Many of the missions in 007: First Light have hidden optional Challenges to complete. These Challenges force you to adopt specific strategies, and not all of them can be completed in the same run. This is certainly true of the first mission, Against The Odds, which has several mutually exclusive Challenges to complete if you want to unlock the unique Iceland outfit for use in TacSim scenarios.
In this guide, I’ll show you the easiest way to complete all 9 Against The Odds Challenges in 007: First Light. I’ll start by explaining what all 9 Challenges actually are, so that you have an easy reference sheet while you’re playing. Below I’ll go into more detail about how to combine all these Challenges together so you can complete them as easily and quickly as possible, in the minimum number of playthroughs.
Check out our Against The Odds walkthrough for a full guide through the entire first mission of 007: First Light.
All Against The Odds Challenges
There are 9 Challenges to complete in Against The Odds, including the Completionist Challenge that you get by completing all the others. All of the Challenges take place specifically in the Central Camp section, so if you’re replaying the mission to unlock all the Challenges, you can skip straight ahead to Checkpoint 6 (Central Camp).
The 9 Against The Odds Challenges are:
| Challenge | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Completionist | Complete all Challenges in “Against The Odds” to unlock the Iceland Outfit for TacSim. |
| 2 | Pacifist | Go through the Central Camp taking down only two soldiers. |
| 3 | Ghost | Go through the Central Camp without getting spotted. |
| 4 | Assault | Fight 4 soldiers without alerting the camp. |
| 5 | No Help Needed | Go through the Central Camp without using any distractions. |
| 6 | Full Of Surprises | Use the BT65 and the ATV to distract the Arrowhead soldiers. |
| 7 | 00 To Become | Take down 7 soldiers without getting spotted in the Central Camp. |
| 8 | High Ground | Take down 3 soldiers from above in the Central Camp. |
| 9 | Scenic Route | Use the zipline in Central Camp. |
You can’t complete all 9 Challenges in a single run, so you’ll need to split the Challenges across multiple runs. Fortunately, you can complete everything with just two (or possibly three) different runs of the Central Camp checkpoint.
Run 1: Challenges 2, 3, 5, 9
In the first run, your aim is to remain undetected, use no distractions, and take down only the two soldiers inside the two buildings where the hostages are being kept. Head to container B4 first – use the valley beneath the building to get inside via the window, and take out the soldier inside.
Once you release the hostages, head up the ladder and then use the ladder on the roof to climb up to the top of the mast. At the top, you can zipline in one of two directions – left or right. Take the left route (completing Challenge 9), and then jump onto the roof of container G9. You can then perform a takedown from above on the soldier below the roof hatch.
Take the keys and free the hostages, then exit via the left-hand door as you back out of the hostage room. Remember, don’t use any distractions. Just drop straight down into the valley and follow it straight to container B4 again. Climb onto the roof and loosen the mast wire to complete Challenges 2, 3, and 5 all in one go!
Run 2: Challenges 1, 4, 6, 7, 8
Your second run, despite being much more violent, needs to be more considered if you want to complete all the remaining Challenges at once. If it’s too tricky, don’t worry – you can split the Challenges up across as many more runs as you need, focusing on just one or two at a time if need be.
There are many opportunities to take down soldiers without being noticed, particularly now that you can use distractions. Generally, anytime you see an interactable distraction, it will result in one or more soldiers becoming isolated from the rest.
The tricky part is performing the takedowns from above to complete the High Ground Challenge. The three easiest places to take down soldiers from above are:
You can then complete Challenge 6 quite easily after this. Rescue the G9 hostages, then exit out of the building using the left-hand door. Head a short distance to the left and you can use the laptop to distract the soldiers using the BT65.
Once that’s done, the easiest way to reach the ATV is to climb onto the roof of container B4. Then climb the mast and zipline to the right. This will land you in some tall grass right next to the ATV. Interact with it to send it off the cliff, completing the Full Of Surprises Challenge.
Finally you’ve got to fight 4 Soldiers without alerting the camp to complete the Assault Challenge. Again, there are many opportunities for this – the easiest way is to separately isolate 4 soldiers, and then simply fist-fight them rather than performing a takedown on them. But if you’re having trouble completing this at the same time as all the other challenges, you can leave this Challenge for a third run (remember, you only need to restart from the Central Camp checkpoint each time).
Once you’ve completed all the other Challenges, you’ll finally obtain the Completionist Challenge for the Against The Odds mission, unlocking the fancy Iceland outfit for Bond.
That wraps up our guide on completing all 9 Against The Odds challenges for the first mission in 007: First Light. While you’re here, you could also check out our guide on how to unlock all the pre-release suits for 007: First Light.