It's been a few years since I played Deus Ex, but I have a question about this game:
I know a non-violent and stealth approach can work, but what about in addition to that, a non-augmentation approach? I've heard the game really does throw the augmentations at you…so my idea is to avoid "dehumanising experiences" completely by ignoring them and violence. Is this play style feasible? I'd be interested in hearing someone compare playthroughs with and without augmentations.
Impossible. You can go violent without augs but to be non-violent you'll probably need them. Ok, maybe "impossible" is a stretch.. but it would be very, very, very hard.
I get where you're coming from to some degree, however. As I've grown as a gamer I've begun to appreciate overcoming adversity through my own wits, not utilizing "win" buttons or cheats. However, Deus Ex has taken a novel approach to all of this: augs aren't instant wins (not all of them, anyhow). Augs merely give you a touch more information (like positional data or bio-feedback on NPCs via dialog) which can then be used to
augment your own skills in overcoming the adversity. I got a really huge smile on my face when, after just purchasing the social engineering aug and wondering if I just nerfed all the challenge and fun out of dialogs, utterly failed to "win" the first protracted dialog I applied it on (accessing the Police Station's morgue).
.. but, why would you want to abandon the few paltry RPG features available in the game? Seems weird to read, on this site especially.
This just happens to be my play style in all stealth games anyway. I always KO every guard in the Thief games as well so I can then go search and loot at my leisure without worrying about being caught.
I wouldn't go out of my way just to maximize xp like that though. There's no need since the game is fun as hell no matter how you choose to play it.
I think I will adopt your philosophy on Thief IV but in Deus Ex I try to merely avoid them all. I like the challenge of knowing "traps" remain in the rooms I missed (however, at times, it can be far easier to get through a room without taking anybody down than to pick them off one at a time without triggering alert statuses).