Thanks to Watch Dogs: Legion, fans of Ubisoft's tech-centric franchise can take DedSec's fight to futuristic London. Moreover, unlike other Watch Dogs games, Legion allows players to recruit Operatives that can help DedSec liberate the now CTOS-integrated city. Thankfully, the game's "play as anyone" recruitment system enables players to literally recruit and play as one of fiction London's 9-million NPCs.
Interestingly, each NPC players encounter have unique sets of skills and abilities called Perks. These range from Uniformed Access, weapons, and knick-knacks that can help players in sticky situations. However, players would want Operatives with the best Perks on the onset. Unfortunately, players who pay too much attention to the surface can miss out on some interesting - but underrated - Operative Perks. However, just what "ordinary" Perks can become very awesome in Watch Dogs: Legion?
10 Make Time Run Fast
Ideally, players want Operatives with Perks that benefit the entire team. For instance, Priority Care and Police Contact can shorten the overall time the team spends in hospital care or police custody, respectively. Likewise, Triage and Bail Out gives the team a get-out-of-hospital or -jail (respectively) thanks to "connections." However, it's not all the time that players will have a number of Operatives simultaneously in the hospital or prison.
Alternatively, players might want Operatives with Good Patient or Light Sentence Perks, which give them individual shorter times during care or while custody, respectively. For more technical players, this factor means only the Operatives that have these Perks can be their main mission characters. Meanwhile, they can tailor-fit their other Operatives to have more specific abilities fit for certain situations.
9 Light Step
Unlike other open-world games, the Watch Dogs series almost relies on stealth to ensure missions are as hassle-free as possible to players. Granted, Legion allows players to go guns blazing against enemies while infiltrating places. However, the existence of drones, advanced weapons, and sheer enemy numbers mean players will die before they make a dent in enemy ranks.
As such, players without access to the Professional Hitman or Spy might want an Operative with the Light Step Perk. With this Perk, its Operative will have quieter steps - making it much easier to conduct stealth missions without having to wait for rare recruits such as the aforementioned James Bonds and Agent 47s with the skills to eliminate enemies.
8 Secure The Motorcycles
In Legion, certain Perk combinations give a ton of edge to certain Operatives. For instance, a Paramedic with the Ambulance (Personal Vehicle) Perk instantly transforms them into a getaway driver. Moreover, a Spy's Spy Car gives them a car that has a cloaking device and missiles! These Perks enable Operatives such as the Professional Hitman to steal vehicles and attract police attention. So, why even rely on a motorcycle?
Remember, regardless of how awesome a car looks, they become useless in traffic and when trying to access small alleyways. However, Personal Vehicles in the form of motorcycles (e.g., the Agosti Molto-Bene, Kurahawa, and Sayonara sets) give players access to vehicles with enough wiggle-room to navigate London's busy streets.
7 Attract Attention
As a wanted hacker group, DedSec expects its recruits to maintain a semblance of privacy when conducting missions. In turn, Operatives need to hack or sneak their way to fulfill their tasks at hand. However, sometimes people just can't help but make noise. And unfortunately, having a character that always farts can't be trusted with a stealth mission. Or can they?
With the Flatulent Perk, certain Operatives gain a passive ability that lets them fart anywhere. Unfortunately, players might find this Perk inconvenient in stealth missions. After all, this Perk can lead guards straight to their Operative. However, given the right planning, the Flatulent Perk can lead enemies right to traps and swift takedowns.
6 Fight Harder
Players who want a bit more challenge might want to dabble into missions with less firepower and more blow-by-blow stunts. In turn, they might choose Operatives with useful combat Perks such as Combat Roll (for evasion), Strong Counters (damage increase after dodging), or Shockwave Strike (attacks cause stagger). However, players who want to go hand-to-hand might want to pick an Operative with the Physically Fit or Tough Drunk Perk.
In essence, these Perks boost the toughness of Operatives, allowing them to take less damage from fights. While these Perks don't grant players additional fighting power, this at least encourages players to use melee fighting instead of guns and hacking.
5 Glass Cannon
Players who end up getting special characters like the Bee Keeper and the Assassin from Assassin's Creed might feel the game get much easier. Interestingly, in speaking of going for melee, players can up the ante on their challenges by being just as fragile as they are strong. In turn, players who want to crank up the difficulty might want to choose an Operative with Glass Cannon.
Thanks to this Perk, recruits not only deal more damage to enemies but also take extra damage when enemy attacks connect to them. In turn, players need to ensure their dodging game remains strong while they make precise attacks. Essentially, Glass Cannon transforms Legion into a Dark Souls or Ghost of Tsushima game.
4 Call For Backup
When players pick up Legion, they'll be greeted with its tagline: "anyone can be your weapon." In spirit, Legion's recruitment system reflects on the notion of ideas becoming vehicles of change - where many people can do things in unison for a cause. Interestingly, Legion also takes its tagline literally. Thanks to Perks such as the Pocketwatch and the Megaphone, players can call for backup even in the middle of fights.
The Stage Magician can use the Pocketwatch to hypnotize an enemy NPC to temporarily fight alongside the player. This Perk becomes perfect for stealth missions. Meanwhile, the Megaphone can call on people nearby people to fight enemies that try to hurt the player, perfect for being in public. Additionally, players with Operatives possessing the Rally Cry Perk can call on their friends to join the fight.
3 6G Data Plan
Whereas today's London may only have begun using 5G for their data needs, Legion's near-future London is already using 6G for their downloads. However, not everyone has access to what appears to be an expensive 6G Data Plan. However, DedSec Operatives who do can become the player's best bet for Hackers.
With a 6G Data Plan Perk, Operatives can download data much faster and much easier. In essence, Hackers on infiltration missions can steal data much faster. Moreover, Operatives on a chase can hack various machines much faster to perform counter-measures. In a time where cyberwarfare is the norm, a 6G Data Plan gives players additional security.
2 Viral Hacking
Why settle to hack one at a time when players can actually hack devices at the same time? With the Viral Hacking Perk, players get access to the "propagation" feature of their hacks. In essence, players now have the option to hack multiple things at once. This factor can become extremely useful under the right circumstances. For instance, players can finally move cars at the same time, hack multiple drones near each other, and a execute a bunch of simultaneous commands.
Moreover, the Viral Hacking Perk brings players one step closer to achieving the "Hack the Planet" trophy that requires them to perform a multi-machine or multi-person hack.
1 Death Isn't Such A Bad Thing
Let's face it, a lot of players will want to hoard Operatives with Legion's recruitment system. After all, 40 slots ain't close enough to try all 9-million of Legion's recruitable NPCs! Unfortunately, letting go of a favorite civilian DedSec member to make room for a new one can be much harder than it seems. However, instead of having a mini existential crisis over "firing" a recruit, players can leave that to chance.
Thanks to death-related Perks such as Death Wish or Doomed, sometimes Operatives just... die, even with Permadeath turned off. Despite its apparent "obvious" disadvantage, having characters that "just die" incentivize characters to maximize their recruitment efforts. Moreover, this challenges the player to constantly find new recruits and adjust to their available skillsets.