Watch Dogs 2

Alright, let's talk about one of the coolest parts of Watch Dogs 2: using Aiden's phone to mess with people and the environment. Think of his phone as your ultimate tool – it lets you see who's who, hack into pretty much anything, and even blow stuff up from a distance. You start out only being able to mess with folks in Parker Square because that's all the ctOS network you've got access to. To get more power, you'll need to take over the ctOS Centers in the other districts. It's like expanding your digital territory!

When you're looking at people, you'll notice different colored diamonds above their heads. These tell you a lot:

• White Diamond: These are your everyday citizens. Nothing too exciting here.
• Yellow Diamond: Keep an eye on these guys. They're either about to do something shady or are in trouble themselves.
• Blue Diamond: These folks are your ticket to some sweet rewards, so make sure to profile them!
• Red Diamond: These are the ones you need to be wary of. They're potential threats, so be ready for anything.

But it's not just people you can mess with. Aiden can hack all sorts of things in the environment. This is super useful for getting into places you normally couldn't or taking out enemies without getting your hands dirty. Whenever you're heading into a tricky spot, always look for those ctOS cameras first. They give you a bird's-eye view of the situation, letting you see what's coming before you even step foot in there. Think of them as your early warning system.

Beyond cameras, tons of other objects can be hacked to cause distractions or to use as weapons. You can mess with junction boxes to create electrical hazards, open up containers, control lifts and cranes to cause chaos, unlock doors and gates, and even detonate explosives that enemies are carrying. It all adds up to give Aiden a massive edge in any fight or infiltration.

Alright, let's talk about crafting in Watch Dogs 2. This is your main way to get all those cool gadgets Aiden uses to mess with enemies, whether it's for a quick distraction or a full-on takedown. You'll need two main things: components and the right skills unlocked. There are five types of components you need to keep an eye out for. Some you can just buy, others you'll have to find by exploring and looking for 'Items of Interest'. Keep an eye out for System Keys especially – you get those from hacking phones or sometimes as mission rewards.

Here's a breakdown of what you'll need for each tool and how much it'll set you back if you decide to buy the components from Tobias' shop:

The citizens of Chicago offer Aiden a a stack of opportunities to learn information and gain rewards, but remember that all actions have consequences either in a positive or negative way.

Citizen Rewards

Citizens marked with a blue diamond offer special rewards when hacked, though manually weeding them out in a mass of Chicago's inhabitants can be tiresome, but after completing Open Your World, you can purchase the Profiler Optimization skill, which will automatically highlight these individuals.

Bank Accounts

Hacking these individuals will allow you access to their bank information and accounts, but in order to get the cash you'll need to visit an ATM machine to withdraw the money. There are two types of accounts: Standard and Rich accounts. The only difference between the accounts is the amount of money received for them.

System Keys

System Keys are found in many locations, but they can also be hacked from individual's phones. These valuable items allow you to craft certain one-time items.

Songsneak

Sometimes an individual will have a song on their phone that you don't own. Hack their phone and add it to your songsneak so you can play it in the car or when running on foot.

Car on Demand

Similar to Songsneak, individuals will sometimes have access to a car you don't have in your vehicle database. Hacking the phone will add it to your list of vehicles available in the Car On-Demand app.

Items of Interest

Sometimes Aiden will intercept a communication between two individuals that will indicate a drop location for packages, usually containing cash or a crafting component. While you have a long time to collect the bag, the police will eventually arrive to confiscate the bag.

Crimes Detected

Once in a while you may hack an individual's phone or receive and update that a possible crime is about to occur in the area. You have two options: help out the potential victim or let the crime occur. While you lose nothing for letting the crime occur, you do not gain the positive Reputation that preventing the crime would grant.

A crime area will appear on the map, indicated by a blue triangle with a light blue field around it. You will know when you find the potential crime when the Profiler indicates in yellow that the person is either a potential Victim or Criminal. You then need to wait for the crime to begin to intervene.

You want to wait to intervene until the following occurs:

• The information bar on either person reaches 96% or higher
• The information bar rating turns red
• The alert icon above the criminals head turns to a yellow exclamation point, but not before the alert turns red

If you are spotted before this occurs, criminals may refrain from performing a criminal act and you will miss out of the Reputation Points gained for the side quests. Once the crime begins you want to rush in before the criminal can kill the target, increasing your reward at the end of the side mission. Additionally, taking out the criminal in a non-lethal way will also increase your Reputation, so try and run them down and take them out with a melee attack.

Reputation & Heat Level

The Reputation system keeps track of your actions and represents how the citizens perceive Aiden. Having a Reputation in the positive will make the people of Chicago react positively to you, while a negative Reputation will make the game more difficult due to the citizens reporting you to the cops.

Most actions won't affect the Reputation, but the following do:

Negative Actions

• Kneecap a cop
• Wounded a cop
• Killing a cop
• Wounded a civilian
• Killing a civilian
• Letting a criminal flee
• Killing a victim or letting them be killed
• Holding up a Business
• Using explosives with a civilian witness
• Having a witness complete an emergency call
• Exploding a large scenery object (such as a large propane tank, gas station, etc)

Positive Actions

• Rescue civilians
• Non-lethal takedown a criminal
• Killing a criminal
• Saving a victim
• Complete a Main Mission or Investigation
• Watch random citizen events (such as a mime artist, etc)
• Participate in vigilante events

The Heat level determines how difficult and how numerous the amount of cops are when you are detected via a Police Search or when the cops arrive as part of a mission. It is generally a good idea to avoid the cops when possible, as hostile actions against the cops will only lead to more encounters with the cops. The only way to reset your Heat level is to head to a Hideout and take a nap.

At levels 1 and 2 the cops will be armed with pistols and shotguns, while at level 3 the cops armed with assault rifles and SMGs. At level 4 and 5, SWAT team members will attack in black SUVs and are heavily armed.

Shops

Stopping at shops between missions to stock up is never a bad idea. Besides shopping you can also steal cash from the register by waving your gun, followed by the cops being called. In addition to the cops being called for sticking the shopkeeper up, you can also have the cops called on you if your Reputation is too low and Aiden appears in the news.

See Shop Lists for more information on individual shops and what they each offer.