[Feel free to skip this section if you want to get to the point.]

This guide is not a walkthrough, but rather a collection of tips and tricks from my experience with the game that I wish I knew before I started; as they make things much easier.

While I scrounged the internet looking for proper tips and tricks, they were not many - and most of which were available did not cover the NPC behavior, or how the game itself works in a simplified manner. Which is what I will be doing for you in this guide.

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is a fantastic social-stealth game; beautiful for its time, well crafted and still hold up until this day. My first experience with it was when I was around 8, and spent countless hours playing this game, but not as a social stealth game but rather a horror game - because of how realistic the AI felt as a child.

Silent Assassin is a really unforgiving game, especially to beginners, as the game does not hold your hand at all - even on easy. You'll notice this right at the start in 'Anathema', which is the first real introductory mission in the game. Anathema is one of the most shortest yet complex levels in the game - easy to fail, but countless approaches to try each time. If you're playing on professional, and going for the 'Silent Assassin' rank, this is where you'll be spending your first few hours trying to find the right chain of events and learning most of what the game has to offer. Recently, I spent a whooping 10 hours just experimenting in this level, noting down how the in-game systems works - especially the disguise system, and the NPC behaviors.

As of the date of publishing, this guide is a work in progress and I will add to it and update things if needed.

Silent Assassin is a really old game, so it is not uncommon for you to run into problems. I'd like to refer you to the PCgamingwiki page[www.pcgamingwiki.com] of Silent Assassin - here you can find all possible errors and fixes.

You should also check out the widescreen patch by nemesis2000,[ps2wide.net] which I heavily recommend you use for your playthrough, and make sure you follow the instructions given in PCgamingwiki if you are unsure. I'll throw this here just in case.

Once you've downloaded the widescreen patch:
• Extract h2.7z or h2_enb.7z files to the game's directory. (password=h2).
  
• (GOG Only) Run upx.bat for GOG.com version of the game.
  
• Edit h2.ini to set the resolution and FOV multiplier.

A notable modification to the widescreen fix by nemesis2000 would be to edit the h2.ini to these settings;
You can set the resolution to whatever you want, but setting the MISC settings close to the default values lets you avoid potential crashes in missions like the Kirov Park Meeting.

What is social stealth?

IO interactive pioneered and designed the 'Social Stealth' gameplay mechanic for Hitman Codename 47 in the year 2000. A crude yet innovative game for its time, Codename 47 was just the beginning to a whole new genre of video-games.

While Codename 47 started it all, it was rough around the edges and did not hold up to modern standards - not design-wise, but technically. Most hardcore fans would recommend you to start with Silent Assassin, Contracts or Blood Money.

Silent Assassin, the one which this guide is for - is the hardest of all three. Contracts sits in between, while Blood Money is the most accessible and forgiving. I thought it'd be nice for you to know that.

So to simply put, Social Stealth involves the player neutralizing a target and taking their clothes; thus disguising themselves to be able to easily infiltrate places. It's a game of dress-up and play pretend. But there is a catch to that, because disguising yourself does not make you invincible as IO did their best to incorporate real life rules to it.

The basics of Silent Assassin rely on trial and error, but here I'll try to save you some time by explaining how things really work so you can jump into the game more comfortably.

• Let's Not Play Pretend:
  Disguises don't completely hide you as most enemies can see through you. Why? because of NPC relations.
  For example; a high ranking officer recognizes his soldiers, so he can see through you much faster than soldiers of the same rank as the one you're disguised as.
  Race and looks are taken into account as well. 47 is a bald European man, so disguising as an Asian soldier won't fool anyone. IO actually thought this through very well.
  
  
  
• No Dress Up for the Dead:
  Even though the game's selling gimmick is the disguise system; and ofcourse, you can use disguises, but even then - play the game as if disguises don't exists - hide behind objects, walk cautiously behind enemies and stay out of their sights.
  
  
• Don't Creep Too Close:
  Never walk to close too an enemy, even if you are behind them - they can sense you creeping up and will turn around. Maintain distance like it's the COVID Pandemic.
  
  
  
• Hide Your Face:
  Facing an enemy directly speeds up their suspicion meter, so it is best to face your back to any enemies that can see through your disguise. I've tested this and it works like a charm, if you ever get caught facing an enemy - quickly turn around and walk away, this will slow the suspicion meter. They might follow you for a bit and lose interest.
  
  
• Sixth Sense:
  If you run, or walk, you expand the NPC's field of view, increasing your chances of being spotted and recognized. One thing to note; is that the enemies can track you through walls and door if you are walking/running - the latter being the loudest.
  While this sounds unfair, you can actually use it for your advantage - especially when it comes to getting NPCs to face a different direction - you can make noise until he/she faces your location, then sneak your way out of the zone. The NPC will continue looking at the direction you made like an idiot.
  
  
• Sit Down, Be Humble:
  Crouching works wonders, as it narrows the field of view of NPCs. It dumbs down their peripheral vision, making them blind as a bat to what's on their sides.

While the guide right now is underwhelming short - I hope what I've jotted down was at least enjoyable and informative to read through.
I will be updating this guide gradually when I find the time. Thank you for reading.