Screenshot by Jack Fennimore
Watch Dogs Legion is the latest hack-em-up from Ubisoft and there is a lot to do and learn.
The hacking gameplay entices experimentation and playing with the style of gameplay you feel most comfortable with, though there are certain abilities and creative tricks that will get you through missions more efficiently.
Here are 10 Watch Dogs Legion tips and tricks, whether you prefer stealth, combat or anything else.
1. Scouting Ahead Is Key
Screenshot by Jack Fennimore
Don’t go into restricted areas head on. Take some time to scout the area for enemies, keys and collectibles. That will reduce your chances of being caught off guard by an enemy you didn’t know was there.
Scan by pressing in the right stick to highlight all hackable devices in an area, even stuff that isn’t immediately highlighted to you. Then hack security cameras or drones to look around and scout the area for enemies as well as any items you need to unlock locked doors.
Especially keep an eye out for Captains (indicated by the symbol above them that looks like waves coming from a dot) as they call reinforcements when alerted.
2. Keep Your Gun Holstered If You Prefer Stealth
While there are many kinds of fancy guns you can find on operatives from Desert Eagles to grenade launchers, sometimes the best option is not to use a gun at all.
If enemies find you, they won’t pull out their guns if you keep yours holstered. They will instead engage you in melee combat.
Melee combat is not only safer than gunplay, but without gunshots other enemies won’t be alerted to your presence.
Make sure to use the Guard Break move if you punch but inflict no damage to an enemy. Make sure to get the timing down for counter attacks; there’s usually a sound effect that plays before enemies make a move. Also, you only regenerate health when not attacking, so play defensively when you’ve taken a bunch of damage.
Operatives especially suitable for melee combat can be found near bareknuckle areas. You can also recruit the champions of an arena to your team after beating them; you just need to complete their recruitment mission first.
3. Here’s How to Get More Money
According to Ubisoft, there are five times as many customization items in Watch Dogs Legion than in Watch Dogs 2. To buy them, you need ETO, the in-game currency.
The quickest way to amass large quantities of ETO is by completing main missions. Not only do the missions themselves award lots of ETO, but the restricted areas you go to for those missions often contain a safe filled with ETO.
Also be on the lookout for ETO Skimmers and ATMs you can hack to get ETO. You can find ETO Skimmers highlighted on your mini-map.
If you get the tech ability to take control of Parcel Fox Drones, you can find some drones that carry ETO and then control them to make them drop it.
You can also complete various side activities to earn ETO such as kick-up, darts, Parcel Fox deliveries and Bareknuckle Arenas.
Some operatives are investors or CEOs and can have the ability to earn more ETO than others. These characters can usually be found in financial districts like the City of London. Be careful, though, as some of these people also have abilities that make them randomly gamble ETO or randomly buy clothes while shopping.
4. Need a Certain Kind of Operative? Look Where They Might Go
Screenshot by Jack Fennimore
Say you need an operative that has a uniform that lets them infiltrate a certain restricted area, such as a medical center or a police station? Well then find someone who works there and recruit them. People with police uniforms can be found at police stations, construction workers can be found at construction sites, etc. Focus on getting recruits with Albion and construction worker uniforms as that will give you access to the most restricted areas.
According to Ubisoft, each borough of London has their own quirks and personalities that make certain kinds of potential recruits flock to them. Camden is a good spot to find a competent hacker. The City of London is a great spot for finding lawyers that get your captured operatives out of jail sooner. Brixton has street artists with paintball guns and paint bombs that make them effective for silent, non-lethal combat encounters. Hyde Park is home to athletes that excel in physical confrontations such as melee combat.
5. Upgrade the Spiderbot As Soon As Possible
Screenshot by Jack Fennimore
The Spiderbot is perfect for infiltrating restricted areas undetected and you’ll be forced to use them often throughout the main campaign, so it should be upgraded as soon as possible.
Getting the ability to double jump will greatly enhance the ability of your Spiderbot to traverse obstacles. Sprinting is useful not only for getting thought areas quicker but for running away if it’s detected by an enemy. The cloak will further increase your infiltration capabilities and make it easier to perform takedowns.
Note that these upgrades are only applied to Spiderbots you equip to your operatives, not Spiderbots you find in summoning locations in restricted areas.
Spiderbots also shock anyone around them when they die. You can intentionally get them caught by enemies so they get caught in the explosion. You can also get a Spiderbot destroyed near mission crates or Red Lock Boxes so you can destroy them and progress through the mission.
6. The Combat Spiderbot Is Good Too
I find the regular Spiderbot more useful than the Combat Spiderbot just because the double jump, sprint and cloak are that much more useful than a turret, though a Combat Spiderbot is definitely an option for operatives that specialize in gun combat.
You can also use the Combat Spiderbot to make it automatically protect you from enemies whether you’re actively engaged in combat or just controlling another drone or camera. You can even find an enemy with their own Combat Spiderbot, recruit them and then have an operative that can deploy two Combat Spiderbots.
Tossing a Combat Spiderbot on a vehicle will defend you from drones while driving.
7. The Cargo Drone Is OP
Screenshot by Jack Fennimore
The cargo drone is one of the most useful tools you can have at your dispersal.
You can land one near you, hop on top of it with the vaulting button, and then hijack it while on top to gain the ability to fly. This lets you skip most of a level’s geometry and security. Flying is also way better for travelling across London than by car. Cargo drones can also carry your Spiderbot across a level.
Cargo drones can also carry giant explosives and then drop them on enemies from the air. This function is especially useful for missions that task you with destroying something like a weapon cache or a counter-terrorism drone.
You can also affix an electro-shock trap to a cargo drone to turn it into a flying bomb. You can also place a Combat Spiderbot on a cargo drone to turn it into a mini gunship.
The easiest way to find a cargo drone is by recruiting a construction worker, as they have the ability to summon a cargo drone wherever.
8. Get the Ability to Disable Turrets and Drones
Drones and turrets are the most dangerous enemies you face in Watch Dogs Legion, so being able to disable them even for a couple of seconds is very useful.
As you turn boroughs defiant, you unlock the ability to permanently disable drones and turrets. So after you disable a drone and make it fall to the ground, you can go up to it and turn it off.
Better yet, upgrade the tech that lets you disable drones and turrets to give yourself the ability to make them turn against their allies. Upgrade the tech further to give you the ability to hijack them and take direct control.
9. The Electro-Shock Trap Is More Useful Than You Think
The electro-shock trap can be used as a grenade to take out a cluster of enemies and drones. Many will understandably pass these by for gadgets like the Spiderbot or the AR Cloak but the electro-shock trap is just as useful.
The trap is one of the quickest ways early in the game to eliminate turrets and drones. You can also upgrade it to add an EMP blast that disables nearby drones and enemies. Upgrading even further can make the EMP blast jam enemy weapons.
The trap can also be placed to create an area for enemies to run into and get incapacitated. You can even use the built in hack to attract enemies to make them run into the trap themselves – or you can recall the trap before it triggers if you just want to move an enemy out of your way without raising suspicion from other enemies.
10. Shoot Weak Spots on Counter-terrorism Drones
Counter-terrorism drones are the most dangerous enemies in the game, as they are equipped not only with a machine gun but with missiles.
However, counter-terrorism drones expose their weak point after firing. Wait for its vents to open after it fires its weapon and then shoot at that. DedSec LTL weapons, especially the Launcher, are especially good against drones.
Also try to find explosive barrels or crates you can drop on the drone with a cargo drone.
For more tips on how to recruit operatives and what operatives to recruit, check out our guide below.
Read More: Watch Dogs Legion: How to Recruit Operatives & FAQ