Hitman

CONTRACT

HIRING COST : $11,000
EQUIPMENT COSTS : $5,490
TOTAL COSTS : $16,490

STARTING GEAR

GEAR	IMAGE
MP53 SMG
5.56x45mm NATO x30
Stun grenade
Superior sunglasses
Military dress-shirt
Kevlar pants
Casuals

ATTRIBUTES

SKILLS

TRAITS

Unfit : Faster decrease in stamina when running

Team player : Morale rises when working in a full squad

Submachine gun : Expert in using submachine guns

Strengths/Weaknesses

Hitman is going to give you some trouble early on. His high starting marksmanship is offset by him having the lowest starting dexterity of all the mercs.

That's not good for a guy who calls himself "Hitman." Especially because the unfit trait also means that he'll be burning through stamina that much quicker.

The SMG expertise is certainly helpful, especially because Hitman actually starts with one as his default weapon, but expect him to be one of your less-effective fighters until you can start improving his skills a bit.

Fortunately, a high-ish starting intelligence means that Hitman develops at a faster rate than most.

Tactics

Hitman will be at his best on the front lines in Guard Mode or on foot patrols, especially when he's just starting out.

The SMG expertise offsets his very low dexterity and the high perception rating makes him a more effective lookout.

It's also good to note that Hitman and Raider don't get along with each other, but you won't actually have the money to hire them both at the start.

Raider can't be hired at the beginning anyway, though Hitman can. Probably because he knows that he's charging way too much for his somewhat paltry assortment of skills already.

Long-Term Play

Picking up Hitman at any point means that you're settling yourself in for a project. Put any and all skill points you get for leveling up into dexterity immediately, at least for the first two or three levels.

It's a serious problem category for him, and one that is best addressed sooner rather than later. Once you've got Hitman's dexterity to at least the high 50s (60+ is preferable), you can start thinking about how you'd like to develop him further.

Stealth and explosives both have promise, though explosives are your better bet. Not only are there are far more qualified stealth operators you can hire, but you'll already be working on improving Hitman's dexterity.

Boosting explosives means you're taking full advantage of that fact. Hitman's SMG expertise will serve him well on patrols and during breaching actions.

The fact that his starting equipment includes a stun grenade speaks to that. Keeping close to your main squad also means that you'll be worrying less about the more rapid stamina drain brought on by the unfit trait.

So build up his dexterity. If you’re looking for other options, boost his marksmanship and possibly strength if he loses too much health in combat.