Save file workaround for the BANDITS level without the takedown (knockout) bug. Spartan Hardcore version.
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Essentially the same thing as this mod by Bababuschka, but the save file is on Spartan Hardcore instead of Survival Ranger Hardcore.
If you reached this mod you probably already faced the bug, but for clarification: in Metro Last Light Redux on the level BANDITS there's a bug that prevents you from perfoming both non-lethal (knockout) and lethal takedowns on the enemies. When in range for a takedown, the prompt doesn't even appear. To make things worse, the bug may continue during the rest of the game. This is specially annoying if you're trying to do a "pacifist" run.
This bug may have been in the game for over a decade by the time I post this, and there are no signs of it being patched. The community doesn't understand exactly what causes it and there are various speculated events that may trigger the bug, but none concrete.
The fix involves deleting the old save files, playing again starting from Revolution or Regina trying to avoid said triggers and pray that the bug didn't trigger. Since I spent an entire day trying to fix it because I didn't find a save file on Spartan, and to quote Bababuschka:
For sanity's sake and to save time for folks in the future, I'm uploading a save file
Instalation
For insurance, disable Steam Cloud Save Games for Metro Last Light by right clicking the game on Steam → Properties → disabling "Keep game saves in the Steam Cloud"
Locate your game save folder (generally Documents/4A Games/Metro Last Light/)
Delete old save folder
Extract new save folder
Important:
Do not start the game through Continue, but rather through Chapter Select. This is a failsafe on bugged levels
Upon level start you can turn back to get the Shambler shotgun and a moral point, but avoid getting the moral point for listening to the refugees, since it might cause your game to crash when reaching the first two bandits (happened to me)
There's a chance that your game crashes when reloading the level later through Continue, so be prepared to do it in a single run
Once you finish the level you can forget about this annoying bug :)
Details
No human enemies have been killed and I got all the notes, in case they are tied to the save file.
For anyone curious about what I did to avoid the bug, here are my steps. Some actions may or may not have influenced the outcome since it's mostly speculative:
Started again through Revolution
Avoided looting any safeboxes
Avoided knocking out any enemies (including the last armored one)
Drove through Regina mostly with the car lights off (to avoid killing any spiders with light)
Avoided all optional side rooms in Regina (including the one you need to break in with the car)
Althrough I avoided the side rooms, I stopped in every door and returned to the car (this one probably has notting to do with the bug)
Since I couldn't figure out if it was bad killing the spiders by light, knife or shooting, I avoided killing any spider in the side room before the sealed door (went fast through the room keeping far away from the large spawn eggs)
Looted the filter by the entrance to the side room with the ghosts
