Hello Hitman WoA Speedrunners ! The moderation team and myself have been heavily discussing a number of topics over the last couple weeks that will undoubtedly change the future of the game. I hope you all understand that every decision listed below was not made lightly and we feel that these decisions will be best for the game going into the new year. Without further ado, thank you for your time and your trust. We hope you all have a Happy Holidays and good luck agents.

1) Tranq Glitch - We have decided that in the current scope of the game the ban on tranq glitch was outdated and not a reflection of the community's opinion on the tech. Because of this, we have made the first step in unbanning TG starting with the Hitman WoA main leaderboards on SRC. We will continue to discuss and monitor the community's thoughts on this in the coming months, but for the time being TG will remain banned for all other leaderboards.

2) Fullgame Reset Penalty - We have revised the rules regarding resetting during fullgame speedruns to apply a penalty for all resets from the start of the level to the end, including during cutscene. This will be a 1 second minimum penalty for all resets and after 1 second the penalty will be equivalent to the time on the in-game timer when the reset takes place. The only exceptions to this are Bangkok and all Sarajevo Six levels which will carry a higher 10 second minimum penalty. This is a change that will take time to be fully reflected on the leaderboards, but we will work as quickly as possible to retroactively apply penalties where applicable. This new rule applies to ALL Hitman leaderboards with fullgame speedruns.

3) Elusive Target Stuff:

• The Splitter LB - The Splitter has been added to the Hitman WoA Elusive Targets leaderboard. Because Agent 47 is forced to start in a disguise, Suit Only (SO) is not possible and we will only accept SA and Any% submissions.

4) Autosplitter Issues - I just wanted to end this by quickly addressing the issues that players have been having with the Peacock and Freelancer autosplitters by assuring you that we are aware and working on it. An announcement will be made as soon as these programs are back online and working.

Hello Hitman WoA Speedrunners! This is a very important and impactful announcement so I hope you all take the time to read this message in its entirety.

The moderation team and myself have decided to ban ALL visual and game changing mods from Hitman: WoA speedrun submissions going into effect immediately. I know this will be somewhat controversial, but I hope you all understand that our only goal with this is to ensure the integrity and validity of the speedruns we verify. All speedruns currently on speedrun.com that use mods will NOT be removed and are now grandfathered in. This new rule only applies to speedrun submissions from this point forward. Below I've answered a few questions I expect to be asked, but feel free to reach out to me with any further questions or concerns. Thank you for your time and trust.**

1) Why make this change? This decision was not made lightly and has been discussed on and off even before I was ever a member of the moderation team. The core of this comes down to the sheer number of mods and an inability to verify that they don't impact the way the game functions.

2) Is Peacock still allowed? Absolutely, but Peacock plugins/mods are not.

3) Can I still have Ansel/Freecam installed? Yes, you do not need to uninstall. This rule applies directly to mods that are visible and game changing. As long as Ansel/Freecam isn't used or active during the run then it's okay.

Hello again Hitman WoA speedrunners! As you may know, Ambrose island has officially been moved into it's place in the Hitman WoA trilogy which means we are now tasked with figuring out the best way to implement the change to the SRC leaderboards. We as a team have decided the best action for now is to add a 'w/ Ambrose' category to the Trilogy and Season 2 leaderboards. We strongly encourage runners to play the 'w/ Ambrose' categories as having two Trilogy and S2 leaderboards is strictly temporary. Our hope is that eventually we can simplify and phase out the current categories as the new 'w/ Ambrose' leaderboards fill up. Along with this change is a decision to remove the Season 2 (no DLC) category and move forward with Season 2 and Season 2 w/ Ambrose. We hope that these changes will best support and sustain the community into the future. Thank you so much for reading and goodluck!

Hello speedrunners! We've come to the decision to allow a maximum of 3 ties for a world record where a 4th tying run will trigger us to convert the runs to milliseconds. The poll was pivotal in this decision and opened our eyes to how close this debate was. Because of this, we will likely reopen the discussion in a few months after we get a feel for how the current rule is working. We'll be working to slowly, but surely convert all applicable runs to milliseconds for all Hitman leaderboards. We do have an important announcement to make about speedruns UNDER 7 seconds. Normally the vanilla game will not show a score for runs under 7 seconds, but will show the score breakdown if a player presses P on the rating screen. This means we would be able to accurately sort and convert speedruns like Freeform training Any% to ms by requiring players to press P after any run under 7 seconds. This will all be updated in the rules section on speedrun.com. Thank you for your time and future patience!

Hello everyone! Today we have decided to reverse the ban on wearing the "Midnight Black Suit" in Mendoza. This will apply to all Hitman WoA categories and games. We feel the glitch is not nearly game breaking enough to warrant a ban for our speedruns, also it is very stylish :D

For those who dont know, the midnight black suit allows 47 to be in and around Don Yates’ villa without trespassing. Good luck and we are excited to see any new runs with this suit!

Hello again everyone!

Mendoza has been a contentious level because of it's dependence on hardware and fps, but we have decided to account for milliseconds since it reached a 10 way tie. The update to the individual leaderboard is live and I hope to someday see a 38 from one of you amazing runners! (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EEEfngf7RCA_fUsdMQy5no_HJcwT8Fqz7ppL_1-WR-A/edit?usp=sharing)

Thanks for your time and goodluck!

Hello everyone!

Just a quick post to let you all know that because of the massive tie on The Icon SA and SA/SO leaderboards we've changed it to include milliseconds. The changes are live and this will hopefully make the level more competitive! If you see any errors with your run or others, feel free to DM me. (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1k9Gz5VOoisJJadSMrDrpwON1ZVWMDr997Me8hRdta_A/edit#gid=0)

Also, I wanted to announce that the Heritage UI Crosshair is banned as well as any mods that modify or remove the vanilla in-game crosshair. To clarify, Heritage UI and third party crosshair applications are NOT banned, only mods that change the in-game crosshair. This change will help us ensure fair competition between all runners.

Thank you very much for your time!

Because of the August 17th patch (https://ioi.dk/hitman/patch-notes/2023/hitman-woa-august-patch-notes), we have moved multiple runs to the “No Longer Possible” category. Runs from the Hitman 3 main boards, category extensions, elusive targets, and freelancer were all affected. This patch has only affected runs with Dartmoor due to:

• Ledge drop outside of Alexa’s bedroom being removed

• Audio distractions not being heard by guards in and around the trophy room

The audio patches have mainly affected runs that use Rebecca lure, and runs that shoot the door to panic the guards standing near the hearse key. As well as runs being moved because of this current patch, there also were multiple runs moved because of previous patches that were not spotted before, mostly relating to the other ledge drop methods being removed. All affected runs can be found under the No Longer Possible/NLP tab on SRC. Thanks!

As of today, we've completed the migration of Sarajevo Six runs and leaderboards to the main Hitman 3 leaderboard and have added leaderboards for Sarajevo Six category extensions. After the recent release of Sarajevo Six to the official game we felt it best to move everything to improve ease of access and discoverability. New leaderboards for the Sarajevo Six can be found here: https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3 and https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3_extensions. Thanks so much and good luck!

We're very happy to announce the brand new Hitman 3 (WoA) Freelancer Leaderboard! Please be sure to read ALL the rules for the game and each category to avoid confusion or rejected runs. If you have any questions, feel free to message myself or another mod on discord or src. There will surely be changes made as we discover new strategies and build more tools, but our focus will always be on the runners. We look forward to seeing your runs and wish you good luck agents!

https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3_freelancer?h=PC-Any-Normal&x=zdn3m7e2-6njyzmen.1399ydr1-onv97km8.qvvvngrq

Boosts are back and as far as we can tell so far they are exactly how they used to be, so all prior runs that were only invalidated by boosts were restored to main category for the Hitman 3 Leaderboards.

To avoid repeating myself, see here for a list of other Hitman patch changes as they pertain to speedruns (including info that is not included on the official patch notes):

https://hitruns-wiki.vercel.app/docs/h3_patch_notes

Screenshot Examples of the Merged Leaderboards:

The MAIN Hitman 3 leaderboard (https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3/) can be considered open for submissions again, and we will start verifying runs off of the queue.

The category extensions / elusive targets / escalation boards are still being updated for the new patch until further notice.

NOTE: All runs that are only affected by boost-related patch changes (that are otherwise compatible with current patch) are being stored in a category "NLP (Temporary)". The plan is to merge all of these runs back into the Standard (Current Patch Possible) category later, as IOI has promised that boosts are returning to how they were before: https://ioi.dk/hidden/h3-patchnotes?panel=hitman%2Fpatch-notes%2Fjanuary-patch-notes

More Details on the Patch (New Findings)

We recently discovered that the red tie kiwi, apple, soap, apricot, flower pot can still be boosted with.

The red tie kiwi is the most notable, as it's an unlockable item you can bring into the level.

So, we have decided to keep some but not all of the runs using boosts from before the patch.

The kiwi produces less particles than muffin / violin did, so more precision is needed in where you are standing when you throw it, where you throw, your timing, etc.

Overall, the kiwi's reliability for boosts is roughly the same for stairs with lower railing, but stairs with high railing or certain chairs or tables etc are unreliable or impossible with kiwi.

Kiwi + breacher also does not seem possible at this time.

Any runs that used two muffins are also not considered possible anymore, as there's only one kiwi.

Also, any runs that maxed out the inventory and then used breakable object on the level to boost (e.g. some Sapienza SASO runs would bring in sniper, pistol, duck, and grab a brick) are no longer possible due to lack of inventory space.

List of runs / categories affected (main missions, non exhaustive) List of runs Backup link (rentry is finnicky recently)

Submissions for Hitman 3 are temporarily closed since particles got patched today and we need some time to sort out the runs that are no longer possible.

IOI said in their patch notes that the particle boosting glitch will return in a future patch (https://ioi.dk/hidden/h3-patchnotes?panel=hitman%2Fpatch-notes%2Fjanuary-patch-notes).

We will be creating a second "No Longer Possible" category specifically for runs affected by only particle boosting, so that we can merge the runs back into the Standard (main) category later when the particle boosts return.

Due to people having a hard time navigating to the "No Longer Possible" Archived Runs Google Spreadsheet (https://cutt.ly/h3_patched_runs), and also because the Google Sheet becomes harder to read as more and more patched runs are added, we have transitioned No Longer Possible runs back to speedrun.com under their own category, with helpful comments included for the reason any given run may not be possible on current patch.

You can hover your mouse over the sticky note icon as well to quickly glance over the rejection reason for each run on a leaderboard.

Note the linked wiki page to Hitman 3 patch notes that specifically affected speedruns: https://hitruns-wiki.vercel.app/docs/h3_patch_notes

The full game No Longer Possible runs have been back on speedrun.com for awhile now actually but the patch specific information for them was added recently, and the individual level No Longer Possible runs were added back recently as well. I was busy with school for awhile...

We may or may not continue to maintain the Google Sheet in the future but we will prioritize listing all No Longer Possible runs on speedrun.com directly. Thanks for understanding, and be sure to point out any errors in the No Longer Possible runs to the mod team (run marked in wrong category, wrong patch reason, etc).

EDIT: Poll is now closed

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfge88D3T3jXJgaysfTbhIolF38t--Kz4TQf9tn1ZxDNQxtJA/viewform?usp=sharing

You must have 5 individual level runs / 1 full game run to be qualified to vote.

UPDATE OCTOBER 14: Added "No Longer Possible" category on the main Hitman 3 leaderboard specifically for full game runs, as shown here. For information on patched individual level runs, as more information on patched runs in general, please refer to: https://cutt.ly/h3_patched_runs or https://hitruns.vercel.app/h3_patched_runs.html for more information.

UPDATE OCTOBER 12: Run Freeze is lifted, you can submit your runs freely now. Most runs invalidated by patch have been moved to an archive spreadsheet: https://cutt.ly/h3_patched_runs

[Original Text Below]

There is a new patch (https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-october-patch-notes/). We will likely be suspending any run submissions for the foreseeable future until we can sort out the many runs invalided by this patch.

Runs affected by the patch include but are not limited to:

• Any molotov runs for SA and SA/SO (no longer accident)
• Any runs with RFID exit exploit (Illusions of Grandeur record, among others)
• Any runs with New York Frisk Skip (which includes just about every SA/SO Season 2 and Trilogy run).

How long will it take for these runs to be removed and for submissions to open up again? Don't know, there are a lot of runs and a lot of mods such as myself are getting busier IRL now. Might be a couple weeks.

After some internal moderator discussion, we have decided to delay the Ambrose full game category poll until IOI adds Ambrose to the "Campaign" menu, as there is a good chance IOI themselves will clear up Ambrose's location as part of Season 2 or 3 campaigns.

Thanks for understanding. And remember, regardless of what speedrun.com looks like, you can always run your own category for your own enjoyment.

Edit: To be clear, you can submit any full game runs you like now, there is no longer an embargo. However, remember that full game categories may change in future.

We have also added Ambrose to the Hitman 3 / Hitman 3 Category Extensions Leaderboards as an individual level: https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3/level/Shadows_in_the_Water_Ambrose_Island https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3_extensions/level/Shadows_in_the_Water_Ambrose_Island

I've added a few runs already that were done over the past week but not all, so please send in your submissions.

We will have a week long embargo on the new Ambrose Island level, Season 2 full game, and Trilogy categories, in the interest of letting people enjoy this map casually and also to think about how or if to fit the new map into a full game category.

We will add the new map to speedrun.com on August 2, and we will also have a poll on August 2 regarding Ambrose Island's status in the full game categories.

Thanks for your understanding.

Update: The following Master Difficulty runs were rejected if from before May 24:

• Dubai 24-27s (normal leaderboard not Default Loadout) runs from old patch
• Chongqing Default Loadout
• Season 3 and Trilogy (both normal and Default Loadout)

Old Patch Runs Archive: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HMmk0EIT1rtz4-no6h-ODByo_Sh6ndSp9wYwqGGwxkY/edit?usp=sharing

I want to stress that this was a difficult decision to make. It is definitely not our intention to invalidate the hard earned records of our runners, nor to lose all of the accumulated strat knowledge due to an admittedly minor patch.

However: Given that even full game runs have come within a second of each other in the past, it is best to be prudent and remove any run that can not be performed 1:1 on current patch from the leaderboard, out of fairness.

I've included the Old Patch Runs Archive prominently in the rules for S3 and Trilogy, to empasize that new Master runners should still watch the old patch runs and learn from them, as most stuff is still the same from a strat learning perspective.

Know that this is a game where things are apt to be patched at any time, and at this time there is not a good way to downpatch this game (let's just say that the game being Always Online makes it very difficult to downpatch).

Also, the full game leaderboards may need to be shaken up again come July, when the new map comes out, so you've been warned (depending on how the community feels about it).

Announcement:

The following Master difficulty categories will be re evaluated over the next week and any affected runs may be removed from the leaderboard due to incompatibility with current patch.

(Possibly) Affected Categories for Master

• All 6 S3 levels (to be safe, although it seems like Dartmoor and Romania don't change much, only enforcers)
• S3 full game
• Trilogy full game

Removed runs will probably be archived on a Google Doc for historical record keeping here (no runs have been moved due to today's patch yet): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HMmk0EIT1rtz4-no6h-ODByo_Sh6ndSp9wYwqGGwxkY/edit?usp=sharing

If you have additional feedback or suggestions you can leave them here: https://discord.gg/GFkuAMY9Fq or elsewhere.

Hitman 3 Category Extensions (Accidents, Default Loadout, Fiberwire, etc): https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3_extensions

Hitman 3 (and 2) Elusive Targets: https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3_et

Hitman 3 (and 2) Escalations: https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_3_escalations

Hitman 3 (and 2) Sniper Missions: https://www.speedrun.com/hitman_sniper_assassin