MoviePage

Finished my second playthrough, zero kills and zero detections. This took quite a bit of saving and reloading. But it was significantly faster the second go around. I'm glad that I did the more action-packed route the first time, as it allowed for more exploration and learning the levels. The best paths for stealth and no kills also lead to skipping some important story points. (Protip: don't even visit Granny Rags early in the game if you want to go this route.)

I went for the "no purchasing or upgrading any rune powers" achievement this time as well. So basically, the only tools at my disposal were choking, sleep darts, and level 1 blink. This actually made the game a bit boring, unfortunately, so I think it's an achievement that is detrimental to the overall experience. It was interesting to see the resulting story differences, though.

I'm hoping the game sold well enough to warrant a sequel. The world has a very rich and well-conceived fiction behind it, and there's plenty of room for more stories to be told.

wmansir

Funny, I'm doing the exact opposite. My first time through I played no kill and the only upgrade I got was Blink 2. The other non-lethal powers all seemed too much like cheating. Now I'm going through killing everyone and trying out all the powers, though I'm still playing in a "ghost" style instead of frontal assault.

I really enjoy the stealth play style, so I don't think it was too boring, though I did wish for some more subtle stealthy powers. I'm probably not going to go a third time, but if I were I might try a true ghost run with no detection and no knockouts. With timestop it's probably possible.

Rob V

I'll be firing this game up tonight. I won't have the patience for "no kills"... so I plan to kill away.

redcat

I'm really having trouble getting used to the rhythm of sword fighting/ blocking/ counterattacking in this game. The first person p.o.v. just isn't working for me.

MoviePage

The game isn't really designed for direct hand-to-hand combat, especially with more than one enemy at a time. Combat controls are more defensive than anything. Even on a "kill everything" playthrough, it helps to use a little stealth plus a lot of different tools and powers to eliminate everything. Don't neglect rewiring machines whenever possible.

redcat

I'm not too far in but I am starting to slowly figure that out. I think I was too deeply into the Borderlands 2 vibe after playing that for the last month. Last night I had a nice moment where I just waited for three guards to cross paths and then threw a grenade right behind them.

Kain Shin

Hi DVDTalk,

Dev here. Sorry it took so long for me to get back to this thread... I've been ummm.. distracted by Borderlands 2 and then X-Com.

Harvey Smith posted some tips for getting the most out of Dishonored on his website. I will repost them here (since I am not allowed to post URLs yet until I have at least 30 posts)
Yes. The PC version will dynamically detect if the last input came from your Xbox controller or keyboard/mouse and internally switch control schemes during runtime.

The PC version is the only version where framerate is unlocked so that you can actually get higher than 30fps. I imagine they will probably release a texture pack, too... but don't quote me on that.

Stealth can be challenging when you are first getting used to the rules... especially without Blink. The AI can hear you unless you walk crouched. Line of sight has more bearing on AI awareness than lighting, so don't get too comfy in dark places... they can still see you if they are close enough.

That death will not count against you. Guards and Thugs systemically kill each other on site beyond your control. Rats only count against you if they came from your magic.

Several members of the dev team were also having a problem with this, and so we made the parry/counterattack extremely permissive with bias towards early blocking rather than late blocking. I think you can start your block about 0.8 seconds before their sword makes contact. Also, if you block twice in a row, they will do attacks that cannot be blocked, like a kick. Be sure to mix it up.

Early in development, you were basically unstoppable with the sword as your swings were fast enough to create an impenetrable wall of death. Your attack would either interrupt their attack or cause swords to clash together and nullify their attack. We call this the "chopping wood" effect where you can basically go to any enemy and mash buttons until they die. We wanted to make sure that you were forced to use a variety of tools to accomplish your mission instead of just button-mashing everything with your sword. The mantra for the combat design of the game is that you can go toe to toe with one or two enemies but you need to realistically assess the situation when there are multiple enemies using varied attack patterns trying their best to flank you if you stop moving. Your awareness of surroundings is intentionally meant to be an important mechanic of the combat. Tougher enemies are designed to overwhelm with superior numbers unless you use your weapons, abilities, and stealth to tip the odds in your favor.

MoviePage

Thanks for your input. The game is fantastic and I've been recommending it whenever possible.

Kain Shin

Thank you, MoviePage!

d2cheer

Just started playing this. I like it even though I am not really sure what I am doing!!

I am at the first mission but should have hung around the tavern area a bit longer and collected everything there. After reading a bit on this I see I missed a lot of stuff. So far I have killed too many people to try the stealth version. Maybe on another playthrough. However I really never do that so...

deadlax

took me til about halfway through the game before i fully grasped how to play it the way I wanted to.

this game has to be near impossible to beat without killing anyone or upgrading any abilities. i am almost finished.

gryffinmaster

It's worth it. The strategies behind having a high kill count with assassinations and powers is vastly different than using similar tactics to sneak around and not kill or be killed, so it's practically like two different experiences. Plus, you learn things about the maps during the first run that'll come in handy with the second.

redbill

yah, I tried to remain stealthy for a while. But I dont have the skill/patience to keep stalking and hiding bodies. so i turned it into a kill-crazy-rampage by the 2nd mission.

d2cheer

Thanks for that info. I probably will try that.

starseed1981

Lol. Same thing here. I'm actually really surprised this one hasn't gotten more attention.

d2cheer

Finally finished this. I have no idea how anyone could go the low chaos/stealth route.

As someone mentioned I don't think I would have the patience for it.

Very fun game though and would purchase a follow-up should there be one.

DRG

It's funny because that's my natural play style so I did that my initial playthrough without even trying. Going for high chaos was much more difficult for me because I had to train myself NOT to be a ninja. But I love that the game made them such different experiences that neither approach felt 'lesser'.

OldBoy

how is this game as a pick up and play?

i think i want to start this and i am itching for 1st person, but wondering if it is hard or easy to just pick up, learn for a bit and play...

thanks for comments...

Raul3

It's not easy.

It's a great game, a great story, but it's not easy. It's not the hardest game this generation, or something like that. But it has a learning curve, and you have to pay attention, or you will die a lot.

dsa_shea

I bought this months ago and shelved it after an hour or so. I have a really bad habit of doing that. However, I decided to get it out a couple of days ago and start playing it again. I went for the hardest achievements on the first playthrough and knocked them out. All I have left now are two trophies and the plat is mine. They are two seemingly simple trophies but they are giving me a hard time for some reason.

They are:


The Plat is finished! I will likely start working on Hitman: Absolution next and see if I can finish it. I really wish I could get myself to wait on these titles until I am actually ready to play them instead of buying them when they are released and allowing them to marinate for many months while costing me 20-40 bucks more. I will say that Dishonored was one of best games for me to work on achieving the Platinum. Reminded me of a mix between Bioshock, Fallout 3, Assassin's Creed and a bit of The Saboteur thrown in. Great game!

Dan

Saw the GOTY edition for $40.
Worth it??

dsa_shea

Yes!

mattysemo247

Not for $40

dsa_shea

Pfft!

mattysemo247

Since the regular edition has been in the $15 - $20 range a couple times now, it's only a matter of time before the GOTY edition does as well. I don't know much about the DLC, but I could't imagine it would be worth paying that much extra for.