Breach Mode Basics¶
In Breach Mode you take on the role of an anonymous hackivist called a “Ripper”. Your goal is simple; use “The Breach” to gain access to sensitive corporate data. Oh boy, will they have egg on their face when you expose their corporate secrets… until they bribe the right politicians and their monolithic pro-corporate media conglomerate simply ignores everything. Oh well, don’t let crushing reality get in the way of your keyboard activism - you’re making the world a better place!
In Breach Mode you’ll enter different networks which are set up like hacking networks in the main game. Instead of the typical hacking nodes, however, you’ll have various “Server Maps”, which are self-contained levels you can enter. Your goal, then, is to clear these levels by fulfilling various objectives; hacking Data Towers to accumulate enough data, killing a certain number of AI units, finding a certain number of Data Fragments, or by killing a specific “Prime Defense Unit”. Once a level is cleared you can move deeper into the network and access other nodes - more Server Map levels, Reward Nodes (which give you free items), or Hyperlinks (which teleport you to another section of the network). Complete enough levels to reach an Exit Point and you can transfer over to the next network.
That all should sound relatively simple, but of course, things can’t remain that simple. In addition to its stated objective, some levels have other conditions; a strictly-enforced time limit, taking away your ability to use augmentations, or by forcing you to go through the level undetected. In addition, when you reach an Exit Point (or some Hyperlinks) you must have a certain Completion Rate (%) on the network to be able to use said Exit Point of Hyperlink. You’ll get this by clearing a Server Map and by completing various sub-objectives; namely achieving a certain score, completing the level in a certain time frame, or by collecting all the data in a level. Typically you won’t need to do too many of these to advance to the next network.
Clearing Server Maps¶
Each Server Map will put you in control of an “Avatar” on a digital level, and fortunately each level plays just like the main campaign of Deus Ex… more or less, anyways. You’ll have to find your way through each level, jump, climbing, crawling and generally making use of your weapons and augmentations to complete your objective. After completing a mission you’ll earn XP and Credits, the former of which will level you up, giving you more Praxis to spend on augmentations and the ability to have more equipped at once, while the latter will allow you to buy cheats, ammo and booster packs. Some items, however, can only be bought with Chipsets, which can be purchased for real money. Some general tips for completing Server Maps follow:
- Complete the main story before starting Breach Mode. Not only will you learn how to play the game under more forgiving circumstances, but if you can find Breach Software Units, you’ll unlock more loot for Breach Mode.
- Upgrade your weapons - especially their damage. Some enemies are easier to just kill than constantly sneak around, and they can take a great deal of damage. Also, more damage will mean less ammo you’ll need to buy.
- You get free ammo refills on every map. If you just use what’s in each weapon’s starting clip without carrying excess ammo, you’ll essentially be able to get by on free ammo. Having multiple weapon types in your inventory will give you more free ammo per mission.
- Focus on movement augmentations, anything that helps you get through the level is a worthy investment, especially jump upgrades. Glass-Shield Cloaking has its uses, too, and upgraded Remote Hacking will allow you to destroy targets by hacking them from safety.
- Mark where your starting point is in each level. You’ll need to return to it after completing your objective… with a time limit and additional defenses.
- On that note, it’s best to skip objectives near your exit point and save them for last. That way when you complete your objectives and need to escape the level you’ll be near the exit.
Breach Mode Trophies¶
All that is fine and good, but the REAL point of Breach Mode (besides wasting your time and trying to push microtransactions) is getting the trophies/achievements “Data Disciple”, “Data Detected”, “Data Expert” and “Data Master”. To complete “Data Detective” you need merely complete any Darknet File, which involves completing several optional levels, often interrupted by bits of dialogue in between. It’s as close as you’ll get to story in Breach Mode, and provides some insight into the larger world of Deus Ex (hint: corporations are bad). These levels are more or less the same as the normal Server Maps, save you’ll find yourself hunting down Data Fragments more often. Just complete all the levels that make up a Darknet File and you’ll get your reward. It’s not all bad, though, since you’ll gain XP, Credits and server completion % for doing this.
The other three trophies involve going through the normal Server Map nodes in each of the first three networks. You don’t need to complete Darknet Files, gain Reward Nodes, complete optional objectives - you just need to clear all of Server Map nodes. Of course, some of them might be out of the way - don’t expect them all to be in a linear path from the Entry Point to the Exit Point.
Play through and complete all 17 levels of Tier 1, you only need the main objectives so ignore the rest to make quick work of this.
You only need to complete a single Darknet file, the rest can be ignored if you’re only in this for Trophies/Achievements. You will encounter the first one in Tier 1 and after hacking all the server nodes and completing the file, the Trophy/Achievement will pop.
You’ll have 20 levels to contend with here however you should have a lot of upgrades by this point and you’ll be more comfortable with the way it works so you should be able to work through these in no time.
The final tier will consist of only 14 levels but they’re obviously the most difficult yet. With your upgraded avatar you should have no trouble with them however and obtain the final Breach mode related Trophy/Achievement.
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