Dishonored 2 Info - Everything You Need to Know

The last two weeks have been about first-person shooters, first with Titanfall 2 and then with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. This week is all about Dishonored 2, choosing between playing as either Emily Kaldwin or Corvo Attano, and choosing how much chaos you will create. Before this game sneaks up on you, get prepared for what to expect with our super handy list of Dishonored 2 info. Even if you played the first game, don’t think you know everything there is to know about the sequel. Plenty has changed since Corvo terrorized Dunwall, and it’s not just Corvo’s age and appearance.

Don’t forget that we most likely will not have a review ready on launch day as Bethesda will not send out review copies before November 10th, the day before release. Our reviewers are good, but they’re not cram-Dunwall-and-Karnaca-all-in-one-night good. That just doesn’t sound enjoyable for anyone, anyway.

Dishonored 2 releases November 11, 2016 for PlayStation 4. Bethesda still has not commented if it will provide PS4 Pro support at this time.

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Dishonored 2 Info Dump

Dishonored 2 - Everything You Need to Know
Dishonored 2 Announced at E3 2016
It was rumored that there would be a Dishonored 2, and Bethesda dropped the news at E3 2015, but they didn't show anything until E3 2016. But at that announcement, we learned two very important details:
- Players could play as either Corvo or Emily Kaldwin.
- Corvo finally has a voice.
Dishonored 2 Collector's Edition Includes Corvo's Mask, Emily's Ring
After their Fallout 4 Collector's Edition, Bethesda obviously likes to go big or go home with their CEs, giving fans plenty of tangible items to make the purchase all the more worthwhile. For the Dishonored 2 CE, players will receive the following:
- steelbook case;
- replica of Corvo's mask;
- replica of Emily's ring; and
- a poster of Delilah Kaldwin as the Empress of Dunwall
Everything About Emily Kaldwin Will Reflect She's an Empress

Aside from her mother's murder, Emily Kaldwin has lived the high life as the Empress of Dunwall. Even a witch stealing her throne from her doesn't change who she is at her heart, and this is reflected in not just her clothing but also her powers.

Creative Director Harvey Smith said about Emily:

Emily doesn’t wear rags. She wears an asymmetrical-cut jacket with gold embroidery befitting someone who grew up in a palace. She has taste and she has the finest tailors working for her. When she’s carrying a pistol or a crossbow, they need to look like they were made by the finest craftsmen in the Empire of the Isles.

Emily's powers from the Outsider also reflects her status. For instance, one power that is unique to Emily is Mesmerize, which enthralls enemies so Emily can either eliminate or sneak past them with ease.
Bethesda Revealed How the Abilities Changed at QuakeCon 2016

Bethesda announced Dishonored 2 at their E3 press conference, but they didn't reveal much until their annual QuakeCon a few months later in August 2016. At the show, the developer showed a demonstration of how Corvo's abilities have changed, especially his famous Blink ability.

Bethesda explained the changes in their blog:

And it all starts with Blink – Corvo’s signature traversal power. Our first glimpse of Blink shows us exactly what we expect to see: Corvo teleports from the ground to a balcony and ducks into a sealed building; Corvo instantly transports himself from a second-story window to some exposed ductwork across an alleyway. But Blink isn’t just for movement anymore. Twice we saw Corvo use his signature power in newly aggressive ways: blinking into a foe and immediately stabbing him in the neck, and later using it to slam into an enemy, shoving him back with deadly force

Bethesda's Gary Steinman posted some gifs on Twitter to show these changes in action.
Assassin Ability Upgrades Have Changed

Emily has all new abilities in Dishonored 2 as she is an all new character. However, Corvo will have some changes to ability upgrades.

In Dishonored, you took the power, and there was one upgrade for it. Usually, that upgrade was: It works for a little bit longer, or it works a little faster. This time, we really wanted to do something more interesting than that, so we took the power, we gave you a good basic package of the power, and then we said, “How many different ways can we upgrade it?” We tried not to have symmetrical trees. We don’t care about, “Each [power] has three [upgrades],” or whatever. We say, “Whatever tree is under that power, based on what we can come up with, fine.”

For example, the Devouring Swarm ability Corvo developed from the first game now has possible upgrades for increasing the size of the swarms, commanding the swarm to follow him, or summoning two swarms of rats he can send in different places.

Emily's ability upgrades will follow in the same style, also giving more choices to the player.
Dishonored 2 Takes Place in Karnaca

After the witch Delilah has taken the throne from Emily Kaldwin, the empress and Corvo flee to Karnaca. The coastal town will obviously be a refreshing change of scenery, even though Dunwall was pretty darn amazing, but developer Arkane Studios has also said that Karnaca will be a "new way to experience the game.
Corvo Attano Trailer

The excitement to play as Emily Kaldwin is quite palpable, as many are thrilled to have a choice in their gameplay. But the development team says don't rule Corvo out just yet. He has matured and grown since his last romp as an assassin.

Creative Director Harvey Smith said, “Corvo is like a man reflecting on the winter of his life. He’s both the badass supernatural assassin we wanted him to be, and he’s very thoughtful.” Lead Designer Dinga Bakaba added, “Corvo comes back with all his classic powers, made more active and more beautiful through our new engine technology, and each is also improved from a game design perspective.”

Check out Corvo Attano's spotlight trailer to see him in action.
Dishonored 2 Will Take Between 16-20 Hours to Complete

Developer Co-Creative Director Harvey Smith announced on Twitter that playing as Emily on Hard took him 15 hours to complete that particular playthrough. He did note, however, that with the studio's play tests, most people take between 16 and 20 hours to beat the game the first time. He added that their goal was to keep the game between 12 and 20 hours to make it more possible to play the game multiple times.
The Creative Kills of Dishonored 2

If you're planning a playthrough where you will kill nearly everyone and everything in sight, then Arkane Studios' "Creative Kills" trailer is a must see. Since we're pretty familiar with some of Corvo's skills already, the trailer mostly focuses on the nasty ways Emily can kill enemies. For instance, the "Creative Kills" trailer shows Emily's Domino, Far Reach, Doppelganger, Transposition, and Shadow Walk abilities.
Dishonored 2 Hands-on Preview

Just last month, we were able to get our hands on Dishonored 2 for the first time. Louis Edwards greatly enjoyed what he played, especially with the game's new spin on the chaos system, puzzle-solving, and options for how to deal with enemies. Check out his entire preview here.
Pre-Order Dishonored 2 and Play it a Day Early

Bethesda has a couple of extra incentives for pre-ordering Dishonored 2, no matter if it's digital or at retail. Pre-ordering the game can net you a copy of Darksiders Definitive Edition, which is a current-generation version of the game with all of its DLC. In addition, all those who pre-order will be able to play the game one day before everyone else on November 10, 2016.
Player Has Many Options for Escaping at Their Disposal

The first Dishonored title had some pretty imaginative ways you could use to escape a precarious situation or the possibility of being seen. Dishonored 2 promises to have even more innovative methods for escape, as shown in their "Daring Escapes" trailer.
Live Action Trailer - Take Back What's Yours

We love how beautiful games are, but live action trailers are also just as amazing and sometimes more thought-provoking or emotion-inducing. Take in point the live action trailer for Dishonored 2, which goes into a bit more about Corvo and Emily's reasoning for becoming assassins.

The following is Bethesda's statement on the live action trailer:

When Delilah, a mad witch armed with powerful black magic, seizes the throne and the fate of your Empire hangs in the balance, how far will you go to hunt down your enemies – and take back what’s yours?
You Can Pre-Load Dishonored 2 November 8th

As of November 1st, Dishonored 2 has gone gold. Everyone who digitally preordered the title will be able to pre-load the game on November 8, 2016. By pre-loading, the game will instantly be ready for your enjoyment the second it unlocks.
It Will Take Two Playthroughs to Platinum

As suspected, it will take at least two playthroughs to earn a Platinum trophy for Dishonored 2. One trophy requires playing through with Emily, and another with Corvo. There are also two trophies for ghosting and not killing anyone, and then there's one that requires a whole lot of murder. Plan accordingly, trophy hunters! You can find the complete trophy list here.