One Shot (100)

Complete the game without dying

"I can't lie to you about your chances, but...you have my sympathies."

General Preparation:

There are no great strategies for this achievement other than what's already been mentioned. As the Xenomorph AI is very dynamic, sometimes you just don't know what to expect with it.

It is recommended that you attempt the achievement on an easier difficulty, as on hard the Xenomorph seems to have a tendency to walk outside of the vents more often.

Always crouch-walk around enemies and avoid running.

Stock up on medikits to heal yourself if you need to. You are able to carry up to six at a time. You should also look for flares. Construct noisemakers to distract the Xenomorph and the humans. Don't forget to use the EMP mines/pipe bombs/stun baton to take care of the androids. Save flamethrower fuel and Molotovs for the Xenomorph and the Facehuggers. Also save bolt gun ammo for the androids that wear raincoats later in the game.

Stuff That Can Catch You Off-Guard:

There are a few things that can take you by surprise in Alien: Isolation, and it's not a good thing to get caught off-guard while attempting the "One Shot" achievement. You never know if you'll fumble the controller and lose precious time.

Some of the worst enemies can be the androids that appear deactivated on the ground. A few are still active (you can tell by the glowing eyes). Do not get too close or else they can grab you and do a significant amount of damage. If you want, you could take these androids out with revolver shots to the head, but it's better to save ammo and walk around them.

Facehuggers are one hit deaths. It doesn't matter what difficulty you play on. If they jump, it's game over (man!). You'll start to see them appear in mission fourteen once you head down to Sevastopol's reactor core. When a Facehugger notices you, they make a pretty distinctive sound compared to everything else in the game. So have the flamethrower ready once you hear that sound. After the fourteenth mission you will encounter a few more during the rest of the game. These Facehuggers will burst out from behind a stack of cardboard boxes.

The Xenomorph can toy around with you at times. Occasionally you'll hear it hiss from a random vent up above, and you'll notice drool dripping down from the vent to the floor. Avoid walking underneath the vent or else you'll be killed. Keep an eye on the ceilings.

Do not mess with the friendly humans either, like the ones at the Colonial Marshall Bureau or the two you encounter in the Lorenz system lobby at the start of mission ten. It is possible to kill them, and if they die by your hand you'll get a game over screen.

It is possible to get a game over screen in the timed sequences from missions twelve and fifteen. In mission twelve you must manually disconnect the cables to stop APOLLO's communication with Samuels. If you don't remove the cables quickly enough or remove them in the proper order you will die. In mission fifteen you must shut off the Anesidora's fusion systems to prevent them from overloading. If you don't do the prompts quickly enough it is possible to die there too.

In the middle of mission eighteen there are some runaway trams you will encounter due to the way Sevastopol is tilting from the damaged gravity stabilizers. The first tram will appear as soon as you step close to a door. You'll be able to hear it coming so hang back until it passes. As for the second tram, you must remain crouched underneath it as it passes just above you. There's no time to get up the next little set of stairs, so remain crouched by the stairs then go up when the tram has passed.

Pause/Reload Abuse:

If you think you are about to die (you hear the Xenomorph shriek and stomp toward you, humans start shooting at you etc.) quickly pause the game with , then reload a save.

If you load a save during a death animation before you see the cassette tape save icon in the upper right corner of your screen, you will know that you reloaded quickly enough.

There is always the chance that you may not be quick enough to pause the game and you end up seeing the cassette tape save icon recording your death. When this happens, reload your "previous save" rather than "current save." By reloading the "previous save" your death will not have been registered and you can still earn this achievement by the end of the game.