Deus Ex 2: Combat

General Combat Tips

HEAL. Don't hesitate. Don't try to squeak by with 75% health because there's a medbot in the room after the next combat zone. Playing on Realistic, your entire day can be ruined by one lucky shot from your enemy, especially if they have a shotgun. Don't tempt fate by trying to be fancy. Medkits and food are plentiful in the game, and there are multiple alternative ways to heal as well.
Become intimately familiar with your weapons. Be familiar with what ranges they kill at, and how fast. You should be able to judge how quickly an enemy will drop in a given situation within an error of a second or so. Much more than that, and they will get free potshots at you, which, as noted already, can really ruin your day.
BE VERY CAREFUL OF ENEMY SHOTGUNS. They can instantly kill you (or quite close to it) in melee range without any trouble at all, and even at medium range a few blasts while you're getting cover or trading blows can end up hurting a lot. If you have any doubt whatsoever about your ability to conclusively end a shotgun user before he gets a chance to fire, stun him with a smoke grenade, flashbang, or some other technique before moving in for the kill.
Enemies with grenades will show them on their belts. Make it a priority to kill those enemies first. Enemies tend to be a pretty bad throw with grenades, and will always announce their intentions well ahead of time by yelling something like "KABOOM", but grenades are yet another instant death possibility. Also, it'd be a lot better if you put it to use.
Enemies with Rocket Launchers are also priority kills. Preferably with your own rocket launcher so you can guide it to the victim without endangering yourself.
Hunter Seeker bots are also deadly. Their Mag Rail-esque attack is damaging, and you can survive only two hits from it. They are very accurate with it as well. Avoid taking these on head to head.
Remember that when someone is speaking to you via your InfoLink, you usually CANNOT call up your inventory at that point. This means that if the shit hits the fan during an InfoLink blast, you won't be able to summon your inventory to use medkits. With that in mind, it's often best to wait until everyone quits talking to you before heading into dangerous territory.

Long Range Combat

This is defined as any distance outside of the effective range of the SMG. The Pistol also gets a lot harder to aim here. The typical weapons for this range are the Sniper Rifle, Boltcaster, and Rocket Launcher.

Almost always, you'll have the drop on your enemies at this range. Even when they realize you are there, it's extremely rare for enemies to have the long range weapons to hit back. Sometimes, even when they DO have scoped weapons, they will still run around and try to close the distance with you. Boltcaster users are especially guilty of this.
Take your time. Like I mentioned, you will have the drop on your enemies 95% of the time in this situation. So take your time and aim. Imagine the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, with Quartermain looking over your shoulder. "You've got all the time in the world." Hang out, sip a soda, and wait for your target to be in an opportune place where his friends won't notice his passing, or, in the case of Boltcaster sniping, is stationary long enough for you to riddle him with 3 or 4 darts. This is the safest and least stressful form of combat in the game, so enjoy it!
Make sure you knock out your enemies the first time. You will not get a second shot, most likely. If you have a silenced sniper rifle and miss, you've got a bit more life in it. Enemies will fail to react at all to a clean miss. When you hit, though, it needs to be a hard tag and a guaranteed kill. If you fail, then you're about to lose the long range and your safety.
Most enemies are in groups - and once a comrade falls, they will come to investigate and be alert. If your shot wasn't silenced or you are in plain view, they will often spot you and attempt to close distance.

Mid Range Combat

This range is defined as the effective range of the SMG up to the point where you could engage someone in melee combat within roughly a second. Traditional weapons used in mid range combat are the pistol, SMG, and rocket launcher. The shotgun is sometimes used, too.

This is the most dangerous range. Most of your enemies are at their strongest in this range, as nobody uses melee weaponry in DX2 (except for you). Even many sniper rifle users will close to this range before firing on you. The exceptions to this are shotgun users and rocket launcher users (both of which stand a great chance of killing you instantly up close) and spider bots, which have to get pretty close before they can shock you.
Most quick and conclusive takedowns in DX2 are at either long range (with a rifle) or up close (with a melee weapon), so you may consider ducking away and forcing them to close to melee range, or running to get some distance to get some range. Traps are also good, particularly if your enemy has a very powerful melee presence (such as an armored Templar with a rocket launcher or anyone with a shotgun). Mines are an old favorite, but dropping a concussion grenade on the ground and then shooting it as your enemy heels around the corner and levels to aim is also great. You should do this whenever you're outnumbered at this range, or when armored Templars are among your enemies.
For fighting individual enemies or a pair of enemies at this range, typically you will use either the pistol or the SMG. With the pistol, just aim and fire at their head 5 times. They'll go down and you can move on. With the SMG, center your crosshair on their neck. The recoil will kick the gun up to your target's face and he'll go down easily.
For group fights or pairs you wish to end quickly and in safety, don't forget grenades and explosives. Medium range is the best range for these, and since the Concussion Grenade and the Flashbomb are very common, make use of them often as well. It doesn't take much practice to learn the speed and arc they travel at. A direct hit is a guaranteed kill on most NPCs, so try to aim for the torso or legs of an opponent.

Close Range Combat

This range is defined as the distance where you could be in melee range with someone within a second of running, without Speed Enhancement. Traditional weapons used in close range are any melee weapon, the shotgun, and the flamethrower. The SMG can also be used in close to some success.

Generally speaking, you have a huge advantage at this range. Enemies have an extremely hard time tracking you if you circle-strafe them, and melee weapons have a far higher damage output than most firearms. However, enemies with shotguns or rocket launchers can lay you flat in an instant, so special care has to be taken for them. People with rocket launchers are crazy mofos in this game. Do not assume they won't fire.
With the enemy so close, you can rip loose. Mash the fire button and don't let go until your enemy dies. Remember to aim for the head and don't worry about ammo consumption. If you take too long dancing in close, you'll take a lot more damage.
Pay very close attention to your health. You're almost guaranteed to get winged. You can pause the game by pulling up your inventory, so don't hesitate to pull it up and eat a stack of food or use a few medkits to keep you going.
NEVER engage a flamethrower user who is aware of your presence this close. The flames will blind you and prevent you from efficiently dispatching your foe. You will take extreme amounts of damage and you can easily die if you are even a hair too slow opening the inventory to heal. If you intend to knock out a flamethrower user who hasn't noticed you yet in melee range, you'd better be DAMN sure that you're going to knock them out in the first hit or two, lest they put you in a world of hurt.

Obstacles

Enemies in DX2 have a very hard time with obstacles, generally speaking. Their pathfinding rarely takes large objects into account, which can easily be played to your advantage. You can often trap an enemy in a narrow hallway with heavy objects like trashcans.
Be warned, however, that some enemies posess MechanoMan strength when trapped and can kick aside even the mightiest of obstacles. When this occurs, they'll send an object flying. If you are unlucky enough to be in its path you can get hurt. If you are going to rely on obstacles you've tossed down to block an enemy, don't stand directly in front of it.

Line of Sight and Hiding

Don't assume that just because an enemy can't directly see you that he won't fire upon you. Most will fire at you even if someone or something else is in the way, such as their own friends. Use this to your advantage, particularly with enemies wielding flamethrowers and rocket launchers. If you make good use of circle strafing or dodge behind obstacles well enough, it is common to see heavy weapons goons obliterating their own compatriots.
However, that said, if an enemy truly CANNOT see you, for all intents and purposes you are not there. No matter how many alarms have been triggered and no matter how much damage you've already done, if you are truly hidden, eventually all enemies in the area (excluding turrets) will forget about you. They will remain hostile (assuming you made them hostile), but will go back to their regular patrols after a minute or so. Even hiding in a dumpster is enough to escape Johnny Law.
When hiding, however, do not hide somewhere where other enemies could stumble upon you or where there is a direct path to you from the enemy you are hiding from. An example is in the Arcology. If you turn someone on one floor hostile then run up the stairs, there is a chance, albeit slim, that they will run around and come up behind you. Normally this is not a problem if you keep an eye on your back, but take note of it.
Do not hide in small, confined spaces when confronting rocket launcher wielding enemies. If they happen to spot you at all, they will lob a rocket towards you that will shortly end your killing spree. With rocket-toting baddies, the best method is to deal with them in brutal head-on long range combat in which you can easily avoid, or striking completely from the shadows without letting them notice you.

Environment

Do not forget the plethora of deadly goodies that show up from map to map. Explosive crates, tossable objects, gas cannisters, gas traps, et cetera, can all be easily used to dispatch an enemy.
Gas traps, for instance, will remain *permanently* in effect if you put an object in between the beam and the wall. Enemies are often oblivious to these gas fields being there and will walk right into them.
Gas traps also have a small delay in how long it takes them to grow. Use this to your advantage as well. If there are a few close enemies and a gas trap, you can often trigger the gas trap then quickly duck out of sight, letting them take the damage for you.
An EMP or security disabled robot of any kind will explode, violently, if struck with any weapon, even a pistol, no matter how much health it had before it was disabled. Be wary of this when standing near disabled bots and use it to your advantage when the enemy is. If there are a few enemies near a disabled bot, fire a single pistol shot at it and watch your foes go careening into the night.

Return to Deus Ex 2: Invisible War.