There are lots of video guides for completing the story, plus to even attempt this achievement you must have already completed the game once yourself, so this guide won't focus on the micro details of each mission, rather an overview of the difficulty itself.
Pre-requisites
1) You must complete one playthrough in order to unlock I Never Asked For This difficulty.
2) You must have at least one empty save slot before starting this difficulty, otherwise you won’t be able to save. This is because the 11 save slots the game allows are spread across all of your playthroughs. So if you have all 11 filled up with saves from an earlier playthrough, you’ll need to delete at least one of them.
3) Please Note: You cannot start this difficulty via New Game +.
Requirements
1) I Never Asked For This is a ‘Permadeath’ mode. Simply put, if you die, you have to start the entire game again.
2) However, you are allowed one save slot and you can save as often as you like in that one slot. This means that you don’t have to complete your whole playthrough in one session.
3) But, if you die, that save file is automatically deleted and you must start the game again.
MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE:
Your save file will only be deleted if the animation of you dying (i.e. the screen shaking, turning red, Adam slumping down) is completed. At this point a message will appear on screen telling you that your save file has been deleted.
So, the second that you die – immediately Dashboard Quit the game or switch off your console – whichever you prefer. If you do this before the animation completes, then when you load up the game, your save file will be left untouched and available to use.
Difficulty
1) This matches Give Me Deus Ex difficulty.
2) Enemies spot you quicker and you make more noise - this is particularly an issue during the curfew stage of the game while navigating the streets of Prague.
3) Waypoints do not appear on your HUD, so you must remember the way or bring up the map.
4) Objects no longer have the white edging around them that indicates they can be interacted with. So you must spot everything naturally.
5) Please Note: Killing enemies and getting detected does not void this achievement.
My Aug Build
My playthrough took 5 hours and 11 minutes and I prioritised the following build:
• Social Enhancer – 2 Points – Enables you to win all dialogue challenges and spare some fights.
• Hacking Capture – 6 Points – upgrade the left path to level 5.
• Smart Vision – 2 Points – helpful to see through walls and know enemy placements.
• Energy Convertor – 10 Points (Maxed Out) – Links to the constant glass shield strategy below.
• Remote Hacking – 3 Points – helpful for closing windows, disabling cameras and turrets.
• Icarus Landing – 2 Points – helps throughout – plus you don’t want to die from fall damage on a permadeath game!
• Glass Shield – 5 Points (Maxed Out) – all focused on extending its duration.
• Leg Prosthesis – 2 Point – to enable you to jump high.
Overarching Strategy:
I adhered to the following 6 principles throughout my playthrough:
1) Do Main Missions only. Avoid all side quests and ‘Places of Interest’.
2) Fully upgrade Hacking, Energy Converter and Glass shield.
3) Buy, Collect and Craft as many Biocells as possible.
4) Always loot in safe areas. You want crafting materials so that you can craft Biocells, and you want credits to be able to buy biocells. I sold all lethal firearms, alcohol and ammo to the vendor in Jensen's apartment building to build up my funds.
5) The basic strategy is to stealth your way past everyone using the Glass Shield – sometimes just brazenly crouch walking through entire fields of enemies. For example trigger Glass shield, and start stealthing through enemies and when your cloak is about to expire, hold Y and pull LT to refill your energy bar. Release Y and carry on as you were. This makes the sections in the Dvali Theatre and London exhibition centre far easier.
6) Having the use of Leg Prosthesis, Icarus Landing and Glass Shield for access to alternative paths, based on the situation.
If anyone has any queries please comment below and I'll respond as quick as I can.
Useful Comments - Updated 02/09/2016
SignatoryStar pointed out that you can re-enable the missing HUD elements (waypoints etc.) in the options menu.