So killing has no negative impact on the story?

[Noisegrinder]

Not sure about it, and currently I'm very cautious about my every kill...

I know stunning guards will get bonus xp, but is there any more benefit by doing that? What about the impact on the narrative/ending?

[cyberwiz97]

The story is quite complex and many actions early on can have consequences later in the game. Killing a particular person can preclude a later side mission or at least how that mission will play out. So, yes. Killing can have a negative impact on the story. It just depends on who you kill. Actually, there are situations where NOT killing someone can affect the story. Therein lies the enigma. Who to kill? ... who to stun? ... who to spare?

In short, with your concerns, you're right to be cautious about every kill.

[Noisegrinder]

Originally posted by cyberwiz97:

The story is quite complex and many actions early on can have consequences later in the game. Killing a particular person can preclude a later side mission or at least how that mission will play out. So, yes. Killing can have a negative impact on the story. It just depends on who you kill. Actually, there are situations where NOT killing someone can affect the story. Therein lies the enigma. Who to kill? ... who to stun? ... who to spare?

In short, with your concerns, you're right to be cautious about every kill.

Yeah, I lost SM09 forever... I know triggering certain actions would cause some localized consquences.

But what about the ending? Will killing more regular guards(not key npcs) produce a darker ending like Dishonored 2? No spoilers.

[cyberwiz97]

I see what you mean. And, no. Just the act of killing people, by itself, doesn't change the narrative/ending. DXMD doesn't have a kill-based system like Dishonored's chaos metric.

[Noisegrinder]

Originally posted by cyberwiz97:

I see what you mean. And, no. Just the act of killing people, by itself, doesn't change the narrative/ending. DXMD doesn't have a kill-based system like Dishonored's chaos metric.

Cool, nice to know. Thanks.

[Vassago Rain]

Killing lots of people changes some dialogue here and there. Going postal during certain missions can have big effects. For instance, if you murder your way to Talos, then Talos is much more difficult to talk down, as well as having other things to say, then if you completely fail the social battle, well... I'm sure you can figure the rest out.

The point is, there's no hidden counter for total kills, and the game doesn't judge you, but if you do something stupid, expect dramatic consequences.

[cyberwiz97]

Originally posted by Vassago Rain:

Killing lots of people changes some dialogue here and there. Going postal during certain missions can have big effects. For instance, if you murder your way to Talos, then Talos is much more difficult to talk down, as well as having other things to say,...]/quote]
Yep, and that's a good example. Although, I think it's only fair to say, if you 'murder' your way through to Talos stealthily ... that is with no one witnessing any kills, Talos will be oblivious to your onslaught and the conversation will go accordingly. So you see, much depends on HOW you kill as well as how MANY you kill.

Originally posted by Vassago Rain:

The point is, there's no hidden counter for total kills, and the game doesn't judge you, but if you do something stupid, expect dramatic consequences.

Ain't THAT the truth? I found that out during my "phsychopathic urban sniper" playthrough. :D

[BalgaBear]

The Narrative behind people knowing you went somewhere (Run and Gun) Vs the Narrative of no one knew you were there (Ghosting) are very different dialogues. However, the only thing that changes one from the other, is if you were seen.

TL;DR - If you are seen, and don't reload a save, it'll be treated as if you did Run and Gun, even if you knocked everyone out.