3 Essential Tips for Dishonored 2’s Non-Lethal Playthrough

Dishonored 2 successfully creates a “play-it-your-way” dynamic that lets you sneak or stab your way to victory. You can become a whirlwind of chaos and destruction or hide in the shadows, giving your enemies a fate worse than death. With a plethora of powers, both combat and stealth are engaging options.

But even with these powers, a non-lethal playthrough is still quite the undertaking. Enemies are careful and combat often leads to death. With the odds stacked against you, you’ll need to use all the tricks in the book. Luckily, these 3 tips will give you the skills needed to handle Dishonored 2’s low-chaos run.

Explore, Explore, Explore

The majority of Dishonored 2 levels take place in open environments full of mischief and items. With many vantage points and quiet corridors, finding alternative routes is essential when avoiding combat. Since many of the levels feature verticality, be prepared to run across rooftops and lampposts of each area. The wide environments will turn stealth into sometimes obtuse navigation puzzles.

Alternative routes aren’t the only thing exploration gives the non-lethal player. The majority of the non-lethal solutions for your assassination targets require you to fully explore and search the world for clues. Your main source for upgrades, Runes, is also scattered throughout the levels. While most are hidden in quiet areas, some require backtracking and further exploration to acquire.

To make the most out of your journey, use the Heart to find important items throughout each level. On your way to these locations, listen to side conversations and read scattered documents. While some may only flesh out the world, others provide much-needed clues for survival.

This exploration doesn’t just include the overall level: most rooms and streets have nice vantage points you can use to infiltrate your targets’ locations. May it be chandeliers or bookshelves, navigating room-to-room becomes not only possible, but satisfying. As long as you explore, you will be able to handle the challenges with a non-lethal playthrough.

Master Blink and Far Reach

To fully explore the world, you will need to master the movement abilities given to both Corvo and Emily. Easily the most used power in a non-lethal playthrough, Blink and Far Reach allow you to navigate around the clusters of enemies.

The importance of these abilities should make them a top priority for any Rune upgrades. Remember to focus on improving the range of these powers, as navigating across open environments becomes infinitely easier with the ability to teleport.

While Blink and Far Reach are your greatest tools for a non-lethal playthrough, they can also throw you into the nearest enemy crowd. So be careful when teleporting to far-away areas and be especially careful when navigating vertical shafts. Far Reach, in particular, can be a challenge with its added momentum — so pick your targets carefully.

In addition to momentum challenges, Far Reach also requires you to move out of site. It is not a teleport ability and enemies can see you as you fly through the air. Be aware of enemy locations and plan your movement accordingly.

Even with these challenges, your movement abilities will life savers as you explore each mission and neutralize your targets.

Clockwork Soldiers are Free Game

While you can’t kill anyone in your non-lethal run, you can destroy those pesky clockwork soldiers. To do this quietly, use stun mines and spring razors, to ambush patrolling clockwork soldiers. Remember that it takes two stun mines or spring razors to fully destroy one. Upgrading the number of charges on stun mines will help you save ammo as you take them on.

You can also rewire the soldiers and have them fight for you. This is exceptionally helpful in The Clockwork Mansion, but can work against you if they kill human guards.

For a slightly louder strategy, grenades are extremely useful in dismantling the enemy. Focus on destroying the head and back armor to make them vulnerable. Then either drop-assassinate them or shoot their whale oil canister. Speaking of whale oil, throwing whale oil tanks will obliterate a clockwork soldier as well.

Remember that they can see behind them as well as in front of them. Use verticality and cover while engaging these deadly foes. As long as your careful, you will get the job done eventually.

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Non-lethal playthroughs in Dishonored 2 are both challenging and rewarding. Manipulating guards into creating the perfect opportunity is both satisfying and exhilarating. Hopefully, Death of Outsider is this much fun with stealth. Being quiet never felt so exciting.

Be sure to check out GameSkinny’s other Dishonored 2 guides!