Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

It's essentially the same in this game, except they went back to it recharging basically only up to 1 takedown, instead of the Director's Cut's 2 takedowns before you're out. They've added a new line of augs that reduces the delay between depletion and charging, but that's about it. Oh, and the rebreather (which allows you to breathe safely in gas) and the electric-proof augs now slowly deplete your energy.

At least in this game you can stack Biocells (which replace energy bars) up to 25, and they fill up your energy bar to full (I think; I haven't gotten either of the upgrades).

edited 29th Aug '16 7:49:06 PM by ITNW1989

They don't fill your bar up to full, only to about half- provided you have the augs that extend your backup power.

For the longest time I couldn't figure out how power drain works in this game, but I'm on my New Game+ and I think it works something like this: Limited use of certain Augs drains your power, but it will fill back up to what it was if you wait a few seconds and let it recharge. There's a certain minimum you will always recharge to, but above that you need to fill up with biocells and ration your energy use so that you don't use one aug to soon after another and cancel out the recharge.

For instance, I can use Smart Vision for extended periods with a full energy bar, and all I need to do is turn it off and wait a few seconds before it goes back to full. But performing melee takedowns seems to burn the energy bar permanently, and I need a biocell.

edited 29th Aug '16 9:05:35 PM by Gault

The Jimquisition video on this game that basically rips Square Enix a deserved new asshole for what they've done to the game has just popped up and it's glorious.

He's got a point in one of his rants - gating off an in-game cash shop so reviewers can't tell anyone about it, and hence warn the kind of people who would walk away from the game for having one, is really fucking shitty.

edited 30th Aug '16 3:02:08 AM by TamH70

Yeah, I'm done with this franchise and Squeenx forever. I thought the "kickstart your pre-order" was a load of shit and I knew once they attempted that they wouldn't let it go.

The scheme was called, "Augment your pre-order" *shudder*

And yeah, seems they really couldn't let that go. Shame. I had thought that getting them to knock that shit off might have been a genuine win for consumers, but apparently they just decided to sneak it into the release instead. Sad.

The irony is that DLC and microtransactions exist today because people like Jim supported them, and shouted down and mocked the people who railed against the cashgrabs when they first started.

Plus, most reviewers and "game critics" shrugged and turned their backs on the modding communities that used to keep this kind of thing from being able to happen even as studios were shutting them down to avoid the competition; if a mod team working for free puts out double the number of maps, missions and new weapons (sometimes at superior quality and polish) than your DLC that you're asking $29 for, it makes you look bad. Full priced "1.5 sequels" like Mankind Divided and entire series like Assassin's Creed wouldn't exist without largely killing off the mod scene.

edited 30th Aug '16 7:09:56 AM by CitizenH

I'm one of those that remember Oblivion's Horse Armor bullshit, and hated the idea, so I'm probably one of those that Jim railed against at in the past. Slopey shoulders I have, so that has all slid off by now. He's seen the light now though. I'm not sure he's any good as a game critic as such, but he's hell on wheels at putting the anti-customer bullshit all too many companies are pulling against the buyers of their products under the microscope.

As for THIS game, I'm waiting til it goes on sale - which really annoys me. I HAD preordered it, only for that to go hilariously wrong at point of sale, so I bought it on Steam and got a refund two minutes into "playing" it because the damned thing wouldn't start. So hopefully by the time the Steam Proper Chrimbo (Christmas for those that don't follow Keith Griffith's comedy routines) sale arrives, it will have been properly patched and working. And cheaper. Let's not forget cheaper.

edited 30th Aug '16 8:57:31 AM by TamH70

I bought DX:MD sight unseen because Human Revolution was an excellent game.

When HR was announced, I was more than skeptical based on how mediocre Invisible War was and how far the shooter genre had/has fallen. It took a LONG time to warm up to especially given some dodgy first look articles I read on it. Then I got to see some unfiltered gameplay and it was about the best I could hope for from a modern Deus Ex game.

HR earned enough trust for me to buy MD without looking at any of the hype or press. I regret that more than buying No Man's Sky.

I personally feel prospects for the series are lower for me now than they were following Invisible War. While IW was a misstep, MD is a sellout and cash grab.

edited 30th Aug '16 9:29:22 AM by CitizenH

I'm satisfied with my pre-order purchase. Yeah the plot doesn't seem to actually go anywhere, the power system for the augs and melee mechanics is still as dumb as it was in DX:HR, but otherwise it's still a good game, and I'm enjoying it.

I'm a simple man. Thus I can find joy in many things.

Are there multiple paths I can take with the various augs thus supporting various playstyles?

At least more than one?

edited 30th Aug '16 6:58:55 PM by EchoingSilence

Multiple paths leading to one destination, sure. Heck, the new augs are so that you can actually do a non-stealthy non-lethal playthrough. The Tesla aug and the non-lethal version of the Typhoon are especially useful if you want to do a loud, yet non-lethal run.

I'm quite happy with the game. Mechanically it plays better than HR did. The story's fun and complex. I am quite enjoying myself.

That's all I need. I'll pick the game up eventually and play it.

My observation, most missions seems to support at least three of four paths, usually:

Shooting/brute force. Cloaking/using cover/knocking people out. Hacking Exploration, ie. vent crawling, breaking down walls, etc.

But you may not be able to use that one approach for the whole mission. Sometimes it's pared down to two to progress.

I find in practice, you're usually "forced" into investing heavily in hacking if you don't want to fight it out (either lethally/non-lethally/stealthy/directly).

An example: There's an early side mission where your options are ti hack a level 3 lock to get into an apartment, hack the apartment windows to open them, or do a jump into a vent that requires the leg augmentation to reach. I can't help feeling that if this was the original Deus Ex you'd be able to stack boxes to reach that vent, but anyways I bought the leg aug to progress.

But later in the mission your choice is to hack a computer in another part of the map and perform a command I had to read an online guide to know about, or hack a level 3 door lock, or have both the strength and electrical immunity augs.

It's stuff like that which makes me think "hacking" is almost always the CORRECT aug tree to invest in for most missions. Especially considering the massive amounts of XP you get from it. Human Revolution had a bit of the same problem, especially by the end of the game, but in Mankind Divided it seems worse.

Which one was that?

Or that one?

I actually disagree there

The addition of multitools (Or rather their return) means you can avoid hacking a lot more. You're not nearly as punished for skipping hacking. And you can make multitools yourself for relatively cheap.

Also hacking being WAY more difficult than it was, you get far less of the bonus XP / Cash you'd get in HR. High level hacks are both more resource intensive in terms of software and less rewarding. Hacking also is more demanding in terms of Praxis. You actually need to use fortify on all but the most easiest of hacks, while in HR you could do the entire game, never fail a hack OR miss a bonus, and never touch fortify. And hacking is far more strategic because of the increased difficulty. While you get extra rewards, the price of being "Good" at hacking is also higher.

My main issue mechanics wise is there's nothing to spend money on. I ended the game with just under 50K. With no Limb Clinic to buy Praxis kit (I know about the merchant with 2, but he's just one dude), it feels like money's basically pointless. You can find most guns. Ammo isn't rare. The cooler weapon mods are found, not sold either...

edited 30th Aug '16 9:15:36 PM by Ghilz

Thing is, the FIRST DX also wasn't "Limitless" in terms of possibility. Nostalgia goggles off, it was basically the same - hack the terminal, use an air vent or try to go through a front door.

One thing I am finidng interesting is one RPS reviewer wh osaid that this isn't an "Immersive Sim" it's an "immersive Stealth Sim", as if the "stealth" way is the only way to play - the first game it was one option and was mostly viable. But you weren't always rewarded for going non lethal - the MI Bs and Commando troops in particular - the former self destructed ANYWAY if knocked out and the commando troops took ages to drop from a crossbow dart.

But it seems to be a "thing" this generation that STEALTH is the way. So I'm glad MD has gone for a loud non-lethal as a viable option.

Looking forward to getting it going, as my run through HR (Actually trying the WHOLE non lethal route....) is fun.

It'd the Dishonoured paradox - giving you all those lovely toys then penalising you for actually using them.

But my main point - there were always only a few options going forwards in the Original. In Paris you could pick the locks of the apartments... or blow them apart with a rocket launcher. You could sneak through vents and disable cameras or gun your way through the MJ 12 bases. The only way out of the helipad in Hong Kong was to try to gun your way out or vent toxic gas into the MJ 12 barracks.

That said, Squenix's DLC on this IS despicable and really feels like it was a model designed for a different game. And does smack of a rush job to salvage the remains of their original DLC packages or shoe horn the initiative. I bet that their PR people and devs tried finding a community solution, but a Partner or Director in the firm, who doesn't actually understand public behaviours just put their foot down and said "No, we're doing this. Make it happen."

Sometimes boneheaded decisions happen, made by people who want to get their own way and genuinely don't understand the fuss or get angry that the buying public reacts.

x2

I disagree. While Multi-Tools are welcome, their crafting costs are insane for being single use items. If one were to depend on them, instead of investing in hacking, you'd run out of them before you know what terminals/locks are actually important to hack.

Several times I've infiltrated a "Security room" that have multiple computers AND security consoles in them. This is an issue with a limited limited number of multi-tools because the game is completely inconsistent with how computers work. Sometimes they just have a useless flavor email. Sometimes the same kind of computer (not even the green security terminals) will have the camera/turret/lasers options and the security terminal will only do something stupid like close the windows to the security room.

You could save scum, but if you're going to do that you may as well invest in hacking augs and hack everything with no limits or consequences for the extra resources.

Multi-tools were a step in the right direction, but are too rare to find and expensive to craft.

Microtransaction DLC stuff isn't really going to stop me from playing it. I picked up MGSV and loved playing it. So I think I will be fine.

As I said, I'm probably getting the game at some point. But I can understand completely those that think Squeenix are being more greedy than they frankly should be what with their multiple dipping into people's wallets - and that cash shops should not be a thing in a full-price retail game in the first place. Especially when the game is a single player RPG rather than a Mumorpeger.

That's my issue with it. It's a single player game. Buying top ups feels weird. Mobile like. Also having the DLC only valid over a single save was a bit iffy as well.

I bought it. Because I love Deus Ex. ALL OF IIIIIT.

Well, Breach, which is where the microtransactions are more noticeable and affect gameplay more, is indeed more akin to a MMO, albeit an asymmetric one.

I take nobody here has bothered trying out that mode? From what I've heard there are some final levels in there that require a lot of skill to complete without resorting to "cheats"^Explanation Ingame terminology, acquired from booster packs that, yes, can be bought with real life money.

Might as well put this here, since it's already on the game character sheet somehow. Obviously, spoilers.

MD Jensen being a clone: It seems feasible, but it doesn't make much sense if you factor in the events of Black Light in. Elizabeth DuClare literally wonders whether the Illuminati should have saved themselves a lot of trouble by leaving Jensen to die in the wreckage of Panchaea, and Mankind Divided's ending even has DeBeers get blamed for Jensen's interference. In fact, that would make sense - they could get rid of a pesky eyewitness to a lot of what they did in 2027 without having to tamper with his memories, and in any case they already had the data and genetic material they needed for nanotech thanks to White Helix Labs and Megan. His hands in Black Light are beaten up from the events of Human Revolution, apparently as they were before entering Panchaea.

One thing is for sure, though. Jensen being a body double is right out. Pritchard made sure of that.

The game doesn't seem to get enough credit for how much detail and creativity went into the art design of Prague and so many other little things. This link has a gallery of the more memorable sights. It's slightly spoilerish though, so try not to read the character dialog boxes if you haven't beaten the game yet.

edited 1st Sep '16 7:21:07 PM by SgtRicko

Just finishing another run through of HR before I jump into MD. Avoiding spoilers where I can. Found so many bits in HR I missed first time round! Rooms and code areas not unlocked.

trying a full pacifist run (Managed the intro without killing anyone) so fingers crossed! And I have SO MANY CREDITS!

Dreading the inevitable Malik save... how to do that non-lethally I'm not sure - watched a youtube vid but still... and I keep wondering if I should keep the PEPS gun just in case. It seems like it could be useful on the last level.

The key to saving Malik nonlethally is to take out the 2 Belltower heavies and the Boxguard first. Those 3 deal the highest DPS out of all the Belltower types there. Just cloak up and running across to them. I've managed to take the 2 out before the Boxguard hit the ground.