Dishonored 2's Death of the Outsider expansion could've focused on Whaler captain Daud, but the decision to instead go with protege Billie Lurk seems like a good one. Her arsenal of ultra-cool abilities and high tech weaponry has impressed so far—and Bethesda has now launched a "Powers, Gadgets and Gear" trailer which hones in on what Lurk brings to battle.
Expect Void Strikes, melee stabbings, her own spin on the game's signature Blink ability, and Hook Mines, among other things. As the headline above probably suggests, the latter are my favourite.
Game director Harvey Smith reckons Hook Mines are designed to be non-lethal, however can be used in certain very fatal manner. Here's Bethesda, as per this blog post:
"Place this on a wall or floor or ceiling, and it’ll draw an enemy to it. The Hook Mine can be used non-lethally to subdue a person or hide an unconscious body. But if you place enough Hook Mines in an area, you’ll eviscerate anyone caught in the competing magnetic forces."
Smith adds in the footage above: "It can be quite gory. It’s one of our favorite toys across the Dishonored games."
After chatting with Dinga Bakaba and Christophe Carrier at Gamescom, I had the chance to go hands-on with Death of the Outsider. At the time, I didn't realise Hook Mines could be used to tear my enemies apart, however did revel in planting traps upon rooftops and balconies, luring foes into their magnetic pull radius, and watching them shoot skyward—knocking themselves unconscious en route, in something that echoed The Phantom Pain's Fulton system.
Much like its forerunners, Death of the Outsider weighs heavily on this sort of idiosyncratic mix-and-matching, and I'm now looking forward to throwing lethal mines into that mix. Dishonored 2's Death of the Outsider DLC is due September 15, however you can read Ian Birmbaum's early impressions here.