- Primary Subject: 007 First Light
- Key Update: The Smoke and Mirrors and Apex Predator challenges can be completed together during the Security Office section of the "For England" mission.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: June 9, 2026
- Quick Answer: To complete Smoke and Mirrors and Apex Predator in a single run, activate the smoke valve in the Security Office and use the reduced visibility to perform stealth takedowns on every guard. If Apex Predator does not unlock after eliminating all enemies, try activating the lower-floor smoke valve instead, restarting from the checkpoint, or retrying the encounter, as many players have reported inconsistent challenge tracking and occasional scripting issues.
The Smoke and Mirrors and Apex Predator challenges can both be completed during the Security Office section of the "For England" mission in 007 First Light.
Since the objectives are tied to the same encounter, players can unlock both challenges in a single run if they approach the area correctly.
While the encounter itself is relatively straightforward, Apex Predator has become notorious among players because it does not always register properly, even after all apparent requirements have been met.
As a result, many members of the community have spent time experimenting with different methods to determine what consistently works.
Where Do the Smoke and Mirrors and Apex Predator Challenges Take Place?
The challenge begins shortly after entering the Security Office checkpoint.
As soon as Bond gains control, look toward the left side of the room where a small server room contains a lone guard. Nearby is a ladder that provides access to the rafters above the office.
This elevated section contains a smoke valve that can be activated to fill the entire security area with smoke, dramatically reducing enemy visibility and creating ideal conditions for stealth takedowns.
One of the most common approaches is to quietly eliminate the guard inside the server room before climbing the ladder. After reaching the rafters, move toward the smoke valve and activate it.
Once the smoke spreads throughout the office, enemy awareness becomes significantly reduced, making it much easier to move between targets without being spotted.
From here, players can systematically work through the room and perform stealth takedowns on every guard.
Although the smoke gives Bond a considerable advantage, rushing through the encounter is still not recommended.
Several guards patrol different sections of the room, and their movement patterns can overlap unexpectedly.
A safer strategy is to stay patient, remain crouched, and isolate enemies whenever possible.
Working around the outer edges of the room before moving toward the center can help prevent multiple guards from spotting Bond at the same time.
Interestingly, the challenge may not require a perfect ghost run. Many players initially assumed that being detected would automatically fail Apex Predator, but numerous successful completions have been reported after brief detections.
In some cases, players were spotted, broke line of sight, returned to stealth, and still unlocked the challenge once every guard had been eliminated.
This has led many players to believe that the game primarily tracks the use of stealth takedowns rather than whether Bond remains completely unseen throughout the encounter.
Why Is Apex Predator Not Unlocking?
However, the challenge appears to suffer from inconsistent scripting.
Many players reported clearing the room flawlessly multiple times only for Apex Predator to remain incomplete.
As a result, players have come up with several alternative methods. One of the most widely reported solutions involves activating the smoke from the ground floor rather than the rafters.
Instead of immediately entering the server room, players can move toward the lower smoke valve and activate it first.
After the smoke fills the area, wait for the server room guard to leave his position and enter the main office before taking him down.
A surprising number of players reported that this specific sequence finally caused the challenge to register.
Others found success by restarting the game entirely before attempting the challenge again. Some players loaded directly into the Security Office checkpoint after restarting and completed the challenge on their next attempt.
A few even discovered that allowing themselves to be killed at the beginning of the encounter, selecting Retry, and then clearing the room from the checkpoint resulted in the challenge unlocking properly.
There have also been reports suggesting that enemy AI behavior changes slightly between attempts. Some players noticed guards taking different patrol routes or appearing in different positions from one run to the next.
This has led to speculation that one or more guards occasionally fail to spawn correctly, potentially preventing the game from recognizing that every required target has been eliminated.
While there is no official confirmation of this issue, it helps explain why identical strategies can produce different results between attempts.
If the standard smoke strategy does not work, players may want to experiment with alternative approaches.
Some community members reported success after intentionally allowing guards to enter an alert state before disappearing back into the smoke and continuing with stealth takedowns.
Others claimed the challenge only unlocked after receiving a "Situation Contained" notification during the encounter.
Although some of these approaches seem unconventional, they may be worth testing due to the challenge's inconsistent behavior.
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