Deus Ex 2: Biomods
Light
This is the only biomod that comes standard in your character. It's nothing special. Allegedly, enemies will notice it when you flash it near them, but I've never noticed them do that. It does require bioenergy, but the drain is so miniscule that you could probably leave it on while you get a meal and you'll only be missing a square or two when you get back.
Eye Slot
Vision Enhancement
Description: Enhances your visual capacities. Level 1 is night-vision, Level 2 lets you sense organics through walls, and Level 3 highlights all interesting objects through walls. "Interesting Objects" includes, but is not limited to, organics, bots, and items.
Evaluation: Not bad at all, considering. Level 3 in particular is incredible for a more passive or less violent hardcore run. The more you know, the more pain you avoid. However, this is still the weakest of the three eye slot biomods. The only reason I could possibly see for installing this biomod is if you are totally avoiding harming enemies in any way, shape, or form.
Second Opinion: I wouldn't call it the weakest. Given one's playstyle, this is more valuable then Regeneration. At level 3, it lets you see everything of importance through walls, and combining this with the Mag Rail's alternate fire mode, makes certain segments of the game almost laughably easy. You can shoot through multiple walls to take out a bot, a camera, a turret or armored Templars. Very powerful mod if used properly.
Regeneration
Description: Trades bio-energy for health. More levels increases energy efficiency and healing speed.
Evaluation: An uncreative biomod, but incredibly effective. Particularly at level 3, you can regenerate health faster than some guns can inflict it. Further, the regeneration is so efficient that you can get two full health bars on a single energy cell. Highly recommended for very violent runs.
Second Opinion: Attractive at first glance, but suffers from a couple of serious drawbacks. For one, it needs to be manually activated. Especially on Realistic, where you take increased damage, you might be dead before you can even fumble over the F2 key to activate it in the heat of combat. I'd take Health Leech Drone over this, because it acts autonomously without user input. Worse, it actually heals slower, when both are at Level 3. For two, it competes with Spy Drone for a biomod slot, which is a really awesome thing to have. Plus - what's the point? You can press V and heal from inventory whenever you want, even in combat (time is paused in inventory). Medpacs and food is literally falling from the sky in this game, and can be stacked to ludicrous degree. Maintaining health is not an issue.
Spy Drone
Description: Black-market mod that launches a remote-controlled drone that can discharge an EMP strike when it explodes. Level 1 drones don't have any audio. Level 2 adds audio and bumps up the damage of the EMP blast, and the drone's range. Level 3 allows the EMP blast to stun organics in addition to another damage and range boost.
Evaluation: This is a delightful little biomod that works as a much better compliment to stealthy or avoidant characters than Enhanced Vision. Particularly at level 3, this little drone becomes a perfect blockade breaker no matter what's on the blockade. Recommended for gentler, more stealthy runs.
Second Opinion: Also, it's a wonderful EMP+non lethal guided missile. It takes out armored Templars in 2 blasts, and has a wide radius. Equally effective on machines and organics. An all around awesome recon/attack mod, and easily the best choice for this slot.
Head Slot
Cloak
Description: Makes it impossible for organics to detect you. Extra levels decrease energy drain.
Evaluation: Pretty much essential for passive runs. The vast majority of the enemies you run into in the game are organic. You can just waltz right on by them, no trouble at all. If you're going to go for this one, though, you GO. Don't rely on it--in fact, don't even USE it if you can possibly avoid it--until you've got it at level 3. There's just not enough biocells to satisfy a lower level Cloak's voracious appetite for long.
Second Opinion: Also pretty much essential for no-death runs, on Realistic, where you can die to a random thug blasting a Shotgun at you at close range. There are a few places in the game where you get surrounded at close range. Without this, you'll either have to be very quick on your feet to get out of the crossfire, or die instantly. With this, if you're fast enough on the F3 key, you can disappear before anyone gets off a shot at you. Cloak is useful for any build, not just stealth ones.
Hazard Drone
Description: Reduces damage from environmental hazards like radiation, biohazards, fire, and so forth. Level 3 actually restores some energy when you take environmental damage.
Evaluation: I really can't recommend this for any build, considering your alternatives. You can get some pretty cool synergies going with it, though. If you're big on the flamethrower, as excessive firing makes you take fire damage. Throwing on Hazard Drone plus Regeneration could make for some very interesting results. Again, though, considering your alternatives, you'd be a pretty major idiot to take this one.
Second opinion: The Hazard Drone is better than it lets on at first. In addition to protecting you from environmental hazards, it will also reduce the damage you take from flamethrowers, boltcasters, and magrails (in addition to greasel spit). Towards the end of the game, depending on your choices half of your enemies may be Illuminati Commados who wield magrails and explode into toxic clouds when they die. This mod is definitely worth a look, perhaps hotswitching into it from a different mod once you leave for Antarctica or return to Cairo.
Neural Interface
Description: Black Market Mod. Enables hacking of security computers and ATMs. Extra levels increase the speed of hacking, unlock more options with security computers, and get you more credits when hacking ATMs.
Evaluation: Drug of choice for over 90% of builds, and for good reason. ATM hacking ensures that you will never be short of credits for the biomod canisters, weapon mods, and other goodies from the Omar, and security computer hacking makes your life a million times easier by allowing you to turn off cameras, take over gun turrets, and turn off lasers. A no-brainer for most builds, this mod is probably the single strongest mod in the game.
Second Opinion: ATM hacking is largely just a bonus, since this game isn't shy on giving the player character more money through quest rewards and random credit chits lying around, then they know what to spend it on. Security computer hacking is a nice thing, but hardly essential, since Bot Domination can do more or less the same thing with turrets and bots (and do it at will, without needing a terminal). This is the ultimate quality-of-life mod, but since it competes with Cloak for a mod slot, it robs the player of a valuable combat tool. Pass on it unless you plan to not rely on Cloak at all. Or unless you like seeing big numbers next to the Credits stat in your inventory.
Skeleton Slot
Aggressive Defense Drone
Description: This blows up grenades and rockets before they can get to you. Each level blows them up further and further away from you. You must activate it for it to work, but it doesn't actually drain energy.
Evaluation: Very good at what it does, and it really takes the sting out of a lot of Templar Power Armor later on in the game because they use rocket launchers. Again, though, when compared to the other upgrades you can get, I don't really see why you'd choose this one.
Second Opinion: Absolutely essential for a combative playthrough. Lot of enemies love tossing concussion or EMP grenades at your feet, and it's the ultimate ammo saver when facing Rocket Launcher wielding Templars. Just let them destroy themselves with their own rockets, as each is detonated the moment it leaves the barrel, instead of wasting precious ammo on their Power Armor. Only flaw of it is, that it doesn't destroy thrown Spiderbombs.
Thermal Masking
Description: Identical to Cloak, only it works on machines instead of organics. Each level reduces energy drain.
Evaluation: A real dean of an upgrade if you don't routinely engage in melee. This works on cameras and turrets in addition to the standard harassments of hunter-seekers, military bots, and security models. Good stuff.
Second Opinion: Not nearly as useful as Cloak, for the simple reason that bots and cameras are much less common, and can generally be dealt with using other means (EMP grenades are literally all over the place, and EMP converter transforms any weapon into a security system disabling tool). All organic enemies (even Illuminati Commandos) cannot see through standard Cloak, making this largely redundant.
Electrostatic Discharge
Description: Black Market mod. Adds an EMP element to your melee attacks. Doesn't phase organics, but it ruins bots. Extra levels increases the EMP damage. Level 3 adds a scramble effect. Can also punch out lasers by attacking the emitter diamond. No energy drain.
Evaluation: Kingly for violent runthroughs. Any melee weapon suddenly becomes deadly to robots, and at level 3, you can even switch allegiences on your target. Nothing satisfies more than punching a Military Bot and watching it demolish all its former allies. It also lets you circumvent laser grids without the need for hacking. The only thing you need to watch out for is bots blowing up on you. This is a particular worry when using anything other than the Baton.
Second Opinion: Ehh. Decent mod, but it doesn't allow you to do anything that Bot Domination doesn't do better. As for laser grids, a Pistol with an EMP converter does the trick just as well. Plus, this mod competes with Aggressive Defense Drone for a mod slot. Not really worth it.
Arm Slot
Enhanced Strength
Description: Increases melee damage, throwing weight, throwing distance, and damage from thrown objects. Also increases inventory size by 1 item/level. Effect increases with levels. This is basically Microfibral Muscle married with Combat Strength from DX1, all requiring no energy to maintain.
Evaluation: Seriously kickass. For violent runs, this is your God. At level 3, you can kill or seriously maim many organics just by throwing a heavy object at them. Especially when you throw things like radioactive, gas, or explosive barrels.
Second Opinion: Great for fun-factor, and those 1-hit-kills with an Energy Blade or Dragon Tooth sword never get old. Objectively though, both other mods avaliable at this slot beat it in utility. Pick this if you want to have fun, but save this slot for either of the other two options, if you want serious utility. And for anyone thinking that this+Electrostatic Discharge makes you a melee Templar killer - think again. Their self-destruct WILL kill you if you try.
Biotox Attack Drone
Description: Produces a little floating drone that hovers around, and independently fires non-lethal biotox darts at enemies. Levels reduce energy usage.
Evaluation: There's really no reason why you should use this unless you're doing a non-lethal or avoidant run. It makes a great decoy to catch enemy attention while you run around the side. Beyond that, though...this is just a boltcaster that floats.
Second Opinion: This beats the Boltcaster in 2 ways. One - it doesn't use ammo, so it's not competing with other more valuable weapons to use ammo in, by mid-to-late game. On Hard or Realistic, you'll be REALLY strapped for ammo. And Energy Cells are all over the place. Two - it's the ultimate cheese, when used with Cloak active. Just walk into a room of organic enemies, sit back and watch this thing put them all to sleep, while they can't do anything to you (the cloak is not disrupted, since you're not actually firing anything yourself).
Bot Domination
Description: Allows you to take command of mechanicals in first person mode. Each level reduces energy usage, reduces the time before link is established, and increases the size of the bots you can dominate (you get cameras and turrets at level 1). After the uplink ends, the mechanical is disabled.
Evaluation: Fun, but not as useful as the botkilling alternative, Electrostatic. The main thing that it lets you do that Electrostatic doesn't is that you can dominate a camera and then end the link to disable it without setting off an alarm. Taking control of a military bot is a real hoot, but you really accomplish nothing that you couldn't accomplish with a level 3 Electrostatic punch or a Scrambler Grenade. Further, while you're in control of the bot, your real body is standing there, totally defenseless. If an enemy happens to trip across it, you will probably be dead.
Second Opinion: Have to disagree. This beats Electrostatic Discharge, because it lets you control the bot yourself. This makes it a lot more effective then just letting the (dumb) bot AI do it's thing. Map layout allowing, you have enough time to "drive" the bot anywhere you want, and kill everything you come across. Plus, you have a generous prep-time (the timer is displayed on screen), to find good cover and hunker down out of sight, before the Domination begins. Enemies won't find your body unless you literally don't even try to find cover in that time.
Foot Slot
Increased Speed
Description: The 'Superman Biomod', makes you faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap the tallest building. Levels increase the effect.
Evaluation: Nothing wrong with it; in fact, it remains almost unchanged from Deus Ex 1, when it was one of the best biomods in the game. The world's changed, however. There's not nearly as much open air in DX2 as there was in DX1. Couple that with the fact that its closest competitor, Move Silent, got a big buff, and you won't find too many reasons to take this.
Move Silent
Description: The 'Spiderman Biomod', this dampens the sound of your movements. Level 1 dampens it only while walking, and is thus pretty useless, but it gets exponentially better as you get more levels. By level 3, none of your movements make noise. Requires no energy.
Evaluation: This is what most people end up taking, even combat-heavy builds, just because it doesn't take energy. Being able to get the drop on the enemy is huge. It has obvious benefits for stealthy or avoidant types. Great stuff.
Health Leech Drone
Description: Spits out a drone that eats organic corpses and heals you with the consumed power. Extra levels increases the speed of the regeneration and lowers energy cost of launching the drone.
Evaluation: Rarely used. Most people who want an extra healing option just take Regeneration, particularly when it means sacrificing Move Silent.
Second Opinion: A very nice alternative to Regeneration, if you don't mind losing the ability to move silently. It acts on it's own, so you don't need to worry about activating it (aside from initial drone construction), and actually heals faster then Regeneration. Only drawback is that it needs corpses (or ambient living creatures) to work, but almost all areas in the game have some rats or cats around to drain from, and it's safe to say you'll make a corpse or two before you take serious damage, if you fire the first shot.. Note, it needs to be maxed out at Level 3, to be able to drain from ambient creatures, so I'd recommend maxing this out quickly, if you plan to use it. But ultimately, healing mods in this game are a waste of time, given how prevalent food and medpacs are, and the fact that you can heal from (paused) inventory whenever you want.
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