It's a bit different with Sgail though, literally everyone on that island is an awful person so it's not quite the same as, say, wiping out random racegoers in Miami.
Agree it still doesn't seem in keeping with the spirit of the game, though, so I don't object to them being gone. It would be good if they replaced them with new challenges though.
Anyone going to try and get a featured contract?
I've had a look at that thread before - it looks like some people might be working through their own romantic issues in a few of those contracts…
Thought I thought this one was kind of clever:
"You must use the weapons of a woman" is a particular highlight.
"You must use the weapons of a woman" is a particular highlight.
-puts on Tom Baker voice and massive false beard-
YOU HAVE A WOMAN'S GUN, M'LORD!
Finally managed a Silent Assassin run on Sgail this evening which has got me to full mastery on all the Hitman 2 levels.
Next step is to complete the 5 stage escalation on Hokkaido (currently done the first 3 stages) then it’s time to tackle either the bonus stories on Sapienza or maybe one of the H1 levels I haven’t tried yet.
This is the game that never stops giving.
I've completed Santa Fortuna exactly once and, while it wasn't the unrestrained, panic-fuelled bloodbath some other first-runs have been, I think there's a lot of room for improvement. Managed to get a fair few challenges and a couple of mission stories ticked off, at least.
I kind of want to figure out how the hell Ninchilla managed Miami in three minutes and change, though.
I sort of cheated and looked up a strategy on that one…
Next step is to complete the 5 stage escalation on Hokkaido
I've only done a couple of escalations yet. I need to do some more Featured Contracts, too - there's unlocks in them thar hills.
Spent this evening on the Fugitive in Hokkaido, and managed Silent Assassin. It does unlock a suit, in case anyone's wondering.
Oh, the Fugitive is out? I saw "9 days" when I booted it up and assumed that was the time until it started, not the time remaining. Well that's the priority for tomorrow then.
I actually found it mildly frustrating, which wasn't my memory of it the first time round.
Spoiler - click to showThe guy is an unknown, as he's just had reconstructive surgery, but there are three patients wandering around with bandaged faces (plus regular resident Jason Portman), so it's one of those - you just have to work out which one. The problem is, there's no apparent way to narrow it down; the briefing makes mention of using hospital records or security to identify him, but I swear I went over every bloody inch of the place and found nothing. They have a bunch of dialogue, but it, too, is devoid of clues. Eventually, Diana takes pity on you and just tells you which one it is, which just feels a bit anticlimactic, overall.
I kind of want to figure out how the hell Ninchilla managed Miami in three minutes and change, though.
Never mind…
Utterly failed The Fugitive. Died in a hail of bullets after over-eagerly poison syringing him in plain view, it turns out, of every fucker in the garden.
Ah; oops.
I got him with a syringe in the garden, too, then was halfway to the exit when I realised he hadn't died - I'd brought emetic poison by mistake.
I kind of want to figure out how the hell Ninchilla managed Miami in three minutes and change, though.
Never mind…
Oh, you think so, fucker?
https://twitter.com/Ninchilla/status/1094356139456806914?s=09
Alright, no need for hostility. S'only a game.
That sounds like loser talk.
Also: managed to about halve my time on Mumbai down to 7:36, which I'm fairly happy with, even if there's a bit too much waiting around for Rangan.
I'm sure I can do better in Santa Fortuna, too, but I have no idea where to start with that level. It's so bloody complicated.
Right, you need to chill out with the trash talk. I'm all for a bit of friendly competition, but you seem pretty determined to remove the "friendly" part of it.
I don't have every evening to spend shaving seconds off each level in this, but I don't believe that reduces my worth as a human being quite as much as you seem to be implying.
Finally, mod hat on: we have literally one rule here, and these:
Oh, you think so, fucker?
That sounds like loser talk.
are very close to the line, if not striding confidently over it.
This kind of hostility is not representative of the kind of community I want to be a part of, and absolutely not welcome in the kind of community I want to run.
Your site, your rules. I didn’t read anything malicious into any of that at any stage, though.
Sorry, it was intended to be lighthearted. I hope most folks here know me well enough to know I'm not that much of an asshole.
Being on the receiving end tends to sharpen barbs. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was malicious, but it was starting to make this thread (and this game) less enjoyable for me, with the growing sense that everything I manage to achieve would be taken as a challenge to be not just beaten, but destroyed, and frankly the glee taken casts an ugly light.
There's a difference between "here's how I did it better" and "haha loser, I beat you".
It was suppose to be throwing down the gauntlet, not malice or glee.
I'll try to be clearer in future. Maybe throw in some emojis, or something.
😉
And maybe don't use the word "fucker" in italics.
….I honestly thought the italics would help convey that it was a joke.
Oh, well; live and learn.
Anyway, back on-topic…
Has anyone come up with anything for the Broken Heart contact challenge? I'm sure there must be an American Beauty-style thing to set up in Whittleton Creek, or a grand Bollywood drama to invent for Mumbai, but I've spent a good while wandering about looking for opportunities, and can't find anything I'm happy with.
I'm sure I can do better in Santa Fortuna, too, but I have no idea where to start with that level. It's so bloody complicated.
Managed to eke a 7:17 out of it, but there's still a lot of backtracking involved. No idea what kind of wizardry gets you close to the record, which is a frankly ludicrous 1:47.
Fugitive done, SA with a time of just over two minutes. Very proud of that one. Unlocked two suits, the contract-specific one as well as the one for doing my first Silent Assassin Elusive.
Ooh, well done. How the hell did you work out who it was in under 2 minutes?
I didn’t, exactly; I just worked out how to kill one of them and hoped it was the right one. It was.
Oh. I considered trying that, but I was determined to try and work it out.
Slowly grinding out the Mastery on Santa Fortuna, though going purely for mission stories and other challenges has resulted in more zero-point runs than I'd care to admit. Much like Colorado at this point, I'm struggling to even see what an SASO route would look like; there's a lot of ground to cover.
The contracts thing. Are they worth doing? Is this where this escalations come in?
More than that, what's the general tactic for approaching a new level. So far I've been following mission stories, and the challenges to do variety kills. After that, do you just wander around and observe before working out new ways?
There's no "right" way to approach it; Mission Stories are a good way to learn the basic layout, and some of the options and opportunities that exist in a location. I usually prefer to just explore, to begin with, and work out how things connect, if I can.
The contracts thing. Are they worth doing? Is this where this escalations come in?
Escalations are their own thing - multi-stage challenges that get progressively harder, adding targets, obstacles, or other complications.
Contracts are simpler, community-created missions where up to 5 NPCs have been tagged as targets, sometimes with specific disguise or method requirements, time limits, etc.
My general approach is to turn Mission Stories to Minimal in the options, meaning they'll tell you roughly what you need to do when you find them, without spelling out every step. Then I spend a couple of goes walking round and observing, trying to get close to the targets and working out opportunities.
Then I focus on the mission stories, which give you some of the more scripted kills, then try to get Mastery up to 20 by completing as many of the other challenges as I can (again you can turn these to Minimal if you like, if you don't want so many hints).
Try for a Silent Assassin run at some point (killing both targets without being spotted by anyone, including security cameras) then if you feel really confident, a Single Assassin Suit Only run (as above, but without changing disguises at any point).
But everyone plays this differently so go with your own preferences.
The escalations are additional challenges for each level, based on a 3 or 5-stage escalation which adds new complications in on each run. Do these separately (or not at all, though they're often brilliant). Contracts are little challenges you can set up for your friends or other players, though there are also Featured Contracts set by the developers. Again it's more optional stuff but often very fun ways of tackling a level differently.
There are certain challenges that you can only do in Contracts, too.
what's the general tactic for approaching a new level
Mine tends to be "wander around trying stuff out until 47 dies in a hail of bullets after wandering into a restricted area or being spotted doing something shady, like picking a lock or wrenching a security guard".
My first kills in H1 were always me getting close and strangling or shooting them point blank in the head before I did it their way(s). Same way I tried in past Hitman games.
Bye.
I like looking for accident kill opportunities, or things I can poison; the best feeling is setting something up and then letting it play out from the safety of the far side of the map.
More seriously, I prefer to leave the weapons behind and start with a lockpick and keycard scammer the first few times, just to make it easier to get in and out of places. I don't follow targets around so much as look for where they isolate themselves, and figure out how to get them alone.
I also pick up every melee weapon I can get my hands on - it's not unusual for me to exit a mission with three or four hammers in 47's inexplicably deep pockets. They're just so useful as silent-takedown tools, distractions and (in the case of the wrench, screwdriver and crowbar) mischief makers.
I always make sure to pick up crowbars, screwdrivers and wrenches if I see them. Hammers less so, but like you say, they can be useful - even just to toss as a distraction in the absence of a coin.
The 5-stage escalation on Hokkado is excellent. The final stage in particular adds one criteria that completely caused me to rethink my strategy and led to one of the tensest Hitman sessions I've had yet. Really enjoyed that one.
Took my first look at Marrakesh tonight and it looks quite straightforward. Managed to fumble through on my first attempt and only ended up in one massive gunfight, which is quite good for me.
I tried the Corky escalation in Paris this evening, but I wasn't really in the mood for it. I was able to pacify Helmut okay in round 2, but the balloons are too hard to find, and I just wasn't having much fun with it. Pretty sure I never managed to do it in Hitman 2016, either.
I can't seem to find escalations in the menu?
What has this game done to mem
With my morning coffee this morning I was jotting down planning notes for my next run. I must remember to shred it otherwise police could become involved.
Escalations aren't separately listed, for some reason - they appear along with the missions in the location menu.
There's a box with a cycling list of featured Escalations on the main menu screen:
And each Destination which has Escalations will also have them on its individual menu:
While copying those screenshots just now I also found a couple of others, documenting some weirder moments in Miami.
After 500 or so posts, you've finally made me want to play this game.
I think Brian just outed himself as a flamingo fetishist.
The best bit of that top picture is the instruction to “stop blending in”.
I think Brian just outed himself as a flamingo fetishist.
Brian is also subscribing to Nintendo Online now, purely because doing so means you can play Super Mario Bros 2 on Switch.
You know why, Bri. YOU KNOW WHY.
