ULTIMATE STEALTH CHALLENGE: Ghost + Double Take-downs only Run

[gyron]

Guide for setting up double take-down (DTD) opportunities that preserve stealth and don't spoil the Ghost.

***See this guide on wiki***

INTRODUCTION:

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is easy as a stealth game — there is no arguing about it. As a veteran stealth player I've never found myself challenged even during the first playthrough, which was mostly a melee-only pacifist/ghost run on hard difficulty. It's a shame, because the potential is there: multi-layered level design with precise 3D movement, integration between physics and AI, great path-finding... but flat difficulty curve, blind enemies and, most of all, overpowered stealth tools (cloak) kill the pure sneaky fun and never force you to explore all the stealth options this game has to offer. Though I liked stealth well enough to replay DXHR two times more, I had to artificially restrict myself in some ways to get any satisfaction out of it.

One of the restrictions that is not arbitrary and in some way recognized by the game itself came from XP rewards. 'Ghost' bonus is given for completing the mission unseen and implemented for players who try to get through levels never touching anybody. An example of this play-style is GreasedScotsman's "Zero Takedown Ghost" run. As for enemies, non-lethal double take-downs give the maximum XP reward per head (125/2=62.5 XP) but likely intended as just a panic move for CQC, not as the main and only weapon. You can see how easy it is to abuse double take-downs (non-stealthily).

I thought that combining both play styles in one play-through, i.e. getting all the 'Ghosts' AND performing as many double take-downs as possible without being seen should be considered the game's "Ultimate stealth challenge". And with each area taking 2-3 hours instead of usual 20-30 minutes, with 5-10 reloads per each Ghost rating, I was challenged alright. This play style required mastering both stealth and aggressive techniques, completing all the side-quests to get XP for the stealth augmentations early, exploring a lot to find enough consumables for the augs — basically doing everything it was possible to do in the game in one go.

As a by-product to this "do-all" approach, I was able to, rather unexpectedly, gain all the augs by the end of the game. And though I don't list every DTD here I've counted and verified all possible DTD in the game on Experience by area wiki page, so refer to it if you want to know the maximum number of DTD in each area. As a side note, there are 376 enemies in the game total and I've performed 166 DTD (332 enemies = 88%) using these methods.

METHODS:

Here is the list of methods for setting up double take-downs that I've regularly used. Most of them are meant to trick a single enemy into moving close enough to the the other enemy for a DTD. All these work well on normal enemies in relaxed state (that appear gray on the radar). Fully alerted enemies act differently, but since this is a Ghost guide, enemies are presumed to always remain unalerted, i.e. they never go 'hostile', find a body or get suspicious enough to go into 'long alert' state. Exceptions are the Alice Garden Pods, Penthouse and the first Picus mission, where guards are in a "permanent alert" state. Generally they react more unpredictably than normal enemies, so more caution and less noisy methods are required when dealing with them.

The number of stars (*) shows the "stealthiness", i.e. how risky it is to turn enemies hostile while trying to pull off a particular method.

***MINOR SPOILERS***

• Use the cloak and silent movement augs (*)
  Of course you can cheese every DTD with these augs, but it's feels very unsportsmanlike and quickly drains your candy bar supplies. There are only 30-40 (out of 166) DTD in the game that are very hard to perform without augs. All other DTD can be done on a single rechargeable cell. And even if you absolutely have to use the augs never more than 1 charged cell is needed. There are at least ~120 energy cells that can be recharged by consumables, and I had 45 spare cells by the end of the game, so there is a huge surplus of energy for this augs to be abused, but still not enough for every DTD.
  
  
  
  
• Exploit pre-set opportunities (*)
  There are tons of cases where enemies are kindly placed close enough together for DTD. If they're talking, do it before they finish their dialogue and separate. Approach them from the back or abuse their limited cone of sight.
  
  
  
  
• Provoke a guard to move to your position by trespassing a secure zone (*)
  Simple and safe method for setting up DTD, but useful only in a handful of places, where enemies are normally friendly, but issue a warning when you go inside a secure zone then turn hostile if you don't move away. Examples: DRB's territory entrance, MCB's apartment, Belltower blockades in Hensha.
  
  
  
  
• Lure enemies by throwing physic objects (**)
  Sound disturbances that are caused by objects when they hit the walls or floors alert every enemy in their radius. But after a few seconds everyone goes back to normal state except for one guy who remains alert and goes to investigate. There are two set of parameters affecting what he does next.
  

  • Type of disturbance (aural/visual):
    1. If enemy SEES a thrown object, i.e. has it hitting something in his cone of vision, he will investigate the place object was thrown from. If multiple enemies have seen the object, game usually picks the enemy closest to throwing location to investigate.
    2. If enemy HEARS a thrown object, but not SEES it, he will investigate the place of sound disturbance.

  • Object weight (light/heavy):
    1. Small and Medium objects cause only a single enemy to remain alert (unless they hit him instead of a wall -- then bye, Ghost).
    2. Heavy objects (that require Strength aug to lift) sometimes lead two enemies, not one, to investigate the same place together, thus giving a very easy DTD, but are too unreliable to use as a primary method. Single/double investigation is affected by the amount of noise produced and force of the throw but it's difficult to replicate the result on different throws. So it's better not to use them.
  
  
  
  
• Lure single enemies to your position by visually alerting them (**)
  Peek from cover in 3rd person OR, when in first person, move back and forth to alert them and then move behind cover. If you do it quickly (0.5-1.5 seconds, depending on distance), enemies won't become hostile and will investigate your last known position instead. The most reliable method, since you don't need anything for it besides cover and enemies reaction to it is very predictable. I ended up using it in half of the DTD setups.
  
  
  
• Human Shield (**).
  A combination of "peeking from cover" method + the fact that human bodies are opaque to AI's vision:
  
  
  
  
• Lure single enemies to your position by running or jumping in their vicinity (**)
  When in limited space or with no objects at hand use Adam's natural noise device -- his legs. Jump, run or sprint to produce a sound disturbance and lure an enemy to investigate it. Make sure that there is a cover to hide behind and walk/crouch behind it, so no one follows you.
  
  
  
  
• Re-route enemies by blocking their normal patrol paths (***)
  This method exploits the fact that AI moves between few static points always using the shortest route possible. Build a "wall" so a gap between physical and static objects is less than an enemy's size. Everything middle- or XL-sized will do (crates, boxes, barrels, dumpsters, fridges). So, when patrolling enemy can't get from point A to point B using his normal route he will choose second shortest path, presumably the one that leads him to being punched along with his friend.
  
  
  
  
• Stop an enemy from moving by blocking him with physic objects (***)
  Modification of previous method that requires either completely surrounding an enemy with crates or plugging every hole in his patrol path. If he can't get to any of his patrol points he will just stop and won't move at all unless you unblock his path. Useful when you know the spawn points beforehand.
  
  
  
  
• Lead an enemy where you need him to be with shots from a silenced weapon (***)
  A bullet produces a noise when it hits something and this tricks a guard into investigating the point of impact. Surprisingly, an enemy seeing or hearing your shots doesn't affect Ghost in any way. He'll be still as amused by 10th shot as he was the first time. This works on bots too, if you need to distract them. Obviously this trick requires a silenced weapon (pistol, SMG, rifle), some spare ammo and a safe place to shoot from.
  
  
  
  
• Approach groups of enemies unseen by "rolling" a crate in front of you (***)
  Crouch and push a crate in front of you to approach the foes safely and unseen. No one will bat an eyelash when they see a box rolling towards them. You can even do it with heavy crates once you get the strength aug. BUT if you turn on the invisibility cloak enemies will spot you ("Holy s**t, look at that!") when you as much as nudge a physic object and you will forfeit your Ghost bonus.
  
  
  
  
• Buffer zone take-down (***)
  
  Sometimes there is an odd number of enemies in a room. You knock every pair out, but have one leftover -- no problem, you think, there is a lone guard patrolling nearby. You try to trick him into DTD, but no matter what you do (jump, shoot, let him see you), this stupid punk just won't go out of his favorite room or corridor as if blocked by an invisible wall -- it means that he came to the border of his assigned "zone" and there is simply no possibility of making him leave it.
  
  Still, there is a way to perform a DTD in this situation -- it's nothing new, really -- just a combination of Noise Luring and Crate Blocking methods. All you have to do is bring two enemies to a "buffer zone" (the border between zones they are assigned to) and stop them from moving away.
  
  
  
  
• Combine different methods to resolve complex situations
  As an example, here is a TYM Penthouse level, the most difficult challenge I've faced on this play-thorough. It was cleared of all 10 Belltower guards using only double take-downs, with Ghost intact. Methods used: stealth augs, path blocking, peeking from cover, jump luring.
  
  
  
  
  If you think that's too slow — here is the same scenario resolved in less than a minute:
  
  
  
  
  And last addition, Omega Ranch level (Singapore) cleared in DTD+Ghost/speedrun fashion, i.e. with all enemies knocked out as fast as possible but with total disregard for energy resources.
  
  

EDIT1: Added 'Luring with shots' method.
EDIT2: Added 'Provoke by trespassing' method.
EDIT3: Added 'Human Shield' trick, 'Buffer Zone take-down' method, link to Experience by area.
EDIT4: Added Omega Ranch video, link to this guide on wiki: Takedown.

[drunkrussian9]

Lol last vid at 3:23 bwahahahahahaha

Sounds challenging.

[JCpie]

I've tried a bit of this here and there, pretty challenging and gives you a good amount of XP. Nice guide!!!

[Spinaltap]

In the "rolling" crate vid; how did you get 2 praxis points so you could do the double takedown so early in the game?

[Jibbajabba]

Last one is impressive. Would love to see your Picus approach

[itsonyourhead]

Nah. That's not challenging. Just long. You just have to be patient/exploit the AI.

You want a real challenge? Stealth speed runs.

Rule 1: Only aug you can use is silent feet.
Rule 2: Run as fast as you can through the level without being seen.

[jeyeichkey]

@gyron

How entertaining! Can you do that throughout the whole game or do you have to have some kind of weapons?
I might just save this link for pleasure value. Those clips were fun to watch.

@itsonyourhead

But it's sure fun to watch those guards go down. Never makes me tired of it anyway ;^)

[ECM_specialist]

One method not mentioned: lure them with hits from silenced weapons . If you fire with a silenced weapon, they go investigate the place where you hit. If you hit another one nearby, they'll go investigating that too. In my first walktrough, I actually fired my weapon with purpose of luring guards more, than to kill . Its very funny -- I control enemy soldiers with my weapon like with remote . Once you master your art of controlling enemy mind and movements, Double Takedown Ghost is easy .

[jeyeichkey]

To be able to get the Ghost, you may not make the enemies hostile, correct?
And alarmed is still unnoticed when wanting the sneaky part, right?

[Kiyanavasala]

Originally Posted by Spinaltap

In the "rolling" crate vid; how did you get 2 praxis points so you could do the double takedown so early in the game?

Presumably by acquiring the full 180 XP from the prologue section by scoring fatal headshots on every enemy, maximum XP without metagaming in Sarif HQ (To save all the hacking XP for later) and taking a ZTG approach to the Factory mission--with the possible exception of taking the Frag Grenade from one of the storage rooms for use on the level's solitary active turret--and then moving back and forth through the level as appropriate once the second Praxis Point is acquired.

It's doable--managed to squeeze eight DTs out of the Factory mission myself--and I didn't use half the tricks listed here. In fact, the only reason I ended up running out of possible DTs was because I ran out of Conc Nades to keep pairs of enemies still for long enough to deal with.

There'd be more possible DTs available if the AI was capable of moving beyond its specified setpiece rooms, but sadly they just end up gathering at whatever doorway you lure them to.

Gratz, Gyron! The community continues to amaze.

[Spinaltap]

Originally Posted by Kiyanavasala

Presumably by acquiring the full 180 XP from the prologue section by scoring fatal headshots on every enemy, maximum XP without metagaming in Sarif HQ (To save all the hacking XP for later) and taking a ZTG approach to the Factory mission--with the possible exception of taking the Frag Grenade from one of the storage rooms for use on the level's solitary active turret--and then moving back and forth through the level as appropriate once the second Praxis Point is acquired.

It's doable--managed to squeeze eight DTs out of the Factory mission myself--and I didn't use half the tricks listed here. In fact, the only reason I ended up running out of possible DTs was because I ran out of Conc Nades to keep pairs of enemies still for long enough to deal with.

There'd be more possible DTs available if the AI was capable of moving beyond its specified setpiece rooms, but sadly they just end up gathering at whatever doorway you lure them to.

Gratz, Gyron! The community continues to amaze.

is there a video of this? I don't understand what half this stuff means. "fatal headshots in prologe, metagaming in Sarif HQ, ZTG"

[GreasedScotsman]

@gyron: Awesome post. I really enjoyed the videos and agree this sort of playthrough would require an immense amount of timing and patience. Definitely intrigued.

@Spinaltap: ZTG = Zero Takedown Ghost, a reference to my playthrough cited in the first post (thanks gyron). Fatal headshots = ensuring you're getting the maximum XP from the XP bonus provided when you headshot someone... which is one of the few ways to earn XP at the start of the game since you can't knock anyone out with your fists yet.

Not quite sure what they mean by metagaming... though presumably they mean since you are focused on getting double-takedown as soon as possible, you must forgo increasing your security hack skills, which lets you earn a ton of XP through hacking the Sarif offices.

[Locutus of BORG]

Nice.

Honestly, since you've completed the All-Aug's Challenge on this board as well, you really should've put that in your thread title as well. 3 challenges in 1 PT, good job!

[Spinaltap]

Originally Posted by GreasedScotsman

@gyron: Awesome post. I really enjoyed the videos and agree this sort of playthrough would require an immense amount of timing and patience. Definitely intrigued.

@Spinaltap: ZTG = Zero Takedown Ghost, a reference to my playthrough cited in the first post (thanks gyron). Fatal headshots = ensuring you're getting the maximum XP from the XP bonus provided when you headshot someone... which is one of the few ways to earn XP at the start of the game since you can't knock anyone out with your fists yet.

Not quite sure what they mean by metagaming... though presumably they mean since you are focused on getting double-takedown as soon as possible, you must forgo increasing your security hack skills, which lets you earn a ton of XP through hacking the Sarif offices.

Ah. I completed the factory part but once I let zeke sanders go I have enough for the reflex booster aug. Yet when I backtrack so I can then use it on all the mobs I sneaked by they're all gone and replaced by police. I don't understand how it was possible in that one video with the crate unless there is a patch that adds more xp at the start or something.

[Kiyanavasala]

Originally Posted by Spinaltap

is there a video of this? I don't understand what half this stuff means. "fatal headshots in prologe, metagaming in Sarif HQ, ZTG"

Ah, sorry.

During the pre-augmentation tutorial, even though you don't have a UI to tell you when you gain experience, the enemies you kill still grant you experience. Though you can't get Ghost or Smooth Operator during that section, you can still get the basic 10 XP for a kill and the bonus 10 XP for a headshot.

By "metagaming in Sarif HQ", I was referring to using codes you won't get until you return from the Factory mission in order to acquire additional XP from exploration and the like before the mission.

And ZTG stands for Zero Takedown Ghost--effectively the Thief approach of not being seen or detected in any way, and leaving as little evidence of your presence on the environment as possible. By using a ZTG approach in the Factory, a player can acquire XP from Ghost and Getting Things Done as well as exploration to minimise the number of enemies they need to deal with in order to acquire the second Praxis Point required to get the Double Takedown augmentation.

And sadly, no, I don't have a video.

[gyron]

Originally Posted by itsonyourhead

Nah. That's not challenging. Just long. You just have to be patient/exploit the AI.

You want a real challenge? Stealth speed runs.

Well, patience and understanding AI are what 'stealth skill' is all about. If you think that's not challenging, try ghosting Penthouse or Picus in one go with at least single take-downs.

As for stealth speed run (+no-items +no-augs run), I've done it already:
http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=121029

Originally Posted by jeyeichkey

Can you do that throughout the whole game or do you have to have some kind of weapons?

It's possible to get throughout the whole game knocking out everybody with non-lethal melee take-downs only. On All-augs run I did just that, with 95% of them being double take-downs. I've had weapons too, but never needed them, they were there just for venting my frustration after 20th reload

Originally Posted by ECM_specialist

One method not mentioned: lure them with hits from silenced weapons . If you fire with a silenced weapon, they go investigate the place where you hit. If you hit another one nearby, they'll go investigating that too. In my first walktrough, I actually fired my weapon with purpose of luring guards more, than to kill . Its very funny -- I control enemy soldiers with my weapon like with remote . Once you master your art of controlling enemy mind and movements, Double Takedown Ghost is easy .

Oh, I've made the video for this method, but forgot to add it. Fixed.

Originally Posted by jeyeichkey

To be able to get the Ghost, you may not make the enemies hostile, correct?
And alarmed is still unnoticed when wanting the sneaky part, right?

Correct when we are talking about them seeing Jensen. IF enemies spot their knocked-out friend or see a bot explode they will still show 'ALERTED' on the radar -- but the 'Ghost' will be ruined.

Originally Posted by Spinaltap

Ah. I completed the factory part but once I let zeke sanders go I have enough for the reflex booster aug. Yet when I backtrack so I can then use it on all the mobs I sneaked by they're all gone and replaced by police. I don't understand how it was possible in that one video with the crate unless there is a patch that adds more xp at the start or something.

Check this post by Nakorson, he pointed out all possible XP rewards in Sarif's plant. You can get 2nd Praxis with only 6 enemies took down.

[gyron]

Here is the Picus mission (from the beginning of the ambush to using the funicular) finished 'ultimate'-style. I didn't pick up any items, explore or hack anything beside security, unlike I did on the 'maximalist' run, since I've wanted these videos to be focused on Ghost/DT tactics. When I've played normally upper Picus took me two hours to finish, though I was using quicksaves and played at a slower pace. Just to make these three 5-minutes-long videos without mistakes and needless waiting I had to spend 4 hours with 75 tries. Considering how long it takes to do this kind of run perfectly in one go, I probably won't be adding other, simpler levels -- this beast and the TYM Penthouse are enough. I'm sure you get the picture.

Picus, part 1:

Picus, part 2:

Picus, part 3:

[jeyeichkey]

This could be made into a geeky movie about stealth. Never get tired to watch it *big grin*

[IdiotInAJeep]

I might do a lethal takedown and crossbow stealth playthrough once they release the DLC. These distraction techniques would be pretty damn handy for lining up shots.

[Viacom]

Amazing guide, anyone who does this is sure to max out their XP/Augmentations.

[jeyeichkey]

@Viacom,

Nah, that's not important. What's important is that you max out in awesomeness. :^D

[Locutus of BORG]

The shenanigans, hijinx and hilarity are what makes this challenge (and those ppl who complete it) awesome

[jeyeichkey]

@gyron
One thing I was thinking about. How did you deal with the Malik-thing?

[gyron]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I'm glad you've enjoyed the videos

Originally Posted by jeyeichkey

Nah, that's not important. What's important is that you max out in awesomeness. :^D

+1, man I'm sure as hell wouldn't be bothering with all this stuff if it wasn't so fun to do.

I mean look at the numbers: there are 360 enemies in the game and 300 of them can be tricked into double take-downs. 300/2=150 DTs, 150x25XP=3750XP bonus TOTAL for going the extra mile with double instead of single take-downs. Meager 3750XP is a very little contribution (~1,5%) to the XP required to get all augs (235000XP). Nice looking aug screen alone can't justify all this trouble.

Originally Posted by jeyeichkey

@gyron
One thing I was thinking about. How did you deal with the Malik-thing?

Being the cold-hearted calculating bastard (on maximalist play-through at least), I've left her to die, run with the cloak on to the elevator, used it, got my Ghost, then immediately returned back to the yard and dispatched all 10 soldiers in peace: 8 in pairs with DTs, 2 with single take-downs. The best I could get (after numerous reloads) while saving Malik was 1 DT, 8 single TD and no Ghost.

Not saving Malik also has benefits later: she will not come to "help" you in the Singapore hangar, leaving 6 crazed spec ops for you to deal with (3x125XP=375XP). While if you save her all you get is 'Spy Boy'...

So she had to be sacrificed on the XP altar

[gyron]

Damn, forgot to add another simple trick. Pretty sure I've got all of the methods now.

Provoke a guard to move to your position by trespassing a secure zone (*).
Simple and safe method for setting up DTs, but useful only in a handful of places, where enemies are normally friendly, but issue a warning when you go inside a secure zone then turn hostile if you don't move away. Examples: DRB's territory entrance, MCB's apartment, Belltower blockades in Hensha.