Hitman Freelancer

[Threadfin]

Maybe a year ago IOI announced they were developing a new rouge-like mode for Hitman 3, called Freelancer. What I read about it sounded great. Consequences for failing. Limited inventory. Random elements to the maps. Little intel, no handler, no mission stories.

It's out now and I've been playing.

https://ioi.dk/hitman/blogs/freelanc...#the-last-word

And I have to say it's really good, but it is also hard. This is not the thing to introduce yourself to Hitman. Failure has brutal consequences.

Essentially the player gets a new safehouse and starts with nothing except a camera and an unsuppressed pistol. That's it. All gear must be acquired through game play. If you fail a mission you lose the gear you took with you plus half of your money. Why? I don't know.

If you fail the Showdown missions that cap each segment of the campaign you lose the campaign and even more gear. Brutal, like I said. And to put the cherry on top of it, there are no saves during a mission.

So yeah, this is for veteran players of the trilogy. With no hand-holding like you can get in the main campaigns, Freelancer is a mode that rewards good players who have mastered the maps, methods and mechanics. It tests the players ability to be creative and improvise. I had become overly reliant on my favorites. Silverballer, lockpick, Seiker and a few coins could carry me through just about any scenario in the main campaign.

But now I don't have any of that although I just acquired a silenced pistol in my last mission. That's a big score, not only because it is great for assassinations, but because it is so useful for camera killing. But you always have to balance that against the fact that a blown mission could see it gone.

This finality to every action puts a premium on nailing it the first time. There's no safety net here. Whatever you decide to do, it must come off. Freelancer has pulled me from my comfort zone and put me in to the ultimate test of my ability to craft my own plans and execute them while sort of winging it with whatever kit I can get a hold of. And that is very, very cool.

Freelancer is both different from, and more than, what I expected it would be. With this update, IOI has shown they respect the core, veteran players of their games and I appreciate the effort and creativity that went in to this.

[Dowly]

I'm loving the Freelancer mode!



The best thing about it in my opinion is the lack of ranking system and leaderboard. While the franchise has always offered lots of ways to complete your contracts, Silent Assassin(/Suit Only) has always been the preferred method. Freelancer on the other hand truly allows you to go outside the normal since you don't get (big) penalties for doing things you normally wouldn't. Someone sees you do something fishy? No problem, shoot them and carry on with your mission.

[Threadfin]

Yes, I agree, good points. I had only just posted in a different forum how much Freelancer has changed my approach. Well, maybe more accurately, how much more open I am now to alternative play styles.

Previously, Silent Assassin was my jam. I always enter a mission with the goal of ghosting it. I don't always pull it off, but getting through unseen, unheard and undetected was always the objective.

But in Freelancer the only objective is to complete it, whatever that might mean, and with no saves that might devolve in to mayhem. I can't just reload a point a few minutes before I fouled up. Gotta roll with it. I still want to ghost, but sometimes the hand you're dealt calls for alternative solutions.

My last mission was the first of a new syndicate, an alerted Sgail. I wanted the silenced pistol you can get on this map (and I got it). The mission had three targets and two I took down with bursts from an unsuppressed assault rifle, which I do believe is the first time I've used an assault rifle in the trilogy! Managed to avoid detection too. They searched, but gave it up as a bad job whilst I hung from a ledge over the sea. Gotta improvise!

And you're right about how with SA/SO type play no longer rewarded that it frees us to explore these alternatives. Maybe you've always done, Dowly. But for me it has really opened up the game play. The limited inventory options (at least early in your campaign) and the complete absence of save points has really changed the Hitman paradigm, and so far I'm digging it.

Honestly I didn't expect anyone here would be playing this, but glad to know I was wrong. Please share anything you want to add about your campaign or tips you might think useful.

[Dowly]

Hah, I wish I had any pro tips to give! Most of the time I just wing it.

I have some routines, which I guess could be considered tips:
- Grab the wrench from the garage in your safehouse. Good melee/distraction + can be used to sabotage stuff.
- If I am in need of money, I usually choose the assassination syndicate. The optional objectives are close to Silent Assassin playstyle.
- Always take care of alerted territories first, I usually don't even try for the optionals. Just quickly get them over with and continue with the normal territories.
- Assassins always carry a silenced pistol, good way to get one.
- No two showdown suspect have the same looks and tells. As long as you have a visual on a suspect (the icon over their head is visible) you can see their tell when they're doing it. Good way to eliminate suspects from distance.
- **** Colorado.

[Threadfin]

Thanks. Several times I've seen the suggestion to do alerted territories first. I did, but what's the reason? Why is it better to do those first?

My second syndicate of four missions went really well. I was able to do all four on the bounce with no restarts. Having a silenced pistol (Hackl) makes a world of difference. Just being able to shoot out cameras is a big help. And it all dovetailed nicely with one of the theme objectives for this syndicate paying for disabled cameras.

It also helps that as I move through I am acquiring more and more kit. I now have a silenced pistol, SMG and AR. I did my second syndicate showdown on Whittleton and could nick a silenced SMG there, and again nice synergy with a side objective to take out three guards with a SMG.

Playing Freelancer does not contribute to location mastery does it? Too bad, and I wish it carried over.

Now I move on to syndicate number three and have a really good one, a nice combination of maps and favored playstyles so it should be fun. Challenging, but fun. Freelancer is a great addition to the trilogy.

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Threadfin

Thanks. Several times I've seen the suggestion to do alerted territories first. I did, but what's the reason? Why is it better to do those first?

The main reason is so that you don't accidentally leave one of them last as a showdown mission, which would make it harder. Depending on the map, you might run into a situation where all the suspects can see through your disguise making it impossible to get close enough to identify them.

Playing Freelancer does not contribute to location mastery does it? Too bad, and I wish it carried over.

Unfortunately, it doesn't carry over.