DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION
59 Achievements
1,250
29-35h
Pacifist
Complete Deus Ex: Human Revolution without anyone dying by your hand. (Boss fights don't count.)
100
How to unlock the Pacifist achievement in DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION - Definitive Guide
On my first play through I played on "give me deus ex" and tried to go for both pacifist and foxiest of the hounds. I killed nobody and to my surprise, pacifist didn't pop -- foxiest did though. Went through another play through being very careful of the glitched kills making sure I only saw z's after taking down an enemy. I also made sure after moving any enemies they were still alive. After completing the final boss, to my surprise, it didn't pop again. So on my 3rd play through I deciding to make it a complete speed run and play on the easiest setting. I finished it in 5 hours and 30 minutes.
Here's what I did:
To start off -- I deleted all my saves via the Xbox memory setting on the dashboard.
I took down only 1 person in the whole game and that was Zeke Sanders when trying to access Sandoval. I used the stun gun and made sure he was alive still and did not move him.
I did 0 side quests.
I did NOT save Malik.
I talked to both Sarif and Taggard before the final boss fight.
During the boss fight I didn't worry about the crazies, so they could've been electrocuted for all I know.
Finally it popped!!! On a side note, I loved the game and had a good time trying to see how fast I could finish it! Also, I know this sounds a bit paranoid but on my third time attempting it I wanted to take zero chances!
Edit: I just want to put it out there that this isn't necessarily a guide, just my experience and statagy on how I successfully unlocked the achievement.
Edit 2: It's brought to my attention that if the crazies die during the boss fight it does indeed count. Maybe I just got lucky and none died or maybe I did it fast enough they didn't have a chance? Not sure, but as others have said make sure they are not dead. You can try to reload if they do and hopefully it will pop for you. Thanks to the people or telling me to add this in.
This is what Callem x360a did if you want to give it a try -
"I tried the last battle again, this time making sure to takedown all 6 targets and EMP the 2 Bots and the achievement unlocked.
That leads me to believe that, unlike the rest of the game, if the turrets kill the crazies in the final battle, the game counts them as YOUR kills."
Thanks for the info Callum.
You can do all the side quests you want, as long as you don't kill anyone during them.
You CAN save Malik if you want, just be sure to neutralize all guards non-lethally. There's a video on YouTube showing it. Even still, if she dies it doesn't count because YOU don't kill her. Remember the achievement specifically states "die by your hand". If they don't die at your hand, it doesn't affect it.
Stick primarily with non-lethal takedowns. Ammo in the game is limited and if you rely too much on the Tranq Rifle, Stun Gun, and PEPS (only non-lethal guns in the game) you're going to run out of ammo.
If you can avoid a guard(s), do so. If not, use the non-lethal takedown. Failing that, use the Stun Gun/Tranq. PEPS isn't recommended in most cases because it draws attention. It's useful for doing side quests without killing anyone.
Your first augmention should be cloaking. Max it out. Reflex Booster is a great idea to. Mostly everything else outside of Chemical Rebreather and the Leg Augments have a use. Get the Typhoon if you want to in order to make boss fights easier.
Oh and Gas Grenades are the most helpful. Especially in Tai Young Medical after you get locked out of Zhao's room. Just toss one gas grenade at the group of guards and most if not all of them will go down easily.
Shame the no alarm achievement didn't :-s
Time for another play through then - not really that much of a problem with a game this good though :-)
First, always just lightly press the b button. You will know if it was a stealthy takedown if it says merciful soul.
Second, pour your upgrades into stealth early on. Upgrades relating to cones, rAnge, and seeing through walls does help a lot.
Third, if going for pacifist, saving malik from the heli is a really headache. Make sure you check the bodies here when you're done and make sure there are no skulls. Try to save blowing up the robot for last or else a soldier will be caught in the explosion. I got extremely lucky, though, when I did it, because I blew up the robot somewhat early with an emp mine and still nobody died.
Lastly, when you're done with the knockout achievements, stick with only using a tranquilizer gun or stun gun to eliminate the risk of a lethal takedown. Stock up on ammo.
That is all! Good luck!
When I completed the last boss I had killed the women in the pods and a couple of the guards. The achievement did NOT pop.
I went back and just replayed the last boss again but this time leaving the women in the pods and guards alone and only going after Zhao.
The achievement popped straight away. I know it says bosses don't count but I think the guards and/or the women in the pods DO. As this is the only boss fight with 'others' I think the Pacifist achievement strictly interprets this.
As the only thing I did differently was not kill these on my second play through then I think I can be quite certain of this.
I was so sad thinking I would have to replay the whole game again to unlock this achievement. Replayed this boss battle and the achievement unlocked.
Basically, whenever you take someone down (via takedown or weapon) make certain you see the "Merciful Soul" bonus appear. As long as that happens, you are in the clear.
I say keep your eye on that bonus because, if you are using the tranq rifle you may see the game glitch a few times and, even though you may have obtained the bonus required for this trophy, upon looting your victim you may find that the skull (signifying a dead enemy) is on him as opposed to the "Z's" (signifying an unconscious enemy).
PLEASE NOTE: This glitch does not negate the Pacifist trophy. As long as you obtain the "Merciful Soul" bonus, you will obtain the trophy at the end of the game. I only mention the glitch so people do not freak out when they come across a dead body they were 110% certain they tranqed.
Also, please note that this trophy is negated by enemies that die "by your hand". I will offer an example of a scenario where, although I did obtain the "Merciful Soul" bonus, I would not have received Pacifist at the end of the game.
On your 2nd trip to Hengsha, when Malik crashes down and you can either save her OR let the soldiers blow her up, there is a mech that falls from the sky. I was doing everything I could to save Malik via taking everyone on Bruce Lee style . I got Merciful Soul on every one, and I took out the mech with an EMP grenade. An EMP does not hurt the soldiers, especially when they are down, but it does disable the mech, and in turn initiates a self-destruct command. Enemy soldiers that were unconscious near the blast ended up dead.
Was this done by "my hand"? You could make that claim easily, since I did destroy the mech. So be careful where bodies are in proximity to other enemies.
Another example, that I feel is completely unfair , is below:
During the same sequence (2nd or 3rd attempt of mine to save Malik AND simply knock everyone out) I had everyone knocked out far enough away from the mech, however if you look around you can see a lot of red barrels - usually a red barrel in a game means something can, and will, go boom - and the soldiers are not the brightest in the head. As I was taking out a sniper in one area, people started firing on me and blew up an explosive barrel killing a soldier I had knocked unconscious.
Was this "by my hand"? Hell no! That soldier was willing to sacrifice someone else to take me down! But, at post-game I would have not received Pacifist.
If you have any questions or suggestions please leave them in the comments field below. As always, if you vote negatively, please explain why in the comments as well.
This isn't as hard as it sounds but there are a few things you must keep in mind when going through the game! There's only a few things you need to remember to do when taking someone out, so always keep them in mine and make them a force of habit!
Remember to always take someone out by just tapping . If at any point you kill someone with your Augmentations by holding down as a takedown, reload a last save. When someone has been knocked out, hover over their body and you'll notice the Z's in a little box. This means they're simply knocked out and not dead.
The second part to this is to NEVER use a gun unless it's the Tranquillizer or Stun guns. These, just like a passive takedown, will knock the enemy out and not kill them. If you use anything that involves bullets, then the target will die and void this achievement.
If by chance you do a passive takedown and and instead of the Z's symbol you get a skull and crossbones do not worry about this. It's a minor glitch within the game. If you know you pulled of a passive takedown, all will be ok.
Highly Missable! You must complete the game using 100% Non-Lethal methods. That means using Takedowns, Gas Grenades, and the Stun Gun. If an enemy is taken out by a Non-Lethal approach, a "Zzz" icon will show when their body is highlighted. The Tranquilizer Rifle is reported to be occasionally glitched and sometimes deals lethal shots (especially headshots) so avoid using it if possible.
Lethal methods are only permitted during Boss Fights. An enemy who is killed/dead will show a "Skull" icon when highlighted.
- Destroying robots and turrets
- An exploded robot that killed nearby enemies with this explosion (not a 100% guarantee, it’s better to avoid this in the moment with a helicopter crash. It’s quite easy even on hard)
- Killing Bosses
- Entering a lethal dose of morphine in the side quest "Old Acquaintances"
- Killing enemies in Prologue (attack on Sharif Industries)
- Lethal neutralization (hold )
- Murder with any firearm
- Murder due to the explosion of barrels, fire extinguishers, etc.
- Stunned enemies who fall from heights or into electrocuted water
- Tranquilizer rifle/stun gun glitch. Sometimes after a shot the icon on the enemy is a skull, not "Zzz". No one knows 100% whether this has an effect, but it’s better to replay the moment if this happens
- The robots and turrets you hacked killed the enemies. Try to turn them off or ignore them altogether.
- Killing Daimon Chan (dropped from the roof) in the side quest "Rotten Case". Plant drugs on him.
- Rescue Malik. Everyone can be knocked out without any problems using a stun gun, a stun and an EMP grenade or mine on the robot
- Killing madmen on Panchaea, including in the battle with Zhao