Difficulty level (DXMD)

Difficulty level selection menu at the start of a new game (with "I Never Asked for This" still locked)

In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the difficulty level (referred to in-game as simply the difficulty) is a game setting that affects how challenging the game is. The difficulty level is selected by the player at the start of a new game (or New Game+).

Difficulty levels

There are three standard difficulty levels, listed below in order of difficulty:

• Give Me a Story - "You play games for their story and experience, not for their challenge or competitiveness. Enjoy the Deus Ex experience!"
• Give Me a Challenge - "You enjoy a good story and a good challenge. This is how the game is meant to be played."
• Give Me Deus Ex - "Hardened enemies and tougher situations will make your experience quite challenging and give you a good adrenaline rush. You are one with the machine!"

When playing under one of the above difficulty levels, the player is free to change the difficulty level at any time during the game through the options menu. If a game is begun on the "Give me Deus Ex" difficulty, some of the HUD elements will be disabled by default, but these elements can be re-enabled via the game's menu without affecting the difficulty.

Additionally, the game offers an unlockable difficulty level that becomes available once the game is completed at least once:

• I Never Asked for This - "Games aren't realistic enough for you. Give me Deus Ex but just like in real-life, you only live once. If you die you have to restart the game from the beginning. Your saved game will not help you."

"I Never Asked for This" activates a special permadeath mode in which the player is given only a single save file that is automatically deleted if the player dies at any point. The mode cannot be started on New Game+ and cannot be switched out of or switched into in the options menu. A cleared playthrough on this mode is also not eligible for overwriting the New Game+ save file. Completing the main game on this difficulty level unlocks the I Never Asked for This achievement. For further information, please see the linked achievement page.

Effects

Unlike other games in the series, the specific effects of the difficulty level setting are not explicitly documented in-game or in an official guide, nor are they known from the game files. However, the following effects can be observed from in-game testing:

Property	Give Me a Story	Give Me a Challenge	Give Me Deus Ex
Damage taken by player from grenades	-10%	(Baseline)	+10%
Damage taken by player from gunfire	-10%	(Baseline)	+7.5%
Damage taken by player from electricity	(Baseline)	(Baseline)	Increased
Health regeneration delay (base)	6 seconds	7 seconds	8 seconds
Energy regeneration delay (base)	2 seconds	3.5 seconds	7 seconds
Health regeneration rate	+10%	(Baseline)	-20%
Energy regeneration rate	+13%	(Baseline)	-13%

The effects given for "Give Me Deus Ex" also apply to "I Never Asked for This," which has no difference from the former except for the permadeath rules described above.

The difficulty level has no effect on the durability of objects and enemies against the player's weapons. That is, the amount of ammunition it takes to defeat an enemy or to destroy an object is the same regardless of difficulty level. This constitutes a departure from Deus Ex: Human Revolution, in which the difficulty level affects the durability of enemies. Difficulty level also has no effect on falling damage.

See also

• Difficulty level, for difficulty levels in other games