Manual
Welcome to the HITMAN™ web manual.
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A very small percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images, including flashing lights or patterns that may appear in video games. Even people who have no history of seizures or epilepsy may have an undiagnosed condition that can cause these “photosensitive epileptic seizures” while watching video games.
These seizures may have a variety of symptoms, including lightheadedness, altered vision, eye or face twitching, jerking or shaking of arms or legs, disorientation, confusion, or momentary loss of awareness. Seizures may also cause loss of consciousness or convulsions that can lead to injury from falling down or striking nearby objects.
Immediately stop playing and consult a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms. Parents should watch for or ask their children about the above symptoms—children and teenagers are more likely than adults to experience these seizures. The risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures may be reduced by taking the following precautions: Sit farther from the screen; use a smaller screen; play in a well-lit room; and do not play when you are drowsy or fatigued. If you or any of your relatives have a history of seizures or epilepsy, consult a doctor before playing.
Become the master assassin with the complete first season of HITMAN in an intense spy-thriller story across a world of assassination.
The International Contracts Agency reserves its most challenging assignments for its most capable operative. As the cool and calculating Agent 47, take out your targets in six compelling chapters as you travel the globe from Paris to Bangkok and beyond.
As part of the Steam download process, the game has already been installed on your computer. To start playing the game, read the Getting Started section.
If it is not already running, launch the Steam application.
Select Library.
In the library, select HITMAN™, then select Play.
The HITMAN pre-game Options window will appear. Click on the Play button. The game will launch.
After the loading screens, the Title screen will appear. Press the Return key (↵) to continue.
After the opening video, you'll find Agent 47 on a snowy mountain range, on the helipad of a secret ICA facility. Head up the steps and into the facility, where your training will begin.
You can play HITMAN using either a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad.
The instructions in this manual refer to the default keyboard controls. If you have customized your controls or are using a gamepad, the controls listed here will not apply.
The default keyboard controls are detailed below. You can customize your keyboard configuration by selecting Options → Mouse & Keyboard → Key Bindings from the Main Menu.
| Move | W/A/S/D |
| Run | Left Shift (⇧) |
| Crouch | C |
| Cover | Space |
| Agility Actions | X |
| Instinct | Control (ctrl) |
| Interact | E |
| Use Item | G (hold) |
| Pick Up | F |
| Drop Item | G |
| Place Item | Left Alt (hold) |
| Inventory | I |
| Melee Attack | Q |
| Drag Body | B |
| Take Disguise | T |
| Aim | Right Mouse Button (hold) |
| Shoot | Left Mouse Button |
| Reload | R |
| Zoom In/Out (while aiming with a sniper rifle) | Mouse Wheel Up/Down |
| Holster Weapon/Item | Caps Lock |
| Surrender | X (hold when prompted) |
| Change Camera Shoulder | V |
| View Objectives | F1 |
| Pause Menu | Escape (esc) |
You can play HITMAN using a dual analog stick gamepad. The diagram on this page is based on a standard controller layout; all gamepads have similar buttons but some may differ in layout from the gamepad shown here. For more information see Can I play HITMAN with a gamepad? in the FAQs.
| Move |  |
| Run |  (hold) |
| Crouch |  (click) |
Cover |  |
| Agility Actions |  (when prompted) |
| Instinct |  (hold) |
| Interact |  |
| Use Item | (hold when prompted) |
| Pick Up | (hold when prompted) |
| Drop Item | ↓ |
| Place Item | & (hold together) |
| Inventory | ← or → |
| Melee Attack |  |
| Drag Body | (hold) |
| Take Disguise | (hold) |
| Aim |  (hold) |
| Shoot |  |
| Reload | |
| Zoom In/Out (when aiming with a sniper rifle) | ↑ & ↓ |
| Holster Weapon/Item | ↑ |
| Surrender | (hold when prompted) |
| Change Camera Shoulder | (click) |
| View Objectives |  |
| Pause Menu |  |
Access selected content from across HITMAN's game modes. Load a saved game, play the next available story mission, undertake Elusive Targets, or attempt featured Escalation missions and user-created Contracts.
Select any of HITMAN's seven exotic locations and revisit its story missions, its Escalation contracts, plus bonus missions.
Play through HITMAN's story missions in order.
Search for and play user-created missions, or create your own.
View your completion rate for Challenges, your Mastery Level for each location, the items in your inventory, recorded successes and failures for Elusive Targets, and an at-a-glance view of your overall performance.
Adjust game settings, including controls, graphics and audio options. You can also exit the game by selecting Quit Game from this menu.
Once you have selected a mission, you will be taken to the Mission screen. Here you can view the mission's Briefing, Challenges and online Leaderboards.
The Objectives panel shows you your targets for the mission and any other objectives you must complete. During a mission, you can remind yourself of your goals at any time by pressing the F1 key and selecting the Objectives tab.
Place the mouse cursor over the Planning icon to proceed to the planning stage, where you can customize your approach to the mission.
Select an area in which to begin the mission. You can unlock new starting locations by increasing your Mastery Level.
Equip yourself with a concealed sidearm, which you will have from the start of the mission.
Select up to two pieces of equipment to take into the mission with you. For more information see Inventory.
Select your outfit. The outfits you can select here are cosmetic only, and have no effect on gameplay.
Smuggled items are weapons or gear that the ICA will deliver to a location at your destination, allowing you to retrieve it during the course of the mission. Smuggled items can be delivered to either “large” or “small” pickup locations. Any weapon or item can be smuggled to a large pickup point, but small pickups can only hold smaller gear and sidearms.
To begin the mission, click on the Play icon.
During a mission, you can return to the planning stage to restart the mission with a new approach by selecting Replan Mission from the in-game Pause Menu.
The Challenges screen shows you all the optional goals that you can undertake for each mission. For further information, see Challenges.
When you complete a mission, you are given an overall rating for how you performed. To learn more, see Rating.
On the Leaderboards screen, you can compare your current rating for the mission against other players around the world, or against your Steam friends.
| 1 | Minimap |
| 2 | Currently Equipped Item |
| 3 | Threat Indicator |
| 4 | Opportunity Indicator |
| 5 | Opportunity Notification |
Your minimap provides a summary of your current situation, and any threats to your mission that may be nearby.
You can also view a larger map by pressing the F1 key and selecting the Map tab. However, this map only shows your location, your targets, staircases and pickup locations.
 |
Agent 47 |
| Civilians/Non-Threats | |
| Threats | |
 |
Targets |
 |
Staircases |
 |
Smuggled Item Pickup Locations |
 |
Mission Exit |
| Trespassing | Trespassing Warning |
| Searching | Current Alert Level |
To pick up items, approach them and press the F key when prompted. If an exclamation mark appears next to the prompt, it is an illegal item.
The white icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen shows your currently equipped item. Press the Caps Lock key to holster the item and store it in your inventory. Press the Caps Lock key again to re-equip it.
You can drop items by pressing the G key while they are equipped. Alternatively, you can place items precisely by pressing and holding the Left Alt key, then pressing the E key when prompted.
Most items can be thrown. To do so, press and hold the Right Mouse button; a white line will appear on screen showing the arc of your throw. To throw the item, press the Left Mouse button.
To fire an equipped weapon, press the Left Mouse button. For a more precise shot, press and hold the Right Mouse button to aim down your sights, then press the Left Mouse button to fire.
You can throw melee weapons at opponents to eliminate them or knock them out. To do so, equip a melee weapon, then hold the Right Mouse button to aim your throw. Aim for your target's head; once lined up, the throw arc will lock on. Press the Left Mouse button to throw your weapon.
You can also use melee weapons, or your fists, in close-quarters combat. When standing in reach of an opponent, press the Q key to perform a melee attack.
Your inventory contains all of the weapons and gear that you are currently carrying. You can access your inventory at any time during a mission by pressing the I key.
When viewing your inventory, use the Left and Right Arrow keys to switch between items. With an item highlighted, press the Return key (↵) to equip it, or the G key to drop the item. To exit your inventory without equipping or dropping an item, press the Escape (esc) key.
Items are divided into two types: gear and weapons.
Your gear comprises various tools, distractions, poisons and even explosives.
Tools are items that are required to perform certain actions. For example, locked doors can be bypassed with a lockpick, or forced open with a crowbar.
Distractions are items that can be used to divert attention to a particular area. This can be as simple as a coin, which can be thrown to cause a disturbance, or as sophisticated as a remotely activated audio device, which will attract any individuals within hearing range.
Poisons can be used to neutralize opponents in a number of ways: non-lethal poisons will sedate their victims, or cause them to become ill, whereas lethal poisons will kill them.
Explosives can be used to breach locked doors or as a distraction. They can also be used as a less-than-subtle means of eliminating a target.
Weapons are categorized as melee weapons or firearms.
Melee weapons can be lethal or non-lethal; when viewing a melee weapon in your inventory, read the item description to check which category it falls into.
Firearms are categorized by their type, for example pistol, sniper rifle and so on. Pistols can be concealed on your person, but larger firearms cannot be hidden from view.
Whether or not you can carry certain gear or weapons in plain sight depends on your disguise. For example, you can be visibly armed while wearing a guard uniform.
If you are openly handling an illegal item without wearing an appropriate disguise, the Illegal Item notification will appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
While openly carrying an illegal item, all onlookers will regard you with suspicion. For more information, see Threats.
As a highly trained assassin, you are finely attuned to your surroundings. Your Instinct allows you to assess a situation quickly and identify threats, targets, or environmental opportunities. Press and hold the Control (ctrl) key at any time to trigger your Instinct.
Items you can pick up, or parts of the environment with which you can interact, are marked by a yellow glow.
Civilians and non-threats are marked by a white outline.
Any bystander who has a reason to regard you with suspicion will have a white dot over their head. For more information, see Threats.
Any nearby individual who has witnessed you committing a crime is marked by an orange glow.
Finally, your targets are clearly marked with a red outline, and can be identified from any distance when using your Instinct.
The key to the perfect hit is discretion.
You can take cover behind walls, vehicles, and similar surfaces by approaching them and pressing the Space key.
You can also perform a number of Agility Actions to remain out of sight or move quickly from place to place. When in cover, you can change cover or vault over it by pressing the X key when prompted. When out of cover, you can scale low walls, climb ladders and hang from ledges, again by approaching them and pressing the X key.
In each mission there are multiple hiding places, such as lockers or laundry hampers. You can use a hiding place by approaching it and pressing the E key when prompted. When hiding, move your mouse to peek from your hiding place; when the coast is clear, you can leave the hiding place by pressing the Space key.
The most effective way of infiltrating a restricted area undetected is to look the part; you are unlikely to be suspected of trespassing if you do not appear out of place.
You may happen upon certain disguises as you explore the mission area. For example, you may discover a chef's uniform in the kitchen. To change into a disguise, approach it and press the T key.
You can obtain a disguise by knocking out an unsuspecting bystander and taking their clothing. Once unconscious, you can disguise yourself by standing over their body and, when prompted, pressing the T key.
If anybody witnesses you taking a disguise, they will immediately raise the alarm.
Attacks from behind make little noise, whereas frontal attacks are liable to cause a disturbance and attract attention. As an added bonus, victims attacked from behind will not be able to identify you as their assailant should they ever regain consciousness.
When behind an enemy, press the Q key repeatedly to subdue them and render them unconscious. While subduing, you can also press the E key, when prompted, to eliminate them by snapping their neck.
You can also perform silent attacks with melee weapons. With a melee weapon equipped, approach your enemy from behind and press the Q key.
ICA clients rely on your discretion, and do not expect collateral damage; lethal force should be reserved for your Targets.
If you kill someone other than one of your targets, the Non-Target Killed notification will appear on screen. You will be able to continue with your objectives, but your rating will suffer.
You can drag bodies by standing over them and pressing the B key. Drag bodies to areas where they are unlikely to be discovered (under a staircase, for example).
You can also dump bodies in hiding places, where they will never be discovered. To do so, drag them to a hiding place and, when prompted, press the E key. Each hiding place can hold up to two bodies, including your own.
If someone sees you dragging a body, they will immediately raise the alarm.
Any person who is not fooled by your disguise, or has witnessed you committing a crime, is classed as a “threat”.
Threats are indicated by a white dot above their head. If a threat notices you, a white arrow will appear on screen to indicate where they are and warn you that they are becoming suspicious.
Get out of the threat's sight to avoid them becoming suspicious. If you fail to break line of sight quickly enough, the threat will become suspicious of you, and the alert level will increase to Searching. For a thorough briefing on alert levels, see Alert Levels.
When being arrested, you can fake surrender by pressing and holding the X key. As you are surrendering, your would-be captor will approach. Once they get close enough, you will automatically attack them. To take full advantage of this sucker punch, press the W key, when prompted, to knock your opponent to the ground. Finally, stand over them and press the X key to knock them out completely.
You can see the current alert level above your minimap. If there is nothing there, you are currently in the clear. Otherwise, you will see one of five alert levels:
Suspicious or criminal activity has been noticed, and the guards are searching for the person responsible. However, they have not identified you as the perpetrator.
Your cover is blown, but those who can identify you have been knocked out. If you eliminate the witnesses, or hide their bodies, the alert level will revert to Searching.
Your cover is blown, and one or more bystanders can recognize you by sight.
The guards have your description, and are actively pursuing you. Stay out of sight for long enough and the alert level will revert to Compromised.
The guards have your description, are actively pursuing you and will shoot on sight. Stay hidden and the alert level will revert to Hunted.
If the alert level is Unconscious Witness, Compromised, Hunted or Combat, changing to an uncompromised disguise will lower the alert level to Searching.
There are a number of different ways in which alert levels can be triggered. In most cases, one of the following messages will appear on screen to inform you why an alert level has been triggered.
Somebody has been given cause to investigate the area you are currently in. If you are discovered in this area, the investigator will immediately become suspicious.
You have been discovered trespassing in a restricted area. The guards will offer to escort you out of the area; if you comply, they will not become suspicious of you.
You have acted suspiciously in view of witnesses, or failed to break line of sight with a threat. If you attempt to leave the area, they will follow you.
A bystander witnessed you committing a crime. Nearby guards will be alerted and investigate the crime scene.
Somebody nearby heard you perform a melee attack. Nearby guards will be alerted to investigate the area.
You fired a weapon, and somebody in the vicinity heard the gunshot. The alert level increases to Searching, and nearby guards will be alerted to investigate the area.
You fired a weapon and the gunshot was not heard, but somebody noticed the bullet hit a wall or object. Nearby guards will be alerted to investigate the area.
One of your targets is being escorted to a safe location. If the situation is brought back under control, the target will resume their usual routine.
Over the course of a mission you may discover important “intel”, for example by reading documents or overhearing conversations.
If you discover any new intel during a mission, the View Intel notification will appear in the top-left corner of the screen. When the notification appears, you can press the F1 key to view the new intel immediately.
You can view all the intel you've collected so far by pressing the F1 key and selecting the Intel tab.
Some pieces of intel will reveal “opportunities”, which you can follow to find or eliminate your target. If you discover important intel, the Opportunity Revealed notification will appear at the top of the screen.
Opportunities can also arise from eavesdropping on a conversation. If you overhear a conversation that could be of importance, the Opportunity Revealing notification will appear at the top of the screen. Listen closely to the conversation; when the key intel has been disclosed, the Opportunity Revealed notification will appear.
Whenever the Opportunity Revealed notification appears, press the F1 key before the timer expires to begin tracking the opportunity.
While you are tracking an opportunity, an ongoing objective will be shown in the top-left corner of the screen, and an Opportunity icon will guide you towards your destination.
To view available opportunities for the current mission, and choose which to track, press the F1 key and select the Opportunities tab.
Once you've fulfilled your objectives, you must successfully locate an exit to complete your mission. There are multiple exits in each location, which are marked on screen and on the minimap by Exit icons.
While most exits allow you to escape immediately, others require you to have acquired certain items during the mission. For example: if a speedboat is available for a quick getaway, it's unlikely that the owner has left the keys on board.
Once you have completed your mission, you will be taken to the Debriefing screen. Here you will see your Rating, a series of metrics for how well you performed in the mission. Each condition contributes towards your Total Score, which determines your rank on the leaderboards.
A score is awarded for each objective completed.
No bystanders or threats ever became suspicious of you.
No one witnessed any of your kills.
No bodies, living or dead, were discovered.
You left no video evidence left behind. If you are caught on camera during a mission, you will be informed via a notification in the top-left corner of your screen. You must locate a surveillance control room in that location and destroy all recorded evidence to qualify for this bonus.
ICA clients do not expect collateral damage: you will be penalized for any non-target you eliminate. For each non-target killed, 5,000 points will be deducted from your Total Score.
You must complete your mission quickly and efficiently. If you complete a mission quickly, but incur severe collateral damage, you will not be awarded a time bonus.
You are also awarded points for Challenges Completed and Mission Mastery Earned, but these do not count towards your Total Score.
Each location has a number of optional challenges. If you are to truly distinguish yourself among the ICA's elite agents, you must return to each location and perform missions multiple times, varying your strategy to complete as many challenges as possible.
Challenges are categorized into Assassination, Discovery, Feats and Targets. Some locations also contain a bonus category of challenges built around a specific theme for that location.
Assassination challenges require you to assassinate targets in a specific manner.
Discovery challenges encourage exploration and variety of approach; you can be rewarded for finding disguises, discovering certain intel, or finding a path to seemingly impossible-to-reach areas.
Feat challenges contain a mixture of Assassin and Discovery challenges, but ones that are particularly difficult to achieve; boldness and creativity are the key to completing these.
Target challenges require you to assassinate the default targets in HITMAN's main story missions.
Bonus challenges are available in some locations. They may require you to perform a number of challenges using a disguise unique to that location, or assassinate targets with a certain location-unique item.
If you complete a challenge and then go on to finish the mission, you will be rewarded with XP towards your Mastery Level for that location.
For each challenge completed you gain XP, which contributes to your Mastery Level for a location. As your Mastery Level increases, you will unlock new weapons, gear, suits, starting locations and Agency pickup locations for your smuggled items, all of which can be selected from the planning screen. Any weapons, gear, suits or smuggled items you unlock will be available for all missions in all destinations.
Once you have completed a challenge, it will remain completed if you die or fail the mission, or even if you quit the game. However, you will only be rewarded with XP and Mastery Level progress the next time you complete that mission.
Elusive Targets are one-off contracts that become available every few weeks. Elusive Targets are only available for a limited time, and must be completed before that time expires. The time remaining on an Elusive Target is marked by the countdown that appears over its icon in the Featured menu.
When undertaking these contracts, you are not allowed to save your game at any time. You may restart or replan your mission providing you have not begun to complete your objectives, but as soon as you begin completing objectives, the contract will be active and you will not be allowed to restart it.
You only get one chance to eliminate an Elusive Target. If you die during the mission, you will fail the contract and be unable to attempt it again.
During the mission, Elusive Targets are not highlighted on your map or identifiable when using your Instinct. To successfully identify and eliminate an Elusive Target, you will need to study the briefing video carefully for any clues as to where you will find them. Pay special attention to any additional conditions for failure outlined in the briefing.
Regularly consult the official HITMAN blog for news on future Elusive Targets.
Each location also has a number of Escalation contracts.
Escalation contracts are missions structured in five stages. When you undertake the first stage of an Escalation contract, you will be given one objective; upon fulfilling that objective you will progress to the next stage.
For each stage you complete, objectives are changed or new ones are added to make the contract progressively more difficult.
Some Escalation contracts have challenges attached to them, meaning you can earn XP by completing them to increase your Mastery Level.
Contracts mode (accessible from the Main Menu) allows you to create your own contracts for other HITMAN players, or play contracts created by other users.
To create a contract, first select a mission location. Play through the mission, marking individuals as targets, then assassinate them and successfully exit the mission. The methods of elimination and the disguises worn for each kill are tracked and saved, each becoming optional objectives when eliminating the corresponding targets.
To mark an individual as a target, hold down the Control (ctrl) key to use your Instinct, highlight the individual in question, then left-click. You can mark individuals as targets at any time, even after they've been eliminated. You can also unmark targets by repeating this step.
Once you have exited the mission, you will be taken to the Edit Contract screen. Here you can edit the mission title and description, and any optional conditions for the contract. Once you are satisfied with your contract, select Save and Publish; the contract will be assigned a unique contract ID, and be available to play by all other HITMAN players.
If you know the unique, 12-digit contract ID for a contract you would like to play, select Contract Lookup from the Contracts menu.
Here you can search for contracts based on their title and description, or using filters. You can filter the search by destination, number of targets, disguises, or by kill conditions.
Featured Contracts are selected by the staff at Io-Interactive. These contracts represent the best that the HITMAN community has to offer.
You can submit your own contracts for consideration on the official HITMAN forums.
Here you can view any contracts that you have created.
Here you can view and replay any contracts you have marked as a favorite.
Every effort has been made to make HITMAN as compatible with current hardware as possible. However, if you are experiencing problems when running HITMAN, please read on.
The FAQs for this version of the game can be found by following the link below:
http://support.feralinteractive.com/docs/en/hitman/latest/linux/faqs/
Contacting Feral
If the FAQs and/or updates do not solve your problem, then please feel free to contact us via email.
In your email, please include a brief description of the problem you have experienced with HITMAN. We will do our best to help you.
Please check the warranty information provided by Steam.
