This guy killed me at least 50 times.

Over break I was preparing to teach Learning with Video Games and decided to check out Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It’s the kind of game I like…mostly a FPS, but with a good narrative, multiple ways to tackle problems, … I decided to use it for one of the play assignments for the course, when we talk about narrative in games. But, this isn’t a game review, just a friendly tip.

I was playing the game on standard difficulty, and moving through without much trouble, except for the (much maligned) boss fights. The boss fights were a bit of a challenge. I had decided to play using minimal force, mostly using non-lethal force on opponents and using my praxis upgrades for hacking. But, after a few tries and a good fight, the first two bosses went down.

Not so for Jaron Namir, boss number three. You see, I got the bad chip upgrade (in part to see what the game would do). But, I kept getting my ass kicked.

After some (a ton) of frustration, I went on line for some help. I found some hints, but nothing that I hadn’t tried and nothing that worked. If you happen to be in the same position, this post is for you.

What I had

• heavy machine gun
• plasma rifle
• stun gun
• 3 EMP mines
• 1 EMP grenade
• 2 frag mines
• 1 gas mine
• lots of ammo

What I tried (in order, more or less)

1. hit and run: basically, I would take my best shot, throw a grenade, and run away. From the starting position, I would get a good head shot with various weapons, throw grenades, etc. Running, I was able to stay alive for a while, but couldn’t seem to score much damage. Eventually I’d run into Jaron and die (by typhoon, mostly)
2. Search for bigger guns. Without going nuts, I looked around upstairs for bigger guns. The inventory above is what I found. It didn’t do me much good.
3. But, I did find a turret that I had hacked earlier. I had the arm augment for heavy items, so I brought it down with me. I went back to plan 1, but with the help of the turret. Didn’t do me much good.
4. Went online for hints. Turret seemed most credible, but it wasn’t helping me.
5. Front loading mines. From the elevator, before stepping out into the cut scene, I would toss out all my mines. I tried various placements, including throwing to Jaron’s initial position. No go.
6. Throwing the turret in various places before exiting the elevator. Mostly just tossed my best weapon on its head, facing a wall.

What worked

1. Get the turret (turn it to “enemies”).
2. Before you leave the elevator, throw an EMP mine into the center ring, in front of the elevator.
3. Pick up the turret.
4. Leave the elevator for the cut scene.
5. Stay alive, when the fight starts, in the outer ring.
6. When you hear your EMP go off, it will stun Jaron.
7. Run over and hit him with another EMP.
8. Your turret should take care of him while he’s stuck there.

If you don’t have the strong augmentation (and I think at least level 2 hacking), you cannot carry the turret down. This technique might work with your own fire power, but I wasn’t able to keep him still long enough to finish him off. You are better off looking for a praxis kit somewhere upstairs.

Good luck.