Watch Dogs is easily the biggest PlayStation 4 release of the year so far. While inFAMOUS: Second Son was hotly anticipated as well, it’s taken two long years for Ubisoft to finally deliver the dystopian vision that it originally teased at E3 2012. Following a spate of delays, the release is available now – and breaking internal sales records at the French firm. Like many of you, we’ve been busy hacking our way through this twisted open world, and attempting to uncover all of its seedy secrets in the process. Don’t worry if you’re not that daring, though, as we’ve put together this guide which should help you to tap in to all of its trinkets. This walkthrough outlines how to unlock all of the title’s Trophies, and also offers a handful of gameplay tips, too. There’s nothing especially demanding here, but you will need to set aside a significant chunk of time if you want to add the game’s most prestigious pot to your PlayStation Network profile.
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Unlike so many other games, you won’t need to endure multiple playthroughs of Watch Dogs on increasingly impossible difficulty levels in order to earn all of the Trophies here. As such, you’re free to enjoy the game at your own pace, and focus on the story first and foremost if you wish. Completing side-missions as you play will make the clean-up process easier, so you may want to have a read through the entirety of this guide before you set to work, but you can always come back to something at a later date should you miss it out.
One thing that we do recommend is keeping your profiler switched on as much as possible, as you’ll need to hack plenty of people to unlock all of the tracks in the SongSneak App. Moreover, it helps if you check into the Hot Spot locations when you pass, as this will save you from needing to return at a later date. When you’re done with the main story, you can then turn your attention solely to the side-quests. You’ll need to complete all of the investigations, ctOS Breaches, and much more. Mercifully, much of this information will be displayed on your map, as long as you’ve hacked any nearby ctOS Towers first. These are represented by red icons in the game.
There’s a great progress application on your smartphone, so remember to refer to that if you forget what you’ve got to do. You’ll also need to use your mobile in order to access the Online Contracts, though you won’t need to spend too much time playing online to unlock the Trophies here. Still, don’t make that an excuse to stay offline, as the Traced Trophy will require you to be connected as much as possible. To grab this, you’ll need to be tailed by five mysterious players, but seeing as it’s not always obvious when this is occurring, it’s best to play as much of the title when you’re connected to the PlayStation Network as you possibly can.
We’ve detailed each of the Trophies in much more depth below, but do drop any additional tips or suggestions that you may have in the comments section. Until next time, happy hacking.
100% Clear - Platinum
This is the platinum trophy and is unlocked automatically when all the trophies have been unlocked.
As with any other game, you’ll decrypt Watch Dogs’ Platinum Trophy once you’ve unlocked all of the trinkets detailed below. You’ll need to invest some 50 or so hours to nab this award, so make sure that you’ve got plenty of time set aside before embarking on this futuristic foray.
Hello World - Bronze
Take down Maurice
As its clichéd name indicates, this is the first Trophy that you’ll unlock in the game. Simply soak up the opening mission to add this to your virtual gong cabinet.
End of Line - Silver
Complete 40 Fixer Contracts
You’ll find Fixer Contracts by playing the game and engaging in its sandbox setting. Make sure that you have your profiler turned on by pressing the square button, and hack as many individuals as possible. These side-quests will be added to the map, and represent a steering wheel icon. You can drive to them directly, or set waypoints via the smartphone menu. There are several different types of mission that you’ll encounter here, but they all revolve around driving. You need to complete 40 of these to unlock the Trophy.
Basest Base - Silver
Complete every Gang Hideout
Much like the Fixer Contracts, you’ll need to scout out Chicago’s citizens to find Gang Hideouts. Once again, make sure that you’ve got your profiler switched on, and hack as many targets as possible. When you’ve attained intelligence on a particular Gang Hideout, you’ll find a clenched fist icon marked on your map, so set a waypoint and travel to it. There are a total of 15 of these objectives, and you’ll need to complete them all to unlock the Trophy. The key thing here is that you can’t kill the primary target – you need to take them down using non-lethal force. Fortunately, a tap of the circle button will see your enemy eliminated with ease.
They Call Him The Vigilante - Silver
Complete every Investigation
There are five investigations in Watch Dogs, and you'll need to complete them all if you want to unlock this Trophy. Fortunately, you'll have to finish all of these for various other Trophies anyway, so refer to the individual guides for each of the following to unlock this trinket as well: 'Revoking Client Privileges', 'Saturday Night Special', 'Sanity Check', 'Read-Only', and 'Darkness Looms'.
Peephole - Silver
Complete every Privacy Invasion
Another side-quest centred trinket, Privacy Invasions are represented by an eye icon on the map. You’ll need to make sure that you’ve unlocked any nearby ctOS Towers in order to see them, so you may want to complete the ‘Clear Signals’ Trophy first. These missions are fairly self-explanatory, and often involve completing short hacking minigames or tracing all of the glowing wires to nearby panels. Finishing these objectives will allow you to spy on various non-playable characters, making the effort worthwhile. There are 30 of these in total, and you’ll need to finish them all to nab the Trophy.
Road Rage - Silver
Complete every Criminal Convoy
Just like the Fixer Contracts, you’ll need to profile and hack civilians to gain access to the Criminal Convoy missions. There are a total of 18 of these, and they’re represented by a wheel icon on the map. Simply travel to the destination and immobilise the marked vehicles in order to complete these. Heavy-duty vehicles and explosives are particularly helpful when attempting to complete these objectives. Make sure that you’re well armed, too, as some enemies will exit their vehicles and attempt to fight back. Complete all of these to unlock the Trophy.
Enforcer - Bronze
Use the Crime Detection System to take down 20 confirmed criminals
You’ll encounter random crimes as you play the game – both by profiling civilians or simply by travelling. These will represent an upside down triangle surrounded by a blue blob on your map, and you’ll need to travel towards it in order to locate the crime. The circle will indicate the rough area where the offence is about to take place, and you’ll need to use your profiler to find it. It’s important to stay undercover during these objectives, as you’ll fail the mission if you intervene too early. Once you’ve located the crime, stay frosty, and wait for the game to tell you to act. You can either kill the suspect or take them down using non-lethal force to finish the mission. Beating 20 of them will make the Trophy pop.
Family Man - Bronze
Complete Act 1
This is a story related Trophy, and you’ll unlock it by simply playing through the campaign. Story missions are represented by yellow icons on the map, and you’ll grab this one after completing the ninth mission in Act 1.
Who Is Raymond Kenney? - Bronze
Complete Act 2
This is a story related Trophy, and you’ll unlock it by simply playing through the campaign. Story missions are represented by yellow icons on the map, and you’ll grab this one after completing the 15th mission in Act 2.
One Down, One to Go - Bronze
Complete Act 3
This is a story related Trophy, and you’ll unlock it by simply playing through the campaign. Story missions are represented by yellow icons on the map, and you’ll grab this one after completing the sixth mission in Act 3.
Vengeance - Silver
Complete Act 4
This is a story related Trophy, and you’ll unlock it by simply playing through the campaign. Story missions are represented by yellow icons on the map, and you’ll grab this one after completing the eighth mission in Act 4.
Log Off - Gold
Complete Act 5
This is a story related Trophy, and you’ll unlock it by simply playing through the campaign. There’s only one mission to complete in Act 5, so make sure that you go out with a bang.
Hard Crash - Bronze
Perform 10 vehicle take downs
You’ll probably unlock this naturally as you play the game. Simply ram into vehicles to damage them, or use your various skills to dismantle them in a more calculated way. Using a heavy duty vehicle will help you here, as well as the Skill Point upgrade which allows you to take less damage from vehicular conflicts. Either way, you should nab this before you’re finished with the game.
Communication Fail - Bronze
Using non-lethal takedown, stop 10 civilians from calling to report you
As a vigilante, Aiden Pearce often finds himself on the wrong side of the law. Fortunately, you can stop yourself falling foul to yet another police chase by taking down those who report you before they even have time to log your crime. Telltales will be highlighted by a red icon, so hit the circle button to bring them down. An alternative is to use the Jam Coms ability, which can be crafted from the weapon wheel and used by pushing the R1 button. You simply need to prevent ten crimes from being reported to unlock this Trophy, but remember that this won't pop if you kill your targets.
Bookmarked - Silver
Tag 100 enemies
Like many of the game’s Trophies, you’ll unlock this trinket by merely playing the game. Simply use your profiler to tag enemies, and once you’ve done this 100 times, the award will be yours. Remember, you can use cameras to do this if you want to be extra stealthy about your actions, but even if you don’t, you shouldn’t have any difficulties unlocking this before the end of the game.
Power Cycle - Bronze
Participate in 5 different City Games
While the description for this Trophy only mentions five different minigames, you may actually have to finish more to force it to pop. Participating in the following should net you the award: Chess, Cash Run, Drinking, NVZN, Poker, and Shell Game. If you still haven’t got it, though, find a Slot Machine – there’s one in the baseball stadium bar – and use it to polish this off. Note: for this Trophy, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose the minigames in question.
Magic Smoke - Bronze
Kill 4 enemies within a single instance of Focus
You’ll need to purchase the focus move from the Skill Tree before you can unlock this Trophy. Once you’ve nabbed it, you can use it by pushing the R3 button. The easiest way to complete this is by getting the cops to chase you, and when they’re in a relatively tight pack, activating the ability and picking them off. If you’re still having trouble, you can upgrade the move to extend its duration. Alternatively, you can use explosives, and hack them immediately after turning on focus.
Escape Loop - Bronze
Escape 15 police chases
There’s a good chance that you’ll unlock this Trophy as you work through the game, but if you want to speed up the process, the easiest way is to trigger a bunch of level one chases by committing petty crimes such as jacking cars. Wait for someone to report you, and let the ctOS scanner pick you up by entering yellow circles. Once you’ve been detected, use back alleys and hacks to escape from the cops, and you’ll unlock this in no time.
Free Radical - Silver
Escape a level 5 police chase
This is arguably the hardest Trophy in the game, as the level five police chases involve dozens of cars, cops, and helicopters. To begin, you’re going to want to find a spot near to – but still some distance away from – a boat. Kill as many civilians as you can in order to increase your wanted level, and then try to hide in a nearby building. As the police approach, use your guns and explosives to kill as many of these law enforcers as you can. Once you’ve hit the top wanted level, disable any overlooking helicopters with your smartphone – you’ll need to purchase this ability from the Skill Tree – and make a run for your getaway boat. Assuming that you haven’t been followed, you should be able to steer the boat out into the sea, where you’ll make your slow and simple escape. If you’re really struggling with this, then this excellent YouTube video by PS4 Trophies should help you out.
White Rabbit Object - Silver
Escape 15 police scans
Much like the ‘Escape Loop’ Trophy, you’ll want to commit some petty crimes such as carjacking to encourage a civilian to report you to the police. This will result in the local constabulary searching for you, as indicated by yellow circles on the map. Entering these will prompt a percentage bar to increase, and hitting 100 per cent will trigger a police chase. You’ll need to stay out of these circles and escape 15 times in order to nab this Trophy. The best way to do it is to use the Jam Coms tool, which you can craft using your weapon wheel. If you find yourself in a yellow circle with no way to escape, simply select this item and activate it by pushing the R1 button. This will give you a little extra time to make your exit. Rinse and repeat to grab your reward.
Scanproof - Silver
Escape a level 5 police scan
This Trophy requires a little more finesse than the ‘White Rabbit Object’ Trophy, as you need to make sure that you increase your wanted meter up to level five before the police scan begins. To do this, you need to ensure that you prevent anyone from calling the cops. Craft as many Jam Coms as you can – and ensure that you have ample materials to make more – and then start shooting innocent bystanders. You’ll want to pick off big groups if possible, but you’ll need to be wary of the red icons that appear above citizens reporting you to the police. Make sure that you kill these people before they’re call is successful, and keep shooting until you hit level five. Once you reach this, you’ll need to get prepared to make your escape. Being near a boat is a good idea, as it’s much easier to flee on the water. Simply use your Jam Coms to stay out of the yellow circles that appear on the map, and keep moving out of the way. A percentage bar will tick down as you make your escape, and the police will eventually give up their search. You’ll unlock the Trophy once you’ve escaped.
Hardware Fail - Silver
Shoot out a tire on 15 different vehicles
This is one of the easier Trophies that you’ll unlock in the game. All you need to do to make this pop is shoot out a single tire on 15 different vehicles. It doesn’t really matter whether you target enemy vehicles or static ones around the world, so just get shooting.
Black Hat Trick - Silver
Kill 3 enemies with a single IED
Another straightforward trinket, you’ll need to have unlocked the ability to craft IEDs to unlock this Trophy. Once you’re able to do that, simply toss one into an area where there are lots of enemies, and detonate it. It’s quite easy to earn this while you’re dealing with cops, so bump up your wanted level, and then allow a convoy of officers to arrive. Either wait for them to walk into your explosives, or throw one in their direction. Remember, you’ll need to catch at least three enemies with the blast, so try to time things just right.
Revoking Client Privileges - Bronze
Complete the final mission in the Human Traffic Investigation
As you uncover more of the map by hacking ctOS Towers, you’ll spot human shaped locations for you to investigate. Set your waypoint to these and travel towards them. Hack the target and this will bring up a briefcase. You’ll then need to travel to this location and hack a panel in order to get a view inside an apartment. Hack the briefcase and you’ll complete the objective. There are ten of these in total, which will unlock a final 11th mission. This will require a little extra work than the previous quests, but follow the instructions, and you’ll net this Trophy for your efforts.
Saturday Night Special - Bronze
Complete the final mission in the Weapons Trade Investigation
Similarly to the 'Revoking Client Privileges' Trophy, this trinket consists of a series of simple quests and a single bonus mission. To access the extra objective, you'll first need to locate nine weapon stashes around Chicago. These represent target icons on the map, which you'll need to travel to using waypoints. You'll find a locked garage at each location, but turn on your profiler and follow the illuminated wire coming out of it in order to gain access to these. Inside you'll find a crate which you'll need to scan in order to complete the task. Repeat this nine times to unlock the bonus mission, which can only be played once you've progressed beyond a certain point in the story. This is a combat heavy objective, so you'll need to ensure that you have your best weapons and items well stocked. Defeat all of the enemies that you encounter here to complete the Weapons Trade Investigation.
Sanity Check - Bronze
Collect all 8 Burner Phones
Mercifully, you won't need to obtain all of the audio logs in Watch Dogs to unlock the Platinum Trophy. However, you will need to collect all eight Burner Phones, which are essentially Maurice's audio logs. Thankfully, these will be marked on your map, and represent an arrow-esque icon. You actually only need to nab seven of these, as you get the first as part of the game's opening mission. Simply set waypoints to these, and search the area for a discarded mobile phone in order to obtain each one.
Read-only - Bronze
Complete the final mission in the QR Code Investigation
Much like many of the other investigations, you'll find the individual parts of the QR code side-quest marked on your map. Simply set waypoints to each QR code icon, and search around for the fragments of these in the environment. The trick with these perspective puzzles is to locate a security camera that's positioned in such a way that you can see the full picture. You'll need to scan 16 of these to unlock a final 17th mission. Here you'll need to complete a pretty complex hacking minigame, but work your way through, and you'll eventually unlock your prize.
Darkness Looms - Bronze
Complete the final mission of the Missing Persons Investigation
This is one of the more straightforward investigations in the game, as you'll simply need to scan six murdered bodies, which are represented by magnifying glasses on the map. Hack them all and you'll open up a seventh mission, in which you'll need to profile the perpetrator and bring him to justice before he can commit any further heinous crimes.
Geolocated - Silver
Check in at every Hotspot
This is a simple Trophy, but one of the more time consuming ones in the game. There are 100 hotspots in Chicago, and you’ll have to check in at them all. They are all clearly marked on the map, so you should have no trouble finding them, however if you do get stuck, you can bring up the City Hotspots app on your smartphone for a list of nearby locations that you haven’t yet visited. Set waypoints for these in order to secure them all.
Disk Space Full - Silver
Unlock every song with the SongSneak app
Acquiring the 23 songs required to unlock this Trophy can be a tedious task, but you should be able to unlock it with a bit of foresight and old fashioned elbow grease. There are two ways to grab a song: by using your profiler to hack citizens, and by capturing it using the SongSneak App in your smartphone. Both ways are effective, so use a combination of these tactics as you work your way through the game. For those unsure, the SongSneak App works similar to Shazam in real-life, so you just need to pull it up when you’re in a location with music. Stores and restaurants are good for this, but newsstands also work, so just keep scouting out these locations and hacking various city dwellers until you get your reward.
Social Lubricant - Bronze
Complete level 10 against all 3 Drinking Game opponents
There are a trio of bars where you can participate in stomach churning drinking games, each represented by a glass on the map. These require you to either move a cursor around the screen and match button prompts, or to keep your analogue sticks in two moving rings long enough for the L2 and R2 triggers to appear. These get increasingly difficult as you play, but practice, and you should be able to succeed. You need to progress through ten drinks against all three adversaries to obtain this Trophy. We don’t recommend trying this one at home.
Hackification - Silver
Invade and successfully hack 10 enemy Fixers in Online Hacking
This is another difficult Trophy that will require an element of luck. Push the touchpad to bring up the map and use the shoulder buttons to scroll to the Online Contracts page. You’re going to need to be connected to the PlayStation Network and Ubisoft’s Uplay servers to complete this one, so make sure that you’re not signed out. Select the Online Hacking option from the multiplayer menu, and this will connect you to another player’s game. Your objective is to find your target and steal data from their phone. After initiating the hack, you’ll need to hide, but this is tough as a purple icon on your victim’s map will show your rough location. The best way to do this is to crouch behind objects and try to break the line of sight between you and your adversary. Honestly, though, you’ll mostly need to rely on good luck here. Keep trying, and you should get 10 successful hacks eventually.
Piggyback - Silver
Invade and successfully observe 10 enemy Fixers in Online Tailing
Access the Online Contracts menu in the same way that you did for the ‘Hackification’ Trophy, and select the Online Tailing option. To complete one of these missions, you’ll simply need to follow your target and profile them. You can use security cameras, but you should be alright on foot. Remain calm and inconspicuous, and you will complete the mission in no time. Repeat ten times, and this Trophy will be yours.
Superhighway - Bronze
Complete 10 Public Online Races
Access the Online Contracts menu in the same way that you did for the ‘Hackification’ Trophy, choose the Online Races option and select Join a Public Session. This will drop you into a lobby with up to eight other racers. You do not need to win the race, but you do need to finish, so make sure that you complete and hit all of the checkpoints in order to ensure that you cross the finish line. Complete ten races to score your prize.
System Mangler - Silver
Complete every ctOS Breach
There are 16 ctOS Breaches that you’ll need to complete in order to unlock this Trophy, and they’re represented on the game’s map by a diamond with an arrow in its upper-right corner. To complete these you’ll need to hack a box once you reach the required location on the map, which will then open up several other panels that you’ll need to decrypt. You’ll need to hack all of these within a set time limit, but use all of the tools at your disposal – including security cameras – and you should have no trouble here.
Stealth Cookie - Silver
Complete an Online Tailing without being detected
You should unlock this when acquiring the ‘Piggyback’ Trophy. Access the Online Contracts menu and select the Online Tailing mission type. Remain inconspicuous and hack your target without giving them a chance to profile you. You can use security cameras if necessary, but you may find that you unlock this without really trying.
Freeware - Gold
Unlock every Skill in the Skills Tree
This will be one of the last Trophies that you'll earn in the game, as you’ll need to reach at least level fifty before you have enough Skill Points to afford everything in the Skill Tree. You’ll also need to ensure that you’ve cleared out all of the Gang Hideouts, as well as completed ten chess puzzles and reached level five in the NVZN minigame. Everything else should pop as you play, so just carry out all of the other objectives listed in this Trophy guide, and you’ll nab it eventually. The Notoriety Skills that you obtain when playing online don’t factor in this trinket, so you don’t need to worry too much about those.
Traced - Bronze
Get tailed 5 times
Seeing as you won’t know when you’re being tailed, the only way that you can unlock this Trophy is by making sure that you’re logged in to the PlayStation Network and Ubisoft’s Uplay servers as you complete the rest of the game. You’ll need to hope that you’re matched with other players as you roam Chicago, and this will eventually pop. Seeing as there’s no real way to check how many times you’ve been tailed, you’ll just have to keep your fingers crossed. Fortunately, you’ll be spending a lot of time with the game while you grab the rest of its Trophies, so this should unlock before you’re done.
Clear Signals - Silver
Unlock every ctOS Tower
The ctOS Towers littered throughout Chicago are massively important, as completing them unlocks points of interest on your map. There are 13 of these in the game, and they are represented by a red icon. To complete them, you’ll need to travel to their destination, and finish a simple puzzle in order to gain entry to the base of the tower. These vary depending on the location, but are never overly difficult if you’re familiar with your skills. If you do get stuck, however, this excellent video by YouTube user Boom Stick Chick shows how you can hack them all.
[ Thanks to PowerPyx, BoomStickChick, and PS4 Trophies ]
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Have you got any hot Watch Dogs Trophy tips? Are you aiming to unlock the Platinum Trophy? Share your smartphone skills in the comments section below.
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