickly take this collectible, because you'll enter the line of sight of one of the guards. Important - If you don't want to take unnecessary risks then you can return for the PDA after you've secured this entire location or use the Obfuscation ability to make Eric partially invisible.
Turn around and start exploring the area located beneath the balconies you were using earlier on. There's a single guard nearby and he is shown on the screen above. I suggest that you eliminate this person, because otherwise you would have to distract the guard (Domination, running next to a cover etc.) or outsmart him somehow (Obfuscation is always a good idea). Hide the corpse in a dark place just to be safe.
You can leave the main hall right now if you want to (scroll down to the bottom of this page), but you can also try and deal with two of the final soldiers in this area. Two guards are standing between the reception desk and large yellow doors. Approach them carefully so that they'll start a conversation.
Wait for the guards to end the conversation and go their separate ways. Approach the guard seen on screen 1. Perform a quick execution on this person (a standard kill or an execution based on more advanced vampiric powers). Once this person is dead quickly hide the body behind the reception desk. You may now focus on the other soldier seen on screen 2. This is the last person in the main hall so even using an aggressive ability won't put you in jeopardy, however you may also choose a standard kill and approach the soldier from the back. Important - Don't allow the guards to meet for the second time after ending their patrols, because that's when one of them will proceed towards the upper balconies and as a result that person may discover the bodies of all the people you've killed earlier on.
If you've secured the entire main hall then you will have plenty of time to explore this area and to collect the PDA mentioned earlier without any dangers. No matter how you've played this out find an exit as seen on the screen above which is located on the ground floor.
Start exploring linear corridors. Once you've reached a junction turn left and take cover behind the corner. Wait for one of the guards to arrive here. Notice that this person is heading towards the main hall and as a result it would be a good idea to kill the guard, especially if you've left some bodies behind in the previous area of the museum. If you've managed to leave the main hall without killing anyone you won't have to worry and you can also leave this soldier alone.
Resume your journey and it won't take too much time for you to reach a door leading to the first medieval exhibit (Living in the Middle Ages).