Kshatriya (Faction Pack DLC Level)

Kshatriya is the second level added in the Faction Pack, and is not only the longest of the three - but the single longest level in the Metro video game series, at least up until Metro Exodus which mostly has open-world levels. Unlike most levels, which have Artyom travelling from point A to B or battling a foe, Kshatriya uses new mechanics, such as open world scavenging, to emulate the act of stalking - venturing up to the surface to retrieve artifacts of the old world.

Overview
Kshatriya puts the player in the boots of a supposed Ranger Trainee from Polis, attempting to prove himself as being worthy of being amongst the warrior class of Polis: the Kshatriya. He begins by first meeting up with the Kshatriya Team that is there to help him when he begins to scavenge the area of the Great Library above. Following a short conversation with the base's arms and equipment dealer, Kuzmich, the Trainee meets with Shaman, the artifacts collector. Shaman will instruct the trainee to hand in any of the artifacts that they find on the surface to him in exchange for varying levels of cash rewards.

Following this, the trainee may leave for the sewers that connect with the surface. Along the way the trainee will meet Bar and Su, twin Stalkers of his team who provide occasional help in combat and tips on how to survive the level. After the meeting, the player is left to their own devices to explore the slowly opening world of Kshatriya.

Gameplay in Kshatriya is drastically different than that of what can be found in the main campaign of Metro: Last Light. Aside from finding all 30 artifacts listed on Shaman's electronic drawing-board, including the "Map of Secret Metro", there is no goal, so the player is free to explore the large map at will. While seeming rather small to begin with, certain parts of Kshatriya must be unlocked by exploration to proceed further into. The sewers, seemingly a hallway or two, rapidly becomes a crossroads leading to various parts of the surface and the Great Library. The save checkpoint must be done manually rather than automatically given at random intervals or when the player acesses new areas like in the main mission game. To save the progress, the player must return to the Stalker base and use the door located to the right of Kuzmich's wares to enter Polis station. Here the Trainee will rest with progress being saved. Note that in the beginning you can't save the progress until you got the first artifact or have visited the surface. The checkpoints are entirely optional, some players find extra thrills in refusing to enter the station until when it is required at the very end. If you want to finish the level quickly, you will return to the station quite often, your backpack only fits 5 artifacts, so you have to return at least 6 times to return and handover your findings to Shaman.

Unique to Kshatriya are semi-randomized encounters, mostly with enemies, but also with artifact placement, that lends the level well to multiple replays. Passing through the sewer at any time has the chance of spawning nosalises from a myriad of places that can quickly kill the trainee if he is unprepared. One of these times that is most notable and inopportune, is when the trainee is trying to open the bulkhead door to the base. Occasionally when he calls for the door to be open via buzzer, the door will jam when trying to open, and cause a mass of nosalises to converge on the loud sounds, causing the trainee to be stuck in a rather small location with bloodthirsty and relentless beasts until the door can open.

Kshatriya is completed after the trainee ventures deep into the archives of the library, beyond the fearsome librarians within, and returns with the secret metro map. Below is a map and complete guide to finding every artifact in Kshatriya - remember that some are placed randomly, but the guides lists as many possible locations as have been found. There is also a video guide for an in-depth walkthrough.

Gameplay

 * The nosalises encountered underground can be a fair source of income, as they can be killed with 1-2 shotgun blasts and yield 1-5 MGRs, while 6 shotgun shells can be bought for only 7 MGRs. As they are found underground, you do not need to waste precious filters fighting them.
 * Filters become more expensive every time you purchase one, but their price resets after a time. It is a good idea to buy a single filter every time you return to the base, so you do not have to pay extra for buying them in bulk after a long expedition.
 * The base price of a filter is 20 MGRs, each consecutive filter costs 5 MGRs more.

Equipment
The trainee starts out with a Bastard carbine and an Ashot shotgun-pistol. The trader will offer to sell the following guns: Kalash, Duplet, Revolver, Lolife and Shambler. A Helsing can be found on a corpse of your predecessor. He will also offer incendiary shotgun shells, incendiary pistol rounds and regular assault rifle rounds, as well as throwing knives, claymore mines, sticky and incendiary grenades.

2 separate suits of armor are available for purchase, but only one can be worn at a time: Night vision goggles can be found on a body of one of the trainee's predecessors.
 * Radiation armor costs 200 MGRs and protects from radiation, lowering the rate at which filters are used up in radioactive areas.
 * Heavy armor costs 225 MGRs and protects from the attacks of monsters.

Trivia

 * Kshatriya, from Kshatra (rule or authority), is one of the four varnas (social orders) in Hinduism. Traditionally, Kshatriya constitute the ruling and military elite of the Vedic-Hindu social system, as outlined by the Vedas and the Laws of Manu. They were in charge of the protection of the Hindu society by fighting in wartime and governing in peacetime. In the Metro universe, the Kshatriya is one of the four classes Polis citizens may elect to fall into when they become of age. Kshatriya are the warrior class and combat elite of Polis.
 * Despite being on a trek to prove himself as a warrior, Kshatriya can be 100% completed without firing a single bullet. Watchmen, lurkers, and Liana can all be tactfully run past, all librarians can be stared down, and the nosalis hordes can be bypassed by simply running back out to the surface for a brief period of time.
 * At first it might sound that you will need to collect all 30 artifacts, while in fact only the secret subway map artifact is required to finish this mission.
 * The map of the secret metro doesn't appear to be a map at all - rather, it looks like a diary entry from the main campaign, or even a newspaper page.
 * In one of the underground passages that leads from the depository back to the sewers, a light dying out can be seen. Also, some weird sounds can be heard in the distance and if the trainee is equipped with a nightvision device, it will become temporarily distorted.
 * The geiger counter will tick when exploring the ranger base, most likely caused by the radiation emanating from the retrieved surface artifacts.
 * The library is slightly different from the Metro 2033 version, and the weather is stormy instead of snowy.
 * This mission introduces a new type of shotgun ammunition, the incendiary Dragonbreath shells. These have a red shell instead of the blue regular buckshot shell. Despite the Ashot and Duplet shotguns accounting for this visual difference when it comes to the reloading process, the Dragonbreath shells still appear blue on the weapon where it is the most visible: The Shambler with its exterior round chamber.

Bugs

 * The gasoline canister and painting may not always appear. It's a good idea to immediately check their spawn position in the building area and start a new game if they are not there.
 * Some objects might appear hovering over the ground.
 * This might be because physics are not enabled for the artifacts, due to their random placement
 * If a lurker is killed it sometimes may act as if it was still alive, crouching in an alert postition. It may still be salvaged from.
 * It may occur that filters bought will not be added to you inventory. This is caused by picking up the filter hidden on the pipe inside the station.
 * Librarian AI may make them freeze up at times, and randomly unagressive mid-combat or if hit while playing a waking up animation.
 * The sleeping librarian sometimes may not spawn at all. It can be fixed by reloading the last checkpoint or save the progress in the base.
 * The final librarian may spawn in a frozen position, it will be unable to attack but can still be killed or bypassed, it will not prevent the completion of the level.
 * Ladders can be difficult to interact with if approached from odd angles or while sprinting. If you cannot attach after repeated attempts, take several steps backwards and approach slowly from the front.
 * Sometimes, in the archives, the sounds from the game can no longer be heard. Once back at the base, the textures will look dull and pre-rendered, and if you go through the gate after giving the secret metro map to shaman, the screen will go black and will stop working. You will have to restart the console and start from the last checkpoint. Also, any achievements will be lost and will never come back (found on the PS3).

Gallery
Кшатрии_(уровень)