Note: I mention this in the updates at the bottom of this post, but it does look like these issues have now been addressed. You can read on for the original article (with updates at the bottom).
Elusive Target Arcade has finally come to Hitman 3, and it adds three contracts to the game. I was going to say three new contracts, but these are actually just remixed versions of contracts we’ve already done. They basically function like Escalations, only with a series of Elusive Targets to take out.
If you’ve played any of the Elusive Targets in the past, then you know that failure is permanent. If you die, the challenge is over, and once you take out a target, you’re not allowed to reset. Note that this does mean you can reset an Elusive Target at any point before you’ve taken out a target.
However, Elusive Target Arcade doesn’t quite work like this. Instead, failure will lock you out of that particular contract for 12 hours.
Unfortunately, this isn’t really working as it should. If you select a contract, then back out to the menu — even if you haven’t actually started the mission yet — it will count as a fail state and you’ll be locked out. Additionally, the menu seems to keep randomly locking players out of contracts they haven’t even attempted yet, and the countdown timers don’t seem to be working properly.
It’s leading a lot of players to end up seeing this absolutely heartbreaking image:
The 12-hour lockout is an intentional part of Elusive Target Arcade. However, it’s hard to say how much of this other stuff is working as intended or is simply a bug. IO Interactive is aware that there are issues with the mode, and the Known Issues page on their website states:
We’re aware of several issues where Elusive Target Arcade Contracts are triggering the 12-hour lockdown fail-state despite players not failing. We’re investigating and will share updates.
However, what is supposed to count as a fail state and what counts as a bug? It’s hard to say. I can’t imagine that just looking at the menu of a contract should lock you out of it if you return to the title screen, but there’s a part of me that wonders if that’s actually intentional. I’m going to go out on a limb and say these are less forgiving than standard Elusive Targets (as far as letting you reset before you take out a target) due to their Escalation-like structure.
I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this new game mode launched with some major problems. Hitman 3 itself launched with major issues a year ago, after all, and Elusive Target Arcade was just one part of a pretty ambitious content patch. PC players also got Hitman VR today, and the Hitman Trilogy officially launched. So I’m guessing the folks at IO are burning the midnight oil.
I can only hope this will be ironed out soon, and that we’ll get some clarification on what exactly is supposed to count as a fail state in this new game mode.
Update: After messing around in Elusive Target Arcade, I do believe the Elusive Target rules are supposed to apply here. If you pause the game, you should have the option to reset the mission so long as you haven’t completed any of the objectives. This option goes away once you complete an objective. The only things that should cause fail states are death and getting the target into a situation where they’re no longer able to be killed (for example, knocking out the target and then hiding the body in a trunk).
It also seems like if you complete the first two levels of a contract, then fail, you should be able to start from the third level once the fail-state timer expires. However, I’m not sure if this is a bug or not.
Update 2: IO Interactive released a server-side fix on January 25, 2022, to address this issue. It should be working now.
I ran into a problem on the second mission where I knocked out the pizza guy with the crow bar, hid the body. I killed the second target via emetic and strangulation hid the body. Finished the mission SASO and then I get to the menu and it says I failed the mission and I got the 12hr lockout.
I had a similar thing happen, where I got Silent Assassin on Level 1 and Level 2, and then, instead of loading up Level 3, it kicked me out and said that I couldn’t try again because I failed the mission. Locked out until tomorrow now…
The one I was doing was the Codices though. I think the one you were doing was probably the Ellipses.
Same happened to me but found a work around by accessing mission via the ‘Featured’ page.
ive had an issue with Dartmoor arcade elusive target. i pacify everyone and avoid dumping bodies in pond becasue it doesnt trigger a hidden body and so instead hid the bodies in bushes to only get the hide all bodies requirement not met. so i searched the map but there were no bodies left out in plain site only one gaurd in zacks room was knocked out in a closet and the 4 gaurds entrance all hidden in bushes as well as the two gardeners near them as well i had later knocked out and put in bushes only to find out that every body was hidden however as far as im aware Zackarys body is a world object and is the only body that i can think of that is not hidden despite not being able to do that i assume it doesnt count but this is def a glitch and its not letting me finish the mission because of it.
Same issue with elusive target arcade at Dartmoor. All bodies are hidden but mission will not complete.