The Watch Dogs franchise is no stranger to evolution. It seems like with each new release in the franchise, Ubisoft has made significant changes to some aspect of the game. In Watch Dogs 2, Ubisoft completely revamped the lead characters, ditching the moody and dark Aiden Pearce in favor of Marcus Holloway and his colorful cast of San Francisco hackers. For Watch Dogs Legion, Ubisoft has again restructured the protagonist role, but instead of creating a completely new character, the team has given players the option to play as anyone they want at any time in the game.
Along with the play as anyone mantra, Watch Dogs Legion also features a completely revamped tools upgrade tree. While Watch Dogs 2 had a robust circular tree for players to invest points into, Watch Dogs Legion completely scraps that for a more simplistic looking tools menu. In here, players can invest earned Tech Points to unlock all sorts of upgrades including new hacks, weapons, and abilities. Each option can then be further upgraded by ne impacts a certain way players interact with the world.
Each upgrade impacts a certain way players can interact with virtual London, so understanding which one to target first may be a little daunting. While every player is different in how they choose to play Watch Dogs Legion, some options available on this list will be a bit more beneficial than others the sooner they're unlocked. Here are the best upgrades to target first.
For Any Playstyle
Deep Profiler - This item should be one of the first unlocks for all players considering how much it impacts normal gameplay. While players can profile and hack any individual in the game, the deep profiler tool takes it to a whole new level. While the core mechanic of the game is recruiting NPCs, the deep profiler gives players an extra level of detail by showing a character's daily schedule as well as new opportunities to recruit them to DedSec, even characters that hate the organization. Without this upgrade, NPCs with a red thumbs down icon can't be recruited at all which severely limits some of the stronger characters such as Albion employees or the Royal Guard.
This tool also opens up additional opportunities by revealing a bit more of a character's social web including who they're friends or family with, associated with a character the player has met before, or even a rival of a team member. Armed with this information, players will have even more paths open up for how to recruit them.
For an Offensive Playstyle
Skin Mesh - As an offensive character, adding a little defense and survivability is never a bad thing. Therefore, Skin Mesh should be an early pick as it provides players with a bonus to their health by decreasing the damage taken. Better yet, this is a passive skill that automatically applies to all recruited NPCs. Naturally, this upgrade becomes even more vital for players who opt to play with Permadeath active.
Combat Spiderbot - Two is always better than one, so adding another target for your enemies to fire at will help take the focus off of the player as they close the distance. The combat spiderbot is also offensive oriented and will fire at enemies in range, giving the player added fire support. Not only that, the combat Spiderbot is autonomous, so it will handle itself without needing to be hacked first.
Electro-fist - Brawlers will more than likely want to invest in this skill which turns a single melee blow into a knock-out hit. Upgraded versions of this product a electro shock effect that chains to nearby enemies and then the final upgrade produces a shockwave that also disorients all nearby enemies.
For a Stealth Playstyle
AR Shroud - For players who like to work out of the shadows and avoid any added heat from enemies, AR Shroud should be one of the first considerations. Unlike other stealth games like Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell, once enemies are taken out in Watch Dogs Legion, their bodies can't be moved. Obviously, a passing guard is going to go on alert at seeing a teammate incapacitated on the ground. With AR Cloak, players can essentially stealth downed bodies, making them nearly impossible to see.
AR Cloak - Similar to the previously mentioned AR Shroud, the cloak version makes players nearly invisible for a short window of time. Moving unseen gives players more opportunity to safely move around a restricted area undetected. Upgrading it beyond level 1 makes the effect last longer and extends the takedown distance significantly allowing players to grab enemies that are a bit further away than normal.
For a Hacker Playstyle
Chase Drone Hacks - Inside this fictional near-future version of London, technology is everywhere including various types of drones. When enemies are alerted to the player, they'll more often than not have to deal with drones as well. While there's no way to deal with them effective outside of shooting at them, investing in drone hacks allow players to disable them for a short time. Doing so breaks line of sight and allows the player to either get away or have enough time to shoot them down before they can do any more damage.
Disrupt - Good for either stealth or action-oriented players, using the disrupt hack on an enemy essentially stuns them for a short time, preventing them from attacking the player and leaving them completely vulnerable to a counter attack.
Attract Hack - Just like in previous games, players can arm traps that are typically scattered around mission areas. However, they're not always in the walking path of enemies, meaning setting them won't have any impact. Unlocking the Attract Hack will let players direct enemies to armed traps by making a noise that will grab their attention. It's a good way to clear out an area, or at the very least, reduce enemy numbers before venturing inside.
Watch Dogs Legion is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. The game will launch with the Xbox Series X on November 10 and the PS5 on November 24.