14 DAY TRIAL // I peek around the corner and see two guards moving down along a hallway and I decide this is a good moment to take some time and learn their patterns in order to take them down as quietly as possible.
About two minutes later I move crouched and hidden to one of them and press Q in order to do a non-lethal takedown and then drag the body to safety.
I get experience for my silent move, for my merciful nature and for my quick attack, which brings me that much closer to yet another Prasix point and another augmentation.
I could have played the same situation (and have done so with many similar ones) more aggressively, peeking around the corner to headshot one of the guards using my much modded trusty pistol and then waiting to kill the other one with my built in blades when he investigated where the shot came from.
I would have gotten experience for my headshot skills and for taking down the targets.
I could have also peeked around the corner and waited for the guards to move on in order to then find a grate for the ventilation system, moving around the building without being seen and without having to take out any of the enemies there.
I would have received a traveler notice and, again, experience.
The fact that Deus Ex: Human Revolution rewards players generously for taking either of the paths mentioned above makes it a brilliantly designed experience, one which is content with presenting the player with a place, a problem, a challenge and then rewards him for solving it, agnostic when it comes to the means of execution.
It actually lead to some sections where I first did the non-lethal and stealth approach only to then explore all the vents and then assault the building with firepower just to get some more experience, which is an abuse of the game mechanics on my part.
It's also worth noting that the developers are passing a bit of judgment by making the stealth, non-lethal and hacking play mode a little more experience heavy than any other.