Here’s everything you need to know about Dishonored 2

Bethesda’s E3 press conference is coming up on Sunday and as a way to prepare for the gameplay that they’ll show from Dishonored 2, I’ve decided to write up everything you need to know so far. This will serve to detail the new characters, powers, gameplay, and locations that you will see in the game.

The first Dishonored had you playing as Corvo Attano, the Royal Protector of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin. Corvo is framed for her assassination, and you played through the game bringing vengeance (or mercy) to those who had wronged you. Dishonored 2 takes place fifteen years after Dishonored in 1852, and players will now have the choice to play as either Corvo or his daughter, Emily Kaldwin, who has grown into her role as Empress. To start off, I’ll detail some information about these two protagonists.

CORVO ATTANO

Corvo was born in Karnaca, the capital of Serkonos, the main setting of Dishonored 2. After his father died when he was young and he became estranged from his sister, he decided to enter a swordsman tournament which earned him a place in the Grand Serkonan Guard, Serkonos’ military. Once he turned 18, Corvo was called away from Karnaca to serve the Emperor in Dunwall. During his time in Dunwall, Corvo and Princess Jessamine Kaldwin grew close and had a child together, Emily.

The events of the first game are kickstarted when an assassin murders Jessamine and kidnaps a young Emily. Corvo is sent to prison after being framed for the crimes. Throughout the game, he acquires various supernatural powers thanks to a supernatural being known as the Outsider. With these powers, Corvo is able to defeat his enemies and save Emily (in the canon ending).

In Dishonored 2, Corvo will be much older (in his mid-50s) but he’ll still be able to kick some ass. Much like the beginning of the first game, another conspiracy forces either Corvo or Emily into action where the player must travel to Karnaca. If the player chooses to play as Corvo, it will be a sort of homecoming for him. He feels a need to protect Emily, although he’s ensured that she can protect herself. With Emily, Karnaca is an entirely new land and culture for her. We’ll have to see how the story unfolds once Dishonored 2 releases.

CORVO’S POWERS

Corvo still has his powers from the first game, but this time around they will be more upgradable and a bit different from what you remember.

BLINK: The teleportation ability is back and better than ever. Much like how Daud’s power allowed him to freeze time in The Knife of Dunwall DLC, Corvo will now be able to freeze time while using Blink as well. With different combat upgrades for Blink, players can now also use their momentum from it to attack enemies by kicking them forward.

DARK VISION: This is the one power that both Corvo and Emily have access to. With Dark Vision, players will be able to see through walls to look for highlighted enemies and items. In Dishonored 2, this power will now send out three pulses about eight seconds apart. Moving triggers a new pulse from your current location, and pulses can overlap, allowing for you to view more of your surroundings.

DEVOURING SWARM: Even though rats were a huge part of the plague in Dunwall, Corvo will still be able to summon them in Karnaca as well. As the name implies, hordes of rats will appear to eat and devour enemies, often until nothing is left. In the second game, Corvo will be able to summon two swarms at once.

POSSESSION: Allowing Corvo to possess the minds of humans and animals in Dishonored, this ability will now feature options to chain together possessions (Corvo can now jump from one host to the next) and possess dead bodies.

BEND TIME: If you ever needed to slip by guards but didn’t want to alert them, an easy way to do it was to slow or completely halt time using this power. In Dishonored 2, not only will you be able to slow and freeze time, but you can also advance time as well.

EMILY KALDWIN

Emily was born to Jessamine Kaldwin and Corvo Attano, though no one knew Corvo was the father. As a child, being born into royalty, Emily grew up very privileged and well-educated.

In Dishonored, players see Emily as a young, care-free girl who just wants to live her life and have fun. Everything changed when her mother was assassinated and she was kidnapped. Luckily in the canonical ending, Emily survived this ordeal, but she is still haunted by what happened.

She has grown up significantly since the events that took place in Dishonored. Gone is the little girl who was kidnapped and in her place is a powerful, independent woman. Dunwall thrives under Emily, and she ensures that the city is no longer corrupt. Her rule is cut short (hopefully temporarily), but thanks to Corvo’s training, when Emily is unceremoniously ousted, she has the skills to try and solve who is behind the conspiracy.

EMILY’S POWERS

Emily will have an entirely new arsenal of supernatural abilities at her disposal as opposed to Corvo, save for Dark Vision. All of these will be upgradable just like Corvo’s, and returning players may even find it more fun to try out some fresh powers.

FAR REACH: This ability serves as Emily’s “navigational” power, however it is not teleportation like Corvo’s Blink. Instead, Emily can use what look like tendrils to grab onto far away ledges and pull herself forward. Unlike Blink, Emily can be spotted by guards while in motion while using Far Reach. This can be upgraded to grab objects and pull them towards herself or throw them at enemies.

MESMERIZE: Designed as a crowd control ability, Mesmerize allows players to distract guards by putting them in a dream-like state. A tear in the world will open up in front of them that affects them so heavily that they are unable to move.

DOMINO: With this power, players can link together the fates of multiple characters. What happens to one will affect the rest. Should you link multiple guards and only kill one of them, the others will die as well.

SHADOW WALK: As seen at the end of the reveal trailer from E3 2015, Shadow Walk allows Emily to transform into a shadow-like entity. This makes it harder for guards to spot her, and the player can quietly traverse the level.

DOPPELGANGER: Another useful power, this grants Emily the ability to create a clone of herself. Combined with Domino, players can kill the doppelganger which will subsequently kill any guards linked to it.

Along with Corvo and Emily, NPCs that players can expect to see include the Outsider, Luca Abele (Duke of Serkonos), Meagan Foster (Captain of the Dreadful Wale), Paolo (Howler gang leader), Mortimer Ramsey (Dunwall City Watch), and Liam Byrne (Vice Overseer).

KARNACA

It’s been confirmed that the beginning and end of Dishonored 2 take place in Dunwall, but a majority of it will feature a whole new location, Karnaca. Whereas Dunwall was Arkane’s take on a steampunk London, Karnaca is situated on the southern Isle of Serkonos and is inspired by the Mediterranean. Dunwall (as much as I loved the city) always felt cold and dingy, so Karnaca will feel much warmer in comparison. It seems to be a beautiful place to live, minus the bloodfly infestation. Can’t have the city seem too perfect.

Beloved by the wealthy, Karnaca is referred to as the “Jewel of the South.” As a major city where customs and cultures collide, there’s a lot to love from its food to its traditional dances. Duke Theodanis Abele ruled when Corvo was young, and he was widely regarded as a fair ruler. In Dishonored 2, we’ll see a city in disarray as Theodanis Abele has died and has been replaced by a more corrupt Duke who wields the power of the Grand Serkonan Guard.

The new Duke abuses his power and destroys Karnaca’s economy. The mines, which sit next to the Wind Corridor, are now being mined at twice the rate, causing high winds to carry dust across the city, killing workers and forcing people to don masks as they walk outside.

Because the new Duke is tyrannical and the previous mine baron Aramis Stilton has gone missing, several different factions fight for control of the city, two of which are the Howlers and the Abbey of the Everyman (The Overseers). The Howlers are led by a man named Paolo, and while they fight for the people against a treacherous regime, the Howlers use unethical methods to do so, often putting civilians in harm’s way. The Overseers are a religious sect who believe that Paolo and his followers’ immoral tactics are leading Karnaca astray.

Karnaca is a beautiful location, but it is marred by both a plague and political strife. Just as in Dishonored, the local police force and military, the Grand Serkonan Guard, start to set up Walls of Light because of the on-going conflicts in the city. While traversing through the districts, players will come across victims of the plague, whose corpses are now home to bloodflies. Time will tell if either Emily or Corvo can help restore Karnaca to the beauty it once was.

GENERAL GAMEPLAY

Arkane has said that Dishonored 2 will support a modified chaos system with three chaos routes, low chaos, high chaos, and very high chaos. This also means that there will be significantly more branches in the story allowing for different permutations of events in the game depending on your actions. The ending will be affected by choices the player has made. Even though you are given choices throughout the game, it is nothing like a typical RPG, so expect something more along the lines of the first Dishonored.

Ruins and bone charms are back, and this time there will be a bone charm crafting system. Arkane hasn’t talked about any specifics on it, but hopefully we will learn more soon at E3.

Players have said that they wanted more non-lethal options so Arkane added the ability for non-lethal drop take downs. In addition, the supernatural abilities in Dishonored 2 allow for more non-lethal alternatives. The A.I. has also been enhanced and will have increased situational awareness, so playing non-lethal may be tougher than ever.

Dishonored 2 releases on November 11, 2016 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.