Hey guys, i just bought dishonored and i'm gonna play the game for the first time. I have researched a little about all the powers that u get and I think i'm going to focus on leveling up blink, bend time and shadow kill. I'm tinking of doing a pretty lethal playthrough. Do you guys think i should level up other skills or that i should do it non lethal first time? --try to keep spoler this free--

Wait - do you want to do a lethal playthrough or a non-lethal.

For non-lethal, Blink + Agility updgrade are important, and I find dark vision (at least level 1) helpful for tracking who is where and what direction they are facing.

In addition, as you progress, for a non-lethal playthrough, being able to possess people for short periods is extremely useful. You can walk them to a safe spot, disengage and knock them out.

I went non-lethal on very hard, and by the end I had maxed out Blink, Dark Vision, Possession, Agility, and that's all I really needed,
but I did throw the rest into Vitality just because I fall off buildings often and it helped

How you play is up to you.... the most important part is to do what's fun to you. As long as you're having fun with the game,
that's all that matters.

Be aware that if you start upgrading abilities beyond Blink 1, you won't be able to get the Mostly Flesh and Steel achievement.
Just as a warning, if you're concerned with achievements.

Ok thanks for the tips both of you. I think i'm gonna do as i planned. Blink, Shadow kill and bend time.

I would imagine you would need to upgrade health for a lethal run through, I'm not sure though as I'm currently doing non-lethal myself.

Does anyone besides myself think the game is biased toward lethal? Razor traps, grenades, bullets, explosive/incendiary bolts. All you really have for non-lethal are sleep darts ans they are limited plus rare to find in mission. I'm not really complaining as I'm enjoying it, on normal difficulty so far it's not overly taxing.

Well I woudldn't have mind more a more challenging Stealth aspect - even without powers. Leaning is basically as "cheated" as the "take cover in third person mode but see everything around" approach most game are using nowdays ( especially in DE:HR this annoyed me ), because as long as, standing still, you're hidden from your ennemis, you can lean and stay invisible. Which basically made Shadow Vision useless ( well I'm farstretching things here, but I think you can get my point ).

In a stealth run, yeah, the only thing you will ever need is the crossbow loaded with sleep dart. Right hand will never be used, except maybe for breaking planks. Then again regular darts are more efficient, heh.
So yeah, I would have liked stealth gadgets. Maybe the old cliché of lockpicks for doors that you can't open otherwise, adding some stress on top of the cake. Maybe things to force guards out of their patrol or guard point. I dunno.

I haven't used it yet personally, but I imagine time freeze and shadow kill are a deadly combination. Freeze time, run through stabbing a bunch of guards, hide...no one even knows anything happened!

Damn, this game has so many possibilities.

I tend toward the takedown approach myself and just use sleep darts as a last resort because of the rarity in mission and the 10 dart limit. Smoke bombs would be a good addition to the mix though to confuse groups, although I could see them being unnecessary with the level 2 possession power. I don't want to add a spoiler but there are times when you need to use lethal weapons on occasion on a non lethal run through. Lockpicks may have been a good dynamic, but I feel they've been done to death in recent games though.

1. This thread is for giving the OP tips not your opinion on the gameplay. Go http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1417200-ai-is-horrible-from-the-stealth-standpoint-arkane-is-it-too-late-to-improve-it/ or discuss your opinion on stealth.
2. On hard and very hard Guards have noticed me while I lean.

Anyway, this is what I used on playthroughs.
Non-lethal: Blink 2, Agility 2, Darkvision 1 (or 2 if you want help with loot and walls of light), and Time bend 2.
Lethal: Blink 2, Shadow Kill 2, Time Bend 2, Vitality 1, Agility 1, and think I had Wind Blast 2.

Just go with whatever you want.

1. I should maybe have quoted the poster before me because I was merely agreeing with them, as well as providing my own feedback on powers I tested. So my experience and opinion on the stealth approach are perfectly relevant to the OP's discussion, and where by no means complaints. Maybe I got a bit carried away with the gadgets thing, but still. Sorry if I prefer to elaborate on things than simply hand them over.
To sum up : powers like Blink 1/2 and agility at least 1 are pretty safe choices, but even then they are not that needed.

2. Sorry to hear it. Since it never happened to me, I empirically assumed Lean was indetectable. As such, I felt that Dark Vision wasn't that necessary. Which, again, is relevant to the OP's question since he was seeking advice on powers in general.

The OP is free to consider those opinions on Dishonored powers, or to reject them. In the end, it all depends on his skill and playstyle.
That being said, I agree that it's better to take your time exploring the maps, or else you could reach the end way too quickly !

Sorry, I didn't mean that to come off as an argument starter or anything. Was just saying.

As for #2 I don't know if it is a glitch or not, but on hard they notice you leaning at close range and on very hard they notice you on med to close range. Or just me. If is just a glitch, I have no problem with it and hope it stays like that.

Don't worry, I was just expecting to clarify things. English not being the primary language for me, and written discussion not carrying the correct tone, especially on the Internet, is not helpful.

I just hope we are cool, mate, and that the OP will be able to discern which information is useful to them, and which is not

I feel responsable for this as I started it, and I'm sorry for that. Of course you're right SourLime it isn't the right post for the topic we were discussing, but as stealth is a factor in the game I thought if the OP wanted to use the gadgets then lethal is the only way to go, most of the gadgets are unused if you decide to go non-lethal not to mention bone charms, although random, have an impact on powers . Perhaps I should have made the non-lethal comments clearer rather than form them as a question.