Everything You Need to Know Before Starting Watch Dogs 2

The second, and hopefully not final, Watch Dogs entry has arrived and it brings with it all new ways to hack a city and tackle operations (read the full GameSkinny review).

If you are new to the franchise or want to know how the new gameplay elements work, below we cover the five most important things you need to know before playing Watch Dogs 2.

Trickster Is The Way To Go

Obviously some will prefer Ghost or Aggressor just due to play style preferences, and there’s nothing stopping you from mix and matching or trying different styles on subsequent playthroughs, but overall Watch Dogs 2 is very much aligned towards playing as a Trickster.

Luring enemies into traps and taking full advantage of your mechanical companions (the RC jumper or expensive quadcopter drone) is usually the best way to tackle any given operation without ever seriously exposing yourself to danger.

 The RC jumper is incredibly versatile

The Quadcopter Is Everything

You might think that heading there is a bit of an exaggeration — it isn’t. Tying into the previous tip, the vast majority of operations can be completed entirely by using the quadcopter and some hacking skills.

It can go through vents to get inside locations past guards, hack objects you can’t get anywhere near, be used as a distraction, and scout areas so you know how to sneak through undetected. The quadcopter also lets you access far-away segments of the hacking pipe mini-game without ever having to leave a safe cover spot.

If you aren’t saving up the $67,500 to buy the quadcopter as soon as its available, you simply aren’t playing the game correctly.

When In Doubt, Activate Nethack

An alternate vision mode that highlights things you can interact with, Nethack is crucial and should be activated often. It will let you know about objects you can hack when pinned down by enemies with nowhere to go, and on the world map can even open access to side missions if used frequently.

Guns Are Pointless

While it’s possible to shoot at everything and blast your way through operations, that’s actually an incredibly counter-productive way to play Watch Dogs 2.

With the exception of pulling out the stun gun when you screw up and didn’t set traps or scout ahead properly, there’s really no reason to bother with actual firearms — you’ll just end up being swarmed by enemies.

Melee Is King

Can’t get past a stubborn guard or running out of options and need to escape fast? Using a hacking ability like causing the guard’s phone to ring will distract them, allowing you to sneak up behind for a devastating melee blow that knocks out essentially any enemy in the game. 

Causing problems from a distance is more satisfying than shooting anyway

That’s everything you need to know to get started exploring the open world of San Francisco and tackling the game’s main and side operations! What other Watch Dogs 2 tips and tricks would you recommend for new players?