Hitman: Sniper Tips, Cheats and Strategies

It’s not easy being Agent 47. While he’s not in any real danger in Hitman: Sniper thanks to his mountainside sniper’s nest, where he can see dispatch his enemies without fear of bodily harm in return, there’s more to eliminating nasty criminal types than simply looking through the crosshairs and pulling the trigger.

Don’t worry, as you won’t have to calculate wind velocity or drag coefficients. Instead, Square Enix turns the art of the hit into one part nerve, one part skill and one part puzzle-solving, all of which ass up to a unique mobile gaming experience. Will you be able to fulfill all of the parts of your contract with the Agency before time runs out — or you spook your primary mark and he makes a beeline for the exit?

Taking out targets with style and efficiency is the name of the game, and we can help. Follow along with these Hitman: Sniper Tips, Cheats and Strategies to elevate your scores and your place on the leaderboards, and make your mark as a master assassin (of bad people, naturally).

•  A lot of times, the text during video game loading screens isn’t all that important. Not so in Hitman: Sniper, where one such screen implores you to “read the scene” before you start shooting. That’s the best general advice you can get, because the guards and targets behave in predictable patterns — but that only helps once you’ve taken the time to study them. You do get more points for finishing a contract more quickly, but in the first few levels, you’ll have plenty of time. Use some of it to know your foes.

• Know your mission objectives. There are plenty of different goals in the game, and they can vary dramatically from one contract to the next. A high score should always be in the back of your mind, but points aren’t everything. Also, you’ll nearly always want to save your primary target (denoted by red crosshairs) for last, because killing that person will automatically end the level with your extraction in 10 seconds.
• Killing people in plain sight is almost always a no-no. Witnesses are bad, as guards will radio an alert to other people on the grounds, targets will head for safety, and even civilians will look to report what they just saw once bodies start hitting the floor. Don’t shoot people out in the open unless it’s absolutely necessary, like during the extraction process, when there won’t be enough time for anyone to sound the alarm.

• Proper body disposal should also be a consideration, because even if people didn’t see the shot, they still get nervous when they see a dead guard laying around. Look for ways to hide the deceased from passersby. Bodies of water are good options, as are the edges of buildings. Also, if you’ve got a gun with enough knockback, you can even “push” bodies into the pool or off the roof by shooting people after they have kicked the bucket.

• Guards have three different levels of alertness. Curious guards are just trying to see what’s going on, like if you shoot one of the vehicles and set off its alarm. Suspicious guards usually are those who have happened upon a dead body. Finally, fully alarmed guards usually come about because you shot someone right in front of them or hit them with a non-lethal body shot. When the radio icon appears above their heads, you’ll have a few seconds to take them out before they call for help and everyone knows the compound is under attack.
• Despite how it might seem, curious and suspicious guards aren’t always bad. For example, you can lure a guard by shooting out the electrical box outside the ground level guard building. He’ll be curious, but won’t sound the alarm. Luring guards in this manner not only can maneuver them where you want them, it also gives you bonus points when you finally eliminate them.

• Keep an eye on your ammo. These are sniper rifles we’re talking about, not machine guns, and the worst feeling ever is running out of bullets when you’ve got a great shot lined up. The meter in the bottom-left corner of the main screen tells you how many shots you have left, and you can reload before you run empty by tapping on it. Simply swipe int he direction of the arrows on the screen to reload.
• Not everything in the environment is destructible, but many things are. Shooting at inanimate objects could simply get you points or cause a distraction, but they can also be used to cause creative deaths. One of my favorites is shooting the electrical panel by the large fan to summon a curious guard, then hitting it with another shot while he’s there. I won’t spoil what happens, but it’s fantastic. Another good general hint is that explosions are your friends. You can even show off you billiards skills with a carefully aimed shot.
• You can’t always hit what you can see. Sometimes you’ll be able to spot targets through windows but you won’t have enough power to kill them through the glass. Look for a weapon with more penetration ability if you have a contract that’s going to require indoor shots.

• Using the right tool for the job is important.The primary advantage of using a newly unlocked weapon is its higher score multiplier, but all of the guns have different passive and active abilities that can come in handy depending on the contract you’re chasing. Consider switching to an older model if score isn’t a factor and its abilities might be necessary.
• New rifles can be unlocked in three ways: by simple advancement, by achieving a certain position on the leaderboards or by collecting the proper number of parts. Only the last of those methods requires any thought on your part, as the other two will occur automatically. Specific weapon parts are linked to various targets, meaning that you might have to hunt down certain bad guys in order to have a shot at the part you need.

Nick Tylwalk

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Nick Tylwalk enjoys writing about video games, comic books, pro wrestling and other things where people are often punching each other, regaardless of what that says about him. He prefers MMOs, RPGs, strategy and sports games but can be talked into playing just about anything.