Hack Chicago with Prima’s free Watch Dogs walkthrough.
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Watch Dogs is not an overly complex game, and you can play a variety of different ways, but that also means you may overlook some of the more advanced strategies. It’s rare to need crafting for a mission, but the use of crafting could make the mission easier. Likewise, the later you get into the game, the harder it is to escape the police. We have some advanced tips that will help you with these issues and more.
Watch Dogs Crafting Tips
Crafting is an important part of Watch Dogs, but something that people may ignore early on. You can craft a variety of explosives and hacking tools. As you level up the crafting side of the skill tree, you’ll learn to create more and more items. However, even if you aren’t able to craft an item, you can still use it if you happen to come across it during a mission or in a store.
Speaking of stores, it’s important to stock up on crafting supplies before a mission. You never know what dangers the next mission will hold, and you should always be ready. When you head into a crafting store, make sure you’ve already crafted all of the items you can. That clears out your inventory and allows you to have the maximum number of items and crafting supplies. If you have not done all the crafting you can, you may buy five electrical components, but then use three of them just to replenish your IEDs before the mission begins. The more items you have for a mission, the better equipped you’ll be to handle any situation.
Explosive Combat Tips
Most enemies in Watch Dogs can be taken down with any weapon in your arsenal. However, enforcers are another matter. These heavily armored enemies can take a plethora of bullets and remain unfazed. In some cases it will take multiple explosive devices to take down an enforcer. For this reason, it’s important to know the capabilities of the explosive devices in your arsenal. It’s also important because it gives you the ability to take down multiple enemies at once without ever leaving cover.
Frag grenades are you basic explosive devices. You toss them at a group of enemies and after a few seconds they explode. These work well if the enemies are stationary and grouped together. IEDs are essentially frag grenades that don’t explode until you want them to. This is helpful because you can set them off at any time, even while they’re being thrown. If you throw an IED too far, simply set it off as it passes over your target. In addition, you can setup IEDs in a safe area, then draw all of the enemies over to you and then detonate them, essentially setting a trap for the enemies.
Proximity IEDs are useful when you’re attempting to defend a specific area. These work just like normal IEDs, except they don’t explode until someone gets close to them. If there are several guards patrolling an area, set them out along the guard’s patrol route, then go on to the next task at hand and let the proximity IED take care of the situation. If guards are on their way, set up proximity IEDs by the entrance to protect yourself.
How to Escape the Police in Watch Dogs
Depending on the level of police aggression, escaping the police can be easier said than done. First and foremost, the easiest way to escape the police is via the water. If you can get into a boat, it’s rare for the police to get water support and follow you, at least not before you escape the search zone. Unfortunately, finding a boat is not always an option, so you need a few alternatives.
Once you hack into and gain control of a ctOS control center, get inside and close the gate. While the police can call for an override, they only do this late in the game, and even then you can usually get away with it at least once before they attempt an override. The same strategy works for any gated area, but the police tend to override the gates in non-ctOS areas more often than not. Still, if you’re in a bind, head for the nearest gated area and you can probably make an easy escape if it’s your first time using the strategy.
Using a car is probably the most common way to escape the police, but it’s also difficult depending on how aggressive the police are. Keep a close eye on the mini-map so you can spot police activity ahead and examine the vehicle you’re currently using. If you have a fast car, head for the freeway where you can easily outrun the police. If you acquired a slower vehicle, stay on the main and side streets and use traffic lights, steam pipes and blockade hacks to get away. Also remember that you generally have time to pull up next to a faster vehicle and change cars before the police take you down. A faster car is always better, even though they may not handle as well.
Escaping the police on foot is never advised unless you get to the top of a building or find a place with a lot of cover and only one entrance. Once the police lose sight of you, a timer starts to countdown (usually starting at 45 seconds). If you can remain unseen until the timer reaches zero, you’ll escape. Therefore, if you can get to the top of a building it will take longer for the police to make their way up, giving you time to elapse the 45 second window.
If you find a room with lots of cover, the AI usually isn’t smart enough to move behind the cover and find you, especially if there’s a window they can shoot through. They’d rather stand outside and shoot instead of moving in closer. This doesn’t always work, but again, you only need it to work for 45 seconds.
