Beginner Tips & Stealth Guide

Pick the right difficulty before you start

First Light offers three difficulty modes: Novice (forgiving), Intended (the recommended default for most newcomers, balanced as the developers designed it), and Purist (for experienced stealth-game players who want a real challenge).

Because this is a single-player game you can pause at any time, so don't be afraid to start on Intended, stop to read the room, and learn the systems at your own pace.

Use Bluff — social stealth is a real tool, not a panic button

Bond can talk his way past suspicious NPCs using the Bluff mechanic. If someone catches you out of place, you can claim to be lost, a hired photographer, or someone who simply belongs there — and many enemies will take a charming young 007 at his word.

Bluff is limited by your Instinct resource and won't work on everyone: high-profile targets are too sharp to fool. Treat Bluff as a way to buy passage or reposition, then back it up with intel and gadgets rather than relying on it alone.

• Eavesdrop and read documents first — the intel you gather feeds better, more convincing bluffs.
• Save bluffs for chokepoints (a guarded door, a keycard holder) rather than burning them on random patrols.
• If a target can't be bluffed, plan a stealth route or distraction instead.

Hold the Q-Lens constantly while you scout

The Q-Lens is your single most important tool. Keep it active to see enemies through walls, mark hackable devices, and flag interactables — explosive barrels, droppable objects, environmental hazards and gadget targets.

Scanning a room before you move turns a blind firefight into a planned takedown. Identify the explosive object or the camera you want to hack first, then act.

Build a complementary gadget loadout

You can only carry three gadgets at once (your Q-Watch counts toward that limit), so your picks matter. A good rule is to mix gadgets that draw on different resources — pair an energy-based gadget with a chemical/consumable one — so you're never fully tapped out.

The poison dart is a strong early pick because it works in both pure stealth and in the middle of a fight. Pair a distraction tool (Dart Phone lure, Smoke Pods) with a payoff tool (Flash Mine, Shockwave Camera) for reliable combos.

• Dart Phone lures an enemy into the open; a Flash Mine waiting there cleans up the cluster.
• Smoke Pods break line of sight to reset a botched stealth attempt or cover a retreat.
• The Laser blinds enemies and cuts wires/locks — useful for both combat and opening routes.

Master takedowns, grabs and weapon-stealing

Melee is central to First Light. Grabbing an enemy lets you counter guards who are blocking, throw them into objects, or hurl them off ledges for instant kills. Sprinting into an enemy can knock the gun out of their hands so you can take it.

Headshots matter more here than in a typical shooter, especially against armoured enemies — aim for the head to conserve ammo and end fights fast.

• Take the high ground: elevated positions give cleaner headshot angles and let you perform airdrop takedowns on enemies below.
• You rarely need to kill everyone — slipping away undetected is often the smarter, higher-scoring play.
• Distractions (radios, smoke) reposition guards so you can isolate and take them down one at a time.

Treat the early training as your sandbox

The opening training section is the safest place to drill the fundamentals — multi-target smoke-and-melee chains, gadget combos and movement — before the campaign starts punishing mistakes.

Spend real time here. Spy instincts that feel awkward in training become second nature by the time enemies actually shoot back.

Grind TacSim for upgrades and practice

Tactical Simulation (TacSim) is a separate mode from the Main Menu built around two activity types: short Escalations (skill trials across roughly three tiers focused on combat, stealth or improvisation) and Operations (end-game sandbox missions you unlock after the campaign).

Completing TacSim runs earns Intel and raises your Clearance Level, which together let you buy TacSim-exclusive outfits, weapons, weapon skins, gadgets, gadget upgrades and skins from the Intel Shop. Both activity types have global leaderboards, so there's a chase-the-fastest-time hook once you want to compete.

• Run the tutorial-style escalations first to learn the scoring modifiers on familiar layouts.
• Your Agent Score rewards objective completion, speed, staying undetected, and non-lethal play — replay to push it higher.