You can finish the game with your fists except for the boss fights but in this edition even that's solved.

How to break the formation of a group of enemies who keep an eye on each other is what's the puzzle if you want to keep your hands clean and remain unseen.

There are only a few examples where this requires some baiting of the AI, honestly I thought the game was quite easy even on the hardest difficulty playing stealthily.

I watched my friend play DXHR:Director's Cut from start to finish on multiple 3-10hr+ live streams. His complaints about this game are as valid as any other gamer.
It was a Based and Redpilled Hot Take on a game beloved for "not being Invisible War" heaven forbid.

The most surreal thing is how our hipster groupthink makes us think Deus Ex as a franchise still holds up. Until Deus Ex goes back to it's sandbox sim roots with a systems-oriented way of allowing the player to author their experience, it will never be as good as the first or second.

In Invisible War, you could fire at grenades on the belts of enemies, and grenades had health like destructible crates and other objects, allowing you to shoot grenades at a distance after dropping them on the ground to blow open a locked door, or take out groups of enemies by shooting their inventory, as all the items carried by enemies were now on their physical person. This is emergent game design, that simple systems create gameplay through more-or-less a chain reaction, coherently held together by verisimilitude, that by you throwing a "rock" to distract an enemy with a "sound", you have a physics object which creates "Sound Stimulus" that an enemy reacts to, going to the position of the sound as a physical object.
This is logic based, and very unscripted. Enemies collide with a volume shaped like a ball and this calls the enemy to "investigate" by making them Alerted but not yet Hostile, and they pathfind to the exact position of this "sound" created each time a physical object you hit, destroy, or throw, collides with the environment.
Human Revolution does not utilize these systems in any predominant way as the previous games did, and hiding in shadows (a system in the first Deus Ex) is not present in Human Revolution, opting for the simplest (line-of-sight + standing - crouching * distance) system seen in games like Far Cry 3 onward.
The player can no longer turn out lights, sap the electrical box to make missions dark, or destroy lights to hide from enemies, as a system.
The player can no longer physically melee or use melee weapons, they perform takedowns and need to destroy crates by throwing smaller crates against the larger crates Jensen cannot lift without an augmentation, so the player shoots wooden crates with loud weapons, to waste ammo and showcase how Deus Ex Jensen cannot use crowbars, swords, knives, or stun batons. The Iconic Dragon Tooth Sword does not exist in any usable way in Human Devolution, or Buttcheeks Divided: Augmented Azz Boogaloo.
The player cannot carry more than one of the same weapon, or it evaporates into a single bullet. Jensen must carry one Combat Rifle, sell it at the gas station, trek back to defeated enemies, carry another single Combat Rifle, sell it at the gas station, trek back to the garage hacked open with Capture 5 Stealth 3 Fortify 3 fully upgraded stealth and save-scumming until the RNG alert-chance hacking minigame gives you the outcome desired, carry another Combat Rifle, sell it at the gas station, rinse and repeat and buy 2 Praxis Kits.
The player cannot drop or throw weapons to create audible sounds which distract and lure enemies.
The player cannot fall more than a single story or their augmented, robotic, titanium and steel fortified robotic body will crumple like an aluminum beer can against a much stronger forehead made of skin, muscle, and bone.
The player, in lore, being augmented, cannot build muscle mass to become stronger. They can curl 40lb maximum or their robotic limb will jam. This happens in real life. As a consequence of being augmented, individuals take anti-rejection medication called Neuropezine, except Jensen because he is a Gary Sue with anime for facial structure. Steroid users may lose their ability to naturally produce testosterone, but at least they can lift 10 Jensens on a rack and grow a giant penis while their balls shrink and their skin gets covered in pimples and odorous sebum, with plugs of sebum that clog the scalp and aggravate hair loss.
Jensen drinks Kale Shakes and watches Ellen, JC Denton watches 12oz Mouse and Serial Experiments: Lain on two computer monitors while headphones play a podcast on Nano-augmented bodies of color during an episode on ADHD and Augmentations.
Steroids > Robotic Augmentations.

Stealth in Human Revolution is what makes it easy, and combat is what makes you drop in seconds.
Perform takedowns and enemies are lined up to punch Jensen's ticket when time continues.
Takedowns pause everything from AI to physics, taser an enemy with the Stun Gun and perform a takedown, and watch as the first stops being electrocuted until you finish your cool takedown moves, and continues to convulse as the game unpauses after the takedown finishes.
Takedowns cannot be performed on enemies until the player makes them hostile in non-mission areas.
Takedowns cannot be performed on bystanders, very much a Deus Ex sandbox no-no.
Takedowns cannot be performed successfully on bosses, an attention to detail for two augmented characters fighting, but I don't remember if stunning bosses and using takedowns actually works or not, and it should. If it does, great, the game has solid rules the player can exploit to author their experience! If not, the concussion 'nades are for show.

Jensen can't pee in toilets or poop in the sink, wash his robot hands in robot soap and essential robot scented oils anti-corrode and anti-rust handsoap shampoo conditioner all-in-one, so the game is not immersive enough for anyone to play.

After Detroit, the player is supposed to win the game, and the credits are supposed to roll.
Human Revolution is not realistic enough, as the player is willing to leave Hong Kong to RETURN to DETROIT! The developers of Human Revolution have never been to Detroit, and designed Detroit to look like Tokyo meets Lemon Party.
Jensen, being a white boy, has a high-end apartment with 14 foot tall windows overlooking the streets, in DETROIT.
In Detroit, Derelict Row is the only part of Detroit that looks like Detroit, and the developers missed the opportunity to add an abandoned Theater location to the free roam environment, hopefully to connect Derelict Row to one end of the Police Station plaza by the roadblock that leads to the back alley behind the fences with the fire escape. Giving the world a circular flow that rewards exploration. Detroit instead looks like New York City in a high-end commercial district with art-house structures with a warzone next door. Detroit looks like it has money, and maybe that's because of Sarif Industries.

I cannot post this as a review because the original Deus Ex Human Revolution (with post-processing that isn't broken, the Director's Cut has pixellated buildings in the skybox due to gutted DoF and Bloom from removing the tonemapping which gave HR it's bronze and gold filter) has been removed from the Steam store for being the superior version, unlike the Director's Cut.

Playing through this now and really not seeing the same challenges. I'm playing stealthy, and aside from using the combat rifle a little in the tutorial, I've been using takedowns on almost every enemy I've come across, even going back through maps to knock out every enemy without raising any alarms.

I think the forced boss fight at the end of Detroit was the first actual fire fight where I took damage.

I don't think this community has a git gud attitude, but as any old game only fans read the forums apart from the occasional newcomer.

Especially here as the game is removed from the store so no newbies really show up anymore.

Originally posted by Avenger1324:

aside from using the combat rifle a little in the tutorial, I've been using takedowns on almost every enemy I've come across, even going back through maps to knock out every enemy without raising any alarms.

There might be a surprise for you in the end.

"Git Gud" is a 'Snarky' way of saying : Figure it out, I'm too lazy or inept to give you any info that might help you.
AS for some of your comments..."There's always another way to solve a problem", Games aren't designed around your inventory or "Augs". Levels can be more difficult but always possible (Regardless of Inventory).
There are 3 general ways to approach Deus Ex.(IMO) "Stealth" (don't be seen or Heard. Attack without alerting anyone). "Avoid" avoid everyone and everything completely, Gunfire* Blow everyone's brains out.
It all depends on your style.
*Gunfire lets everyone know your there. (HI, I'm over here). So you better have the right gun{s} Ammo, and skill to hit the target. ( you can also take ammo off of dead guys, assuming you can hit them in the first place). Exit strategy is also helpful.

IMO you picked one of the more challenging strategies possible. Tranq rifle (compared to the "stun gun) requires skilled gunman ship, Managing dead bodies from a distance. (or dropping them in a place that isn't being patrolled).
A Combination of all 3 is also an option. EX: Enter with the intention of Stealth. If your discovered goto a combination of any 3 strategies mentioned above. They already know your there so you may as well cap their ass (if you like).
Guns are not required throughout the game but can be use-full in the right situations. (Landmines are an alternative, in some cases).
IF your getting jammed up in a certain location ...your probably not using the most effective means for you to get through it (try something else).
If your going to go for a non lethal approach. IMO I would suggest: Stealth: "TakeDown &/or "Stun Gun", Hide the body.
The above is a very "General Approach" covering "Strategies". Tutorials go into specific aspects of Gameplay.
It is by NO means a "definitive" way to play Deus ex. In Your case The Correct approach is what works for you. Right now it doesn't sound like the Tranquilizer Rifle is working.

I consicer myself a "normie", I also quite like puzzle games like Portal, or the old Splinter Cell games (which DEHR reminds me of on stealth playthrough, btw), where you need to think yourself into a situation and out of one. Went the sneaky "pacifist" route as well.

Used silent takedowns for most of the game, because I learned that 1) tranq rifle takes time to put the guards to sleep, and some times this causes things to go not particularly the way I planned, 2) when I wasn't aware of my surroundings (which was often the case when the guard was far enough, meaning near the limits or off the radar), things often went badly (there could be someone patrolling the area who I had no idea of, who sees the body).

As for situations where there are 3 guards covering each other, I searched for alternative solutions.
Searched for different entry points, environmentals to distract/lure the guards, bypass routes. Quicksave was my friend, as it allowed me to test the waters — either see how the guards reacted to my shenanigans or whether it's possible for me to do something in a short time window. Essentially learning some of the "game mechanics" on my own.
When something seems impossible, though, I try to learn how others got past this spot — maybe there's something stupid I missed, maybe some of my previous actions "closed some doors", so to speak, or maybe it is just an inconsistant gameplay design, where a thing stops working for "reasons"...

I can't quite understand what did you consider a "broken immersion". Did the gangsters get alerted without any plausible reasons (anyone investigating a noise, whitnessing/security cam detecting the unconcious bodies)? If so, then this sucks. If not, then maybe the bodies weren't dragged away & hidden well enough?
It's been a while, so I can't remember if the alarm was hard coded in the mission or not.

It's a single player game, play and you'll learn and adapt. Idk, I played this game as a kid with zero issues.

I finished the game years ago and it wasn't really challenging. The stealth route is a bit awkward but doable. I had finished the game on the highest difficulty by just kill everything. It's even easier when using the sneaky options.

git gud

Originally posted by stefan.klaus86:

Did any other "normie" also experience such an annoying experience with the crappy fight mechanics (unfair towards the player, extremly unfair)

I'm a semi-casual player. I saved Malik (many times) on "Give Me Deus Ex" difficulty (the only difficulty I play on) with the pistol and one EMP grenade. There's nothing unfair about the fight mechanics in this game.

Works fine here

Quick bump... Last played this about three years ago, thought I would fire it up again. It's not bad and still atmospheric, but I find doing a stealth play through just too tiresome. I almost managed it once, but lost the achievement as I think an exploding robot in one of the factory levels towards the end caused collateral damage to an enemy.

IMHO there are two main bottlenecks to getting stealth... The prologue scene where you have to get through Sarif HQ before Namir injures you and, in the DC, bloody Rifleman Bank Island or whatever it's called. Found that almost impossible to do using stealth and non lethal.

So next time, will just unalive everything that moves!