Dark Ties

M3 - Dark Ties is the final mission in Deus Ex: The Fall.

Find Alex Vega
Head to Nightshades in the Boardwalk district. Alex Vega will be in the strippers' section in the northeast corner of the map. Go and talk to her.

Outlined and discussed below are the options presented in the conversation with Alex. Consult Alex's psychological profile on her page to understand which options would be more effective. Note that if Alex's persuasion level is high enough, she will give you her clearance codes:
 * After some chit-chat, Ben Saxon can choose to appease Alex (i.e. continue the small talk) or question her. Questioning will lower her persuasion level so the former option is preferable.
 * After some more chatting, Ben can opt for a direct approach or bluff Alex. Being direct with Alex will antagonize her (i.e. lower persuasion level).
 * Saxon will direct the conversation towards Riezene and Belltower's sordid involvement in it. Ben can choose to inquire or advise Alex. Neither option will antagonize her but 'Inquire' will grant a greater persuasion boost.
 * When asked if Saxon will help, he can give a confident or unsure response. Alternatively you can use pheromones to get a larger persuasion boost. Being unsure will negate any chances of getting Alex's codes. If Alex's persuasion level is high enough at this point, she will give you the codes to the VIP rooms and the helipad. Needless to say this will make your job much easier.

Check on the Inspector
Once you are done with Alex get out of Nightshades and head to Hotel Etana in the Downtown district. Inside, go left to the southeast section of the map. Take the elevator there to the upper floors. You will arrive at the floor directly below the VIP level. You will have to go up to see the Inspector. There are several ways to accomplish this; note that the following routes are not unique and can be combined as desired: The Inspector is in his room ahead. Go near him and a cutscene follows.
 * Straight route: Head right as you get out of the elevator doors. At the far end of the corridor will be two doors--take the right one up a flight of stairs. You are now on the VIP level. Straight ahead is the Inspector's suite. It will be guarded by NPCs who will open fire since this is a restricted area. The Inspector's room is locked so hack it or use the code Alex gave you (5872).
 * Kool-Aid Man route: Head to your left as you exit the elevator doors. Enter a room with vending machines. There is a weak wall here that you can smash through with the 'Punch Through Wall' augmentation. You will now be in a maintenance shaft--the floor ahead is electrified so do not step on it unless you have the 'EMP Shielding' augmentation. Take the ladder on your right. Straight ahead you can crouch through a gap in the wall into the hotel area. There are armed guards up ahead--access instead the vent to your left and you will be in the Inspector's bathroom.
 * Electric Floor route: As you exit the elevator doors, go to the right. You will be near some locked hotel rooms--head to the first one on the left. The door has a level 3 lock so hack it. The bathroom inside has a vent you can access. The vent at the other end leads you the same electrified floor described above. Take the Kool-Aid Man route here onwards.
 * Kool-Aid Man route II: Head right as you get out of the elevator doors. At the far end of the corridor will be two doors--take the right one up a flight of stairs. You are now on the VIP level. Straight ahead is the Inspector's suite. Go left instead and you will reach a room with a bar. Guards will be patrolling this place so be careful. Next to the bar is a door with a Level 3 lock. Hack you way in--there is a weak wall here you can break down. You will be in the Inspector's bathroom.

Warn Alex
Once the cutscene ends, guards outside will swarm in and attack you on sight. Deal with or sneak past them. Go back to Nightshades to talk to Alex. Once you are done, guards who followed you from the hotel will be looking for you. Deal with or sneak past them out of Nightshades.

Liberate Alex's VTOL
Head to the XNG Data Center in the Downtown district. You start out in the lobby inside. Guards will ask you to "please vacate the area señor, you are not permitted here"--ignore them. As long as you do not do anything suspicious or go past the metal detectors at the reception desk, the guards will grudgingly humor you.

You have to get past the lobby and reach the central hallway in the northwest section of the map. There are several ways to accomplish this; note that the following routes are not unique and can be combined as desired: The central hallway has three guards who keep a tight watch on the entire area. Besides them there is a dormant robot which will attack you if you create a situation. Deal with or sneak past them as you wish. At the other end of the hallway is an 'Access Elevator'. It is guarded by laser beams so you have to go invisible to get past or you will raise the alarm. Take the elevator to the secret Belltower base.
 * Front desk route: Go to the door behind the front desk. The guards will become hostile if you do this so deal with or sneak past them. The door has a level 1 lock--hack it or use the code (9284; available from a pocket secretary found near the restrooms). You are now in the 'Server Room'. There should be a door leading to a 'Meeting Room' in your immediate view. Go past it and left--the door ahead opens to the central hallway.
 * Restroom route: The women's restroom is always worth exploring...go to your right as you enter the lobby. Get into the restroom and access the vent there. The other end is blocked by a heavy crate so you must have the relevant augmentation to push it aside. You are now in the 'Meeting Room'. Directly ahead are two NPCs you can do a double takedown on. Straight ahead is the office area. The door to it has a level 3 lock so hack it or use the code (8812; acquired from a computer on the west side of the lobby). Inside the office there is a door at the other end which leads to the hallway.
 * Utility Closet route: To your left as you enter the lobby is a 'Utility Closet'. The door to it has a Level 1 lock. There is no code available so you will have to hack in the vicinity of a patrolling guard and a security camera. Once you are through, go down the corridor. At the other end is a door leading to the 'Server Room'/ 'Security Manager'. Adjacent to it is the hallway.

(N.B.: Once you get to the base, you cannot take the elevator back.) From here onwards you will encounter the toughest enemies in the game. Similar to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Belltower guards come in three flavors: Soldiers, Sneakers and Ogres. You will face all three types in the Base. Additionally you have patrolling robots and turrets to contend with.

You start out at the entrance of the Base. You need to get to the Barracks. There are several ways to do this; note that the following routes are not unique and can be combined as desired: The area around the barracks entrance is tightly guarded (two Soldiers plus a security camera). You can make things easier by turning off the cameras--use the security hub in the room directly across from the elevator. The entrance will be locked so hack it or use the code (4319; available from the computer in the office directly across from the entrance).
 * Straight route: Get out of the elevator and take a left. You should be moving down a long corridor that takes you to the northeast section of the map. To your left is an office; the corridor continues to the right to the barracks.
 * Left Vents route: As you get out of the elevator, immediately take a left turn. Up ahead is a vent concealed behind a yellow machine. The vent will fork down the middle into two--the right one will bring you into the corridor while the left takes you to an office. The office has a 'Reload Speed' upgrade you can take. Outside the office, go straight down the corridor to the barracks.
 * Right Vent route: This is the most straightforward plus covert route. Once out of the elevator, go to the room directly across (do not enter) and look to your left. There is a vent here you can access. The vent will take you right next to the barracks entrance.

You are now in the barracks. You need to get to the helipad level via a door in the southeast section of the map. There are two ways to accomplish this; note that the following routes are not unique and can be combined as desired: You start out in the East corridor on this level. There is a firing range nearby with the corridor circling it. The helipad itself is up ahead in the northern section of the map. There are two ways to get to the helipad; note that the following routes are not unique and can be combined as desired: The helipad entrance is watched by a security camera. The entrance itself has a level 1 lock so hack it or use the code (1022; available from a computer in the office near the firing range).You are now in the helipad, in a room to the south. Up ahead is the control room where you can hack into Belltower's surveillance system. There are two ways to get there; note that the following routes are not unique and can be combined as desired: Inside the control room is a security hub you can use to turn the cameras off/ control the robot outside. In the room ahead you complete this objective.
 * Straight route: As you enter the barracks, follow the main corridor till you see a turret with a Heavy standing by it. The door behind the turret leads to the helipad. This route is visible to multiple guards and is not recommended for stealth players.
 * Gym & vents route: The gym door has a level 2 lock so hack it or use the code (1777; available from a computer in the room near the gym). Alternatively, you can push aside a heavy crate nearby to access a vent behind it. This vent will take you inside the gym.
 * Inside, the gym will is tightly guarded by two guards and a security cam so do not stay in one place for too long if you are being stealthy. A security hub can be found here so you can turn off the cameras/ control the turret outside. Go to the gym door at the other end--this one will take you back into the main corridor near the turret's vicinity. There is a vent nearby you can access; the other end will lead you behind the turret. Be wary of the Heavy nearby. The door to the helipad is ahead.
 * Firing range route: There are two ways to enter & exit the firing range. You can use the main doors (straightforward). Or you can use the vents. Either path gets you to the other side of the range and near the helipad entrance. To use the vent route, head to the room next to the firing range. The door has a level 3 lock so you will have to hack your way in. Inside there is a security hub you can use to turn the cameras off/ control the robot. Find the vent in the room and it will take you to the firing lanes. Across the lanes is another vent. This vent will be blocked at the other end by a heavy crate so you will have push it aside. Be wary of the Sneaker patrolling just outside.
 * Corridor route: Follow the corridor around the firing range and you will be near the helipad door. This path will be patrolled by a Soldier, a Sneaker and a robot. Deal with or sneak past them as you wish. There are several crates you can hide behind.
 * West route: Take the left door. Although this route has no hacking, the path ahead will be heavily guarded by two Soldiers, a Sneaker and a robot. Deal with or sneak past them. You can use the slightly elevated platform nearby to move around and for cover.
 * East route: This route is sparsely patrolled but requires hacking and 'Move Heavy Objects' augmentations. Take the right door. The door has a level 2 lock so hack it or use the code (5599; available from a computer in the ammunitions room near the firing range). The path ahead will be guarded by a lone Sneaker. Stick to the walls as you move forward. You will soon reach a ladder that you climb to access a vent. The vent will be blocked by a heavy crate at the other end. Move it aside. You are now at the entrance to the control room. It has a level 2 lock so hack it or use the code (1800; available from a computer in the room you start this route in).

Reach the Helipad Atop Hotel Etana
There is an 'Access Elevator' on the west side of the helipad. It will take you back to the XNG Data Center. Proceed outside to the Hotel Etana. Security will be beefed up inside the hotel and you will not be allowed in. Deal with or sneak past the guards on your way to the southeast elevator. Take the elevator to the upper floors. Belltower guards will be patrolling this place.

Get to the VIP level and access the rooftop from there. You can use the same routes discussed above when you went to see the Inspector. Note that mines will be placed now in the maintenance shaft and the VIP floor entrance. Once you are at the door to the rooftop (south of the VIP floor), hack it or use the code (2122). Head up the stairs and access the rooftop level.

The rooftop will be guarded by the toughest enemies in the game. Apart from three Soldiers and an Ogre, there is a Boxguard that the "higher-ups" brought in to tackle you. In a sense this is a boss battle. You must take out all enemies in order to let Alex bring down the VTOL. So take down or kill the guards and destroy/ control the robot.

Attacking the enemy all at once is ill-advised since they can kill you very easily. Using stealth and prudent takedowns is the best choice in this circumstance. Since the Boxguard is your biggest concern, you should tackle it first. Right next to the helipad is a security hub. You can get behind the Boxguard and reach it if you can go invisible long enough. Otherwise, head to your right as you enter the rooftop. You should be at a gate that leads to the maintenance area. It has a level 5 lock so hack it or use the code (9697; available from a pocket secretary found near the 'Hotel Etana' neon sign). Alternatively, you can push aside a heavy crate nearby, flip over the railing and you will be in the maintenance section. Once there, move straight ahead and up a flight stairs till you reach the rooftop generators. The floor nearby is electrified so you cannot walk over unless you have the EMP shielding augmentation. There is a power switch nearby to turn off the electricity--go back down the stairs, take a right and another right to get to it. Once you've got past the electric floor, the security hub is up ahead.

Use the hub to disable the Boxguard and then take out the guards. Alternatively you can turn the Boxguard against its former allies. It alone will finish off all the guards. Once you're done, Alex will bring down the VTOL. Head to it to finish the game.