Arkane's Dishonored

heavyfeul wrote:

The game does not have a steep learning curve, but I always feel like a video game newbie when I fire up a new title for the first time. I keep failing on my stealth/no-killing tries. The first person camera makes it difficult for me and I still do not know how to use the level geometry to my advantage. I try to go slow, use the Dark Vision, but I end up getting spotted and then having to just murder all the enemies that come after me. It is the first real mission, so hopefully this stuff will become easier as I progress. I really want to be a paladin, but I lack the skills to be that guy.

I also made the mistake of spending all my initial cash on equipment, instead of mixing in some upgrades.

I plan on going the Stealth route, even if I end up just killing everyone instead of knocking them out.

You can always run away if you're spotted. In particular, look up a lot to see if there's places you can blink up to as an escape route. Blink can also be useful for getting behind guards so you can choke them.

As others have mentioned, the guards don't look up much either, so its always a good idea to stay high if possible.

That's actually true in real life; people hardly ever look up. IIRC, Thief enemies tended to be too aware of things going on above them.

Faceless Clock wrote:

Personally I've just given up on any pretense of stealth and turned my game into a guard murdering simulator. And it's a ton of fun. The guards are challenging enough (on Hard) to be a problem if you meet more than a pair in open combat so you have to set traps, take them by surprise or force them into areas where your AOE abilities can overpower them.

I'm playing like this too. I try stealth but am too impatient. I do like stealthing around trying to get the best drop on the guards but once I figure out a murder plan it's on like Donkey Kong.

Spoiler:

Figuring out I could hot-wire a tower made me cackle with joy.

I've also found that stealth is a dead end for me. I wish it was a bit easier to be sneaky, but I find myself engaged in melee more often than not. I'm not looking forward to my bad ending.

Malor wrote:

That's actually true in real life; people hardly ever look up. IIRC, Thief enemies tended to be too aware of things going on above them.

so true... i feel sorry for the maitenance person who gets tasked to clean the air ducts. On some levels that's where all the bodies went.

I've noticed a couple of tics regarding some of the things I do while playing. Does anyone else pick up unconscious bodies and move them if they land at a really uncomfortable looking angle (head bent against a wall, limbs bent awkwardly, etc.)? I've also realized I've not picked up certain things (especially remedies) if they appear to be in the house of an especially destitute person. On the other hand, I do take great glee in throwing bottles at people and then hiding, which I suppose could be regarded as a bit unkind in some circles. It's also great fun to blink out over the water and fall into the brine, especially when one is being chased.

Yay safe code hidden in paintings! I love stuff like that. That reminds me of one of the puzzles in System Shock 2.

Oh! And have you accidentally kicked any one to death? When civilians are cowering, it seems far too easy to jostle them around, and something they can bite the big one from too much jostling. I accidentally sent two ladies of the evening to their final reward with my boots o' death while trying to squeeze past them to read a note on a table.

Puce Moose wrote:

I've noticed a couple of tics regarding some of the things I do while playing. Does anyone else pick up unconscious bodies and move them if they land at a really uncomfortable looking angle (head bent against a wall, limbs bent awkwardly, etc.)? I've also realized I've not picked up certain things (especially remedies) if they appear to be in the house of an especially destitute person. On the other hand, I do take great glee in throwing bottles at people and then hiding, which I suppose could be regarded as a bit unkind in some circles. It's also great fun to blink out over the water and fall into the brine, especially when one is being chased.

It depends. Typically, yes. However, if I choke out (or knife) a particularly troublesome guard (like those with the audacity to shoot at me) then I'll take some extra time to arrange his body in as awkward a manner as possible - like upside down in a chair, or in a rather "compromising" position with another guard.

The other big exception was with...

Spoiler:

High Overseer Campbell. I found him as a Weeper in the Flooded District, and after choking him out, I piled the bodies of a few dead/unconscious Weepers on top of him. It was weirdly satisfying.

I felt the guards were a bit visually challenged. Made it too easy to sneak up on them. Maybe because I played a lot of other more difficult stealth games this seemed way too easy (Garret laughs at your blink ability, you taffer). Still it felt really badass to be almost caught then pop up behind the guy and knock them out. Also felt the last mission was a bit dull, otherwise most the levels were really fun. This game definitely needs an expansion or hell a spinoff would probable work fine as well. The settings is way too deep to only use once.

Edit: oh and doing a pacifist run was hard, because I really wanted to kill quite a few of the in game characters. Literally thinking I'd do more good killing them then being nice.

I just ran into my first river k(c)rust! Hmm.. do these count as "hostile kills", or are you free to hack away at the naughty little crustaceans if you're trying to minimize body count?

Puce Moose wrote:

I just ran into my first river k(c)rust! Hmm.. do these count as "hostile kills", or are you free to hack away at the naughty little crustaceans if you're trying to minimize body count?

I don't know but I wish all my brussel sprouts carried cash.

Puce Moose wrote:

I just ran into my first river k(c)rust! Hmm.. do these count as "hostile kills", or are you free to hack away at the naughty little crustaceans if you're trying to minimize body count?

They don't count.

Montalban wrote:
Puce Moose wrote:

I just ran into my first river k(c)rust! Hmm.. do these count as "hostile kills", or are you free to hack away at the naughty little crustaceans if you're trying to minimize body count?

I don't know but I wish all my brussel sprouts carried cash.

I hate both of those things - brussel sprouts moreso, though, since I can at least blow up krusts with grenades.

Just finished the first mission. I've never played Thief nor Deus Ex because I'm a dirty dirty consoletard.

I'm getting a heavy Bioshock vibe thus far, but not like "if you like Bioshock then you'll like Dishonored" as there's a greater emphasis on stealth here. I'm liking it thus far.

16hrs to finish my first time through.

Absolute blast!

Faceless Clock wrote:

Personally I've just given up on any pretense of stealth and turned my game into a guard murdering simulator. And it's a ton of fun. The guards are challenging enough (on Hard) to be a problem if you meet more than a pair in open combat so you have to set traps, take them by surprise or force them into areas where your AOE abilities can overpower them.

Spoiler:

And that's to say nothing of the assassins and the annoying overseers with the anti-magic boxes.

Were all the extra rat swarms you're supposed to have to deal with on a "high chaos" run really that bad to deal with?

Draco wrote:

Were all the extra rat swarms you're supposed to have to deal with on a "high chaos" run really that bad to deal with?

Not really for me during my high-chaos run, but then I put points into the Whirlwind ability which let you just kill the rats in one shot.

Hyetal wrote:

Saw one of those combat videos on youtube, and I thought that might be good for a laugh, so here it is: http://youtu.be/7tvjQ0shMb8
(spoilerish for those that haven't finished 'The Flooded District'.)

Nothing special, but I think it does a decent job of showing off some relatively high speed combat, which, as Faceless Clock says, is amazingly fun. It makes me want a challenge mode, like Batman.

Holy crap, that was badass. I hadn't realised climbing was so free - there was a hell of a lot of leaping around rooftops there.

Payday can't come quick enough to get this puppy.

With double levels in both Blink and Athletics (I think it's called, the one that improves your jumping and climbing) you'll be amazed at how much of the map you can get to.

And I think mastering the blink-choke-blink move is critical to getting clean runs.

You can choke people out? How?

Maybe that's why I haven't been able to rock a non-lethal level yet!

TheHipGamer wrote:

You can choke people out? How?

Maybe that's why I haven't been able to rock a non-lethal level yet!

You need to read tutorials.

Block key (Ctrl by default). Get behind someone and hold it. Something helpful to know that I don't think is mentioned (maybe it is, and *I* don't read tutorials!), you can move backwards while you're choking someone.

Hyetal wrote:
TheHipGamer wrote:

You can choke people out? How?

Maybe that's why I haven't been able to rock a non-lethal level yet!

You need to read tutorials.

Block key (Ctrl by default). Get behind someone and hold it.

I have the tutorials disabled, intentionally. Playing on the 360, that's the left bumper.

That's fair, but you should probably give the controls screen a once-over, in that case.

Believe its the right bumper for 360 if I remember correctly. I was going high chaos, so didn't use it much...

Rainsmercy wrote:

Believe its the right bumper for 360 if I remember correctly. I was going high chaos, so didn't use it much...

Yes, correct. Left is the selection wheel.

I skimmed to avoid spoilers.
You guys must have discussed this already.
At apoint just after the first mission, start of the second.

Where's the hack that:

Spoiler:

Lets me put the damn beer glass under the taps. I mean, what a damn tease. The dude if waiving around this beautiful beer with light all shining through it, and there's a collision mesh under damn beer taps. Because the ESRB can't allow the depiction of the consumption of alcohol,

but stabbing someone through the throat and then carrying around their disembodied head is OK?

Most needed mod ever.

If you're going for a full stealth, hands-off approach, you *need* to play on Very Hard. The increased challenge isn't staggering, but guards are much more realistic.

tanstaafl wrote:

I'll just leave this here...

5 Awful Things You Learn About Yourself Playing 'Dishonored'

Oh, yes. Very much Number 5 for me. The interesting thing is that with Deus Ex, as each map went on the baddies got more and more despicable until I hit a turning point and no longer felt morally obligated to not cap ev'ry muthaf'r in the rooooom! With Dishonored, the longer I'm in a map, the more I come to empathise with the inhabitants as downtrodden working stiffs who have to be horrible to earn a living.

I was talking about it with my wife last night and she said it's awesome that a video game can make me feel that way. I certainly don't get that worked up about the thousands of people I've seen murdered in TV and movies in my life.

By the way, is there some sort of timing thing for blocking I'm missing? Like a hint as to "just the right time" that causes these guys to stumble back?

I haven't had any real confrontation since I walked out of my cell as I've been going stealthy, but that's partly because two guys f*cked me up pretty bad.

Blocking is simple enough, but parrying is a little trickier, you have to block right before their swing hits you, and then quickly attack. It's fairly lenient, and it shouldn't take you long to get the hang of. Just save and try it out on a few guys.