Deus Ex (Late to the party)

[lord of the mark]

Okay, so i finally decided take a break from Age of Sail:Pirates Bounty, (itself a break from Crusader Kings) and didnt feel like getting further into Roller Coaster Tycoon3, now, and havent yet gotten around to buying Civ4. And I want to try new concepts for getting games, so I signed up for the Gametap free service, and have started playing Deus Ex. Looks good so far, though the only real comparison I have is Half Life (the original)

Ive only started the beginning part around the statue, and have died several times (as I tend to do in this sort of game, I guess) Trying to avoid spoilers, any hints for the best skills to start, and the best starting weapon?

[Apocalypse]

Sneak up behind people and whack them with a baton.

[snoopy369]

Deus Ex definitely has one of the harder early portions of a game as I've ever played, but that could be lack of familiarity with the FPS (which although technically an RPG, it shares many similarities to).

[CerberusIV]

Re: Deus Ex (Late to the party)

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Ive only started the beginning part around the statue, and have died several times (as I tend to do in this sort of game, I guess) Trying to avoid spoilers, any hints for the best skills to start, and the best starting weapon?

Skills - I take swimming, low tech weapons (helps with the baton/riot prod, computers (so you can start to hack ATM's).

You don't need lockpicking until you get inside UNATCO HQ and electronics until you go to see Smuggler.

Weapons - I take the crossbow from Paul. You don't have the skill to use the sniper rifle and the GEP gun takes up too much space in your inventory. You don't need one until much later in the game anyway - at this stage you are far better off going another route into the statue than through the front doors.

Tactics - look everywhere for supply crates. I have played through many times and still occasionally find something new. (hint for Liberty Island/Battery Park - go swimming where you can!). Search all bodies!

Talk to the friendly NPC's.

As advised move crouched and use cover. Tackle enemies from behind if possible. When you move off the dock it is possible to lure one of the NSF guys onto the dock where the bot will make short work of him. Go anti-clockwise around the island to the North Dock.

Use the riot prod sparingly and the baton where you can. You don't have to take out all the enemies and non-lethal methods work best at this stage. At one point you need to take out 2 NSF. What I do is move behind the large crate, pop up and shoot them both with tranquilizer darts and duck down. As soon as the darts take effect they run off and pass out - go and search the bodies.

Agent Hermann - not a spoiler but advice for when he asks for a pistol - if you have upgraded your own pistol drop it and get one from searching a body and give him that one - then go back and pick up your own upgraded weapon. Otherwise you will lose the upgrades you just installed.

Save frequently - especially just before tackling an enemy.

It's a great game - enjoy!

[DrSpike]

Above all, enjoy a classic.

[Solver]

Glad to hear you're finally playing it, LOTM. It presents me a rare opportunity to agree with Spikie - a great classic indeed.

Don't confuse this with Half-Life. HL is a pure FPS game after all, Deus Ex isn't always. That is to say, you don't have to shoot everyone on sight. Sneaking past or knocking them out is always an option. It's actually possible to finish the game with a very low amount of confrontation.

Myself, I prefer the Pistols skill as far as weapon skills go - I find pistols handy for quick and easy takedowns, and it also affects your crossbow use, which is my preferred weapon for the first half or so of the game. Hit them with a tranquilizer dart and hide or run around for the ~10 seconds that go by before the guy drops unconscious.

I also liked focusing on Lockpicking and Electronics skills. It can give you access to quite a few extra stashes of goods, and generally speaking, there's more than one way to complete an objective in Deus Ex. Or, rather, get to it. Look around, talk to friendlies. You may have discovered by now that the entrance to the Statue is quite fortified. While going in guns blazing is an option, you can discover a more quiet and peaceful way in.

[CerberusIV]

Just a few more thoughts.

Another useful initial skill is demolitions as there are occasions when you need to disarm a grenade stuck to a wall as a booby trap and I find taking this skill to the trained level makes it a bit easier.

Biomods - the first one gives you a choice between strength and melee combat. The combat one I find completely useless whilst strength allows you to lift the medium sized metal crates and push the big ones. That is useful at several points in the game.

When you get the one that gives aqualung or environmental resistance choose environmental resistance - it protects against greasel poison, tranquilliser darts and is better than an environmental suit on the one or possibly two occasions you need to pass through a radiation filled room. Best to upgrade this one to max with your early upgrade canisters. The aqualung looks cool but if you have swimming at the trained level it is unnecessary apart from once in Hong Kong and that can be done with rebreathers.

The other really useful biomod is regeneration as it allows you to not need medkits so freeing up an inventory slot. For the others just try them out as none are critical.

Finally a hint - I know you don't want spoilers but part of the fun of the first play through is working out what is going on and who the real bad guys are - it helps to read all the datapads and hack all the computers. When you go into Alex Jacobsens office in UNATCO for the first time his computer contains a list of the passwords for everyone else in UNATCO so hack it if you can and write the passwords down. In fact you will need to note quite a few passwords and codes, either on paper or in the notes section, as you go through.

[Solver]

Hey, Cerberus, part of the fun is discovering some of the stuff on your second time through

But basically, LOTM: the game is free-form enough. The hints we're all providing aren't that critical. You can play either way. Say, Cerberus suggests Env. Resistance over Aqualung. But you can also play the other way - take Aqualung and you would hardly worry about rebreathers. I suggest the Pistols skill but you can take low-tech and bludgeon everyone who stands in your way. Just play how you like it.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Solver
Hey, Cerberus, part of the fun is discovering some of the stuff on your second time through

But basically, LOTM: the game is free-form enough. The hints we're all providing aren't that critical. You can play either way. Say, Cerberus suggests Env. Resistance over Aqualung. But you can also play the other way - take Aqualung and you would hardly worry about rebreathers. I suggest the Pistols skill but you can take low-tech and bludgeon everyone who stands in your way. Just play how you like it.

its okay, Im doing this faster than I did HL. Probably cause I benefit from that experience. Ive already done the SOL, and am about to take the boat to Manhattan. I kinda got the hint I could have taken a much more interesting walk through UNATCO HQ. I was kinda weak on comp though, and I was poor in lock pick management (and would turning the security system back at the SOL off have impacted the sec cams at UNATCO?) I found Jacobsens office, but didnt do anything there. I did peak at a book on the chiefs desk about a rotary something. The hints that something is up are not subtle, but its still fun, and I might actually play through this section again after finishing just to see what more was available.

BTW, Im playing on easy. OTOH I probably should have played on medium cause Ive played HL before, and so not a newbie to the genre (which feels like an FPS, despite inventory, skills, and convo choices)

[Quillan]

Just FYI, there is no need to turn off the cams at UNATCO HQ. You aren't going to set any alarms off there; it's a friendly area. Feel free to explore fully.

Another FYI, most doors can be destroyed, so you might not have to use up lockpicks. Put a crate of TNT near it (crouch when you drop it), back well away, and shoot it. When you get real darts for the crossbow, shoot the door near the bottom. Darts are reusable if you recover them, and shooting low means once the door breaks it'll stick in the floor. High damage melee weapons like the sword (once you get it) can break open some doors and lockers.

Read every datapad you come across; many of the security codes can be found that way, saving you multitools.

[Solver]

And while you took a really long time with HL , Deus Ex actually warrants spending time more. There's a lot you can discover if you don't rush through it and take the time to explore. Feel free to explore around UNATCO, the security cameras will do you no harm. Talk to the people, eavesdrop on conversations, see what you can find.

[DaShi]

Write down all the codes so during the second run, you don't need to find them or use lockpicks or hacking.

It's possible to play the game with only killing one person (dang, mandatory storyline ). It's also fun to kill everyone in sight, friend or foe. Although, some peeps are immortal.

Explore everywhere.

[Solver]

It's possible to play the game with only killing one person (dang, mandatory storyline ). It's also fun to kill everyone in sight, friend or foe. Although, some peeps are immortal.

Technically, you can finish it non-lethally - there's a glitch that allows you to progress without killing that one person. Though yeah, by design you must kill the person.

[Skanky Burns]

The game is quite well designed, in that you can play it any number of different ways (non-leathal, kill everyone, thief-like, etc) and the game supports that style of play. The "kill 'em all!" player will go through quite a lot of ammo, for instance, but will then pick up more ammo from their victims. The sneak won't have many bodies to get loot from, but neither will they have a need for more ammo or weapons. That said, make decisions that support your style of play.

The only no-brainer is regeneration vs radiation protection. Regeneration is useful, radiation protection is not. Regeneration will keep you alive in radiated areas, as well as when enemies are shooting at you, when you get falling damage, when you forgot to bring air with you under water... radiation protection will let you last a little longer in radiated areas and that is it. You will still need to heal yourself in these areas as well. Useless.

[lord of the mark]

i am impressed with their portrayal of battery park - ive been there MANY times, and it rings pretty true to my memory (minus the sci fi stuff)


Yes, Im finding lots of different ways of doing things. Generally like the small things - the ATM that worked, the kid who wanted food, the email on dentons PC.