Difficulty Level (DX)

In Deus Ex, the difficulty level (also known as combat difficult level) is a game setting that is selected by the player at the start of a new game. The player may select from four difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Realistic.

Actual effects
The sole effect of the difficulty level setting is that on higher difficulty levels, the player takes increased damage from the "shot" and "turret shot" damage types, in accordance with the multipliers listed below. Shot damage is caused by bullets and lethal melee weapons. Turret shot damage is exclusively caused by turrets. Difficulty level has no effect on damage types other than shot and turret shot. Therefore, many other common types of damage that the player may receive are unaffected by the difficulty level, including explosion damage (from rockets, LAMs, and exploding objects), poison damage (from tranquilizer darts), and burn damage (from plasma bolts).

Difficulty level also has no effect on the damage taken by enemies, whether the damage is inflicted by the player or by another NPC. Therefore, enemies take the same amount of damage on "Realistic" as they do on "Easy."