If you’re not a completionist, there’s zero reason to bother with Hardcore mode.
For everyone who IS though, here’s my advice and what you should know before starting.
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Hardcore mode is like playing Master Difficulty on steroids. More guards, more cameras and more enforcers. And since you can’t take as much damage as normal, combat usually results in failure.
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Wait until you’ve acquired every single item for the weapon display walls before starting to make sure you have the required items needed for prestige objectives.
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You’ll also have less money at that point, so if you fail a campaign it won’t matter financially.
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When selecting Syndicates, only focus on the levels you’ll be going to and trying to get a run you’ll be comfortable with. But understand, even “easy” levels can end up being a nightmare because of the added stuff (more guards, more cameras and more enforcers).
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Focus only on the prestige objective. Don’t bother with anything else. No searching for safes, robbing couriers, seeking out suppliers etc. The goal here isn’t about racking up money or acquiring crate items. It’s completing the level and moving on.
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Avoid Silent Assassin objectives (all variations) and timed objectives (all variations) when possible. Stick with Epic/Legendary kills/pacifications that require weapons/items from the weapon walls. Depending on RNG, you might get lucky and see multiple instances of “Kill a target with a Shuriken” or “Headshot a target with a Legendary pistol”.
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Pick the easiest target on the level to complete the objective. Then focus on killing the remaining targets and then heading for the exit. Don’t worry about the remaining kills being sloppy either. It doesn’t matter. This is why you avoid SA.
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For Showdown levels, focus on marking off obvious non-suspects first i.e. if the Leader is bald you can quickly unmark suspects WITH hair. Also Leaders only have the tells listed on the camera display so if you see one doing something not listed, they’re NOT the Leader i.e. sneezing and “Allergies” is not listed.
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The reason you want to do this is because for all the other "potential* suspects, it"s faster and safer to just kill them (and their guards) as opposed to investigating them. Start with the easiest i.e. the ones that take isolated routes.
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If you have a specific play style, or a strict set of rules you like to follow while playing (see Heisenberg Parameters of Perfection) you’re gonna have to set that aside in order to complete this mode.
Hopefully some of that helps someone out there. 