Hitman 3 is the final game in the “World Of Assassination” trilogy, but it’s really more of the same. For this series, that isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually the best thing possible — instead of reinventing the wheels, the developers at IO Interactive have improved the game incrementally since the first Hitman reboot in 2016. Now it’s about the most perfect version of the game it can be.
If you’re new to the series, it’s easy to get lost in the sprawling levels and the amount of choice you’re given. You might not even know what the point of Hitman is — if you simply kill the target, earn a 1-Star Rating, and move on to the next level, you can complete the levels ridiculously quickly. But the whole point of Hitman is finding the slickest way to take down your objectives — and below, I’ll explain what you need to know to get a perfect ranking in a Hitman game.
Want more Hitman in your life? Revisit the 12 best levels of the Hitman series before the end of the modern trilogy.
Distractions Are Your Best Tool
As Agent 47, you’re usually hiding-in-plain-sight. Most of the maps have huge public areas where you’re allowed to roam freely, but that has a downside. There are civilians and other deadlier NPCs watching your every move. That’s why distractions are incredibly useful.
Distractions don’t just get a guard to look away. They’ll also pull guards off their patrol or standing position, allowing you to lure them to a better position. Coins are one of your most useful tools, and you’ll almost always start a level with three of them.
You can also use any Silenced Pistol to distract enemies and get them to investigate. Shoot the ground / wall near them and they’ll look away briefly. Just make sure you’re not shooting in anyone’s line-of-sight! Shooting guns is a crime! Throwing coins? That won’t get you into trouble.
Breaking Guard Patrol Patterns
Guards have two simple patterns; they’ll walk a route through the level, or they’ll stand in the same spot just watching endlessly for all time. Both of them are annoying, and one easy way to get them to break free from their routine is dropping a weapon.
Illegal weapons like guns or knives can be dropped anywhere in-game. If a guard spots it, they’ll usually walk over, pick it up, and take it to the nearest evidence box. Sometimes those evidence boxes are in secluded rooms far away from their normal route — that means you can distract a guard for a long time, or lure them someplace safe to subdue. It’s one of the best and simplest strategies in the game.
Get into the Hitman groove with more professional tips from a Master Assassin on the next page.
