Stealth Moose
Umbrella Elite
Originally posted by Lucius
How the fvck did you do that?The stealth mechanics in the game are utter garbage. Like I wasted time getting stealth augs only to realize that one way or another the game was going to degenerate into a massacre at every turn.
I tried to stealth, but after reloading my games a combined total of 73 times before some BS detection I said fvck it, dumped the stupid tranq weapons and picked up some actual guns.
Well, where to start?
First, if you're playing it on Xbox instead of a PC, that may be contributing to the issue, I'm not sure. I have the PC version, and WASD/mouse controls are super intuitive.
Second, I've played MGS games since their inception, Splinter Cell, the other two Deus Ex games, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2, so the stealth/cover system was VERY easy to pick up. My first play through was on the hardest difficulty and I died more from falls than from enemies excepting Barret. The only reason I didn't get the achievements that run was because I found out the mooks I slaughtered in the intro count against the pacifist, so I said **** it and typhooned everything.
Maybe this can help:
If you are a newbie to the games I mentioned above (specifically Deus Ex IW and Splinter Cell, which have the most bearing), then you will need to learn to abuse cover whenever you can. Much like good ol' MGS, the guards, bots, and cameras have cones of vision. There's an aug you can get to show you these, as well as your last known location according to the guards, and the alarmed-to-normal cooldown should you trigger suspicion. But the reality is that sinking Praxis points into these should only be if you're completely green (which it sounds like you are).
It truly helps to simply get in the habit of always walking crouched and taking your time. Don't do the acrobatic roll-to-cover, as it can trigger suspicion.
When using the tranq rifle, don't shoot at one guard when another is present. They "hear" the shot if in close proximity, or they see the other guard fall. Nine times out of ten, you can simply navigate around them, by sticking to the shadows and crouching, moving around tables/etc, or by moving boxes in the corner and viola! - finding vents and holes in the gates to get around seemingly impossible guards.
In latter levels, it actually pays to out-right buff up Cloak and Punch Thru Walls. The former can bypass lasers and bots which have a notorious visual range in short bursts. With the right Energy Recharge augs, you can flit from cover to cover, pausing only momentarily to have your cloak charge, without spending any items in your inventory. The Punch Thru Walls helps find otherwise impossible to reach locations that are almost always shortcuts which net you XP.
Takedowns are always preferable. Getting the aug which allows you to take down two guards at once is a huge energy saver, and almost necessary in later levels. Takedowns yield max XP per foe downed, they are silent (But not in close proximity of other guards) and they allow you to pillage guards for pocket secretaries and ammo which makes the rest of the game easier.
The tranq rifle has drop over distance. There's a mod piece to allow you to toggle an aim aid, and I highly recommend it. Usually, a mid ranged headshot is perfect, but avoid headshotting the thugs in Detroit whenever possible. A glitch causes some to die (specifically, the one in Baller territory who stands near the burned out car) and some of the sentries who have dialogue in these same areas cannot be tranqed/stunned until they have finished their conversation. Weird bug, but since it can cost you the achievement, I felt the need to point it out.
The stun gun is good at point blank range, but chances are this will cause a momentary hostile condition and ruin your Ghost XP bonus for the mission. Also, it has a tendency to miss, making you have to reload again. It's generally a good idea to stick to the priority of takedown > tranq rifle > stun gun at point blank range form behind > gas grenades. The latter should only be used if you do not care about a Ghost bonus and there's no alarms to trigger in the area. They work wonders in the final level if you are using a non-lethal run, so hoard them if you can.
Lastly, the PEP gun is a non-lethal concussion shotgun of sorts. Very effective if used up close, and can take down a small group of foes, but it's not absolute. If it's off center, or there's more than two guys in the line of fire, someone may be only stunned, and it ruins Ghost and possibly Smooth Operator if they get up before you can prevent them from triggering an alarm. My recommendation? Save it for the last level. It makes the whole thing a cakewalk.
If you have trouble with specific quests or areas, let me know. I'm working on my third playthru, the one where I basically murder everything.