So you’ve picked up Watch Dogs 2 and are after some friendly advice as to how is best to get stuck into it. Luckily, we have just the thing.
From one player to another, here are my tips for those new to Watch Dogs 2’s recreation of San Francisco. Meant to inform, enhance and streamline your experience, I hope you find them of some use.
Claim your cash and research point boosters via Ubisoft Club
Don’t have an Ubisoft Club account? Make one. You should have enough points from playing previous Ubisoft games to buy the cash and research point boosts that are available, which are pretty handy when you first start playing Watch Dogs 2. If not, it won’t take you long to complete some Uplay actions to get some.
Use fast travel
It’s commendable for you to run, walk or drive everywhere during your time spent in Watch Dogs 2’s recreation of San Francisco, but really, you don’t need to. If you’re stuck for time or just want to get somewhere quick, use fast travel. There’s one small caveat though; you can’t jump directly to missions, although you can fast travel to points near them.
Don’t be afraid to lower the difficulty
Whilst Watch Dogs 2 is rather comical, it doesn’t go easy on you when shit goes down. Enemies are keen, with a mindset of shooting first and asking questions later, and it only takes a few bullets to take you down. Finding things tough? Don’t be afraid to turn the difficulty down a notch – you’re not penalised for it in any way and it allows you to have more fun.
Unlock the ability to identify wealthy pedestrians as soon as you can
It may not so useful later in the game, but when you’re first starting out emptying an unsuspecting pedestrian’s bank accounts is a great way to get cash. Whilst hacking a standard bystander only nets you $50 or so though, wealthy individuals are worth around $700 a pop, and with a handy skill available that highlights them as you run around San Francisco they’re a way to amass a small fortune.
Use stealth wherever possible
It may be fun driving around San Francisco like a maniac, hacking everything left, right and centre as you go, but when it comes to Watch Dogs 2’s missions, stealth is generally the key to success. Going in all-guns-blazing will mostly just result in you quickly meeting your demise, often leading to repetition and frustration, so always try to achieve your goal without attracting too much attention. In fact, many missions can be completed by simply sending in your RC car to do the job.
Buy the quadrocopter as soon as you can
At around $60,000, 3D printing a quadrocopter in Watch Dogs 2 isn’t cheap. I do, however, recommend that you do so as fast as possible. Not only is it extremely fun to just whip it out from one of Marcus’ hidden crevices before zooming around the locales of San Francisco, but it has practical uses too. The quadrocopter is invaluable for surveying locations, allowing you to discover routes up large structures without having to painstakingly run around them, and also for letting you gauge enemy numbers in hostile areas. What’s more, like the RC car, it can be used to travel through vents and other small openings in order to do some remote hacking. Very handy!
Respond to app notifications quickly with the quick access button
If you haven’t realised, whenever a notification appears on your screen from an app such as Song Sneak or Scout X, you can simply press a button to open it up quickly. It’s very handy in the case of Song Sneak, where mere seconds can make the difference between capturing a new song from a passing car and it just moving out of your range, but otherwise it’s just a less fiddly way to get things done.
Think outside the box to achieve your objective
After a research point that you have no clear access to? Stuck at an impasse because of a load of enemies? Watch Dogs 2 often requires you think outside the box to achieve an objective effectiely. How can you use the environment in conjunction with your skills to progress? Maybe you need to take control of a forklift truck to lift a pallet of goods and create a handy platform to that pesky collectable you’re after. And you may be able to thin enemy numbers by remotely hacking a car to run them over.
