Watch Dogs: Legion has plenty of tech upgrades for you to choose from, but which of these are the best and which should you choose first? There are 24 tech upgrades in total in Watch Dogs: Legion, 12 of which give you new gadgets while the other 12 give you standard upgrades. Of course, the ones you should choose first will vary based on your playstyle and team of Operatives, but there are still a few that rise above the rest as easy first picks. These are the 10 best tech upgrades in Watch Dogs: Legion, and you should absolutely go for these first when you’re just starting out.
Spiderbot Level 2
You’ll be using the spiderbot a lot in Watch Dogs: Legion, and I really mean a lot. This little machine is slow and cumbersome on its own, but if you upgrade it with some tech points, it can become much more mobile. The level 2 upgrade for the spiderbot allows it to double jump and sprint, which will come in handy when you need to navigate through some tight spaces. The level 3 upgrade for the spiderbot adds a cloaking feature, but you should spend your tech points on other essential upgrades first before coming back for luxury features like invisibility.
Disrupt Hack
This is a cheap hack that’s essential for either stealth or combat. It allows you to jam an enemy’s Optik and stun them for a short period of time, rendering them unable to attack or defend themselves. If you’re using an Operative who isn’t the best in combat, the disrupt hack can easily get you out of a jam. It also opens up enemies for free takedowns, as they’re unable to defend themselves while stunned. You’ll use this ability so much that you’ll likely end up weaving it into your everyday strategies, so unlock it as early as you can. It’s not that expensive.
Gun Jam
Like the disrupt hack, the gun jam hack can easily get your Operative out of a squeeze when you get caught, although it serves a slightly more specific purpose. This ability will jam the gun of any enemy you can see, which can buy you some precious seconds when you’re spotted by Albion guards and they open fire. It won’t guarantee any free takedowns or anything like the disrupt hack, but it will let you get close enough to a gun-toting guard to get in a few good melee strikes. It’s an essential skill that can save an Operative’s life, which is something you’ll want to keep in mind if you’re playing with permadeath enabled.
Deep Profiler
You can play as anyone in Watch Dogs: Legion, so you’ll be spending a lot of time recruiting allies and bringing new people onto the team. Not everyone is eager to join the cause, however, and you’ll find that DedSec has many critics and even enemies out on the streets of London. Some people have red thumbs down markers on their profiles, and you’ll need to unlock the deep profiler tech upgrade to turn them over to your side. This allows you to take a deeper look at their profile and find strategic opportunities in their schedule that will help you win them over. Some of the best potential recruits aren’t the biggest fans of DedSec, so the deep profiler is a must for early players.
Turret Hacks
Turrets are very, very annoying in Watch Dogs: Legion. Not only are they hard to take down, but they also pack a major punch and can easily kill one of your Operatives. As such, they should be your primary targets in combat. Using your guns can take a while, especially if you only have low-level DedSec weapons, so the turret hacks tech upgrade is a lifesaver during the first few hours of the game. It allows you to remotely disable turrets like any other electronic device, forcing them to stand down so you can safely advance.
LTL 68P DedSec Pistol Level 3
This is a very expensive upgrade, but it’s well worth it. The LTL 68P DedSec Pistol can be equipped by any Operative, so you’ll want to make sure this weapon (and all the other DedSec weapons available) are actually useful. Upgrading this non-lethal sidearm to level 2 only increases the ammo capacity, but upgrading it all the way to level 3 adds a silencer to the weapon, vastly improving your team’s stealth capabilities. Silenced weapons are hard to come by in Watch Dogs: Legion, with most of them being relegated to spies and other special recruits, so this pistol upgrade can really help you out.
AR Shroud
If you’re a stealth player, you should really invest in the AR shroud tech upgrade as soon as possible. Not being able to move or hide bodies is a cardinal sin in stealth games, and Watch Dogs: Legion is unfortunately guilty of this mistake. After performing a stealth kill or melee takedown on an enemy, you’ll leave their body in the open for enemies to discover. The AR shroud will let you hide any unconscious bodies after a takedown so you don’t have to worry about leaving evidence behind, so get it quickly if you want to play as a ghost.
Skin Mesh
Death is a looming threat in Watch Dogs: Legion, especially if you’re playing with permadeath enabled. If you have this setting turned on, any of your Operatives can die a very permanent death at any time, causing you to lose out on a valuable team member with unique weapons and abilities. It really sucks losing a character you care about, so invest in the skin mesh tech upgrade to minimize your losses. It decreases damage taken by all your Operatives across the board, essentially giving everyone a boost to their maximum health.
Combat Spiderbot
Spiderbots aren’t only for sneaking and scouting. The combat spiderbot is a capable combat drone that comes equipped with armor and an automated turret, which is perfect for giving you some covering fire during heated engagements. Leveling it up allows you to directly command the turret and target specific enemies, but it’s still very powerful on its own. You can even put it on top of a car and drive away with it on the roof to install a makeshift turret on your vehicle. You can use the combat spiderbot in other creative ways, so you won’t be disappointed if you add it to your arsenal.
Riot Drone Hacks
If you get spotted in a dangerous part of town or a heavily-guarded restricted area. Your enemies might send a riot drone after you. These giant drones have a huge gun equipped that will deal tons of damage to your Operative if they get close enough, and they have thick armor that makes them very difficult to kill without powerful weapons. On top of that, they’re immune to hacks unless you buy the riot drone hacks tech upgrade. At level 1, you can disable them, but higher levels allow you to hijack them and hack them to convert them to allies.
How to Get More Tech Points
Tech points can be found scattered throughout London. They’re represented with a small green diamond icon that you will be able to see on your minimap when you are near one. If you liberate a borough and turn it Defiant, all tech points in that area will be marked on your map for easy collection. Some missions also reward a bulk amount of tech points, particularly as you get further into the game. As you progress through Watch Dogs: Legion, you’ll have more than enough tech points to buy the gadgets and upgrades you’ll want.
Watch Dogs: Legion is available now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia. A next-gen version of the game is coming to Xbox Series X/S and PS5 when those consoles launch in early November.
