Hitman World Of Assassination: 10 Tips & Tricks For Freelancer Mode

Hitman World of Assassination's freelancer mode is a fun yet challenging experience. Follow these tips and tricks to get a leg up on the objectives.

Hitman World Of Assassination added a new game mode called Freelancer that reuses the various maps from the story mode morphed into a highly repeatable roguelike experience that tasks you with hunting down randomly selected targets while being encouraged to take on side objectives to make extra money for better gear. This mode is incredibly difficult, and completing a campaign is a hard-fought victory.

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This mode tasks you with taking out four syndicate leaders across four different campaigns to win. Each campaign has a theme and will have side quests that can be completed for more of a payout, but they also get longer as you take each leader out, which means you have to do more missions to get to each new leader. Freelancer mode is incredibly unforgiving with its randomness, so here are some tips for taking down the syndicate and getting out alive.

There are a lot of variables each time you enter a level, but the level layout itself and all the loot locations are consistent. Learning the maps and all the secrets that Hitman levels are known for is really the most important tip for improving your chance of success. Listening to NPCs talking can help you get your bearings in levels that are unfamiliar, as sometimes they will give you a starting point and will sometimes mention the location of keys or keypad codes.

Each map has a couple of different starting locations, and some are more dangerous than others. With practice, you will know exactly what to do with each given start to give yourself the best odds. Learning the location of tools, keys, or other important item will give you an edge. Going in with a plan and knowing where to go will allow you to pull off some clean hits.

Poison comes in two forms and in three different kinds: Lethal kills, emetic makes them sick, and sedatives knock them unconscious. You can have vials of it that you can pour in food or drink, a dart gun that shoots it into them, or you can have a syringe that you stealthily inject into them. Not only does poison occasionally get you some extra cash through the optional objectives, but it also can help you isolate targets or silently take out your mark quickly and safely when no one is looking.

Overall, emetic and lethal are the best for target isolation and stealth kills. Sedatives are nice for knocking out guards, but there is rarely a good situation for knocking your target out before killing them. Anything that's not a syringe or a dart gun is much harder to use, so prioritize those things over the vials that go in food or drinks if given the option. The ingestible poisons aren't as reliable, since your target may never eat or drink, which can leave it up to RNG if it will even be useful. Eventually, you unlock the ability to turn the vials into syringes in the infirmary or craft vials in the shed, which helps keep you stocked up with poison.

The Syndicate leader needs to be identified from a selection of suspects by cross-referencing the traits given with the traits they have before you can set up an assassination on them. If you kill a suspect that is not the leader, you can still pick up their phone to lure the other suspects to you. This is a very powerful tactic for targets who are in crowded areas or targets who have lookouts or assassins protecting them. Just find a suspect that is isolated, pacify them, and pick up the phone they drop.

Find a secluded spot — preferably with a place to hide the body near it — and use the phone to arrange a meeting. This will draw some of the suspects over to it, and this is your chance to get them while they are alone. Find a spot to hide while you wait for them to come over, and kill them once they get into position. Keep in mind that other suspects who are not the leader will also show up, so make sure you have identified which one is the leader first so you know who you need to prioritize

Syndicate leaders have vices that help you identify them as your target, but they can also give you an opening. To locate your target, you need to use the traits Diana gives you at the start; you can see what they are by looking through the camera. Use the zoom feature, and take pictures to get still images to identify each feature from afar. The target will have only the traits listed, and any trait displayed that is not listed clears them.

Once your target is located using physical descriptions, it's time to people-watch to catch them doing the vices listed. Foodies and Dehydrated targets can be poisoned more reliably than most targets, as they will reliably eat and drink. Smokers often lean over rails when smoking and often isolate themselves when they light up, making them susceptible to being stealthily pushed over the edge for a clean and quick kill.

Each of the various areas of any map have clearance levels that need to be worked around to be able to walk around in plain sight. Each disguise can aid in a different approach to your target, such as guards being able to move with freedom and carry weapons, staff being able to hide in plain sight and poison food without suspicion, and civilians not being allowed in most private areas but freely are able to move around common space. Enforcers can see through disguises and sometimes are holding choke points, making distracting them to slip by the only way to get in without alert.

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Learn some reliable ways to get the disguises you need on each of the maps to help at the beginning of your attempts. Knowing the location of isolated targets that are wearing the disguise you need to reach your target can make your mission much easier than trying to sneak your way deep behind enemy lines. Just remember that if you are compromised in a disguise, it will be hard to use for the rest of the level, so you will need to switch. Be careful when dragging bodies, as you will get instantly compromised if seen holding one.

A silenced weapon is very powerful and can make your assassinations go much smoother, as well as score you a decent payout with the right side objectives. The ability to take out targets from a far silently is taken for granted normally; in freelancer mode, they can make things go much more smoothly by allowing you to kill targets in plain sight without being heard or alerting too much attention. Silenced pistols are quite expensive to purchase from vendors but can be picked up from assassins guarding syndicate leaders during those missions.

You will want to take assassins out whenever possible, especially if they are guarding the target, since they can kill you very quickly. The fact you can score a free silenced pistol makes going for them well worth the risk. Assassins are pretty easy to spot, as you will get notified when one is nearby, and they will usually be following a suspect around. Find an opportunity to take them down whenever you can for their silenced weapon before taking out the leader.

As you level up your mastery level and unlock more rooms in the safe house, there will be more items available to bring on missions to give you more of a leg up. The scalpel in the med bay, banana peel in the kitchen, and a wrench in the garage can all be helpful for tampering with the environment or completing a 'make the target slip' side objective.

It is worth getting some basic supplies around the safe house at the start of the campaign when you don't have any gear to bring anyway, as not having a melee weapon or throwable to distract guards can make the mission much harder to start. Never underestimate the usefulness of something you can throw to distract guards, as they can give you a much-needed window to strike or lure someone into a vulnerable position to steal their clothes.

Side objectives are your primary source of income since basic hits don't pay much — especially if you get caught and get heavily fined for killing non-targets. How possible any side objective is will depend on what loot you are given or what your target is doing or around, and sometimes they won't even be possible. Prestige objectives will push you with their frequent timers and added challenge, but don't throw the mission to do them; they are often harder than they're worth and require map knowledge and a decisive strike plan to pull off.

They do, however, pay quite a bit, so if they are worth trying, just don't throw the run for them. Look for loot crates around the map that can help you complete a side objective in the current mission or potentially a future one. Grab things from the crates that have a rarity so you can bring them home if you don't use them. You can also loot many different types of explosives to open safes and get a pretty big pay day as well, so if you are doing a mission that has a safe, it can be good to bring explosives or try and find some in a loot crate to make decent money.

Each map has a couple of ways to leave once the deed is done, but some of them require a key or outfit to escape that way. The keys to these exits will always be in the same spot each time you are on the map, so learning how to access as many exits as possible — especially ones close to your target and easy to access — will help you in every mission you do on that map.

If things don't go well, running for the front door can get you killed, so having a plan B and C can be life-saving — as can patience. Any exit with a padlock on it needs a key to access, so look around and make a note of where and how to escape from these various exit points. Spend some time learning the ways to access other exits, as they might save your life one day.

Vendors in each of the levels will sell an assortment of goodies that you don't own, so buy the things you can afford to get them out of the shop pool for the next time you check. Every level will have a vendor, so check them out if you are looking for a specific tool for a current or future objective. Money can be easily lost on death, so it is better to spend it to buy gear to bring back home or use on the mission than to save up and lose chunks of it every failure. The randomness and difficulty of this mode means you could die from the slightest mistakes, so spend when you have the chance.

Crowbars are always nice to have to distract targets, break into locked doors, or even as a weapon, and you don't want it to keep appearing in the shop — if you really need one, they can be found relatively easy in the levels. Buying guns will give you a briefcase they're hidden in, so you won't get in trouble for buying one in a crowded place.

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Matt Goodsell has been writing about games for about two years and has been a gamer for most of his life. A games journalist that plays on hard mode, Matt loves a challenge even if that means self-imposed limitations, or ramping the difficulty up. It's not hard enough if you never lost to get it. Matt devours a good story-driven game, but also greatly enjoys games that can be played with friends, action RPGs, and grand strategy. Matt can often be found checking out indie titles or putting more hours in Total War: Warhammer and Dishonored.