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Games

Hitman Has Finally Fixed Its Most Dangerous Bug: A Killer Toilet

Combat is about to get smoother for all sub-'professional' players.
Images courtesy Square Enix

One of 2016's most beloved mayhem simulators, Hitman, just got a major update. The biggest news is a change in how combat is handled in the game, in order to make it "more satisfying and viable for all players:"

Specifically, we have reduced the fire rate of NPC pistols, slightly increased how quickly 47 can 'snap' to the target NPC when 'aim assist' is toggled on, reduced the damage that 47 takes at mid to long distances and increased the speed that 47's health regenerates. We are continuing to monitor and adjust these values based on our own impressions and we're looking forward to feedback from our players when these changes go live. Please note that Professional Difficulty is not affected by these changes and still offers the 'Lethal Combat' that was promised.

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And there's backstory to the changes!

With an earlier update on June 23rd, the first iteration of our internal combat changes was unintentionally released. That first iteration simply reduced the damage output of NPC weapons and resulted in what some of our community have lovingly described as 'Tank 47'. The changes that we mention above (and will introduce with 1.12.1) are based on the combat values before the June 23rd update. This is important to mention because we want to be clear that we haven't made 47 more of a tank. Instead, we've looked at the combat experience that we've had in the game since launch and made the above changes to the long-standing values.

So, combat is about to get a bit easier (outside of professional difficulty.) This is definitely a big deal for the game, until that unintentional June update, combat in Hitman was incredibly difficult. It forced most players to really focus on stealth instead of shootouts—though some people, like Waypoint's own Austin Walker, threw themselves into fatal gunfights anyway. Maybe now those folks will have a better time getting into rolling firefights across the streets of Sapienza.

The other big fix? The death toilet is gone! No longer will Agent 47 meet a horrific end if he messes with the wrong commode in Marrakesh:

Bathroom Break
We've fixed an issue that could cause the toilet in the Marrakesh school to behave erratically after 47 kicks it onto Zaydan. This could occasionally result in 47's death. Seriously.

I, for one, am relieved. What safety is there in the world if you cannot trust a good toilet?