The different "pillars of gameplay", as requested by the developers are "Combat," "Stealth", "Hacking" and "social". Players can switch between these types of play whenever they please, and some pillars may flow to others. For example, a court may not sound an alarm and start a fight, and social skills can lead the player to access certain areas more easily than otherwise possible. In the series, increases are technological changes to the body that allows the user superhuman abilities. While increases in the first two games were nanotechnology, Human Revolution is before the increases and instead of mechanical properties.
These increases address each of the four types of game. While the player's character is very capable of bringing death to their enemies, the player is never forced to perform acts of lethal violence, except during boss fights. Increases, while improving player performance on each of the types of games, it also allows players to create their own methods of play if they see fit.