Laser Tripwires are a security measure appearing in all Deus Ex games.
These tripwires are usually placed in a doorway or another narrow space that gets a lot of traffic. On one side are laser emitters, and these lasers reflect off a flat surface and back into the emitters. If a person "trips" the wire, the emitter will sense that an entity is blocking the laser, and it will trigger some form of consequence, such as drawing guards and bots to the location, or releasing poisonous gas. Some wires can be easily blocked with reflecting crates, allowing JC to pass crouching past them (e.g. Battery Park Subway).
Deus Ex[]
- Main article: Laser tripwire (DX)
Deus Ex: Invisible War[]
In Deus Ex: Invisible War, there are 4 types of tripwires:
- Red Tripwires - Combination of the Red and Blue wires from the first game. Red tripwires now activate alarms and release bots if any are nearby.
- Green Tripwires - Once tripped, release a tank of poisonous gas. The tank is usually found near the laser, and can be destroyed to neutralize the trap.
- White Tripwires - Once tripped, release hatches with spider bots.
- Gold Tripwires - Incinerates anyone who passes through the laser. According to a scientist at Tarsus Seattle, they can kill someone in under 1/4 of a second.
- Glass Sensors - Lasers running through panels of glass. Once the glass is disturbed, an alarm is set off, deterring intruders from breaking windows. The Glass Destabilizer weapon mod vaporizes glass, silencing the sound of glass shattering and shutting off any alarms the window may be rigged with.
These lasers can be stopped through physical obstruction, explosives or multitools, like in the first game, although now they can also be disabled through EMP grenades and hitting the emitter with a melee weapon, if the player has the Electrostatic Discharge augmentation.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution[]
Red tripwires are present in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. They are triggered by any movement, whether it's Jensen himself or an inanimate object. When tripped during missions, they sound the alarm and release any nearby security bots. Some are present outside of missions, and can have unique functions such as triggering the release of gas.
While laser tripwires were exclusively stationary in previous games, Human Revolution also includes some that move back and forth, sweeping over entire areas. This variety can be circumvented by placing objects between Jensen and the source of the laser, in order to prevent the detection of motion.
Laser tripwires can be disabled discreetly by accessing nearby security panels. Additionally, they temporarily deactivate when guards pass within close proximity of them. This allows Jensen to slip through just behind a patrolling guard, or use unconscious or dead guards to disable the lasers indefinitely from any angle. Alternatively, the cloaking augmentation allows Jensen to walk directly through lasers without fear of detection.
Destroying a laser emitter will trigger it, but temporarily disabling one with the stun gun won't, allowing safe passage.