Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

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A Beginner's Guide to Deus Ex: Human Revolution
By ramblin man
This guide is designed for first-time players of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It contains handy tips for how to get started with the game, as well as a few gameplay basics. There are no spoilers in this guide. Even if you have alreayd played Deus Ex through I recommend giving it a quick read.
   
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Before You Begin
Before starting your playthrough, I recommend making a few decisions about how you are going to play the game. This will keep you on track and generally improve your experience playing.


Easy, Normal or Hard?

I recommend starting with normal mode for your first playthrough. If you are not an avid gamer, then go with easy. Even if you are quite the gamer, I recommend giving it a go once with normal before going straight to hard. Normal will be more challenging than you expect.

Lethal or Non-Lethal?

Entirely your choice, based on what you prefer to do. Non-lethal doesn't mean you don't get to fight, it just means you are using tranquilizers and stun-guns. Of course, you can always take a mixture of lethal and non-lethal weaponry. If you do decide to go non-lethal though, it will mean more reliance on stealth,which brngs me to my next question:

Stealthy or Killy?

Again, this is a matter of preference. There's no right or wrong choice, and both ways are really fun. Would you rahter dispatch every enemy in a room, or go completely unseen? You can still be "Killy" in a non-lethal way, by knocking out everyone.

Good or Evil?

This refers more to the choices you make, as you can be lethal but still be a "good guy" if you want to. I find it's better to choose whether you want to be good or evil (and nice or mean) and stick with it, rahter than jumping around. This will make whatever traits you give Jensen seem more realistic.

Sidequests or Mainquest?

Depending on how thouroguhly you want to play, you may want to decide to accept every sidequest, or accept none. I personally like to accept sidequests, but if you just want to advance the plot or play quickly, the game can be beaten without doing any sidequests.
Augmentation Tips
Fairly early in the game, you will be faced with the choice of which augment to buy/upgrade. Augments will help you in various ways, but some are mroe useful than others. Here I will detail some of my favorite augments and why they are my favorites.


Blast Through Weakened Walls

This is a nice first augment because it is almost immediately useful, it only costs 1 Praxis Point to get and because, given enough exploration, it will pay for itself and then some. It will help you find hidden paths (or rather, make them) as well as allowing you to uncover veritable treasure troves. Plus, it looks cool, and really badass whn you kill someone behind the wall. (If you are doing a non-lethal playthrough, get Smart Vision to avoid that.)

Glasshield Cloaking System

Or, in layman's terms, invisibility. This is the stealthy man's ace in the hole. 3 seconds of invisibily (which can be upgraded to up to 7 seconds) can mean the difference between life and death, or discovery and staying hidden. It's great when you're all out of options. Also, you can pass through lasers with it, which is always handy.

Smart Vision

Whether you're staying in the shadows or going on a murderous rampage, it can never hurt to see through walls. It's a great way to guage the enemy's movement patters whilst staying concealed, or to see when they've turned in order to quickly knock them out (or kill them).

Icarus Landing System

I liek this one because it's nice not to have to worry about fall damage. But, in situations where you need to get to a lower level quickly and quitely, it is much better than descending many flights of stairs packed with enemies. Goes great with invisibility.
Hacking Tips
First off: Hack Everything. Even if you know the code, it's a great way to earn XP, as well as getting new software and earning credits. Here's some handy tips for hacking:


The Minigame

Before you do anything, find the quickest route to the green node (the one you want to hack). That way, if time becomes an issue, you won't be stuck wondering which way to go. However, as long as time is not an issue, hack all of the square nodes you can. They will give you various rewards. If you can, try to hack the red node. It will unlock the device and earn you all the rewards.

Nukes

Use them! I find that I always forget I have these, but they are useful as hell. If a hack is too difficult for you, try using a nuke before you go for the Stop! Worm, as nukes tend to be more plentiful.

Stop! Worm Software

This should be your last resort, as they tend to be scarce. Use them wisely, and try using nukes instead if you can.
Combat Tips
Even if you are doing the most stealthy playthrough, at one point or another (i.e. Boss Battles) you will have to get your hands dirty. As such, here are some basic combat tips.


Aim For the Head

A headshot will instantly kill most enemies. As such, equip more accurate weapons (like pistols and revolvers) with laser pointers, and always go for the headshot no matter what weapon you are carrying. They will also get you more XP.

Make Use of Cover

Simply put, you won't survive in direct combat for very long in the open, even at 200 health. Use cover, and fire at enemies when they stop firing at you. Most enemies will have firing patters or need to reload. Take advantage of this and reload when in cover.

Even In Combat, Stay Stealthy

You will have a disctinct advantage over your enemies if they do not know where you are. Dont stay static! Move around in cover and get the jump on them, or escape.

Firing From Cover

Fire weapons that have a lot of spread from cover, or hurl greandes. However, firing from behind cover reduces accuracy greatly. It's best to peek from cover when firing to get a more accurate shot, rather than wasting ammo.


Takedowns

I reccommend performing exactly one lethal takedown, on the basis of it looking and feeling badass. However, nonlethal takedowns are quieter, not as messy and grant more XP. Takedowns in general are a great tool. You can take an enemy down before he notices you, and it makes no noise. Once you get good at it, buy Multi-Takedowns and double your fun. Takedwons are good for stealth, but also for combat when an enemy gets too close.
Food & Drinks
You will often find food and drinks in your environment throughout the course of the game.


Food

Save your Cyberboost Bars and Packs for when you need them. They will come in handy in tight spots, and the extra energy doesn't really help when you just waste it. Having 2+ full bars of energy is a wonderful thing, so use it well. Just imagine 14 seconds of invisibility, or an invisible takedown, or punching through a wall, killing one person by doing so and then taking down the next. That is the magic of saving your food for the right moment!

Drink

Drinks increase your health above 100 permanently until you are damaged. The only side effect is a moment of screen movemnt, so don't drink them in combat situations. Otherwise, drink beverages immediately upon finding them. Get wasted!
Achievements
Don't get too caught up in achievements for your first playthrough. However, for those who are compulsive achievement hunters, here are some tips:


Regular Achievements

To get most of the listed achievements, my best advice is to explore everywhere and to accept and complete every sidequest you are offered. I can't be too much help in specific achievements, as I have a lot left to get myself.

Secret Achievements

It is very hard to get hese achievements by luck alone, but not impossible. If you are a real hardcore achievement hunter, then my advice is to explore options that seem counter-intuitive, as that is why the achievements are secret. To eeryone else, look at the global achievement stats to see the names and pictures for the secret achievements without revealing how to get them. Save whenever you see something or someone in the pictures, then explore options until you get the achievements.
28 Comments
Yukkie 25 Jan, 2020 @ 12:40pm 
Thank you for the guide!
Alrik 1 Feb, 2018 @ 9:59am 
i really have problems. I play easy with non leathal. Hacked everything but useless i made toal wrong desicions with the augs.Cant make anymore mission or hack something.Stuck in the police station i think i made the mission too early on with totaly wrong augments. No Chance to go on i have to start a new game. I really need an easy strategy and what missions to do first or which to do later. For me the game is too hard even on easy.
Apoktos 17 Jul, 2015 @ 6:09am 
How about the cops? They are everywhere in town, you can't run away from them if you shot someone (accidentaly killed a civilian).
KILL 8 Sep, 2014 @ 1:15pm 
Thanks
Korstrynn 22 Jul, 2014 @ 6:43am 
No problem, but honestly I wish I hadn't found out ^^
ramblin man  [author] 22 Jul, 2014 @ 6:41am 
I never knew. I guess it just never came up for me - thanks for the tip!
Korstrynn 22 Jul, 2014 @ 6:39am 
@elmahnken Actually, if another enemy reaches them they do wake up. Something I sadly found out during my last stealth run (that promptly turned into a bloodbath).. <.<
ramblin man  [author] 5 Dec, 2013 @ 3:54pm 
They do not; it is equivalent to a kill.
MACACO 5 Dec, 2013 @ 11:10am 
Qeustion: Do they get up after a non-lethal takedown... or a non-lethal shot?
Bandit 5 Nov, 2013 @ 4:07pm 
Awesome guide, thanks for contributing