The Manor: Solo Nightmare [ENG]

Yes, I finally managed to crash the wedding without an invitation!

This time, we’ll deal with the bride with no UV!


Thank you Zorakiel for information about changes and map with items' position!

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198167421600

Lobby

A few words from me before we begin.

* I sometimes use my own screenshots from a previous guide, so if you notice the UV flashlight level in the top right corner, it’s because the strategic elements are similar to those on standard and hard difficulty or just I simply forgot to take new photos during the game. ^^

* Also I have used my own photos from the polish guide, but don't worry I translated every single word in the pictures.


1) In nightmare mode, I recommend using the abilities listed below:

Fast Worker - We’ll definitely need something that allows us to clean heads faster and bury bodies more efficiently.




Fully Charged - A powerful artifact that lets us calm Azazel or destroy ravens without consuming UV energy. Just charge it up right before an attack. With good timing, you can even calm April twice in a row without losing a single bit of battery charge!







2) Tips before starting the game:

a) Play with headphones – It’ll be easier to analyze the enemy's position.

b) Set aside plenty of time – Nightmare mode games can be time-consuming.

c) Learn the map – Memorize the map perfectly so you can navigate smoothly between the building’s levels without getting lost.



Colours meaning:

Blue - keys
Green - cakes
Purple - bodies
Red - alcohol bottles
Yellow - batteries

Preparations: Cake / Alcohol / Batteries

1) Cake pieces:

a) Place 10 pieces of cake right in the center of the room, between the two exits of the building.

* This gives us quick access to lures all in one place.

* The mirror in the main hall never breaks, so you can immediately use it to jump into the second dimension from this spot.





2) Alcohol:

a) Collect 10 bottles of gin and pour one into the basin right away.

b) I couldn’t find 10 bottles, so I washed one head, and only then did a new bottle appear on the map.



(STILL NOT FIXED ^^)



3) Batteries:

a) Place batteries in strategic locations.

b) Nightmare mode only gives us 2 batteries on the map at any given time.

c) My suggestions for the most useful locations:

Translation:

* Blue squares are meaning: "There are coffins with bodies."
* Red words mean: "Main door in front of the building."








* I recommend keeping the second in the chapel.

Heads: Cleaning & Storage

1) Searching and cleaning heads:

a) There are a maximum of 5 heads at the start.

b) After burying one, another appears in the second dimension.

c) Remember to refill the alcohol after cleaning each head.



2) Storing heads in a safe place:

a) Don’t place heads in the coffin. The noise from the body’s movement attracts ravens.

b) Remember which head belongs to which body. (You can use the victim portraits in the shed as a clue!)

c) Safety levels of locations:


Safe Locations:


* Shed – Even with the doors open, ravens don’t fly into the room.



* On the hedge near the gate - Crows are unable to steal the head because the location is too high for them. You can also lure them to a specific spot. There’s a limit to the number of minions on the map at the same time, so if some focus on the head, they will interfere less with your actions.








The crow can't steal the head!




* Location in Images #1 and #2 is the same place. The main entrance of the building is on the left, and there are graves on the right. As long as you don’t linger around too much, no raven will steal the heads from this spot.






* Isolated statue next to the fountain, very close to the main entrance. No ravens show up here!




* Corner of the hedge on the garden pavilion grounds.







Unsafe Locations:

* Open spaces

* Mansion (unless it’s in the second dimension)

* Leaving heads near coffins



3) How to safely collect heads and perform actions:

a) Collect the heads calmly and try to remember where you picked them up and where you’re putting them down.

b) Especially in the chapel, after washing the head, place it a bit farther away to safely refill the alcohol basin.




c) Watch for nearby ravens that might grab your head while you’re trying to bury the body or even when you temporarily place the head somewhere. You don’t have the time or resources to waste UV light on recovering stolen heads. Remember, you can always safely leave a cleaned head in the other dimension.




d) Move cautiously in the second dimension.

* Don’t jump over the minions; try to avoid them. Not every jump will succeed, and you’ll be forced to waste UV on the enemy or, worse, end your run at the worst possible moment when your battery isn’t charged.

* Use unbroken mirrors if you can’t pass through a dangerous area. This often happens, especially when heading to the painting room or children’s bedroom, where a narrow corridor is perfectly blocked by a minion between two walls. It’s better to skip this route.



4) Where to Place Heads at Each Stage of the Ritual:

a) Heads for bodies near the front entrance:

Regardless of the stage of the game, tuck them under the wall.




b) Body isolated by the statue:

At any stage of the game, place the head a little farther behind the coffin.




c) Heads for bodies near the shed:

Always store them in the shed, no matter the stage of the game.




d)Heads for bodies around the chapel’s descent:


Situation 1 and Situation 2:

* Situation 1: At the beginning of the game when it’s 0/10, you can leave the heads next to the coffin.




* Situation 2: Once above 0/10, I place the heads under the wall.




e) Heads for bodies near the pavilion:

Situation 1 and Situation 2:

* Situation 1: At the beginning of the game, when it’s 0/10. I place them here. As long as you don’t move around this area too often, you won’t attract ravens, which tend to avoid this spot.

* Situation 2: above 0/10 I place them here too, eventually if you afraid about heads you can also storage them in the shed, but remember that It is definitely farther.

Azazel / Escaping / Hiding Spots / Tips

1) Use the UV flashlight wisely:

a) One battery charge is enough to calm Azazel twice. As mentioned before, after recharging just before the demon appears next to you, you won’t use up any of the charge.

* A fully charged battery looks like this:




b) When you see Azazel calming down, immediately stop using the UV light. Precision down to a hundredth of a second is crucial. If you’re not precise, you won’t have enough charge for the next defense and will need to use a new battery.

c) After calming Azazel once, if the battery level is low, don’t risk it. Use it completely or use it on the ravens, for example, in the chapel.
Escape spots to avoid Azazel or confuse him:




2) The hedge to the right of the main entrance to the building:

a) Getting here is very easy.






* Translation: "Safe zone to move without being caught by azazel."






b) The entrance is also on the balcony above the main entrance of the mansion.

* Translation: "Stay here and look down."




* Translation: "Jump here."









* You just need to keep moving along the indicated path to force Azazel to move left or right. If you stand still in the middle of the hedge, Azazel will lose interest in you.

* From this spot, you can run and force Azazel to change direction. If necessary, you can stun him in this area.



3) The hedge near the gate:

a) This is a 100% safe spot.

* Neither the crows nor Azazel can attack us because we are positioned too high for them. I have already mentioned earlier how to get here."

b) In the meantime, we can blind her with the flashlight.









4) Observing Azazel:

a) A very clever spot where you can perfectly see the lit entrance to the mansion and spot April flying out. You can quickly prepare for defense or simply escape in the opposite direction.




b) You can also position yourself by the fountain to observe the main door and the path to the fountain. You can see when the "bride" is approaching.



*Keep a battery nearby or hold it in your hand.


c) Stand in front of the doors leading to the garden. Close the door, and when April opens it, she slows down for a fraction of a second, allowing you to start stunning her.

* Translation: "Close the door durring Azazel's furious."




* This isn’t the safest place, especially in nightmare mode, but it’s still tactical.

* Remember to have a battery ready.

* After stunning April in this location, I always escape through the building to the courtyard by the front doors or head to the hedge by the pavilion, as mentioned in point 2.


d) Remember you’re in nightmare mode, I recommend moving as much as possible to avoid being spotted by a raven while hiding in these places. Unlike Azazel, the minions have no problem flying to any spot on the map.



5) Chapel stairs:

a) Using the Stairstacking technique, you can jump onto the stairs leading to the chapel.

* Stairstacking - allows for higher jumps than normally possible in the game.

* Just change the jump setting to scroll in the game settings and, while walking up stairs or small elevations, move the scroll wheel at the right pace (direction doesn’t matter). It’s also helpful to set up permanent running mode. The height or execution of the jump depends on the game’s FPS.

* It’s not easy, especially on single elevations like in this case, where there’s only one slightly raised stone from the floor.






Here’s a video demonstrating the process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awo3PLPda1U


* You can also use Stairstacking to jump onto open doors from outside near the garden (where the chairs are), making it so April can’t see you. However, this is even harder than in the chapel, and you might waste time and get caught by the demon.



6) Avoid these spots:

a) Don’t hide inside the building. It’s the worst place! You never know when or from which mirror Azazel will get to you.

b) Run far from the chapel when the demon activates. It’s a one-way path, and if you have to calm Azazel there, you won’t escape in time when his aggression level rises (Unless you’ve mastered Stairstacking).

c) Don’t get caught stunning April far from the entrances between buildings at higher stages of head-burying. Your chances of escaping are slim.

* For example, near the chapel’s descent.
* Near the pavilion.
* On different floors of the mansion.



7) Tips:

a) Observe minimal movements on the map.

b) It’s very dark, and the demon is hard to spot. His movement style gives the illusion that he’s farther away than he is, especially for beginners.

c) Weather intensity worsens over time, making things harder.

d) Don’t stand still too much, as this attracts a swarm of ravens.

e) Never leave cursed heads in the human dimension.

Strategy

1) Initial preparations:

a) Ensure you have the correct amount of cakes, alcohol, and that you know where you’ve placed the first five heads and, most importantly, your batteries.

b) For safety, leave one cake in the chapel in case you forget to refill the bowl with liquid in a hurry.



2) Optimal order for burying bodies:


In my opinion, the best and most effective order for burying bodies is:

2:2:1:5


NOTE: Keep in mind that before you finish your preparations and gather the first five heads, Azazel will likely activate due to player "inactivity." You’ll lose your first battery at this point. Find a new one and return it to the same spot.


a) Always keep a shovel nearby where you plan to bury the heads, and remember where the nearest battery is!




b) Action Description:

* 2*

Bury the two heads that are farthest from your safe storage. Then search for two more.

*2*

Repeat the same process. Get rid of the most inconveniently located bodies and search for two more.

*1*

Look for the last one and decide which head to bury next.

*5*

If possible, save for the end:

- 2 heads near the shed
- 2 heads near the main entrance
- 1 head near the statue



3) Don't take risks and don't rush. Always calm April after burying two heads.

(if you manage to do it in one go).


a) Never try to look for more heads when the demon is in attack mode:

b) Keep a battery nearby the graves you plan to bury, or remember where the nearest one is.

c) Always watch out for the ravens!


* Only waste UV on them if absolutely necessary.

* Herd them and lock them in rooms.

* Escape to another dimension and exit through a different exit. Ravens will land in the room where you use the mirror.

* Don’t waste time if the ravens are stubborn in one area. Just temporarily abandon that zone and try to bury the coffin elsewhere.



4) Continue Collecting and Burying Heads Repeat this process until you have five heads left:

a) High focus and minimal stress will help you remember what you’ve done or what you need to do.

b) If you can’t remember something, pause the game and think it over calmly.



5) Final 5 Heads:


If you’ve made it this far and happily have heads left as mentioned above:

- 2 heads near the shed
- 2 heads near the main entrance
- 1 head near the statue

There’s a good chance you can bury all the heads in a row!

Just keep the following order above!


Situation 1:

a) Bury the two heads near the shed.

b) Run with the shovel to the front of the building if it's possible consider taking the route through the mansion. The center hall connects the main entrance with the back. You’ll quickly find yourself next to more coffins.

c) In a dangerous situation with a 9/10 threat level, we will be very close to the last coffin near the statue by the fountain.


* Remember that when burying a head, after 2-4 seconds, the demon's anger script activates, which lasts for 5-7 seconds depending on the level of agitation. Therefore, with smooth head burying, Azazel won’t cover significant distances on the map.



Situation 2:

a) Maintain a similar order, but if Azazel or the ravens interrupt you, calm him and escape. It’s better to do something slowly than to risk getting caught while burying.

b) Never allow the situation where you are burying heads at a 9/10 threat level when the next coffin is far away. Azazel moves at x3 speed, and calming him doesn’t make sense. He will automatically activate again after a second!


6) Congratulations!

If everything went according to plan and you’ve had a bit of luck, congratulations! You’ve successfully completed the mission on the highest difficulty level all by yourself! :)

Thanks for reading my guide

1) I’ve created a separate guide for solo Standard & Hard modes:

* You can find it on my profile, but you can also use a similar playstyle with the strategy described here.

* Just remember to at least change your character's skills.

My suggestions are:






2) Thank you for taking the time to read this Guide!


I hope it has been helpful. If you enjoyed it, please give it a thumbs up, leave a comment, or share the guide! Check out my guides for other maps on my profile! :)





Standard & Hard

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3350969663

[紫罗兰永恒花园]

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[Defon]

I've added you to the guide's description. ^^''

Thank you again for help to improve this guide!

[Zorakiel]

Ah, I forgot to add the map legend, I tried to reuse the same colors you used in other maps :
- blue : keys
- green : cakes
- purple : bodies
- red : alcohol bottles
- yellow : batteries

[Zorakiel]

Thanks :)

Well, I didn't find any guide on the internet talking about these game mechanics.

I couldn't either find a map with items locations for the manor, so I used the map you posted and marked the items positions so you can add it to your guide.

I had to use another image host because the previous one keeps sending me HTTP error 408...

Link to the detailed map :
https://imghost.eu/image/manor-map.ZSn7B

The image will only be available for two weeks on this host.
If you have any issues accessing the image, tell me and I will try to host it elsewhere.

[Defon]

"I waited a little moment before burying one the heads because if you bury a head too fast after another, Azazel may not stop and will hunt you."

*Yup again the basically on every maps.

Anyway gj! :3

[Zorakiel]

Depending on which order we find heads, we may have to choose other bodies or just bury them one by one until we find the ones we're looking for (and calm Azazel each time).

In the end, I think it's better to increase distance from the house as you progress sacrifices, I'm not sure Azazel will stop if he's already focused on you while you're finishing to bury a body.

[Zorakiel]

By the way, I had some ideas on my last successful solo nightmare manor :

I started final sacrifices at 6/10 because that's one less body to worry about in the end and it doesn't change the required amount of stuns to calm Azazel, neither its speed, but I don't know if he rages a little more frequently.
Since we are limited to 2 batteries, I placed 1 between each couple of bodies in case some crows spawn and steal a head due to sacrifices.
I also placed the shovel near the body matching the head used as crows bait.
Then, I picked up the bait head, ran into the house and closed the main doors so the crows can't follow me, they were stuck in the backyard and had to go around the house or wait for Azazel to open both doors.
I buried the head I was holding with the shovel I placed earlier and buried the other bodies.
I waited a little moment before burying one the heads because if you bury a head too fast after another, Azazel may not stop and will hunt you.

[Zorakiel]

You're welcome, thank you again for your guides, I was able to complete multiple nightmare levels thanks to them :)

6 batteries in normal mode seem indeed too many, I rarely need one because the flashlight has a good recovery rate compared to higher difficulties.
However, it wasn't necessary to reduce nightmare batteries amount to only 2 if you ask me, it was already hard enough considering less than 2 % players were able to finish solo normal mode on any level...
Fortunately, your maps greatly helped me find the batteries.

[Defon]

Huh, At first I thought too, that there were too many batteries.

First time while I was playing I found six batteries on the standard mode.

So I'm changing the amount also in the other guide.

Thank you again for your engagement! :3

[Zorakiel]

Yes, Azazel can indeed rage outside if he didn't have enough time to go back to the house after a previous hunt.
I'll try burying these bodies next time though I would prefer putting maximum distance between Azazel and me.
Though in case a new crow spawns in front of the house and steals a head, we may be too late to bury the next body and be caught by Azazel.

I confirm you that the number of batteries was reduced depending on the difficulty :
- Normal : 4 batteries
- Hard : 3 batteries
- Nightmare : 2 batteries

I played multiple nightmare levels recently event with 3 other players and we never found more than 2 batteries.