I'm part way through Deus Ex: HR and am generally enjoying it a lot -- the original remains one of my all time faves and this one is a pretty worthy successor (particularly the amusing DeusEx-isms like the unnaturally large number of cardboard boxes in the world and the abundance of carefully labelled washroom facilities). But there is one gripe that is really bugging me which is energy: I currently have three cells and it seems that I can charge all three with energy bars but only the first one will recharge naturally. Energy bars are also quite hard to come by (certainly way rarer than 10mm ammo for example) so it doesn't make sense to charge up the two spare cells unless I have a particular usage in mind. What this means is that there is a real disincentive for me to use augs and instant takedowns as anything other than occasional one-offs for use in strictly one on one situations (or one on two if they are close enough together). I keep on getting into situations where I try to chain augs and takedowns (e.g. running in under cloak and then following up with a double takedown, or throwing a refridgerator and then trying to do a takedown as someone gets up) and run out of energy half way through. This is leading me to leave off that kind of gameplay and go for simple vent-crawling instead (run and gun not really an option for me, or at least not on hardest difficulty), which is a bit disappointing given that gameplay freedom is fundamental to the series. By way of comparison, I also have Batman:AA on the go and in that game (which is astonishingly well designed) whenever I try something spontaneously it usually works whereas in DX:HR it doesn't work unless I plan ahead and use up precious energy bars. Have I missed some important trick in DX:HR? E.g. a way to get all the cells to recharge naturally, or to reduce the energy used for takedowns etc so that you get more than one per cell.
I've completed it and i think i unlocked all the battery augs, however i don't think there is one to make them recharge naturally. maybe theres a way to edit the games files to get it to do that :S... it is a real shame. i was particularly buggered when it came to running out of energy so quickly. not just that but augs like running silently should take no energy that'd be way better!
Yeah, I think that's a very interesting observation and you make some valid points. I'm not sure if this helps, but for my second playthrough I was thinking about using this mod. You could argue it's more of a cheat than a mod, but it will allow you to tweak the game experience to your liking. For example you could leave everything about the game you like intact, and just give yourself infinite energy, or even disable the health regen if you want more of a challenge.
I completely agree, it was the one major gripe I had with the game mechanics while playing and made the increased battery aug pretty useless unless you wanted to cloak through large areas of the game. I ended up getting them eventually because I ran out of other things to upgrade, but they didn't affect how I played the game in slightest. They really should have made it so all of your batteries recharge over time (maybe slower than they do now), but the energy bars let you recharge them instantly. That shouldn't make it too overpowered since it would still only allow for up to 5 melee takedowns in a row. It's either that or they should have added other melee weapons you could use for a non-lethal approach like in the first game.
Yep I didn't like that part of the game either. While we're on gripes: There are far too few augmentations to upgrade, from mid-end it just seemed to me using praxis points for the sake of it. I would have been happier if there were a much higher level of customization, ie if you specialized completely in stealth you wouldn't be able to run and gun your way through a group of enemies, and vice versa
@jhng: Unless you play Rambo style, you really don't need more than the standard 2 energy cells. Hell, i only upgraded to 3 cells in the penultimate location, so i could get a ~15 second cloak .
You did try the stun gun taser thing, right? I never found it too much of a problem. Whilst it is slow to wait for the recharge, you just need patience, If you look around and do the extra missions, there are a fair few cyberboost bars spare.
DXHR's setting, plot/story, characters, combat/stealth etc. are great but its gameplay balance & design is a mess; from the player's strengths/weaknesses to the experience system that implicitly dictates how you play the game to the clunky energy system that punishes players for using their augmentations and ties pointlessly into flashy takedowns. It's still a very enjoyable game, but the gameplay is broken in a lot of ways that a month or two of playtesting and redesign could have fixed.
I've been thinking the same thing. There is no point in using the praxis points on recharge because other than the first, they don't charge up. Although, they do charge up if they aren't completely spent.
