Whether you’re a Hitman veteran or a more recent convert just getting started in this world of Assassination, the new Roguelite Freelancer mode is bound to leave you with a humble slice of cake and feel like a fake player to be. That’s a good thing – this mode is essentially the endgame for this rebooted Hitman trilogy. Aside from the actual new maps, Hitman Freelancer is a great way to tie that experience together, as it’s extremely difficult in some brand new ways and the overall structure is very different than what we’re used to thanks to the new framework.
Previously, each mission was completely self-contained. Nothing you did in one mission matters in the next. But in Freelancer, death has consequences: you lose everything you had in your inventory and half the money you earned from jobs. Not to mention that you may have to start over.
But success at Hitman Freelancer isn’t impossible, and the learning curve isn’t as steep as it might first seem. So much of it is just about getting a handle on what’s important and what’s not. This would take hours if you just dived in head first without a guide – a wonderful experience, and the way we’ve gotten our understanding of this mode, not everyone has the time.
So if you want to skip the self-learning phase, we have eight pieces of advice to keep in mind as you and Agent 47 go hunting.
Freelancer is a hard mode
While this mode skips one of the most annoying aspects of Master difficulty (gory kills that render a disguise useless), Freelancer is a hard mode from the start, and the further you get into it, the harder it gets. You’ll notice early on that guards have eagle eyes and tend to respond to assassinations in larger numbers than you’re used to. On the third level of the tiered mission structure, there’s a security camera on every corner and you’ll be instantly melted by guards if you hold a letter opener in public.
Don’t let that stop you from trying the mode. No, this is just our way of saying that you must have a healthy respect for what you are about to face here. While there’s still fun and games to be had in Freelancer mode, you’ll have to take everything pretty seriously if you want to get very far.
Remember what really matters
Hitman Freelancer is full of distractions – completing bonus objectives, cracking vaults, taking out couriers, stealing loot, etc. etc. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter. What matters is killing your target, not getting killed for it. That’s it!
It’s great to have better guns and money to spend. But in this mode where you can’t save or load your game, where if you screw up you’ll have to start the entire campaign over again, your survival is far more important than a safe surrounded by guards who see through you can disguise. While those extra 3,000 Mercenaries – the mode’s exclusive currency – might come in handy later when you can pull off the raid, getting them probably isn’t worth the time or risk. So don’t be afraid to leave money behind.
You need luck to make it to the end
There’s something you have to accept up front when you start playing Hitman Freelancer: you will Campaigns lose even though you did everything perfectly. Sometimes it’s just bad luck, and sometimes it’s mistakes. Sometimes NPCs will witness a murder through the floor or ceiling, compromising our disguise. Sometimes you will spawn in a level in a hostile area with a guard looking directly at you. And with the way warnings spread stupidly fast in this mode, it’s often a death sentence.
Since losing a deep run already feels pretty bad regardless of whose fault it is, it’s best to accept now that your mistakes don’t always happen your Mistake. luck counts.
Suppressed weapons are your best friend
We have to admit that we didn’t really appreciate how much we relied on our standard silenced pistol until we didn’t have one by default. Because, holy cow, it really changes the equation in your head when you go into a mission with literally nothing. That’s a good thing at first, since that extra complication helps you get comfortable with the extra overall difficulty. But if this difficulty increases over the course of a campaign, a silenced weapon will help you a lot.
There are Five ways to get a silenced gun: as a reward for increasing your Freelancer mastery, as a reward for defeating a syndicate, by buying one from an arms dealer during a mission, by looting one from a guard who carries one (like the penthouse guards in Dubai who all carry either a Suppressed SMG or an Assault Rifle) or by looting a Suppressed Pistol from an Assassin (they all carry one) during a mission to take out a Syndicate leader. However, you can only keep one of each type, so you don’t have to take out all the guards in Dubai just to collect their guns.
Don’t leave your gadgets at home
While you can keep your weapons for new campaigns as long as you don’t lose them during a mission, you’re guaranteed to lose your gadgets when your campaign ends. So there’s really no reason to leave this Legendary Explosive Duck at home if you have spare inventory space. Gadgets are use-or-lost items, so use them. While your natural instinct is to save the really rare stuff when a goal calls for it, the nature of Freelancer mode dictates that you stuff your pockets as full as you can with as many different gadgets as you have at your disposal , when it’s time to head off on a mission.
Be prepared for some messed up spawn locations
One of the quirks of Freelancer mode is that you can’t start a mission with a disguise, and the game will randomize your spawn point. For example, in Marrakech, you could spawn in the back of the military base where you trespass and every NPC is armed. Or in the Hokkaido morgue, just behind two undertakers who will scream for help when they see you, as pictured above. Most maps have spawnpoints like this, and Colorado pretty much does only has that. It’s just something you have to accept and learn to deal with, which honestly isn’t usually mega difficult as long as you’re up for it once you load up and keep your cool.
leaders have suspects only the properties listed, no more and no less
If you’re looking for a Syndicate leader, Diana gives you a list of traits for the right target: four physical traits and three behavioral traits. The right target shows exactly the listed properties and only the listed features. So if the target should have a tattoo but the suspect doesn’t, then that suspect is not the target. But the reverse is also true: if the suspect has a tattoo but no tattoo is mentioned in the target description, then that suspect is not the target. A suspect with an additional characteristic is just as disqualifying as a suspect without a specific characteristic.
Napoleon Blownapartes
Sometimes you’re really unlucky and have a target just hanging around in a busy crowd with no real ways to take it down without causing a whole scene that will kill you quickly. And in such cases I like to use the Napoleon Blownaparte Gadget. This thing you can’t take home is a very common but also very special item in the new Freelancer Chests scattered throughout each level.
This thing is actually two gadgets in one. It’s a noisemaker at first, drawing the attention of everyone around it. And then it’s a remote explosive. But since it looks like a toy, you can generally throw it on the ground wherever you want without getting in trouble, and then slip out of the room before blowing it up. It’s chaotic, but it’s also relatively safe compared to most assassination methods in crowded areas. It is also useful if you have been in a level for a long time and just want to advance.
Just make sure you throw it vicinity your goal rather than at her – hitting someone in the face is still a crime!
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