Foxiest of the Hounds (DXMD)

Foxiest of the Hounds is an achievement/trophy in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. It is awarded for completing the game without setting off any alarms. It is similar to the achievement of the same name in Human Revolution.

Actions that trigger alarms
For purposes of this achievement, "alarms" are not limited to alarms that emit an audible sound to the player, but also include "silent" alarms that give no audible indication that an alarm has been triggered. The following actions will trigger an alarm, whether audible or not. These actions must be avoided in order to obtain the achievement.


 * Alarm panels: Activation of an alarm panel will trigger an alarm. Alarm panels may be activated manually by hostile NPCs or automatically by other devices. Activation of an alarm panel by the player will likewise void the achievement.
 * Laser tripwires: Activation of a hostile laser will trigger an alarm. Such lasers include those are found on laser grids, frag lasers, and virtual laser grids encountered during the NSN segment in M9: Checking Out the Men in Charge.
 * Lasers can be activated not only by the player, but also by NPCs and thrown objects. In some situations, NPCs that engage the player in combat may run through a laser grid, thereby voiding the achievement.
 * Laser grids often have no audible alarm, but will still trigger a "silent" alarm.
 * Frag lasers are sometimes found in isolated locations without any other security devices nearby. Despite so, activating the frag laser will usually trigger an alarm and void the achievement. A few specific frag lasers are exceptions to this rule and can be activated without voiding the achievement.


 * Turrets: Being spotted by a hostile turret will trigger an alarm.
 * Security cameras: Being spotted by a hostile security camera will trigger an alarm. This includes virtual security cameras encountered during the NSN segment in "M9: Checking Out the Men in Charge."
 * Destroying an active, hostile security camera will trigger an alarm even if the camera is destroyed in one shot. However, destroying a camera that has been disabled by EMP will not cause an alarm.
 * Hacking: Failing the hacking minigame on a keypad or computer will trigger an alarm if the device is connected to an alarm, which may be a "silent" alarm.
 * Keypads and computers encountered in a restricted zone are usually connected to an alarm. However, this is not always true. For example, in the CEO/CTO office of the Palisade Property Bank, only one of the two personal computers in the room is connected to an alarm. In general, there is no way of knowing beforehand whether a device is connected to alarm.
 * Remote hacking: For a few special objects that can be remotely hacked, failing a remote hacking attempt (i.e., missing the mark in the last remaining try) will cause an alarm. Objects that have this property are very rare—one example is the garage door of the Palisade Property Bank's parking garage. The vast majority of remotely hackable devices do not cause an alarm if the remote hacking attempt fails.
 * Alarm-scripted NPCs: In general, causing armed NPCs to go hostile will not trigger an alarm unless the NPC activates an alarm panel or other security device. However, in a few specific areas in the main missions, "alarm-scripted" NPCs are encountered. These NPCs behave similarly to security cameras in that being spotted by them (or, in the case of civilians, causing them to panic) will automatically trigger an alarm.
 * Alarm-scripted NPCs are encountered at Ty Zahrada (in M7: The Rucker Extraction) and in the Apex Centre reception hall (in M15: Securing the Convention Centre). For details, see the section "specific missions and areas" below.

Actions that do not trigger alarms
The following actions do not void this achievement:


 * Car alarms do not count as "alarms" for purposes of this achievement. Therefore, triggering a car alarm will not void this achievement.
 * Causing armed NPCs to go hostile will not trigger an alarm unless the NPC activates an alarm panel or other security device. Note the exception of special "alarm-scripted" NPCs described above.
 * Failing a hacking attempt on a keypad or computer will not trigger an alarm if the keypad or computer is not connected to an alarm. Most personal civilian devices are not connected to an alarm. However, there is no way of knowing for sure whether a device is connected to alarm or not beforehand.
 * Failing a remote hacking attempt will not trigger an alarm except on a few special objects. In general, failing a remote hacking attempt (i.e., missing the mark in the last remaining try) on a security camera, turret, drone, or sentry bot will not cause an alarm, even if the object is connected to an alarm or security hub.
 * Causing a keypad or computer to enter "lockdown" mode by incorrectly entering the keycode or password will not cause an alarm, even if the keypad or computer is connected to an alarm.
 * In contrast to cameras and turrets, being spotted by a drone or sentry bot will generally not cause an alarm. This observation generally applies to drones and sentry bots encountered in the open-world areas of Prague. However, whether there are special alarm-scripted drones or sentry bots has not been documented.
 * Configuring a turret or sentry bot to fire on the enemy will not by itself cause an alarm. However, the turret or sentry bot may attack a hostile object that in turn causes an alarm.

Actions that will void the achievement

 * M7: The Rucker Extraction
 * Failing the debate with Talos Rucker will automatically cause an alarm.
 * After speaking with Talos Rucker, almost all ARC soldiers encountered in the area (Ty Zahrada) are alarm-scripted. Therefore, in order to obtain this achievement, it is necessary avoid being detected by the NPCs in this area. Additionally, using the security hub to release drones against the ARC soldiers will cause an alarm if the drones engage the ARC soldiers.
 * M13: G.A.R.M.: If you align the ice drill with the pathway to Hangar 2, but previously failed to select the "scold" dialogue option, an alarm will automatically be triggered. To avoid the alarm when using the ice drill, pick the "scold" dialogue option.
 * M15: Securing the Convention Centre: Almost all guards and civilian NPCs in the reception hall (the area for the "Quietly Neutralize All the Guards (secondary)" objective) are alarm-scripted. Alarm-scripted civilians will cause an alarm if they enter the "panic" state, even if the cameras have been disabled.
 * During the "Quietly Neutralize All the Guards (secondary)" objective, you must neutralize all the guards with objective markers or else the guards will later cause an alarm.
 * However, even if you complete this objective, it is still possible for an alarm to be triggered if a civilian spots a knocked-out body at any time. Therefore, in order to obtain this achievement, knocked-out bodies should be positioned out of sight from civilians.

Actions that are safe (will not void the achievement)

 * M10: Facing the Enigma: During this mission, the player must escape from drones after speaking with Janus. It has been confirmed that escaping into the sewers will not prevent the achievement. However, be careful of frag lasers in the sewers that can activate an alarm when triggered.
 * M13: G.A.R.M.: During the early part of the mission, the player is given a choice between contacting Alex Vega or Jim Miller. If Miller is contacted, the entirely facility will be place in a permanently alarmed state during the middle of the mission. It has been confirmed that this "alarmed" state raised during the Miller path will not prevent the achievement.
 * Additionally, when the facility enters the permanently alarmed state, actions that normally void the achievement will not void the achievement. Therefore, in this situation, you are free to be spotted by turrets and cameras without voiding the achievement. It appears that the game grants the player a blanket exemption against voiding the achievement once the facility enters the permanently alarmed state. This exemption lasts through the remainder of this mission.
 * If you contact Vega instead of Miller, you will be subject to normal alarm rules throughout the mission (i.e., there is no permanently alarmed state and no exemption as described above).
 * If you completed SM06: 01011000, Eliza Cassan will help you during M14: Hunting Down the Final Clues by causing an explosion at a police blockade. The explosion will not void this achievement.
 * During SM00: Neon Nights or open-world exploration of Prague, entering 33 Hlavní Apartments unit #202 (John Dubnyk's apartment) will cause the house AI to send an alert to the police if the house AI is not quickly reconfigured by hacking the computer. This situation does not void the achievement, despite the fact that the police officer who enters the apartment will mention an alarm.
 * Entering Anton Suchanek's apartment and triggering its trap will not causes an alarm.‎

Tracking the achievement
Whether the player is still currently eligible for the achievement or has failed the achievement is not explicitly displayed anywhere in-game. For this reason, the exact conditions for triggering an alarm were subject to a great deal of speculation at the time of the game's release. Real-time tracking of the achievement's status is, however, possible with the use of later-available third-party tools that can access the game's debug information.

Without the use of third-party tools, the game does provide two proxy indicators that may help the player determine whether the achievement is still active:


 * When an alarm is triggered for the first time, the game will display the "alarm system" tutorial. This feature can be used to gauge whether an alarm has been triggered during a certain playthrough. Note that this system is not entirely reliable. For example, it does not account for the alarms triggered by being spotted by the alarm-scripted NPCs at Ty Zahrada. Similarly, taking the Miller path in M13: G.A.R.M. will cause the "alarm system" tutorial to be displayed, even though the achievement is not voided.
 * Progress towards the achievement can also be checked by noting if you have been awarded the "Smooth Operator" XP bonus after a mission. This bonus is only given if no alarms were set off, so if you missed one of these bonuses, the achievement will not be given.
 * It should be noted that simply getting all the bonuses does not guarantee the acquisition of the achievement. If, for example, the player leaves a body of a knocked out enemy in a place where other patrolling guards may potentially find him and completes the objective fast enough they will still get the Smooth Operator bonus. Eventually, the body will be found and guards will sound an alarm (it may even happen out of the player's sight), which in turn will nullify the achievement.

Tips

 * Complete stealth is not required for this achievement, since only specific types of objects or hostiles will trigger an alarm upon detecting the player. However, a generally stealthy playstyle is conducive towards completing this objective since it minimize the risk of accidentally triggering alarms.

Trivia

 * The achievement's name is a reference to the FOXHOUND black ops unit of the Metal Gear series whose primary rules of engagement involve covert infiltrations and espionage.
 * The icon for the achievement resembles Fox McCloud from the Star Fox series, wearing Jensen's sunglasses.