That is something really cool about The Splitter’s design I never really considered before. If you take out Valiant before the meeting, it then explains about the clones and marks them as targets. If you look through the facility first Diana will say “That is NOT Max Valiant” and mark the clones, which is also a fun little subversion of her usual line for targets.
Given such a large number of targets for an ET, it was probably done the best way they could where it’s a surprise there’s so many but you still have a decent chance to complete the mission. Unlike The Fixer where the surprise is you didn’t know you couldn’t knock out the courier so now you have a permanent fail.
I’m not sure what the best solution is to fix The Fixer. Change the objective text and add new Diana voice lines to better convey how the mission works? Remove the instafails (but then would the mission break since the courier needs to pick up the diamonds)? Make the courier and diamonds just an optional objective for people who want that sweet sweet 5 star Silent Assassin?
Or just make The Fixer along with the rest of the ETs permanent with no restrictions, I seem to recall someone making a video about that:
