I really don't get the chaos system in this game. It seems like punishment for playing the game the much more varied and open lethal route, and instead encouragement for the more repetitive non lethal method of sleeper holds and sleeping darts. In combat your capability to defend yourself non lethally is almost non existent, you have to either rely on sleeping darts or running away. It even takes away the experimentation of the sandboxed areas where the mission targets are at, since the non lethal way of eliminating them is always the same thing, whereas you could take them down any number of ways lethally.

Playing through this game non lethally at first, I was surprised when I realized that halfway through the game, I'd been pretty much been taking care of enemies the exact same boring way. Then I started playing lethal but stealthy and the game was a blast, since some abilities are very useful when playing that way, like the Devouring Swarm power, something you wouldnt even dare think of during a non lethal run.

I kinda get that they wanted to have at least some morality system in place, but the execution makes no sense. Apparently, killing low level foot soldiers will doom Dunwall, yet since there is no multiplier towards chaos in place for killing important targets rather than sparing them, it makes both options seem almost identical. It ends up not really mattering whether or not an assassination target dies or lives.

Why they would want to try and discourage you from playing the varied and enjoyable lethal method of playing this game with a shallow "killing is bad so no fun toys for you or we'll make the world depressing" chaos system, I really don't know, especially since the rats eating a body count towards your kills, something that made me really scratch my head first playing through.

TLDR: The game has varied and fun lethal gameplay, yet a boneheaded, shallow morality system that discourages it.