Thief (2014) – A Guide to Arrows and Other Resource Consumables

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Broadhead arrows, sawtooth arrows, fire arrows, water arrows, choke arrows, blast arrows, blunt arrows, rope arrows, flashbangs, bottles, food, and poppies.

Being a thief requires a little bit of investment before you start raking in the gold. But with so many options, depending on the style of play that you decide to adopt in Thief (Ghost, Opportunist, or Predator), a lot of them will simply start to feel like extra inventory to sort through.

For the average player, no matter the playstyle, the most useful arrows are: blunt arrows, water arrows, fire arrows, broadhead arrows, and rope arrows. 

Note: I am playing on Master difficulty and I believe that this alters the max carry limits somewhat.

Blunt Arrows

• An arrow that does little damage
• Sold by shady merchants scattered around the city for 1 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 25

Uses:

• Ideal for interacting with the environment because of their low cost; shoot them at lightswitches, pulleys, ladder switches, etc.
• Easy form of distraction when you don’t have a glass bottle handy; shoot them at walls behind guards or shatter breakables to make them look away and investigate
• Can be used to attack guards to stun rather than to kill

Broadhead Arrows

• Standard attack arrow
• Sold by shady merchants for 15 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 15

Uses:

• Ideal for headshots on guards that have not been alerted to your presence (e.g. snipers)
• Can be used to kill dogs and birds instead of sneaking past them (warning: this will count as kills towards Predator rank)
• If playing through as Ghost, these can also be used like blunt arrows or bottles; shoot them at walls to distract guards and to activate environment exploits (e.g. switches and pulleys)

Water Arrows

• Releases a small burst of water on the target
• Sold by shady merchants for 4 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 20

Uses:

• Douses torches, braziers, and other exposed flames in the the environment that cannot simply be snuffed out with a wave of your hand
• Useful while sneaking through wide outdoor areas that are well-lit; guards will periodically stop to light torches and braziers from time to time

Rope Arrows

• Fires an arrow with a rope attached to hanging beams 
• Sold by shady merchants for 15 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 15

Uses:

• Allows you to reach higher/lower places by climbing the rope or to use it to jump a large gap; many areas of the city/environment cannot be accessed without these

Note: Rope arrows must be shot at sections of beams that have white rope wrapped around them in order for them to stick. You must pull the string of your bow back all the way or else you will lose and waste the arrow.

Fire Arrows

• Releases a small burst of flame on impact
• Sold by shady merchants for 20 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 20

Uses:

• Ignites flammable articles such as torches or candles
• Will ignite explosive barrels and/or oil spills
• Killing Gloomers; they hate light so anything that draws them into light will kill them quickly

Note: Largely considered the bane of a master thief’s existence, the player will find themselves putting out more candles than lighting them. However, aside from deal with humans affected by the Gloom, there is currently a curious number of talking candles that can be found littered throughout the city. These candles placed on various ledges need to be lit by a fire arrow although I am not quite certain whether or not they unlock an achievement later on.

Choke Arrows

• Releases a toxic gas on impact that knocks out the target for a short duration
• Sold by shady merchants for 15 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 15

Uses:

• These work on both guards and animals
• Can be used to shoot guards; torso shots will only stun them and does not knock them out
• Will also extinguish open fires just like water arrows (although much more expensive)

Flash Bombs

• Creates a blinding flash when thrown
• Sold by shady merchants for 25 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 5

Uses:

• Creates a bright flash that disorients nearby people
• Extremely effectives against Gloomers
• Used to set up takedowns or to help facilitate your escape

Food

• Restores approximately 1/3 of Garrett’ s health bar when consumed
• Sold by shady merchants for 25 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 5

Uses:

• Most handy for those who follow play as either Opportunist or Predator which can occasionally rely on direct confrontation with enemies that are better armed than you

Note: food packages can be found fairly frequently in the environment unlike arrow caches.

Poppies

• Restores approximately 1/3 of Garrett’s Focus energy when consumed
• Sold by shady merchants for 35 G each after Chapter 1
• Max carry limit: 5

Uses:

• Similar to the Detective Mode in Batman: Arkham Origins, focus uses up a seperate bar to gain more insight into the surroundings (e.g. switches will light up making them easier to see)

Note: These can be found fairly frequently in the environment unlike arrow caches. If you purchased the Master Thief edition, there will be a large supply of poppies waiting for you in Garret’s chest in the Clock Tower. 

Blast Arrows

• Creates a large blast on impact
• Sold by shady merchants for 140 G each after Chapter 4
• Max carry limit: 

Uses:

• Using these will kill enemies, break target objects, and ignites flammable surfaces
• Will ignite exposive barrels and/or oil spills
• Used sparingly as they are very expensive

Sawtooth Arrows

• An advanced version of the standard broadhead arrow
• Sold by shady merchants for 50 G each after Chapter 4
• Max carry limit:

Uses: 

• These attack arrows have armor-piercing abilities
• Allow you to kill enemies with helmets even while alerted with a single shot

Bottles/Throwables

• Small bottles that can be picked up anywhere
• Can only hold one at a time
• Max carry limit: 1

Uses:

• When thrown, these can distract the guards and cause them to leave and investigate the sound
• Can be thrown directly at a guard’s face to stun them

Note: If you throw the bottle too close to a guard, he will become suspicious rather than curious.

Once used, none of these arrows or consumables can be picked up for a second try from the environment and must be re-purchased.

For walkthroughs, FAQs, bug fixes, and other tips for Thief, please check out the Master List.