In HITMAN Episode 5: Colorado, Agent 47 will take on his toughest assignment yet; an intense infiltration mission on a farm compound that has been converted into a private militia training camp. The story mission for Episode 5 is titled “Freedom Fighters” and is not one to be taken lightly.
Episode 5: Colorado is a key episode for the game’s story and adds serious momentum to what has happened already. There are major revelations set to be revealed and this episode will set up an intriguing season finale. It goes without saying, but be aware of spoilers.
For the first time in Season One, Agent 47 will need to eliminate four targets; Sean Rose, Maya Parvati, Ezra Berg and Penelope Graves.
Episode 5 Release Timings
HITMAN: Episode 5 Colorado releases worldwide across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC on September 27th at 13:00 CEST / 4AM PDT.
Starting at 11am CEST on September 27th, the HITMAN servers will be down for maintenance as we prepare for releasing Episode 5. During the maintenance period, all players will receive a mandatory game update of around 5-7GB, depending on platform. In addition to that, all players with access to Episode 5 will be able to start downloading it as of 1pm CEST. We expect the total download size for both updates to be approximately 12-14GB.
Episode 5: Colorado Release Notes
New Destination: Colorado, USA.
New Story mission: Freedom Fighters
6 new Opportunities for “Freedom Fighters"
20 levels of Colorado Mastery, with the following unlocks:
8 new Colorado 'Starting Locations'
9 new Colorado 'Agency Pickup Locations'
6 new weapon/gear unlocks
New suit for Colorado: Tactical Gear
70+ Colorado-specific challenges
7 new trophies/achievements
Live Content for Colorado will include: New Escalation Contracts, Elusive Targets and New Featured Contracts (Contracts Mode)
Episode 5 - General Improvements
Contracts Mode - Search
You can now search all Contracts using free-text entry for the title and description of a Contract. The checkmark icon will be shown to indicate which Contracts have already been completed.
The 'Contracts Search' option in the game menu has replaced the 'Latest Contracts' option.
Contracts Mode - Kill Conditions
Kill Conditions have been added to Contracts Mode and can be used by the creator to create more specific Contracts. There are 16 different kill types and 7 different accident kill types that are recognised by the game.
When setting a kill condition, the Contract creator has the ability to enforce the kill methods 'Melee' and 'Thrown Weapon' in combination with a specific item, based on how they played when they created the Contract. This will require that the target is killed with the same item and method that the creator used. The selected kill conditions are part of the overall score objective bonus, and function as optional secondary objectives. Failing to complete any secondary objectives has a massive impact on your score and time bonus. Images have also been added that represent each Kill Condition. These can be viewed in the 'Detailed Target View'.
Note:
- Dropping a target into a lake/sea will be classed as "Accident (Fall)".
- The condition "Accident (Drown)" can only be accomplished by drowning a target in the toilet.
- "Elimination" and "Pistol" are two separate kill conditions. "Elimination" can be achieved when behind an NPC with a pistol equipped.
Contracts Mode - Tags
You can now choose a number of "tags" when searching for Contracts. This will allow you to find Contracts that match specific requirements. These tags cover missions, amount of targets (up to 5) and kill conditions. This will allow players to quickly find Contracts according to their preference. Search results will show the Contracts in order of relevance and show which tags are matched in each Contract.
Contracts Mode - 'Friends' Filter
You can now filter Contracts to only show those created by your friends.
Friends Leaderboards
After completing any Contract (Story Mission, Escalation Contract, Elusive Target, Contracts Mode), you can now compare yourself directly with only your friends, as well as the existing ‘global’ option.
Elusive Target Countdown
The Featured Hub will now show a countdown for when the next Elusive Target will be available. Note: There will still be times when the 'coming soon' icon is shown between the times of an Elusive Target ending and the countdown for the next one appearing.
Instant Challenge Award
Challenges that require other challenges to be complete will now be awarded during gameplay. Previously, completing the final step of a multi-challenge challenge (e.g. Master Assassin) would award the challenge after the contract was completed.
UI Performance Improvements
Various improvements to the in-game UI have been implemented to improve overall game performance.
Adjustments to the Krugermeier 2-2 Pistol
- Increased the number of rounds in each magazine from 5 to 10.
- Updated the weapon description to be more accurate and consistent.
Adjustments to the Jaeger 7 Lancer
We have fixed a bug with the Jaeger 7 Lancer Sniper Rifle (Sapienza Mastery Level 20 unlock) that in some cases allowed the bullets to pass through level geometry.
Leaderboards Reset
The leaderboards for all Story missions, Escalation Contracts and Featured Contracts will be reset. A contributing factor to this reset was the adjustments to the Jaeger 7 Lancer, because some players have been able to achieve higher scores by killing NPC’s through level geometry.
Episode 5 - Misc. Improvements
Simplified the in-game text for downloading new content. "Get access" is now displayed for all content that is not installed. A pop-up message will inform you what content you need to (re)download or purchase to get access.
The 'Game Status Indicator' (aka the small bar that says "Loading" or "Saving etc.) has been unified in terms of placement and design.
Challenges and Mastery are now only shown for a destination if you own the relevant episode / content.
The required Mastery Level to unlock a Starting Location or Pickup Location is now shown on the relevant tiles on the Loadout page.
The Challenge page has been updated so that Challenge Packs are now shown under the relevant destination, rather than having their own category. Elusive Targets still have their own category.
Updated the Menu UI to be more consistent with colours (red/black and white) when showing what content has been completed.
The outline of a selected menu item will now 'pulse' to make it easier to see what is selected.
When browsing the Mastery Level unlocks, the Weapon Perks icons will now be displayed.
The "Replan Mission" option when playing an Elusive Target has been updated with an accurate description.
Item and Weapon information in the Loadout and Career pages now use the detailed view, showing all perks and descriptions.
Images of 47's selected suit in the Loadout and Career pages now use a portrait tile, to show more of the suit (and gloves!)
Fixed Issues
Fixed an issue where a mission would sometimes not load after restarting.
The Elusive Target clock now always references the game's server time to avoid conflicts with incorrect system clocks.
Improved error-handling and detection of server disconnects to make for a smoother experience overall.
Fixed a rare issue that would require some players to restart the game to recognise newly installed content.
Fixed an issue that prevented the score calculation from being shown at the end of a mission.
Fixed an issue in the "Club 27" mission where 47 could not re-open the doors to rooms 203 and 204.
Fixed an issue where NPCs would react to running footsteps, while trespassing.
PC-specific Issues
Rewrote the Game Launcher into native code to improve compatibility and stability. As a result, HITMAN no longer needs the .NET framework.
Fixed an issue with missing runtime DLLs from the Visual Studio 2015 redistributable.
Fixed an issue that would lock the game's refresh rate, even though the monitor is capable of more.
Fixed an issue where disconnecting headphones during a cutscene could result in it pausing.
The default graphics settings within the game are now determined by the monitor resolution and hardware properties.
Episode 5 - Known Issues
Inconsistent objectives behaviour on “The Audition” opportunity in Colorado, depending on player actions.
After taking a 2-handed weapon from an Agency Pickup, the weapon may be lost when swapped with a dropped weapon from another NPC.
Some small bushes are missing collision and may cause 47 to get stuck.
Next Update
We have already got fixes in place for the above 'known issues' as well as a bunch of other improvements, tweaks and updates. The next update (after Episode 5 launches) will be released as soon as it is approved. Stay tuned for more details on exactly when the update will be available.