A Beginner's Guide to Surviving ‘Dishonored 2’

The streets of Karnaca are a dangerous place to be in Dishonored 2, filled with corrupt guards and twisted inventions that are all out to kill you regardless of your intentions. As such, it’s always important to be prepared for the worst and look for opportunities to take advantage of when playing as Emily or Corvo. Even by spending a little bit of time to assess each situation or dig through your enemies’ dirty laundry, you’ll be better prepared for the battle ahead.

Heres a few tips and tricks to help you survive in Dishonored 2.

Collect Every Rune You Find

In Dishonored 2, your supernatural abilities are one of the most important tools at your disposal when it comes to dealing with enemies, navigating the levels, and staying alive despite overwhelming odds. Combat in Dishonored 2 isn’t easy nor forgiving, and without keeping your abilities upgraded you’re going to have a tough time working through the campaign regardless of the difficulty you play on. So, while it may seem tedious at the beginning of the game, collecting every Rune and Bone Charm you come across in-game is a task you’ll want to keep up with.

Runes are used to both unlock and upgrade your supernatural abilities on Emily and Corvo, with some of your most powerful abilities costing as much as 12 Runes to completely flesh out. These abilities, like Shadow Walk for Emily or Bend Time for Corvo, are going to be essential to your success in open combat or stealth alike, allowing you to beat large groups of enemies without breaking a sweat. Just remember to keep your Heart out and actively build your collection so that you can keep the upgrades coming.

Always Be Looking for More Information

Many of the side objectives and main missions you’ll work towards completing in Dishonored 2 have a variety of answers that yield different results. Often, you’ll find that there are multiple ways to achieve your goals in-game but only if you take the time to explore the world around you, speak with key NPCs hidden throughout the levels, and look for clues that help you piece the bigger picture together.

Notes, letters, and journals are scattered throughout every inch of Dishonored 2 that often contain valuable information that can be used against your current target or even allies. By digging through desk drawers, cash registers, and offices, you’ll find dirt that you can use to serve your goals and offer a better option than simply killing your target. Plus, you’ll also discover safe combinations, hidden resources, and blueprints to upgrade your equipment.

Think Before You Act

Dishonored 2 is a game with a combat system that focuses on tactical thinking and individual skill. It isn’t easy, it isn’t flawless, and most importantly: It doesn’t care how smart you think you are. Every combat situation in Dishonored 2 has the potential of becoming a bad day for you as a player if one guard alerts their friends or triggers an alarm, which makes proper planning a requirement no matter how confident you feel about any one combat scenario.

Both Emily and Corvo have access to a supernatural ability called Dark Vision. This pulse lasts for a short amount of time, revealing every enemy around your location and displaying where they’re currently looking on your screen. When upgraded, Dark Vision also allows you to see security systems and enemy patrol routes as well. Always be using this ability to see what enemies are doing and how to best handle them. Plan your attacks, lure them into traps, or avoid them entirely. Just don’t get caught in a mass of guards without an escape route, because it’ll likely mean your death.

Get Creative With Your Weapons and Abilities

If you wanted to progress through the game using nothing but your sword and a movement-based ability like Far Reach (Emily) or Blink (Corvo), I wouldn’t be the one sitting here trying to stop you. Those types of runs are certainly something you can accomplish with a bit of practice in Dishonored 2, but you’d be doing the game a disservice by ignoring all the amazing tools Arkane Studios have built into Emily and Corvo.

Dishonored 2 is a game best played with a variety of weapons, abilities, and equipment that you can then combo together for devastating results. Both playable protagonists are some of the most feared individuals in the Isles for a reason, and you better believe that it carries into gameplay. When playing as Corvo, for instance, I love using Bend Time after a few guards have shot at me, then using Possession to take control of each one and walking them into their own bullet trajectories. Once you let time loose once again, the results speak for themselves. Always be thinking creatively about how to handle groups of guards or navigate through hordes of enemies by combining weapons and abilities. You’ll have a much better experience for it.