Saving Hostages

[The Melon]

So I completed the first mission and I got chewed out for letting the hostages die. I did not explore that much, but I was wondering if their are actually hostages to save or if this is just some random story point

[Butterkugel]

Just completed this too - I don't think there's anyone alive except for the woman at the end. You can talk Zeke into letting her go though

[Butterkugel]

Wait, what? You can save them? They were all dead when I arrived, but there was no enemy nearby who could've shot them. Do you have to make a perfect stealth run or is timed or what?

[Butterkugel]

Yes, I think I know what hostages you mean - the people sitting on the couch, right? They were all dead when I reached that place. I didn't see anyone kill them, so I thought they were dead from the beginning just like the other dead bodies lying around... So do I have to stay hidden until I reach them or do I have to hurry?

[Kauldwin]

Did you take a really long time in the Sarif building before getting on the chopper to head to the manufacturing plant? Seems like taking too long before starting the first mission can mess stuff up.

[Butterkugel]

Ah damn! :D
Oh well, screw those guyss, ain't gonna reload for them. Thanks anyway - the game seems to be worth playing more than once, so next time I'll remember :)

[Butterkugel]

Yes actually... I was screwing around, nosing through offices and listening to ladies in the bathroom. :D At some point, the boss said that things are worse now, but I didn't know what he meant and he didn't explain.

[Butterkugel]

If it's really because of me hanging around the Sarif building for too long, I'm gonna have a real problem if stuff like that keeps happening because I just have to explore every area before moving on... Damn you, RPG instincts! ^_^

[Butterkugel]

I wouldn't want you to waste your time for silly ol' me, but if you do get around to test this, you have my gratitude :)

[HubHikari]

Originally posted by mcgeehe:

I don't belive that's the case TBO. All Deus Ex games encourage exploration, I think it only matters if you are detected or not, I'll test it out, I got saves for that area.

Nope; exploring killed the hostages. You have two time points in the Sarif building. If you wait for 7.5 minutes, Sarif will tell you to get moving. If you wait fifteen, the hostages are dead. You can explore the Sarif building when you get back from the plant, and there's no time restriction.

[Butterkugel]

Too bad they don't tell you that... ah, common sense - my archnemesis :D

[jsnider193]

Ck'd one of the walk thrus on this and yes if spend time talking to x (can't remember his name dang) or exploring the 6 die. seems dumb to me but hey they built it that way.

[Sandwich Man]

ok so yep my first playthrough i just ran in guns blazing, made it to the hostage room and killed the guard before he could set it off. however that one lady in the hat said not to come in that its motion activated. i saw this little red laser beam running across the doorway. i figured that the coding was for entering the room at all, i couldnt just jump over it. i kept moving thinking id come back later to save them. but at the helipad, i found out the idiot swat npcs ran right in and i got twice as many people killed than the average player. restarted the entire game because i never forgave myself for that. stealthed past everyone and found that on the other side of the admin building, you can actually open a grate that takes an airduct right to the hostage room, where you can hack the bomb and turn it off. but be warned. the grate is pretty far ahead and fighting really slows you down, so you have to speedsneak your way into the computer room, not the hacking one i mean the main workplace, and then go back through the duct under the time limit. also if you fail to hack the bomb itll detonate. i found out theres a ghastly clip scene for it on a friends account, the hostages all start gasping and choking and then slump over then sarif is all like what the heck did you do and cusses you out. but if you go through the duct and then save them, theres this feelgood moment where the swat guy commends you and then the hostages all go back to their families. absolutely no in-game rewards for thi, you still get paid the same amount. but it definitely makes you feel like the good guy.

[Moo-Viper X]

Once the bomb is triggered it still takes a countdown before it actually blows, so if your quick you can just run through the laser barrier in the doorway and disable the bomb before it goes off and kills everyone.

As for disabling the bomb, you can either hack it or use the far quicker method of simply shooting one of the hoses coming from the bottom of the toxin tanks so the chemicals in the bomb can't mix.

[Sandwich Man]

oh i didnt know you could shoot it. that would be so easy

[Sentient_Toaster]

....and as a hilarious account by Tom Francis notes, you can disarm the bomb, get the congratulatory call, kill the hostages yourself, and the game will recognize that you *didn't* save the hostages (although it'll blame the bomb).

( http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/11/deus-ex-human-revolution-diary-the-psychopath/ )