Ripper (protagonist)


 * This article is about the player character in Breach. For rippers in general, see Ripper

In the Breach game mode for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the protagonist and player character is a Ripper working with ShadowChild to extract data from the Palisade Blades. The story is told primarily through Darknet Files, which serve as Breach 's single player campaign.

Background
Although Breach depicts a real-time environment reflecting the actions of other online players, each player experiences the role of the protagonist when playing through the Darknet Files. In the context of a particular player's in-game experience, other online players are portrayed as additional rippers working in the background.

The Ripper's name, as addressed by ShadowChild in text messaging, is the screen name of the player's account used to access Breach. The Ripper's reason for becoming a ripper is player-defined. This reason, which is conveyed to ShadowChild when she asks, may be for challenge, for money, or for change.

Biography
When Adam Jensen's infiltration of Palisade Blade-01 creates the Breach, ShadowChild urges all rippers to extract corporate data hidden in Palisade's serves. The Ripper answers ShadowChild's invitation, and promptly comes into contact with ShadowChild. With ShadowChild's guidance, the Ripper makes it through Palisade's lavawall and begins extracting data. The Ripper also works with ShadowChild on humanitarian cases called "Darknet Files," which involve extracting corporate data on behalf of clients who have sought Rippers for help.

In working on Darknet Files, the Ripper discovers various corporate secrets: VersaLife had faked the death of a 6-year-old girl in order to conduct further research on a nanotechnology treatment. Steiner-Bisley was researching robotics technology for harnessing renewable energy from human corpses. Rabi'ah, Santeau's flagship project to provide a safe haven for augmented people, will never be able to accommodate all the augmented people who are planning to move there, and Santeau has been taking money from people for units they have no intention of delivering on. While working on Darknet Files, the Ripper is assisted by ShadowChild's contacts, including Watchstan68, an ex-military contact, Fairbanks, an analytics expert, and Shorthand, a doctor. Throughout the Darknet Files, ShadowChild intends for the Ripper to act with morals, rather than to seek personal gain.

While investigating a Tarvos armed escort in Mexico, the Ripper discovers that Buddakan11 (another Ripper) has been spreading false information to the Ripper's client, the human rights group Las Aguilas. The misinformation leads to an ambush of the Tarvos escort by Las Aguilas, but the Las Aguilas militants surrender. Buddakan11 then causes Tarvos drones to open fire on both the Tarvos escort and Las Aguilas militants, but the Ripper defeats Buddakan11's avatar inside the Breach and returns the drones to their storage bays.

Later, Fairbanks informs the Ripper that the Picus Group is on the verge of pulling their most sensitive data out of Palisade. Following a lead given by Fairbanks, the Ripper is eventually led to retrieve data that is supposedly a maintenance schedule for Picus' servers. However, Buddakan11 informs the Ripper that the extracted data is a decoy and invites the Ripper to collaborate on extracting the actual data.

Shortly afterwards, ShadowChild contacts the Ripper with news that the file retrieved by the Ripper is a virus, and that the virus is attacking her network for accessing the Breach. The Ripper must decide whether to help ShadowChild remove the virus or instead to go after Picus' data together with Buddakan11. Unbeknownst to the Ripper, Fairbanks is opposed to ShadowChild's ideology that Rippers should work for a moral cause, and is working to overthrow ShadowChild so that Rippers may operate freely on their own without answering to ShadowChild.

Trivia

 * The Ripper's abstract-looking avatar made of golden triangles is a nod to the key art for Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Collector's Edition.