How to unlock the basement safe in Hitman 3's Mendoza mission

Hitman 3 is full of secrets. In addition to its cast of targets to assassinate, the stealth game features plenty of extra challenges throughout its six levels. Whether it's unlocking a safe in Dartmoor or hacking a server room in Dubai, there’s a fair amount of puzzle-solving for those looking for it.

One of the game’s trickiest puzzles comes during the Mendoza mission rather late in the game. Players might come across a locked vault in Don Yates’ basement, which requires a four-digit code. Finding the solution requires a bit of eavesdropping and a splash of math.

Here’s how to find the Mendoza safe code in Hitman 3.

How to find Hitman 3’s Mendoza safe code

This entire process will require you to hang out near the house, so don’t worry about entering the party or the vineyard. Sneak onto Don Yates’ property and grab a guard disguise if you can.

Observant players will get their first clue outside of the house. There’s a duo of guards chatting who mention a mysterious safe in Yates’ basement. Listen long enough, and they’ll mention how most people tend to use their anniversary date as a password. Whether or not that’s true in real life, that’s exactly the case here.

Now, you just have to find out Yates’ anniversary. Luckily, that information is available with some snooping. Head into the house and go to the top floor, just below the attic. When you enter Yates’ bedroom, you’ll find a calendar on the wall. Interact with it and you’ll see April 4th circles with the note “Crystal Anniversary.” For those who aren’t familiar with marriage milestones, a crystal represents the 15th anniversary.

Since this game came out in 2021, you just need to subtract 15 from 2021 to get the code: 2-0-0-6. Note that the April 4th date has nothing to do with the code, which makes this a bit confusing when you first come across it. You won’t need to remember anything like 4406. If you happen to be playing this game at some point in the future, you might also be totally lost here, so there’s no shame in finding the answer elsewhere.

Where to find Hitman 3’s Mendoza basement safe

Now all you have to do is crack the vault, though you’ll need to find it first. Simply head down into the house’s basement to find it. There’s a key right near the calendar if you don’t want to pick the lock. Alternately, you can get here any number of ways since the basement connects to the winemaking facility.

Either way, you’ll eventually enter a room with two guards standing watch in front of the safe. Even with a guard outfit, they’ll be suspicious of you, so you’ll need to sneak around them. When facing the guards, head to the left wall. You’ll be able to sneak past them and avoid their line of sight.

The safe is directly behind them, so simply walk up to it and enter 2-0-0-6. Grab the case file, and you’re ready to cause some mayhem.

To close the mission out, you just need to find Yates’ wife and hand her the file. She tends to hang out in the bedroom, so wait up there for her. Once you make the handoff, just sit back and enjoy a good old-fashioned marital dispute.

Hitman 3 is now available on all major platforms.