Let me guide you through castle infiltration - it's all about working smarter, not harder. The key to success here lies in understanding how your character's strengths can work with the environment (this is actually why many players struggle at first).

You'll want to start with naoe if you're serious about stealth, since her eagle vision lets you see through walls and tag enemies (this ability becomes absolutely crucial in larger castles). When you're moving around, remember that rolling while prone is actually faster and quieter than crawling, because the game's sound detection system treats it differently. Breaking lanterns isn't just for show - it creates new shadow paths, and guards can't spot you in complete darkness.

Something interesting about the nightingale floors, those creaky wooden paths you'll encounter - they were actually used in real japanese castles, and here they'll give away your position instantly. Your best approach is usually from above or through side passages, where these floors aren't installed. Always take out the guards near alarm bells first, because one alert can bring the whole castle down on you (i learned this one the hard way).

For those especially tricky situations, you might want to enable guaranteed assassination in the settings, which ensures your stealth kills always work. This is particularly helpful when you're still getting used to the timing. And here's something many players overlook - unconscious guards can still be useful, since you can recover throwing weapons from them, and their bodies can create distractions when discovered by other guards.

The real mastery comes from combining all these elements - using shadows, timing your movements with guard patrols, and adapting to weather conditions. Your success rate will be much higher at night, by the way, since the darkness naturally creates more hiding spots for you.