Every guard is in one of a handful of states. The icon over their head tells you which.
Icons
| Icon | Meaning |
|---|---|
 | Aware: they noticed something but aren't alerted yet. |
 | Searching: looking around, not yet alerted. |
 | Alerted! They know you're here. |
 | Alerted, searching: actively hunting for you. |
 | Body found: heading to a corpse. |
 | Heard something: heading to a noise. |
How guards escalate
- Passive: on patrol, at a post, or idle.
- Seen: they glimpsed you and turn to look.
- Alerted: they walk to where they saw you, search for a few seconds, then go back.
- Detected: combat. They shoot, reposition and use tactics (see Guards).
- Hunting: they lost you, so they rush your last known position and search the area.
- Heightened: after a hunt, guards stay on edge for 2 minutes. If a Heightened guard sees you, they skip straight to Detected.
TipOnce you've broken contact, give the area a couple of minutes to cool down before you try again.