Important information about augmentations Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Guide
Last update: 23 August 2016
In Deus Ex Mankind Divided Adam Jensen can use a whole lot of various augmentations (implants), making exploration, combat or sneaking much easier to deal with. A large number of augmentations available in Mankind Divided is identical or very similar to the form in which they appeared in Human Revolution, thus eliminating the need to get acquainted with their principles of operation and degree of their usefulness. There are, however, also some completely new augmentations, most of which are experimental implants. They can greatly influence the course of the game, but their usage early on is very difficult. Below you will find a collection of tips on how to use your augmentations. On the next page of this chapter we have compiled the best, at least in our opinion, "basic" improvements that should be purchased as early in the game as possible can.
In the first mission in the game - Dubai, Jensen has many active augmentations, and some of them are even fully developed. It's a false impression though, as the said mission serves as a prologue, and to some extent also a tutorial explaining the basic rules of the game (or reviewing them for people who know the previous parts of the series).
In the wake of the events that occur after he leaves Dubai, the main character will permanently lose a lot of his augmentations, and some of those he has left will malfunction. This state of affairs means that, first and foremost, you should complete the main task Getting in Top Shape Again as soon as possible, which requires you to meet an augmentation specialist Vaclav Koller in Prague. Koller will be able to fix only a small part of the protagonist's vast arsenal of augmentations, forcing us to re-unlock the remaining implants (by raising our character level and collecting Praxis points).
Note - After the first dialogue with Koller, you will get some Praxis points, which you can spend on lost or new upgrades. Try to plan you "first shopping" to get implants that will be of use to you from the very beginning of the game (you will find our recommendations on the next page of the guide).
One of the most important novelties concerning augmentations in Deus Ex Mankind Divided is the possibility of using experimental implants, which are first discovered in Jensen's body by the end of the main quest Getting in Top Shape Again. Those powerful improvements can significantly help the main character in getting his way around the game world, eliminating his opponents or completing his jobs. Unfortunately, they also have certain drawbacks, which, especially in the early parts of the game, significantly limit, if not outright hinder, their application.
As a rule, experimental augmentations are acquired by spending Praxis points. The problem is that an experimental enhancement overloads Jensen's system upon activation; as a result, all of his available augmentations are starting to suffer from significantly increased energy consumption. The way to deal with this problem is to disable unnecessary augmentations. They are, unfortunately, SWITCHED OFF PERMANENTLY and can not be restored later when we manage to improve the performance of our system. Consequently, each decision to unlock an experimental augmentation should be carefully considered; same goes for the decision which "standard" implant needs to go. When faced with the choice, we should aim to remove augmentations which we are sure we will never purchase and those which are not useful in our preferred character build.
At first, we can do exactly nothing about the problem of increased energy consumption. There are, however, two side quests that are related to this matter, which are unlocked during Jensen's first meeting with Koller - The Calibrator (find the said device) and Mystery Augs (contact Sarif regarding the newly discovered augmentations). Try to start them fairly quickly and complete their subsequent stages as they become available.
Just like in Deus Ex Human Revolution, many of Jensen's augmentations require energy to work. Depending on the type of augmentation, energy needs to be supplied once, at the time of activation, or constantly for as long as the implant is active (e.g. as long as we have camouflage enabled). The energy bar will automatically replenish itself, but it's a very slow process by default and it allows you to regain energy only to a certain level.
The best way to quickly regain energy are biocells. These items can be found throughout the game world, bought from dealers or crafted. The last option is not particularly attractive, because to make a single cell we require 120 crafting components (items "ordered" in the crafting window). The same components could be better spent on e.g. multi-tools, especially if our character does not have sufficiently developed hacking skills. We should try to use biocells only if we suddenly need to renew our energy reserves to keep the character alive or enable him to remain hidden.
It's good to know that the whole family of upgrades based on Sarif Series 8 Energy Converter is linked with improvements to power management. It will enable us to unlock upgrades that will make energy bar recharge faster, permanently extend it and reduce the time required for the bar to start recharging after depletion. It is good to unlock at least 2-3 augmentations from this category as soon as you can.