The difficulty level in the Hitman series determines many factors within each game. Harder difficulties can affect AI effectiveness and improve enemy strength.
First making an appearance in Hitman: Codename 47, the difficulty system has been in every Hitman game.
Hitman: Codename 47[]
Hitman: Codename 47’s difficulty system used only three levels, Easy, Normal, and Hard. Unlike other games in the series, changing the difficulty in Hitman: Codename 47 changed the enemies’ combat ability and weapon strength.
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin[]
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin’s version of the difficulty system was changed from its predecessor's. Split into three different difficulties, Normal, Expert, and Professional, the different difficulties give the player a harder experience throughout Hitman 2: Silent Assassin’s levels. The increase in difficulty increases the detriments that the player is given.
Normal[]
- Basic enemies.
- Basic detection rates.
- Basic detection radius.
- Allows 7 saves per level (along with any bonus one given in a level).
Expert[]
- Enemies do more damage.
- Enemies have a higher detection radius.
- Enemies see through disguises faster.
- Enemies have more health.
- Some additional enemies.
- 47's health has been lowered.
- Allows only 2 saves per level (along with any bonus one given in a level).
Professional[]
- Enemies do even more damage.
- Enemies have a higher detection radius.
- Enemies have maximum detection rates.
- Enemies have more health.
- 47's health has been lowered further. A single shot from a sniper gun can kill him.
- No saves allowed (Though you can use any awarded saves).
- No hostile is visible on the map, except targets.
- Anything brought on a mission and not brought back to the Tool Shed will be lost.
Hitman: Contracts[]
While Hitman: Contracts’s difficulty system is almost an exact replica of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin’s, there are some minor changes that affect gameplay; guards don't automatically start shooting when 47 is running, and you aren't instantly detected on higher difficulties when walking past them. Exceptions do exist, however. Notably Beldingford Manor as a mission has indoor areas where the player is subjected to the AI which finds running suspicious and blowing your cover is trivially easy.
Hitman: Blood Money[]
Hitman: Blood Money's difficulty system was completely revamped from Hitman: Contracts. Split into 4 difficulties, the game gets progressively more difficult with the amount of restrictions given, making it harder to achieve Silent Assassin.
Rookie[]
- Infinite saves.
- Accommodating AI.
- Full Agency assistance.
- No notoriety impact.
- Statistic Upload Available
Normal[]
- Seven Saves Permitted
- Full AI Behavior
- Agency assistance.
- Notoriety In-Effect
- Statistic Upload Available
Expert[]
- Three Saves Permitted
- Increased AI Behavior
- Reduced Agency assistance.
- Notoriety In-Effect
- Evidence Impacts Rating
- Statistic Upload Available
Professional[]
- Saves Not Permitted
- Advanced AI Behaviour
- Minimal Agency assistance.
- Notoriety In-Effect
- Evidence Impacts Rating
- Statistic Upload Available
In depth explanation for changes[]
Saves: Mostly self explanatory. Rookie and Normal difficulties still have a maximum of three save slots, meaning saves either have to be overwritten or deleted, then saved onto. This naturally works the same as just overwriting the save data outright.
AI Behaviour: In Expert and Professional, NPCs with the same outfit as 47 will be suspicious of him if he keeps being too close to them for too long. The suspicion meter will raise to yellow and the NPC having suspicion on 47 will follow him if 47 runs away. If 47 fails to get out of their line of sight, the suspicion meter will raise to red and his disguise will be blown, leading to hostility towards him. If the NPC is a civilian, he will go to a nearby guard and warn one about 47.
In Expert and Professional, some NPCs will stop heading to where they are supposed to go if they see 47 following them from behind. Some guard NPCs who are assigned to guarding doors or patroling specific routes also are not affected by the distraction caused by dropping coins. In higher difficulties, NPCs will be able to hear to 47's footsteps from greater distances, making approaching them from behind more difficult unless by sneaking.
Agency Assistance: How much information the map gives. On Rookie and Normal, everything is shown on the map, from Expert to Professional, more details are absent. On expert guards, police, points of interest and the location of guard stations are no longer visible on the map. On Professional only main targets, optional targets, 47 himself and the exit(s) are shown.
Notoriety In-Effect: Whether or not being caught on CCTV, leaving witnesses behind, leaving custom weapons [citation needed] and leaving suit behind [citation needed] will be carried over to later missions.
- Having completed a mission and replaying it removes the ability to remove notoriety by bribing witnesses, the chief of police, or assuming a new identity. If a player wishes to remove notoriety for the mission after the one they had notoriety on, they need to replay the previous one without notoriety.
Evidence Impacts Rating: Leaving custom weapons, suit, blood and bodies behind prevents getting the Silent Assassin Ranking
Statistic Upload Available: No impact at all.
Hitman: Absolution[]
Hitman: Absolution’s difficulty system was changed from Hitman: Blood Money. The difficulty system affects checkpoints, Instinct, hints, and AI. The difficulty levels in Hitman: Absolution also give a point modifier to the player, with Purist giving maximum of 150%. There are two main difficulty categories, which are further divided into two or three levels.
Enhanced[]
Easy[]
Supreme training and a physique enhanced beyond ordinary human capacity mean that your enemies are no match for you. By cunning or by brute force you are unstoppable.
- Players can activate additional checkpoints.
- Instinct regenerates.
- Instinct will provide hints.
- Enemies react very slowly.
Normal[]
You can rely on Agent 47's superior training and instinct. Remaining completely unnoticed can be a challenge, but you can always rely on your guns to get you out of trouble.
- Players can activate additional checkpoints.
- Instinct does not regenerate.
- Instinct will provide hints.
- Normal enemy presence with normal reaction times.
Professional[]
Hard[]
You like a challenge and your enemies will provide you with just that. They will be more numerous and with faster reactions. Evading your enemies will be difficult and you must strike with flawless timing.
- Players can activate additional checkpoints.
- Instinct depletes when used and does not regenerate.
- No Instinct hints.
- Additional enemies with improved reaction times.
Expert[]
You fight for every inch of progress, often without firing a single bullet. You don't rely on any help and accept trying many times before reaching your target...and perfection.
- No player-activated checkpoints.
- Instinct depletes when used and does not regenerate.
- No Instinct hints.
- Instinct does not reveal NPCs behind walls.
- Maximum number of enemies with fastest reaction times.
Purist[]
This is a challenge for a true perfectionist. You know every rule, every detail, and all environments by heart. Even then you will die trying.
- No tutorial.
- No Help.
- No interface.
- No Guide.
- Minimal instinct.
- Only a crosshair.
One change not noted in the difficulty selections is that 47's max health/instinct is lowered instead of being drained faster, a side effect of this is that safe spots blending in with Chameleon unlocked will recover less instinct and 47 will start Attack of the Saints and Operation Sledgehammer with less health, on Expert 47's health will be low enough to die in one hit from anything.
HITMAN™[]
HITMAN™ was the first mainline Hitman game to release without alternate difficulty levels. However, on January 31st, 2017, the more challenging Professional difficulty was added in a free update that coincided with the disc release of the game. To play a mission on Professional difficulty, players must reach Mastery level 5 in its respective location. Each location has 10 levels of Professional difficulty Mastery and offers a unique unlock.
In addition to the two existing difficulty levels, HITMAN™ offers a variety of customization options to allow the player to adjust the difficulty;
- Three different levels of Opportunity communication.
- Three different levels of Challenge communication.
- Enabling or disabling Instinct.
- Enabling or disabling autosave.
- Enabling or disabling the weapon HUD.
- Displaying or hiding target information.
- Displaying or hiding vital information text.
- Displaying or hiding the minimap.
- Displaying or hiding the attention indicator.
- Displaying or hiding NPC icons.
- Displaying or hiding object highlights.
Normal[]
- Saves are unlimited. Autosaves are available.
- All Opportunity communication is available.
- Getting spotted by cameras will only affect your rating and score. However, deleting evidence afterwards will earn you scores for "No Recordings"
- Combat is challenging and should be avoided.
Professional[]
- You may only save once per mission. Autosaves are disabled.
- All Opportunity communication is turned off.
- Getting spotted by cameras will affect your rating and score. Guards will also react to illegal actions recorded by cameras.
- NOTE: If you are recorded by a security camera, but the actions are not illegal, deleting the evidence will result in "No Recordings" and will not affect your Silent Assassin rating
- NPCs are more receptive, and combat is very dangerous.
- Ruined disguises cannot be taken from anyone killed in a bloody manner.
- Many items are considered illegal when equipped.
- Missions have been altered for a greater challenge.
HITMAN™ 2 and HITMAN™ III[]
HITMAN™ 2 and HITMAN™ III are largely identical to HITMAN™, offering the same customization options. However, both games launched with three different difficulty levels; Casual, Professional, and Master. All difficulty levels are available immediately and do not need to be earned through increasing your Mastery level.
In addition to the general features listed below, missions on higher difficulty may present the player with fewer resources on the map, characters who are re-positioned to be more likely to see the player's actions, and fewer isolated characters whose identities can be stolen.
Casual[]
You experiment and have fun. Toy with targets, blow things up and take chances. This is about making a general mess, running and hiding to see what happens. And then doing it all over again.
- Casual is made to give new players an easier way into the game. It will also give all players an easier way to mess around with the world and see what happens without fear of failing.
- Unlimited saves.
- All Mission Story guides available.
- No surveillance cameras.
- Less enforcers.
- Forgiving combat.
- More items are legal to carry.
- NPCs are less attentive to sounds.
Professional[]
Assassination is serious business. You plan, you execute, you escape. And your handler is right there, giving you the guidance you need to succeed.
- Professional is the default entry point and balanced to give players a feeling of being a true assassin, using all of the game’s intricate mechanics together with their ingenuity to assassinate their targets.
- Unlimited saves.
- All Mission Story guides available.
- Surveillance cameras active.
- Cameras alert guards if illegal activity is spotted.
- Combat is challenging but fair.
Master[]
You are the ultimate assassin. No challenge is too hard and you exist only to take out your targets in the most complicated ways possible with no assistance from anyone.
- Master is for the player that needs an extra challenge. Combat will be extremely hard and the NPCs will be more aware of their surroundings, making stealth gameplay a greater challenge too.
- One save per mission.
- No Mission Story guides available.
- Extra surveillance cameras.
- Extra enforcers.
- Ruthless and demanding combat.
- Bloody eliminations ruin disguises.
- NPCs are more attentive to sounds.