Hidden Mission 1 (Assassin of Steve 3)

*For Hidden Mission 1 from Assassin of Steve 2, see Hidden Mission 1 (Assassin of Steve 2)*

**Hidden Mission 1** is a hidden optional mission that once finished, grants the player a special set of legendary equipment.

## Entry Point

You can find the entrance to Hidden Mission 1 in the last area before the Assassin boss fight in Mission 3, where the snipers guarding the doorway are. Southwest of them you should see some green cactus sprouts snaking over a hill. Beyond the hill you should be able to see they lead to a large cactus built out of green and black clay. You have to go through the arch to the right of this cactus to access Hidden Mission 1.

## Walkthrough

Upon entering the hidden mission, Cactantuar will explain his predicament, and then you essentially have to go around the surrounding area and defeat the tall cactus zombis. Cactus Sprouts are dropped by the top mob in Tall Cactus Zombies - the mini-bosses that spawn around. If you kill one of them, their Cactus Sprout will immediately teleport to a player.

Once you defeat all four of them simply place the four Cactus Sprouts you obtain in the hopper at Cactantuar's base to complete Hidden Mission 1.

Once you complete Hidden Mission 1 an area will open up with a secret shop. In the secret shop you can choose one piece of Cactus Armor, and can also find the reward chest, which will contain some Steak, Potions, and also some Spiny Cactus and the Cactus Spine, the Spiny Shield or the Pumpkin Mace. If Chair mode is enabled, then a Chair Mimic will spawn which drops a Cactus Stool.

## Mobs

Note that mobs in Hidden Missions do not drop their armor.

* Cactus Zombies are zombies that wear Cactus Armor and have a cactus block for their head. They have high knockback resistance, and also have Thorns enchantments on their armor, as does every other mob in this Hidden Mission.
* Cactus Archers are skeletons that wield a bow. They are immobile and have high knockback resistance and Thorns.
* Spine Shooters are wither skeletons that stand immobile, but constantly shoot four poison arrows around it.
* Short Cactus Zombies are baby zombies that wield a Cactus Spine with Knockback II enchantments. They have some knockback resistance, but not as high as other mobs in this Hidden Mission.
* Tall Cactus Zombies are five Cactus Zombies on top of each other. The top one will drop the Cactus Sprout upon death. They move slower than other mobs, though.

## Equipment

Each Cactus Armor piece has Thorns on it. Each piece has different secondary attributes, and health equivalent to Ghost Armor from Mission 4.

* Cactus Spine: 5.5 Attack Damage, No Attack Cooldown, 11 DPS.
* Spiny Shield: +10% Health and Knockback Resistance, Thorns II.
* Pumpkin Mace: 15 Attack Damage, 0.75 Attack Speed, 11.25 DPS.

* Cactus Stool (rare): 38 Attack Damage, 0.3 Attack Speed, 11.4 DPS, Knockback I.

### Recommendations

* It is recommended that you use a Rusty Axe or Mesa Hunting Bow for taking down the mobs, as their Thorns damage can chisel away at your health quickly, and using one of those weapons reduces how many hits you have to do on them to kill them, and thus reduces how much Thorns damage you'll take.
* When it comes time for choosing a piece of Cactus Armor, it is recommended you choose either leggings or boots, unless you've already obtained Twister Armor in those armor pieces, because in Mission 4 the higher-tier Poltergeist Armor set only consists of helmet and chestplate, and if you end up getting Poltergeist Armor in those pieces, you'd then have to discard your old Cactus Armor.

## Chest Locations

* Besides the two Loot Chests after beating the mission, there are no chests in this mission.
	+ One is a reward chest while the other contains the lore book Guide to Growing Big.

## Music

*Main article: Music*

At all times, the following track plays:

* **Ascending the Vale** by Kevin MacLeod

## Trivia

* The song used in this hidden mission is also used during Hidden Mission 1 of the previous map.

* Cactantuar is mentioned in the Guide to Mythical Creatures, a Lore Book found in Assassin of Steve.

* The lore of the Pumpkin Mace refers to it as 'A treat from Cactantuar's cousin', hinting that the Giant Pumpkin may be related to Cactantuar in some way.