Creative Ways to Kill Jean-Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme joins a checkered cast of celebrity Hitman targets that has included the likes of Sean Bean. Within the new DLC for Hitman, players are taken to the expansive Chongqing map in the underground facility. Van Damme’s character in Hitman is Max Valliant, a former ICA agent who has taken an evil supervillain turn. He was presumed dead but has resurfaced with a strange offer for the ICA. It’s a plot straight out of a sci-fi action film and the player must take out Valliant and his clones.

Elusive Target missions allow the player one attempt at completing the mission, and after the clones are revealed there is no restarting the mission. If the player exits the mission or dies, there is a 12-hour wait before it can be reattempted. Be sure to block out any automated frosted glass panels with 47s cameras and take out the security cameras to reduce the chances of getting caught. This is incredibly important when aiming for that coveted Silent Assassin rating. Players get two chances to play the mission and assassinate Jean-Claude Van Damme’s character in different ways. Even so, there are still not a lot of chances to experiment with different methods of assassination, so here are 10 effective ways to kill Jean-Claude Van Damme (and his clones) in Hitman.

Spoilers ahead for the Splitter Elusive Target Mission in Hitman: World of Assassination.

12

Following Pritchard And The Mission Story

A Guided Tour Of The Restructured ICA Facility

For those Hitman players who like to follow the story and opportunities, escorting Angus Pritchard through the Valliant-controlled ICA facility offers the most comprehensive experience of the level. Sticking to the beaten path will not let the player see everything. But it does allow 47 to scope out opportunities. This is especially important in the second level of the Elusive Target which is Silent Assassin, Suit Only conditions. That means no disguises and no witnesses.

IO Interactive has added additional rooms, but the core layout will still be relatively familiar to those who’ve spent time on the Chongqing map. It’s worth investigating the changes to the layout before going in guns blazing. Following the Mission Story guide marker will help guide players through the more challenging parts of the level.

11

Boil The Clones Alive

Agent 47 Loves To Push Buttons

This is an obvious opportunity that presents itself when the player enters a room full of dormant clones in vats. The temperature control panel is tantalizingly accessible and is only protected by one engineer and a researcher who arrives later. This engineer will fix any issues with the temperature, which means 47 can’t keep the temperature high for long enough.

The easiest way to get unencumbered access is to get in early before the researcher arrives and drop a gun on the floor of the room where the engineer will find it. He will see it and go get a guard. Then it’s simply a matter of quickly messing with the control panel while he’s gone. The dormant clones will be taken out and 47 has six less Jean-Claude Van Dammes to contend with.

10

Mercy Killing

It’s The Kind Thing To Do

There aren’t many deaths that seasoned Hitman players feel morally conflicted about, but this may be one that will give some pause. Not all the Van Damme clones were successful in emulating the more lethal and ruthless qualities of the original. Enter the tier 3 section of the ICA facility dressed as a guard and the engineers will ask 47 to put a clone out of his misery. In a padded cell, there is a clone dancing happily to himself. He doesn’t acknowledge 47 at all, just continues to dance.

The player can kill him while the engineers watch on in dismay. There are no consequences for taking out this iteration of Jean-Claude Van Damme in front of witnesses. It’s one of the more sad and bizarre assassination opportunities, but it does give the player the gift of watching the Van Damme character model dancing happily to himself.

9

Sauna Broil

A Less Than Soothing Accident Kill

The Van Damme clones are required to undertake intense training to make them the perfect assassins. This training requires some dangerous equipment and sabotaging dangerous equipment is 47’s specialty. Dressed as a researcher, the player can direct one of the clones into a sauna, crank up the temperature, and lock the door. This has the added advantage of hiding the body from passersby.

Hitman players will recognize this method from the Hokkaido hospital level as it was one of the opportunity kills for Yuki Yamazaki. The animation doesn’t let the player pull away from blocking the door, so the death of Van Damme is visible among the steam of the circle window.

8

Death By Barbell

A Mid-Work Out Accident Kill

Another training gym opportunity as the researcher is to crush Van Damme with weights. One of the researchers moves in and out of the bathroom, so there is ample opportunity to knock him out and take his uniform. Dressed as the researcher, 47 can direct one of the clones to the bench press and offer to spot him.

Spotting a target while they lift weights and then crashing their neck with the bar counts as an accident kill. The player will need to dismiss the supervising researcher and maybe even take out the armed guard in the room to avoid witnesses.

7

Poison Water Bottles

The Dangers of Hydration

Yet another gym opportunity and one that also requires the player to dismiss or take out the guard and two researchers in the room. Wait until the Van Dammes are busy and poison the drink bottles near the door of the sauna. The player can then direct one or both of the clones to drink.

Lethally poisoning the water bottles will require one vial of poison per bottle.

This means the player may need to bring their own in the loadout, so be prepared for that. Emetic poison can be used instead to isolate the clones if necessary and provide a drowning opportunity

6

Crushed by a trash compactor

Pistons At The Ready

IO Interactive has really decided to make use of that Van Damme model in every way possible. One of the stranger training spectacles is the Van Damme clone demonstrating his strength and agility in a trash compactor by wedging himself in various positions in between its plates.

All 47 must do is dismiss the researcher on the control panel and move the pistons to crush the target in a very dramatic fashion. This is counted as an accident kill and will not affect a Silent Assassin rating.

5

Gas In The Air Conditioner

What’s That Smell?

A player’s favorite, of the Chongqing level is the staff room which can be filled with poison gas via the air conditioning unit. The player will be hard-pressed to bring in enough lethal poison to take every poisoning opportunity, but there is a nearby cleaning trolley with rat poison that will cause an emetic reaction in anyone in the room.

Just put the poison in the unit, turn it on at the control panel and the clone inside will head for the toilet to vomit and 47 can drown him. But be warned! Don’t go in a room filled with gas, 47 is also susceptible to gas!

4

Explosive Golf Ball

The Sapienza Special

Jean-Claude Van Damme, AKA Max Valient, decides to demonstrate his clone’s marksmanship by holding a golf ball and getting them to shoot it. Players who have already discovered the explosive golf ball will know what to do next.

Place the explosive golf ball in the basket and when the bullet hits it, the clone will be blown into the air. There are two explosive golf balls on the map, or one can be brought into the level in the player loadout if they have it unlocked.

3

Standard Freestyle

Have It Your Way

Escort missions can be an absolute nightmare but unlike annoying escort missions that require the player to not lose sight of their charge, 47 has free rein to run off and do his own thing. It is an escort mission in name only.

As a result, the player can simply go through the mission like they would any other, meaning that if a player likes to take out targets with a pistol or explosives in a more generic, less mission-specific manner they can absolutely do that.

2

Venting Paths

Skip the checkpoints and avoid suspicion

For those not wanting to follow the time-consuming escort Mission Story there are plenty of ways to bypass the ICA Facility security. The vents in Chongqing are not completely interconnected, but if a player knows where they are going, they can get to pretty much anything below ground with limited interactions with NPCs. 47 can easily take out the original Van Damme in his office from a handy vent with an unsilenced pistol. It’s an instant way to lose Silent Assassin, but it requires very little set-up and waiting around.

Rather than taking the route of the mission story, it is easier to make use of the trapdoor (This passcode is 2552) in the yard of the arcade to get to the tier 3 vents with ease. Knowing and making use of the vent systems will make the second level of the elusive target much easier. The second level is basically the same as the first, but if 47 is spotted doing anything suspicious, it’s all over.

1

Guns Blazing

Maximum Carnage. Maximum Drama

It’s exactly what it sounds like. The guns-blazing method is not recommended in this mission, but players can take vents and methodically work their way through, taking guards out as they go. It’s not impossible, but it certainly is time-consuming. There are also some clones that need to be killed through accidents or special actions, such as the dormant clones that cannot be accessed except through the temperature panel.

Make sure to bring a silenced gun and a rubber duck onto the level for the best shot at getting out of tricky situations that may arise from a less-than-subtle approach. Also, remember the screwdriver is a hitman’s best friend. Not only can it open vents but it makes for a surprisingly deadly melee weapon.