What are the requirements for the “Ghost” experience bonus

deus-ex-human-revolution

Lets say that I don't drag a knocked out enemy away, so that a patrol spots hims and starts searching for me. If I hide behind a wall where he is patrolling and is about to turn the corner, I can often get a quick take down on him, however he does say "Holy.." or "I heard…" just before so he has clearly spotted me. The same goes if I run up to someone to take them out.

Does this mean that I am not eligible for the Ghost XP award and the achievement for:

Foxiest of the Hounds (100)
Complete Deus Ex: Human Revolution without
setting off any alarms.

I bring up the Foxiest of the Hounds achievement, because when I make noise to try and lure someone out, the game switches to "Alarmed" status on my HUD.

Edit:

These game HUD states confuse me:

  • Alarmed
  • Suspicious
  • Hostile

Am I correct in assuming that only the "Hostile" state means that I am no longer eligible for the Ghost.

Best Answer

This does mean that you aren't eligible for the Ghost experience bonus.

It does not mean that you aren't eligible for the Foxiest of the Hounds achievement.

Foxiest of the Hounds refers to if a guard runs up to an alarm panel and activates it, or a camera sets off an alarm, not the "alarmed" state that guards can go into.

Also, you already lost the "Ghost" bonus because someone spotted a body.

EDIT:

Alarmed occurs whenever a guard sees (or hears) something out of the ordinary. For example, a door open, a dead body, a hole in the wall that you punched out etc. This state varies. This state WILL disqualify you from receiving Ghost if someone spotted you or a body or something similar. This state WILL NOT disqualify you from receiving Ghost if someone spots a door opening, a hole in the wall or something similar. (At least I think this is how it works, I've received and not received Ghost in these ways, but I'm not 100% sure if this is exactly how it works)

Suspicious occurs whenever you're spotted by a camera or after guards have been hostile for a while and you've remained hidden for a while, they'll revert back to alarmed, and then suspicious. This state WILL NOT disqualify you from getting Ghost.

Hostile means that they're actively searching for your last seen location and occurs only if you've been spotted by a camera (for long enough) a robot or a guard. This state WILL disqualify you from getting Ghost.