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Dishonored gives players the freedom to approach every mission however they like, with a plethora of options and tools available for stealth, combat, and non-lethal runs. The only catch is that the way players go about eliminating their targets, and the actions they perform along the way, have varying outcomes for the city of Dunwall.
A low chaos playthrough will result in fewer rats and weepers being found in the world, fewer guards showing up in levels, more positive reactions from friends and allies, positive behavior from young Emily, and a more optimistic conclusion to the story. If players want to right the wrongs done to them with minimal collateral damage, save Dunwall, and lead the city to a bright and prosperous future, this is the playthrough for them. But with so much turmoil affecting the city, exactly how can players keep chaos at a minimum?
Basic Strategy
To keep chaos levels as low as possible throughout Dishonored, there are some key do’s and don'ts that players would be wise to follow. It’s imperative to kill as few humans as possible (less than 20% of each level's population), as the more bodies that pile up, the higher chaos will rise. It can sometimes be hard to avoid, but players should try to use alternative means wherever they can to avoid causing unnecessary deaths.
Corvo can choke out enemies, leaving them unconscious instead of eliminating them outright. While this may take longer than an assassination, it remains a handy way of bringing down a problematic guard that is standing in their way. Players can also make good use of sleep darts, which work as a non-lethal ranged weapon to deal with enemies from afar. Every assassination target also has an option to spare their lives, getting them out of the picture without executing them. This may require a bit more work on the part of the player but makes it possible to complete the game without killing anybody. There’s even an achievement for it - "Clean Hands."
Aside from non-lethal means, players are advised to use stealth to their advantage and avoid enemies entirely where they can. Being detected and having alarms rung are both contributors to chaos, so it’s usually best to sneak by, using Blink and working with the terrain to bypass obstacles. Any bodies, whether dead or unconscious, should be hidden well to prevent guards from stumbling across them. Both Dark Vision and Bend Time can be useful to track the location of enemies and pass by them unnoticed.
Special Actions
Throughout Dishonored’s missions, players can complete various side objectives and special actions, usually to do with saving lives, that will have an impact on their chaos rating.
Before the mission "High Overseer Campbell," Callista will ask Corvo to save her uncle, a watch officer by the name of Curnow, who she suspects is in danger of assassination. The player learns of a meeting between Curnow and Campbell and can switch their drink glasses to poison Campbell instead, or spill them both to avoid poisoning anyone. As long as Curnow makes it out of the building alive, the player’s chaos level will decrease. Players have an additional opportunity to lower chaos in the very same mission by saving Overseer Berthold and Elsa from their accusing colleagues in the backyard of the High Overseer’s Office.
In "The Royal Physician," Corvo may come across a woman trapped by a swarm of rats, and later, a test subject in Sokolov’s house. Rescuing the woman and releasing the test subject both reduce chaos. There are also a group of plague survivors in "The Flooded District" mission that Corvo can help smuggle past a tallboy and get them to safety, which decreases chaos. Finally, fixing up Piero and Sokolov’s new arc pylon in "The Loyalists" and setting it to stun the surrounding hostiles instead of killing them is also considered a low chaos action.
Special Actions (DLC)
Just like the main game, Dishonored’s DLC features a chaos system that tracks player actions to determine what kind of ending they will experience. The DLC missions come with new special actions and side objectives that can lower Corvo’s chaos rating if completed.
In a callback to the Dishonored’s namesake mission from the base game, Daud is tasked with sneaking into Coldridge prison and while there, can prevent the execution of Officer Thorpe (the guard that initially freed Corvo) to lower the overall chaos rating. Daud can also call in a favor to appear as an overseer to enter the prison in disguise, which if maintained without leaving any evidence behind, will count as a low chaos action. Finally, restoring water to the canal in the "Dead Eels" mission can grant a last-minute decrease to chaos before the final mission. Completing these actions and keeping the majority of people alive will be sure to maintain chaos at a minimal level.
Dishonored is available on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Windows.