At first, the Hitman series can seem intimidating to new players with its huge levels that have a considerable amount of depth and content. Truly learning the ins and outs of a Hitman level can take a lot of time and effort. This includes learning a target’s patterns and routines, the depth that comes with the map’s mission stories, and how much gathering Intel plays into the game’s world-building.

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The series recent entry Hitman 3 continues this trend and all the skills and mechanics from the first two games in the series translate to this newest entry too. As a result, seasoned players of the first two games will have something of an advantage in this new title. So going into Hitman 3 with a few already well-established tips and tricks that the pros use to speed-run and take out targets as efficiently as possible is a great way to get started. Naturally, these tips apply to the Legacy content from the previous two games too.

Updated on the 26th January 2022 by Michael Llewellyn: 2021 was a big year for the Hitman franchise with the third and final part of the World of Assassination trilogy ending a story arc that began with the episodic 2016 hit, Hitman. Thankfully, the developers at IO Interactive seem to be far from done with the third entry as they have announced more content, a new map, and a freelancer mode for 2022.

Furthermore, thanks to the full trilogy being made available on the Xbox Game Pass the series is now more readily available and accessible than ever before. However, despite this accessibility, it can be an intimidating series to get into thanks to its sandbox mechanics. This guide has been updated with more tips and tricks for players to use to help them be as professional as Agent 47 himself.

13 Grab As Many Tools As Possible

Hitman 3 screwdriver in Dubai

Explore the huge sandbox maps in Hitman 3, and it won't take long before one finds an abundance of tools and items scattered throughout the game. Of course, items like screwdrivers and wrenches make great easily accessible weapons for Agent 47 to use.

However, their uses can expand far beyond being a rather gruesome and effective way to take out a target or an enemy. As an example, wrenches can be used to sabotage machinery and cause mechanical defects in sprinklers and other objects connected with pipes to distract NPCs and targets or cause a diversion. The same goes for screwdrivers and crowbars these are incredibly useful everyday items that will make 47's job a lot easier.

12 Use Instinct Mode To Pinpoint Targets

Hitman 3 instinct mode

Instinct mode in the World of Assassination trilogy is Agent 47's version Spider-Man's spider-sense or Batman's Detective mode. Using the 47's heightened senses is invaluable for pinpointing his targets and assessing any threats in the area.

Agent 47's targets main or dangerous targets are often highlighted in red while police officers are highlighted in blue and armed NPCs like bodyguards will be represented in different colors like black. The maps are huge, so using the detective mode will make it a lot easier for the player to locate their intended targets. It's worth noting, however, that Instinct mode does not work in the game's Elusive Targets missions as the entire point of those missions is discovering the targets for themselves.

11 Save As Often As Possible

Hitman 3 Agent 47 Electrocutes Marcus Stuyvesant In The Gallery

Being able to save during a mission is invaluable in Hitman 3 and the World of Assassination trilogy as a whole. It's almost overwhelming how many options and opportunities will be available for the player and since the game is designed with missions intended to be replayed it's impossible to do everything in one go.

Using the save feature as often as possible will allow the player more legroom to explore and try out different methods and side missions. Furthermore, it's useful to save often because of how easy it is to make a mistake or get discovered by an NPC when one least expects it. The save feature isn't available to players looking to complete the game on Master difficulty, but one should know the maps inside and out before attempting such a feat anyway.

10 Use Cover To Slip Past Guards/Civilians

Cover is 47's best form of stealth

The guards and civilians with the white dots above their heads in the Hitman games are usually very aware of others they don’t recognize or are suspicious of. The best way to avoid them is to try one’s best to avoid their line of sight.

However, this can be tricky especially if there is more than one guard or vigilant civilian around. Surprisingly, there’s a way for players to slip past guards even they are looking right at Agent 47 when he is taking cover. Swapping cover, even when in a guard’s line of sight is possible, and he will remain unnoticed which is especially useful for speedrunners.

9 Hold Down The Subdue Button In Cover

Hold down the subdue button to initiate an immediate choke hold

Using cover as often as possible when trying to remain undetected is an absolute must. As mentioned above, it will allow the protagonist Agent 47 to avoid a guard’s line of sight even when directly in front of them.

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However, the guards that make their way towards 47 will often need to be subdued silently as they will notice him if they walk past. A quick and easy way to make sure a threat is subdued is to hold down the square button (or the X on the Xbox) as they're approaching this will cut down on the time it takes to take down an opponent.

8 Use Leg Shots For Quick Takedowns

A quick leg shot followed by a KO won't affect your rating

More often than not, monitoring an NPC’s movement and patterns are key to getting past them or into a guarded room. However, for players that want to be as fast as possible using the silencer to get a leg shot is a far more effective method.

Making sure that the NPC isn’t facing Agent 47, the player can quickly rush an opponent shoot them in the leg, and either knockout or kill the downed target or NPC. If one is quick enough, this won’t affect the player’s rating at the end of the mission.

7 Pay Attention To An NPC’s Line Of Sight

stay away from a guard's line of sight

Mastering Agent 47’s movement and getting a grasp of his spatial awareness will massively pay off in the Hitman trilogy. This is especially so for players that need to avoid an NPC with a dot above their head’s line of sight.

Staying behind an enemy and avoiding their line of sight mean that 47 will be able to slip by an NPC and remain unnoticed. However, players will need to make sure that Agent 47 doesn’t accidentally bump into the NPC by getting too close.

6 Create Distance Between Bodyguards And Targets

get in between your target and their body guard to create distance

Some major targets in the Hitman series will often have a highly trained and efficient bodyguard following them around and watching their every move. Naturally, this can prove difficult for players that want to defeat a target without being detected or getting penalized for killing an NPC that’s not on the target list.

However, players can create distance between their target and the bodyguard in some rather amusing ways. All one needs to do is simply get in between the bodyguard and the target and block their path this way the bodyguard and the target will lose each other creating opportunities for 47 to get rid of his target without being spotted.

5 Create A Panic At The Right Times

Crowd panic is a great way to slip away unnoticed

Getting through crowded areas like the ones in the Paris mission or the nightclub in Berlin can create problems for Agent 47 because there’s always going to be an NPC that will immediately become suspicious.

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As a result, getting through these areas can be time-consuming and tricky for speed-runners. However, a carefully placed explosive or setting off a fire alarm will cause mass panic which will allow 47 to cut through an area without getting noticed. On some occasions, this will also lock down a target meaning that 47 has an opportunity to find his target without them wandering off.

4 Use Coins To Direct NPCs

Coins can be used to redirect as well as distract

The coins in the Hitman series are some of the most useful tools in Agent 47’s arsenal. Thankfully, they can be found in their abundance and scattered all over the map so 47 very rarely needs to equip them as a loadout.

Agent 47 can use the coins to direct and lure NPCs and targets to where ever he wants. Once 47 has thrown a coin to the ground the NPC will go and investigate it. However, if the player is quick enough, and they collect the coin first they can throw it again in another direction leading the NPC even further away from their post or their scripted routines.

3 Let NPCs Fix Broken Objects

create distractions in all sorts of rooms

Sabotaging generators, electrical fuses, and other items that can be found in the environment is a great way to lure a guard away from their post or to Agent 47’s position. Of course, if the goal was to lure the guard away from their post to slip by unnoticed then that’s easily achieved.

However, if the player wants to steal the NPC’s outfit and use it as a disguise then waiting for them to fix the damaged item before subduing them is the wisest move. This is because they will notify other guards on the radio that there’s nothing to report after fixing it. If 47 subdues them before the fix then the sudden radio silence will make other guards in the area suspicious.

2 Crouch For Faster Throws

47 throws objects much quicker in the crouched position

Throwing non-lethal items like hammers, wrenches, and bricks can be a great way to effectively take down an enemy quickly and effectively causing an instant knockout. For speed-runners, this is an obvious and effective way to get through an area as quickly as possible.

However, the regular animation for throwing these objects can slow 47 down by a few seconds when compared to firing a gun for example. To throw an item more effectively, keep 47 in the crouched position, then throw it this is a much faster technique that overrides the original animation and will automatically put 47 in the standing position once thrown.

1 Lure Guards To You And Out Of Sight

lure guards to your position with a quick shot to the chest

Some areas in Hitman 3's maps are packed with guards and other armed NPCs that can cause a significant amount of problems when trying to explore or speed-run an area. However, with enough distance and speed, 47 can lure these guards to his position without being spotted.

If 47 shoots a guard in the chest and immediately takes cover this will cause the guards to investigate rather than jump straight into combat mode. This will then lure them to 47’s position without them ever suspecting him of the shooting.

Hitman 3 is available now for the PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S

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