It won't shock series veterans to learn that Watch Dogs Legion will have you heavily reliant on technology. As you find yourself in a world where technology is used by billionaires and corporations to violate basic human rights (nope, clearly no wider meaning here), you'll need some tools with which to turn the tables.
Thankfully you have a boatload of Watch Dogs Legion tech skills to play with. You can hijack drones, make turrets turn on their owners, and various skills that'll make your fight against Albion plenty easier. But since some are more useful than others, and you won't want to waste your hard-earned tech points, here are the ones you should prioritise, plus some builds to help you get the most from them.
How to get tech points in Watch Dogs Legion
Tech points can be pretty hard to find if you don’t know where to look. You’ll gain varying amounts when you complete campaign missions, but otherwise you’ll need to prowl the streets of London to find them.
It’s up to you to find tech points and acquire them from small computers hidden where green squares are marked on your map. There are two ways to uncover all the tech points and their locations: Walk around London until you get near enough to them so that they get marked on your map, or cause every borough of London to rise up against Albion.
Pick the latter. Within each borough of London, you’ll see red activities marked on the map. These can include hacking a propaganda sign, killing a VIP, rescuing a prisoner, or anything else that’ll really rile Albion up. Each borough has between three and four of these activities, and once you’ve accomplished them all, you’ll be tasked with one final mission to get the area to rise up.
For example, the final mission in the City of Westminster involves scaling Big Ben using a spider drone, and hacking the computer at the top of the tower to put out DedSec propaganda. Once I’d done this, the entire borough turned defiant against Albion, marking every tech point location in the area. With this done, it’s easy to zip from point to point, using a flying drone to pick up the tech points by downloading them from computers at each location.
Watch Dogs Legion skills: Which tech skills to get first
AR Cloak
This is a must for stealth-minded players: It immediately renders your character invisible for a short time, breaking line of sight with any pursuers instantly.
This is a great skill for when you’re sneaking around Albion fortresses (a lot of Watch Dogs Legion, trust me). Consider upgrading it with 20 additional points, so it lasts longer, whether you’re moving or standing still.
Deep Profiler
This might not seem so useful at first, but it’s key in recruiting people dead against DedSec. That's because, by using the Deep Profiler, you’ll be able to see someone’s schedule when scanning them using your phone. Stay with me.
You can take this information and use it against them and figure out ways to recruit them that wouldn’t normally work. For example, you might scan an Albion guard and, although they really hates DedSec, his schedule and more personal information will give you an edge in the conversation when you approach them to begin the recruiting process.
Recruiting enemies of DedSec might not seem like a smart move, but remember that Watch Dogs Legion employs a Hitman-esque use of disguises for use in hostile zones. If you’re playing as an Albion guard and venture into an Albion-controlled zone, you can walk around freely, so long as you don’t raise suspicion.
Attract Hack
Speaking of venturing into Albion-controlled areas, you’ll undoubtedly come across guards that patrol the areas in unpredictable patterns. This way you can exploit the explosive traps on the ground and walls which can be programmed to explode when an enemy comes within a certain distance from them.
But to do this, you may need to draw enemies out of their usual patrol routes. For that you’ll need the Attract Hack ability, which can draw an enemy towards a trap after you’ve armed it, guaranteeing them a nasty shock when they get close enough.
Disrupt Hack
This ability brings up another option when you’re scanning an enemy with your phone. This ability lets you select ‘Disrupt’ them: It briefly stops the enemy in their tracks, doubling over in pain. Lovely.
Naturally this is useful in standard fights, too. Select the option to ‘Disrupt’ them in this case, and they’ll be stricken momentarily, giving you a window of opportunity for a rapid takedown. It can also be used to stop enemy captains from calling in reinforcements. If these foes with winged emblem above their heads spot you in their territory, they’ll immediately call for reinforcements. That's a real pain, so use Disrupt Hack to stop them.
Watch Dogs Legion build ideas: Best ways to combine tech skills and gadgets
Stealth
Skills: AR Cloak, Attract Hack, Disrupt Hack, Electro-Shock Trap
Want to skulk in the shadows and use enemy tech to your advantage? Chief among the skills you'll want to purchase is AR Cloak, letting you immediately turn invisible, and break line of sight with pursuers, while also allowing you to roam around unhindered in enemy territory for a short amount of time.
Next, get Attract Hack. It’s all well and good if you’re arming fuse boxes and other explosives for detonation whenever an enemy gets within range, but what if they’re on a patrol route and never actually come that close to your trap? Attract Hack lets you draw in suspicious enemies, so you can blow up a trap right in their face and render them unconscious (no murder here).
Next is Disrupt Hack. The ability to disrupt an enemy and render them temporarily immobile is invaluable no matter your playstyle. After disrupting an enemy, simply go in for the kill from any angle, and you’ll have an instant takedown prompt.
Combine them with the Electro-Shock Trap. This handy little gadget is great for setting up explosive traps wherever you want, and you can use Attract Hack to draw enemies to the trap once you’ve set it up, guaranteeing you an unconscious guard or two in the process.
Combat
Skills: Combat Spiderbot, Missile Drone, Grenade Launcher, Gun Jam
But if you prefer storming into an enemy fortresses guns-blazing, purchase the Combat Spiderbot skill. This sets up a small mobile turret, and if you set it up on top of a car or construction drone, you can combine the two to make a mobile turret. Proper useful stuff.
Next, get Missile Drone, as it lets you mark an enemy for death, then taking them out in a blaze of glory. It’s a really useful way of taking out a captain before waging war with the remaining troops.
The Grenade Launcher is a no-brainer. There aren’t many heavy weapons in Watch Dogs Legion, but the grenade launcher skill is one of them. Kitting your operative out with a weapon that can easily take out groups of enemy soldiers or drones with just a single shot, add this to your arsenal asap.
Finally, purchase Gun Jam. This skill does exactly what it says on the tin: It jams an enemy’s gun with just a quick tap of a button, rendering them defenceless for a short period of time. Use this opportunity to gun them down from range, because an enemy with a jammed gun can still put out a melee weapon if you get too close to them.
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