TLDR; is this difficult? 
with it being one stage I was hoping it was at least slightly challenging
It’s fucking brutal. Im of two minds on this contract, on one hand it’s the best of the four when it comes to objectives, level design usage and all that. I also appreciate the difficulty bump because Hitman 3 was an easy game. On the other hand I spent an hour on this level without killing anyone just restarting and couldn’t really learn a route due to the randomised clues. I got all six clues but got caught when a guy slightly saw me after I threw something at him, so the next time i just went for four clues as by then I had figured out how many were useful to me
3 Likes
I wouldn’t say it’s really difficult tbh. There are a few safes that are tricky to get but there are also 3 that are insanely easy to get, so it’s more just luck of the draw. 3 clues is enough to identify all the targets.
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I think this is the very first contract you can complete without killing anyone.
didnt like this one, still better then greed doe
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I’m not feelin it. The Starting Room looks great but thats all. The Crossbow sucks.
I haven’t finished the escalation yet, I’m fresh from the Dentist and still dont feel to well, I’ll give it another shot tomorrow, but so far I’m not really enjoying it.
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Complete it yes but to get SA you need to kill all the pretenders too.
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Ok, I will try to help out! Basically you need to categorise each of the 8 characters and the 3 traits that they have (drink/dance/smoke) and then when you get the clues you need to match all 3 to one person.
Woman with shawl: smoker / non dancer / champagne
Guy with slicked hair: non smoker / non dancer / whiskey
Woman with scarf and hat: non smoker / dancer / white wine
Guy with man bun: smoker / dancer / white wine
Woman in blue halter neck dress: non smoker / non dancer / whiskey
Guy with short scruffy hair & beard: non smoker / dancer / champagne
Woman in white blazer: smoker / dancer / red wine
Bald guy: smoker / non dancer / red wine
Once you’ve got that you need to then match the clues. 1st clue will either say - a veil of smoke (smoker) or smokeless air (non smoker), 2nd clue will be through which I dance (dancer) or wherein I stand (non dancer) and then the 3rd clue will say either champagne / whiskey / white / red
Hope that helps! 
Edit: here is a video with the actual clues and screenshots of each target:
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Also keep in mind the safe locations are randomised. Although I’ve just learned that you can use the map to find the safe locations.
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That’s a useful list, but unless it’s also randomised, the woman with the white blazer is a smoker.
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Nope, you are right, I didn’t follow her full route. She does smoke.
For me, it is the same every time (tested 10+ times), but 2 people seem to have the same traits.
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Nevermind the woman in in the scarf and hat is also wearing something bluish that’s were my confusion was
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No, that would be the Corky Commotion that was released together with Patient Zero. And if you mean the first contract that can be completed without harming anyone, that honor goes to the McCallister Ransack from Htiman 2. 
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The only time I see the crossbow being kinda useful is on a no pacification contract in place of the Kalmer, but even then it is a stretch as you could just use a Sieker or a distraction in 98% of cases. If it worked like a flashbang and hit multiple targets, it would be more useful, but also maybe a bit OP.
Having spent 3 hours on this now I can say that I love the idea, and I enjoy the fact that they are trying something a bit different, but this one just ain’t for me.
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It was an ok/average “escalation” I mean I got one hour out of it, and probably will never play it again just like the rest of the sins and deluxe escalations. Nothing changed in the map except the dance floor.
It’s the most difficult sin so far, especially if you’re going for SA.
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so, is the snake bomb the first animated item? i cant think of other items that have an animation
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If they separated the Ammo from the other dart guns and gave it 4 darts on pick-up it could be quite useful and a good alternative to the Kalmer and Sieker but otherwise quite limited.
Over all quite enjoyed this one, though I think I would of preferred if it wasn’t kill all pretenders optionally, Like the clues gave the admirer and another a pretender to kill.
The starting area was a sight to look on and really set the mood. Hope they can reuse that style again in the future for a bonus mission as really digging the vibe of it all.
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Did Lil flashy have animation?, as I think that moved (though haven’t used that item in two years)
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for some reason i remember it being animated, but its not
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Huh, maybe it’s the sound it makes, gives the impression of it being animated.