Talion A.D. is a side quest in Deus Ex: Human Revolution during Adam Jensen's second visit to Hengsha. Completing this quest unlocks an achievement/trophy of the same name.
Overview[]
To start this side mission the player will need to go to the LIMB clinic in the Jiu Shichang District (if approaching from the subway in the Youzhao district) or the northernmost section of the Kuaigan district (if already in said district). This quest is only available during the second visit to Hengsha Island.
Speak to Dr. Wing, who will be standing with a clipboard to the left of the LIMB desk and terminal. He will ask you to find an ex-Belltower operative, Michael Zelazny.
Primary objectives[]
Locate the butcher shop where Zelazny is hiding[]
In the Youzhao district, near the northern passage to the Kuaigan district.
Enter the back room of the butcher shop[]
The butcher shop has a tunnel in the back.
Find information on Zelazny's current whereabouts[]
The body at the bottom of the stairs has a pocket secretary that must be collected. For the next objective, no map point will be added, making it necessary to go off of clues.
Read the dead agent's pocket secretary[]
The pocket secretary mentions the sewers, so travel back to the Jiu Shichang District (Northern Kuaigan district) and find an entrance to the sewers. The sewer entrance is in the sewage strip in front of the Alice Garden Pods.
Deal with Zelazny and his team[]
Once inside the sewers turn left then left again. Zelazny and his men will be standing nearby. The player can follow a series of inquiries and then either fight them, or side with Zelazny, thereby letting him go to finish his mission (his mission is to kill the "corrupt officials" who used experimental augmentations to control his team and used them as an assassination squad). Zelazny cannot be reasoned with and will attack the player if the "reason" option is used three times during the conversation; in addition, like Faridah Malik he is not affected by the CASIE Augmentation and will point this out if the player
tries to use it. The only options are to fight him or let him go. If you fight him, it makes no difference if you talk to him first and the quest will be completed either way. Zelazny and his men can be knocked out; the quest doesn't make a distinction between lethal and non-lethal methods.
One benefit of letting Zelazny go is that, after you exit the sewer, he contacts you to say that he has called some Belltower operatives and they will leave their patrols in the area, making it easier to move around Hengsha.
Return to Dr. Wing[]
Once Zelazny and his men have been dealt with, return to Dr. Wing at the LIMB Clinic. Depending on the choice of actions with Zelazny, you may need to lie to Dr. Wing or convince him of the morality of his actions in order to receive a Praxis kit as a reward. Dr. Wing's dialogue will not change if the player knocked Zelazny out instead of killing him.
Suggested tactics[]
- Due to Zelazny and his three friends being in close proximity to each other, grenades, the Typhoon augmentation, the Icarus Landing System, and explosive weapons are all good options.
- After climbing down into the sewer, you will find a doorway immediately on the left and a ladder leading up to a balcony that overlooks Zelazny and his group. You can attack the group from above without hiding or fear of being attacked. They will not respond. Simply dropping a gas or frag grenade will work, using a rocket launcher, sniper rifle for a headshot on Zelazny, etc. Almost anything will work, as they cannot get to you; the railing acts as a shield and survivors are easily picked off.
- Another excellent tactic is to kill Zelazny with a quick headshot from behind a wall or the balcony overlooking him and his men, not even talking to him first. A headshot is easily done with a sniper rifle. After Zelazny is dead, kill the rest of his men.
- For another pacifist approach if the player has the Icarus Landing System augmentation it is possible to stun Zelazny and his team by jumping from the balcony. Afterwards, if they are not knocked out already, use the Stun gun while they are recovering.
- Finally, if the player has the Quicksilver Reflex Booster and has at least two full energy cells, they can eliminate the group with two well-executed double take downs. Otherwise it is a matter of turning and running for the tunnel, then taking cover and attacking with the strongest weapon available.
- To take out Zelazny and all of his men in one fell swoop without speaking to him first, walk up to them to the point just before the cutscene triggers, then deploy a fully-upgraded Typhoon assault. They will all be killed instantly.
- If the player happens to have a Laser Rifle, they can quickly dispatch all foes within a few bursts.
Notes[]
- It is possible to track Zelazny's location, even without an objective marker, by following the red anti-Belltower graffiti.
- If the player has accepted the mission from Dr. Wing, but has difficulty in finding Zelazny and his men; while tracking the whereabouts of Tong's son in the "You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours" mission (Rescue Tong's son segment), he or she will inevitably have to walk past their location to reach the noodle factory.
- If the player decides to approve of Zelazny's plans and proceeds to lie to Dr. Wing, the Praxis kit will still be rewarded. Zelazny will also call in and notify Jensen that he made some calls and there will be less Belltower patrols around the city (resulting in less XP overall as there'll be less possible guards to take-down). The player can also approve of Zelazny's actions, then select the "convince" dialogue to Dr. Wing in order to receive a Praxis kit.
- Choosing to side with Zelazny nets 750 XP, plus another 1,000 XP when you convince Dr. Wing to give you the Praxis kit. Taking Zelazny's team out also gets you 750 XP and 1,000 XP when you talk to Dr. Wing; you can potentially earn up to 250 extra XP from two double take-downs (Quicksilver Reflex Booster) of Zelazny and his men.
- If the player has entered combat in the above-ground area before coming down here, Zelazny and his men may begin in an Alarmed or Hostile state, making the conversational method impossible.
Trivia[]
- The word "żelazny" means "made of iron" in Polish, a fitting name for a character with such extensive mechanical augmentations.
- Also, in keeping with the multitude of names of science fiction authors in e-mail addresses and so forth, Zelazny may be a reference to Roger Zelazny, author of many science-fiction novels including Creatures of Light and Darkness (one cover shows the main character, Wakim, inspecting his recently acquired augmentations. [1]) This theory is further supported by the Paris computer login: rzelazny, password: shadowjack, in the original Deus Ex game .
- Talion is an old principle of law holding that a criminal should suffer the same things they have done; It is essentially an eye-for-an-eye law. This ties in with Zelazny's background story and future intentions.
- The name of the quest itself, Talion AD, is probably a nod to the 2008 movie Babylon AD, which in turn is based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec.
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