Watch Dogs 2 is about to be updated again, with a couple of new features and bug fixes included in the 1.08 patch, which is out “this week.”
The biggest news is the addition of a ‘replay mission’ function, which allows you to dive back into any Main Operation level you’ve already completed. According to publisher Ubisoft, “this will let you relive your favorite moments or experiment with different playstyles.”
Other features in the patch include the ability to select the game’s difficulty when you start a new save, rather than just altering the difficulty in-game from the Options menu. There’s also some new enemy weapons available to purchase from the 3D printer, and your hacker level–plus your friends’ hacker levels–will now be displayed on your in-game phone.
On a lighter note, Ubisoft says it’s fixed a bug where a police officer character would be a little too harsh if you broke the speed limit, constantly berating you to stop the car. “We’ve also had a talk with the ‘PULL OVER NOW!’ policewoman and she agrees that it’s not necessary to repeat that command as frequently to get the point across,” says the publisher. “We’re all grateful.”
Finally, a bunch of balance tweaks for multiplayer modes have been made, as well as more bug fixes. Take a look at the full list of tweaks below, via Ubisoft.
Hacking Invasions
- Before the download is started:
The target can no longer automatically profile the hacker or their RC.
For the target player, in NetHack, the hacker’s RC is displayed as a neutral-colored object (instead of red).
If the target does an action that reveals the presence of a hacker in their game the search zone is now three times bigger.
To help the hacker to initiate the download while the target is moving in a vehicle, the hacker can now hold the hack button on the target for a distance up to 120m.
- During the download:
Fixed an issue where the target’s name would be visible without having a line of sight on them.
Fixed issues in NetHack that (in some situations) allowed the target to see civilians/hacker through the walls.
- To reduce accidental detection:
In NetHack, for the target, a small delay has been added before showing the identity of the person being targeted.
In NetHack, for the target, the targeting angle was reduced.
- Enemy player’s RC can no longer be profiled through walls.
- The red targeting line displayed between the enemy and their RC only appears when the RC is profiled, instead of just by targeting it.
- The hacker is warned when their RC is profiled: “RC WAS DETECTED: Your position has been revealed!”
- Hacker rewards: You’ll be rewarded based on the percentage of download completed, and you’ll get extra rewards if you escape. This also means that if your target disconnects or quits, you’ll still get some reward.
- Exploit: Fixed an exploit where the player could not be seen while in the water using the Nethack vision.
- Bug: Fixed an issue where the media player song would still play in Nudle Map while being invaded by another player, creating an exploit that allowed you to better identify when you’re being invaded.
- Bug: Fixed an exploit where the side activities icons would disappear from the world map if a player was being invaded.
watchdogs2 4k tbone scaled
Online
- Leaderboard: We want to showcase your leaderboard rank more prominently. Therefore, your leaderboard rank for each multiplayer activity is now displayed at the beginning and end of each match, and also in the Multiplayer app. This is a priority feature we want to improve, so you can expect future updates.
- Co-Op: We’ve made it easier to team up for co-op with a player that’s already in your session. Entering the vehicle of an allied player will prompt that player to team up for co-op.
- Co-Op: We’ve added difficulty level to online operations icons on the world map.
- You can now throw an IED on rooftops from street level. You can do this at any point, but as NPCs typically aren’t found wandering around on rooftops, this will come in especially handy in online game modes.
Other
- Shooting Mechanics: We’ve made changes to the shooting behavior so that shooting your weapon feels more satisfying.
Improved weapon recoil, making for increased accuracy when firing multiple rounds.
The sound of each weapon firing and bullet impact has been improved.
Bullet tracers are more visible.
- AI: Improved AI sniper behavior by making them move less from cover to cover, meaning they’ll shoot more often.
- Localization: Larger fonts in Arabic and Chinese subtitles to make them more visible.
- Gallery: Minor graphical fixes to Camera and Gallery interface that will help you take better screenshots.
Bug Fixes
- Leaderboard rewards: If you earned a leaderboard reward in Season 1, it will be delivered to your inventory in this patch.
- “PULL OVER NOW!”: The loudspeaker policewoman will repeat this command less frequently.
- Wall Geometry Exploits: Players can no longer use motorcycles to pass through walls, and we’ve fixed other similar wall exploits.
- Broken missions/halted progression: Fixed progression-breaking issues for the following missions: Power to the Sheeple, Alcatraz Showdown, Infected Bytes, Just Making a Living, Get Back in the Game, Jailbird Blues, and Kicking it Old School. If you got stuck during any of these missions, you’ll be able to proceed now without starting over.
- Mass Sitara: Improved an issue where Sitara could be present multiple times in the Hacker Space during A Walk in the Park.
- Bounty: Fixed a rare issue where a Bounty could go on forever if the hunted player hid in Wrench’s garage.
- Bike Collision: Reduced the collision size on bikes so the player can drive closer to obstacles without bailing (time to find some trees and go nuts).
- Leaderboards: Fixed the description of the divisions in the leaderboards; percentage details were wrong.
- Invasion Rewards: Fixed an issue where you wouldn’t get the reward for neutralizing an invader without profiling them first.
- Co-Op: Fixed an issue where a player couldn’t get into a car while playing in coop.
- Improved performance and stability.
- Minor graphical improvements.
- Fixed multiple AI and traffic issues.
- Several improvements on the GPS pathing.
- Fixed multiple replication issues.
- Fixed numerous minor audio and text issues in localized versions of the game.
- Lots and lots of other minor bug fixes.
PC-Only Updates
- San Francisco Fog (aka “Karl”): Fixed a timer bug that was causing the iconic fog to appear less often than intended. On the days it appears, it will show up around 6 PM and disappear around 2 PM the next day. In a future update, we’ll adjust and randomize its appearance times, so you can enjoy it more often. If you are eager to see it, you can always make the time pass faster by taking a nap on the sofa in the HQ.
The fog is not turned on by default (due to high demands on your PC) and must be activated in settings.
- Improved performance on Crossfire systems (AMD dual GPU systems)
- Fixed various minor issues with the UI and text.
- Fixed minor issues with the HUD in multi-monitor mode.
- Fixed various cases of reflections corruption.
The Review
Nintendo Switch
A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad.
PROS
- Good low light camera
- Water resistant
- Double the internal capacity
CONS
- Lacks clear upgrades
- Same design used for last three phones
- Battery life unimpressive
