January 20, 2021, is a very important date for which countless people have spent years agonizingly waiting. It’s the Hitman 3 release date of course! We’ve already poured over 30 hours into IO Interactive’s latest stealth sandbox and we’ve loved what we played, as you can read more about in our Hitman 3 review. If you’re ready to jump into the game yourself and experience the final arc of the barcoded assassin, don’t go without our tips and tricks for Hitman 3.
Whether you’re new to the Hitman series or returning to a personal favorite assassin franchise, we’ve got you covered with a help guide that looks at what’s new, what’s to know, and where to go, all while giving you tips on how to best navigate the game.
Hitman 3 Tips and Tricks
Look for Shortcuts
Among the new features to the trilogy introduced in Hitman 3 are shortcuts. These doors and ladders reward exploration by giving players much swifter routes to use on subsequent playthroughs.
If you find a yellow door locked on one side, it means getting to the other hard-to-reach side allows you to unlock it forever, no matter how many times you replay the level.
Similarly, locked yellow ladders can be made available for later provided you have a crowbar. Find these shortcuts and give yourself the upper hand next time you go in for the kill.
Blend in to Stay Incognito
The Hitman disguise system is built to be complex yet understood pretty easily. One of its greatest assets to players looking to stay stealthy is the blending system. It can be used in two ways.
Depending on your disguise, you’ll find different interactable points on every map where you can blend in with those around you, like cooking in the kitchen when you’re dressed as a cook. Using these points is critical when there’s an NPC nearby who would otherwise see past your disguise (indicated by a white circle above their heads).
Additionally, you can blend with any crowd no matter your disguise, which is a great way to lose someone tailing you.
Replay Hitman 3 Missions for Abundant Unlockables
Longtime Hitman fans know the six Hitman 3 levels at launch can be beaten in just a few hours if they’re rushed through, but that wouldn’t be doing the game or series any justice. Hitman is built to last, with dozens of challenges to beat, secrets to uncover, and rewards to earn on every mission.
Achieving a Mastery (Level 20) will take several playthroughs of any mission, and along the way, you’ll earn lots of new ways to approach subsequent missions.
New starting locations, new disguises to begin with, and even new tools of the trade are all up for grabs to the most patient and practiced assassins. It pays to be exhaustive in your efforts. With this Grim Reaper, you really reap what you sow.
Sometimes a Weapon is Better Used as a Distraction…
You’d be forgiven for thinking every painful item in your inventory is best used as they appear built for, but remember that Hitman is a series that wants you to play creatively. Rather than use that pistol or blade to take out a target, you can use them and illegal weapons like them to distract people.
Often, your targets are huddled by bodyguards, but when they come upon such objects left on the ground by the player, they break from their routines and routes to dispose of the risk.
This can often give you the brief moment you need to strike. The best assassins will even hide the bodies in a nearby trunk or closet. No need to leave your calling card; Agent 47 takes more pride in his work than that.
…And Sometimes a Muffin is Better Used as a Weapon
Another of the series’ long-standing attributes is its dark humor. Agent 47’s puns in his limited speaking time, or the odd items and dialogue you can happen upon in each level, make Hitman a game sometimes as comical as it is insidious. In the best example, pay attention to your available items in any level.
Yes, guns, knives, crowbars, and other obvious weapons are often numerous, but you can also dispatch enemies with snowglobes, toilets, and even pastries, as seen above just moments before the party host takes a blueberry muffin to the face.
It also pays to understand how different melee items work, as they’re broken into sharp, blunt, and distraction objects. Sharp objects are lethal, while blunt objects will only knock people out. This is useful if you’re trying not to kill anyone but your targets.
Eavesdrop and Explore for Hints
The World of Assassination Trilogy introduced Mission Stories, which act as guided hands through a level’s best bits for the players who want the assists. But whether you take those invitations or not, there is always a lot more to discover through exploration.
One of the best kills in the game’s Dubai level involves an exploding golf ball, and the game is happy to bury its existence away from anyone but the most investigative players.
Exploring can also allow you to eavesdrop on conversations in which you might gain a keycode, a crucial item’s location, or the whereabouts of your targets and how to infiltrate their safe zones.
The sprint button, when played well, is seldom used in Hitman. More often, it’s about hiding in plain sight, gaining access to off-limits areas, and pulling the proverbial strings of those around you.
Save Often, Very Often
Perhaps the most important rule of all when it comes to Hitman is to save often. Have you done something of some importance? Save your game. About to try something ridiculous or risky? Save your game.
On the lower two Hitman 3 difficulties, you can save as many times as your heart desires, so there’s no penalty for playing it safe. The Rube Goldbergian design of each level means sometimes there are unintended consequences for your misdeeds, so the safest way around these is to ensure you can revert back to a more discreet time.
It’s also a great way to earn XP fast, as you keep the XP earned when you re-load. Any challenges completed beforehand remain that way, so a very patient and wise player could even sweep up a level with one long, convoluted, save-heavy session.
That’s it for our Hitman 3 tips and tricks help guide. With that information in your dossier, you’re ready to begin making the most of Agent 47’s latest set of missions, whether you want to use stealth or not. Hitman 3 is out now on PC (Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia.
