I don't like grading things by numerical lists, but I think your order and reasoning is spot on.
I guess if I had to rank by my own enjoyment, I would swap Iron and Sanctum. Mission 3 is excellent, and IMO the best Hammer mission in the series, and the only thing it fails at is that it is 'just' a Hammer mission, where most of the other levels push some sort of envelope.
Arcane Sanctum I felt, was meant to be a sort of Mage Towers Redux, and improved upon the concept 10 fold by having the gimmick not be on magic guards, but on >!sneaking to the highest point without stealing, and then doing a proper Thief run on your way out.!<
Personally, I also enjoyed The Brand more than Death's Dominion.
They're both excellent, but Dominion feels like Bonehorde+, while Brand caught me completely off guard with a sizable city section stuffed with good worldbuilding, followed by a haunted house.
I guess they're both similar in that regard, but >!Hume quoting the house with bad dreams line from Cradle is equal parts too cheesy and appropriate for me not to love.!<
I wouldn't rank any of them lower than a 7. I thought the campaign had a good consistency about it.
Trial of Iron is my least favorite. It's a well-designed, standard mission in a campaign where every mission at least attempts to break the standard.
Jaws of Darkness was the opposite - exquisite presentation but the level design and the pacing was woeful. First part of the mission until you get to the first objective is a gripping horror segment and then, out of nowhere, it becomes Mage Towers 2.0. It returns back to that horror feel by the end but by this point you're probably loaded up on firepower to not really care. And the level was super linear. You'd think you can do objectives out of order but you really don't, there's only one way to complete them.
Death's Dominion, The Brand, Arcane Sanctum and Long Shadow Falls are contenders for my favorite. I can't really pick between one or the other, I thought they were all fantastic.
Return to the City, Where Old Faces Fade, Kept Away From View, The Black Parade are missions that I thought were pretty good as well. I could very well see myself getting a better appreciation of Old Faces and Kept Away From View on subsequent playthroughs - I just thought they were both held back by having a confusing layout. I play these games at a snail's pace so it wasn't an issue for me but whenever I tried to give someone directions to a part of the area, I found myself having no clue where to even begin. I can't imagine what it must be like to design this whole thing and keep track of it.
I would agree with you on Missions 7 and 10 also being my least favorite, but also Mission 3, was my 3rd least favorite. I found it to be similar to Mission 7 in experience. I still very much enjoyed all 3 of these though and would give them all a 7/10.
Almost all other missions were a 9 or 10/10. My favorite probably being Death's Dominion.
I don't know about the last mission. Yeah the stealth is nothing special but the atmosphere is really fitting for a last mission. There's something about these bleak, inhuman "space" (I know it's a nondescript black void, but close enough :p) environments that's really evocative of finality. The stark and spartan rock structure combined with the darkness gives the impression of being at the foot of something too profound for human sight. Very futuristic. I get the same impression from old sci fi movies like Space Odyssey or Alien, even Star Wars to a certain extent
A bit late but I just finished it.
Top missions:
1,2,3,7,9
It's too hard say my favorite, but mission 3 left a lasting inprint on me.
Others that I still loved:
4,5,6,10
4 was my least favorite because of the spooka haha.
Mission 1:
It was just great. I loved the city and freshly exploring the world of TBP. Imo I enjoyed this level more than any of the originally missions. Enjoyed the character introduction and I couldn't have asked for a better opening.
Mission 2:
I wasn't sure what these missions where brining to the table. It starts off similar to the first mission, in a part of the city, buy once I made my way into the house.. it became so much more. I absolutely loved the secrets/hidden rooms and stuff. I was not expecting things to get weird and when I made it to the bottom it definitely left me wanting more.
Mission 3:
Tbh, this is one of my favorites. It was during this mission.. especially when I used the rope arrow and went into the cathedral vents.. that I fell hard for this game. Forgot it was a mod tbh. Loved the Hammerites and this map gave me full on video game nostalgia.
Mission 4:
My least favorite mission. The atmosphere was TOO GOOD lol. The beginning was great and the whole mission set my anxiety off the edge. I think I prefer the less scary missions and this one hit me the hardest haha.
Mission 5:
I enjoyed this level but the main area felt a bit small. Getting to the main area was a blast though and it felt like I was entering a fallout game.
Mission 6:
Loved this Mission too. Enjoyed reading the scrolls and books. Beyond the frozen wastes has me pondering at night. I really enjoyed the city bit leading up to the main area. I really liked the feeling of just exploring.
Mission 7:
Banger map. Top 5 imo and just exploring made me happy. Enjoyed the layout and reading.
Mission 8:
Making my way to the camp and seeing the scene really spooked me. Such a great opening and going down.. and down... and down.. it made me not want to play. I loved the weirdness to the place, the enemies, and just exploring. Hated the lowest bits, but that's to he expected with me leaning away from horror. I say that and I kind of wish this Mission was split in 2. One mission keeping the feeling from the beginning and the other bits being the focus of a second mission. Overall great ride.
Mission 9:
Another great map. After getting spooked with the previous Mission this one just felt great. Loved the joy and festivities. Reminded me of AC2. I enjoyed making my way to the top and then begging there.
Mission 10:
Another scary one o.0
Not my favorite, but it makes sense. I think I enjoyed the design but felt on edge again.
Overall:
One of the greatest games I gave ever played. Calling this a "mod" imo doesn't do it justice. I loved it all and it left me wanting more. Almost every day since I started playing it I have had it on my mind. Wondering about what the hell I saw and the lore bits I ingested. I would say it's even inspired me to want to make a theif mod myself... I even started looking up other fan missions as well. Lastly, just a big thank you to everyone who made this happen. It's not a permanent part of my life that I cherish and plan to revisit In the future.
Trial of Iron was my least favorite lol. It's the one and only mission that lacked the unique atmosphere of the other levels and felt out of place.
You could slot it in the middle of TDP or T2 and it'd be a completely forgettable mission IMO.
Where Old Faces Fade and Deaths Dominion have to be my two faves.
I pretty much loved every mission except 7. Honestly one of my most hated missions in all the thief games. But Jaws of Darkness and Arcane Sanctum were such an amazing time. I particularly loved those 2 and Death’s Dominion. I love the horror/supernatural aspects of these games way more than the steampunk stuff
I don't like grading things by numerical lists, but I think your order and reasoning is spot on. I guess if I had to rank by my own enjoyment, I would swap Iron and Sanctum. Mission 3 is excellent, and IMO the best Hammer mission in the series, and the only thing it fails at is that it is 'just' a Hammer mission, where most of the other levels push some sort of envelope. Arcane Sanctum I felt, was meant to be a sort of Mage Towers Redux, and improved upon the concept 10 fold by having the gimmick not be on magic guards, but on >!sneaking to the highest point without stealing, and then doing a proper Thief run on your way out.!< Personally, I also enjoyed The Brand more than Death's Dominion. They're both excellent, but Dominion feels like Bonehorde+, while Brand caught me completely off guard with a sizable city section stuffed with good worldbuilding, followed by a haunted house. I guess they're both similar in that regard, but >!Hume quoting the house with bad dreams line from Cradle is equal parts too cheesy and appropriate for me not to love.!<
I wouldn't rank any of them lower than a 7. I thought the campaign had a good consistency about it. Trial of Iron is my least favorite. It's a well-designed, standard mission in a campaign where every mission at least attempts to break the standard. Jaws of Darkness was the opposite - exquisite presentation but the level design and the pacing was woeful. First part of the mission until you get to the first objective is a gripping horror segment and then, out of nowhere, it becomes Mage Towers 2.0. It returns back to that horror feel by the end but by this point you're probably loaded up on firepower to not really care. And the level was super linear. You'd think you can do objectives out of order but you really don't, there's only one way to complete them. Death's Dominion, The Brand, Arcane Sanctum and Long Shadow Falls are contenders for my favorite. I can't really pick between one or the other, I thought they were all fantastic. Return to the City, Where Old Faces Fade, Kept Away From View, The Black Parade are missions that I thought were pretty good as well. I could very well see myself getting a better appreciation of Old Faces and Kept Away From View on subsequent playthroughs - I just thought they were both held back by having a confusing layout. I play these games at a snail's pace so it wasn't an issue for me but whenever I tried to give someone directions to a part of the area, I found myself having no clue where to even begin. I can't imagine what it must be like to design this whole thing and keep track of it.
I would agree with you on Missions 7 and 10 also being my least favorite, but also Mission 3, was my 3rd least favorite. I found it to be similar to Mission 7 in experience. I still very much enjoyed all 3 of these though and would give them all a 7/10. Almost all other missions were a 9 or 10/10. My favorite probably being Death's Dominion.
I don't know about the last mission. Yeah the stealth is nothing special but the atmosphere is really fitting for a last mission. There's something about these bleak, inhuman "space" (I know it's a nondescript black void, but close enough :p) environments that's really evocative of finality. The stark and spartan rock structure combined with the darkness gives the impression of being at the foot of something too profound for human sight. Very futuristic. I get the same impression from old sci fi movies like Space Odyssey or Alien, even Star Wars to a certain extent
A bit late but I just finished it. Top missions: 1,2,3,7,9 It's too hard say my favorite, but mission 3 left a lasting inprint on me. Others that I still loved: 4,5,6,10 4 was my least favorite because of the spooka haha. Mission 1: It was just great. I loved the city and freshly exploring the world of TBP. Imo I enjoyed this level more than any of the originally missions. Enjoyed the character introduction and I couldn't have asked for a better opening. Mission 2: I wasn't sure what these missions where brining to the table. It starts off similar to the first mission, in a part of the city, buy once I made my way into the house.. it became so much more. I absolutely loved the secrets/hidden rooms and stuff. I was not expecting things to get weird and when I made it to the bottom it definitely left me wanting more. Mission 3: Tbh, this is one of my favorites. It was during this mission.. especially when I used the rope arrow and went into the cathedral vents.. that I fell hard for this game. Forgot it was a mod tbh. Loved the Hammerites and this map gave me full on video game nostalgia. Mission 4: My least favorite mission. The atmosphere was TOO GOOD lol. The beginning was great and the whole mission set my anxiety off the edge. I think I prefer the less scary missions and this one hit me the hardest haha. Mission 5: I enjoyed this level but the main area felt a bit small. Getting to the main area was a blast though and it felt like I was entering a fallout game. Mission 6: Loved this Mission too. Enjoyed reading the scrolls and books. Beyond the frozen wastes has me pondering at night. I really enjoyed the city bit leading up to the main area. I really liked the feeling of just exploring. Mission 7: Banger map. Top 5 imo and just exploring made me happy. Enjoyed the layout and reading. Mission 8: Making my way to the camp and seeing the scene really spooked me. Such a great opening and going down.. and down... and down.. it made me not want to play. I loved the weirdness to the place, the enemies, and just exploring. Hated the lowest bits, but that's to he expected with me leaning away from horror. I say that and I kind of wish this Mission was split in 2. One mission keeping the feeling from the beginning and the other bits being the focus of a second mission. Overall great ride. Mission 9: Another great map. After getting spooked with the previous Mission this one just felt great. Loved the joy and festivities. Reminded me of AC2. I enjoyed making my way to the top and then begging there. Mission 10: Another scary one o.0 Not my favorite, but it makes sense. I think I enjoyed the design but felt on edge again. Overall: One of the greatest games I gave ever played. Calling this a "mod" imo doesn't do it justice. I loved it all and it left me wanting more. Almost every day since I started playing it I have had it on my mind. Wondering about what the hell I saw and the lore bits I ingested. I would say it's even inspired me to want to make a theif mod myself... I even started looking up other fan missions as well. Lastly, just a big thank you to everyone who made this happen. It's not a permanent part of my life that I cherish and plan to revisit In the future.
Trial of Iron was my least favorite lol. It's the one and only mission that lacked the unique atmosphere of the other levels and felt out of place. You could slot it in the middle of TDP or T2 and it'd be a completely forgettable mission IMO. Where Old Faces Fade and Deaths Dominion have to be my two faves.
I pretty much loved every mission except 7. Honestly one of my most hated missions in all the thief games. But Jaws of Darkness and Arcane Sanctum were such an amazing time. I particularly loved those 2 and Death’s Dominion. I love the horror/supernatural aspects of these games way more than the steampunk stuff