One thing Alpha Protocol can teach any game is there are no “win/lose” situations or “failed” attempts as far as dialogue goes. Pissing someone off carries its own reward. You get different bonuses for both negative and positive outcomes making both of them viable from a gameplay standpoint. No reloading required. Also no speech skill so this eliminates “no brainer” options.
AP also let you find intel on characters so you knew which approach to take. It didn’t always show up or make a lot of sense though. I think I remember you were supposed to read body language too, but it wasn’t nearly as explicit as DXHR, probably due to the engine.
I forgot to clarify earlier that I liked AP. DXHR’s approach is just fewer, more dramatic conversations.
So, is Smooth Talked the thing that means you aced the dialogue, or is there something better?
Sebmojo
2645
So… what can change the nature of a man?
Alright, I’m at a point I’m finding super-frustrating.
Spoilers for second trip to Hengsha
So the Vertibird is shot down and our favourite goons show up and start blasting it to hell. From the dialogue and the way the thing blew up on my first rescue attempt (I was fighting from cover, evidently too slowly) I gather that it’s a timed fight you can either run from or win. The thing is I’m really having trouble winning it. I have a reasonably modded combat rifle I’m using, and after a couple of tries I put some spare Praxis points into maxing out dermal armour, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. I also didn’t notice if there’s a timer or HP bar somewhere that indicates how long I have before the Vertibird blows. At any rate, constantly reloading and either dying or watching my pilot burn sort of loses it’s charm after the first half-dozen times. I soldiered through the boss fights but this is irritating.
I just did that one. I chose the option that seemed most in line with the psych description, and seemed the most reasonable of the 3… and it sent my performance into the red. However, I did manage to pull it out by just choosing the next-most-likely choice, and then repeating it.
I do think it’s easier than many of the others, because you can blow the first answer and still succeed.
Sebmojo
2648
Aha - just realised the reason there are so many empty pots of yellow paint around (seriously, they’re everywhere).
Sarkus
2649
I’m pretty sure I’m just about to the second boss fight and I have to admit I’m feeling a bit burned out.
Lh_owon
2650
Well, this is what I did:
Same as above
[spoiler]Immediately run to the right and down the steps, finding some cover close enough to hit all immediate targets. I was using a fairly well-upgraded pistol, and I find it kills one shot to the head on almost all enemies. It has the AP upgrade. Just pick your targets fast, aim at the head, fire once, repeat. The laser attachment is a big help for that. You should be able to take out the infantry pretty fast, or at least kill enough so that there are only a few left. As I recall there are some explosive barrels that can make this easier.
I don’t know what your loadout is like, but I had an EMP grenade, and immediately ran close enough to lob it at the robot when it comes. That kills it one hit. If you don’t have that I’m not sure, I’d probably try to distract its fire from the Vertibird and just hammer it, I think they’re fairly killable.
Good luck![/spoiler]
Blips
2651
what I did
[spoiler]Disclaimer: I had by this point nothing in armor, but had upgraded my running, jumping and fully upgraded my lungs / cloaking / strength / energy. This was on the hardest difficulty.
I used 1 EM grenade, 1 frag grenade and a heavily modified machine pistol.
What I did was immediately recharge my batteries and sprint / jump from the roof to the right while throwing my frag grenade and taking out one of the heavy enemies on the ground.
I cloaked to avoid detection, head shot the first ground level enemy on the right, and then shot both the elevated explosive barrels (one on the left, one near me just to my right and up) taking out two groups of enemies. I uncloaked, went further right and threw the nearby explosive barrel across the open field and shot the one that was already resting across the field taking out a few more enemies.
I re-cloaked, engaged the last heavy ground-level enemy. Robot is dropped and I threw my EM grenade directly below it taking it out immediately. I wander into the open field and take out the remaining elevated sniper.
[/spoiler]
Timex
2653
way to pretty easily win the helicopter fight
As soon as it starts, run down and to the right, into the bottom of the cinder block building. There’s a low wall there in front of you that you can use for cover, while having shots at every enemy who approaches.
I used the trusty 10mm with a laser sight and AP rounds (and silencer, although it doesn’t really matter) here.
From that position, pick off the snipers on the building just in front of you. Look up and to the right, and blow that barrel… it’ll kill the guys up there.
Pick off the guys out in the field, advancing on the chopper with headshots.
Look across the field, and shoot the other barrel, which kills the sniper up there.
A few more guys will approach in front of you on the right hand side, take them out.
Around this point, the mech shows up. Chuck an EMP grenade, which will nuke it in one shot.
There might be one or two more guys still alive. Pick them off.
The real key is that position. You get oversight on every attacker, and have cover from all of them. None of them can get shots on you when you’re not actually aiming. It’s all about the 10mm headshots.
Maybe this should be in the spoilers thread? Anyway, I just hit that, and I’m hating it as well.
Act 13
One thing that really pisses me off is that you can’t hide. I’ve been stealth / takedowns / hacking / pacifist, and these fuckers can see right through my cloak as if it weren’t there. I’m off to search the web for solutions, since this situation really sucks.
Oh, yeah, something I’ve been meaning to mention… I got the Silenced Sniper Rifle because I bought DXHR from Amazon, and they’re still including that even though it’s no longer a pre-order. Many people have asked whether that is the only way you can get it. It’s not, I’ve seen at least 2 lying around during the game. I haven’t seen any double-barreled shotguns, but I think the normal shotgun, suitably upgraded, is actually better.
The sniper rifle, by the way, is another reason I wish I’d gone for blood. I’ve been toting it around, thinking I should hang on to it since it’s “special,” and I’m in act 13 and have not fired it yet. So it’s just been eating valuable inventory space. I’ve been using the tranq rifle every place I would use a sniper rifle.
There’s one for sale at the Hung Hua Hotel in Lower Heng Sha, along with a normal sniper rifle and a crossbow.
I never played any of the previous games, shamelessly since i’m a big fan of cyberpunk fiction, but after hitting Heng Sha I’m loving the game, already dreading that it might be ending soon. Mass Effect 3 will need to be overwhelming to topple DXHR from my list, I’m loving the combat/cover/stealth system even if I hate being mid mission and find myself out of ammo (argh!).
Also, crossbow kills are brilliant, specially if you can shoot at an odd angle, they usually pin the enemy to the wall and they stay there, floating in the wind.
Non-spoiler general comment: Grenades are separate from your main gun. You have a single gun and a single grenade / mine type equipped. Hitting G throws your current grenade.
ragequit
I’m completely stealthy too so I’ve done no straight-up fighting since the prologue. This fight is making me not want to play anymore. I had some spare Praxis lying around, so I put 3 points into armor, but that doesn’t really help much - these guys can still kill you in a few seconds if you’re in the open. I’d probably be OK exchanging fire with them if it weren’t for them shooting at the Vertibird, putting a short time limit (she dies fast).
I never did find the arms dealer in China. I could have used one at one point, I was hurting for cash and could have sold some of the tons of loose weaponry lying around.
Grifman
2660
Uh, you got a similar notification in the original which you discovered a hidden area, so I guess it would fly :)
