TACTICAL ADVICE // OBSERVE AND RETORT
Now that you’ve learned the basics of these missions, it is important to figure out some particularly cunning methods of completing these hacking and tailing contracts, either as the Fixer or the target. It is fortunate that both hacking and tailing contracts have extremely similar strategic planning techniques, so you can utilize the following tactics in either game mode. Here’s what you should think about doing to aid in your planning:
HACKING AND CHASING FIXER TACTICS // OBFUSCATION AND CONFUSION
Find a spot aboveground and away from the middle of the scanning radius (in Hacking).
Multiple exits? A getaway car? Infrastructure hacks to slow down your foe? Then start tailing or hacking!
Crafted Items // Blackout: If you’re hiding and need to evade, execute a Blackout. This is obviously more helpful at night, as it reduces your visibility and allows you to pass closer to your target without them noticing you.
Hacking // Security Cameras: An excellent tactic is to find a suitably cunning hiding spot, then hack into the security cameras and observe the target remotely; this is safer and causes more confusion, but the foe can tell which cameras are being used—hack those farther away from your location, on the edge of your reach, to help prevent the target from finding you.
Hacking // Infrastructure Cracks I: Remember, you fail if you use violence on your target, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try some explosions away from your target’s reach. Why not remotely detonate a transformer using a camera? Or activate a scissor lift in an alley, but don’t ride it up or down. Remember these are all distractions; not offensive tactics!
Hacking // Infrastructure Cracks II: Similarly, a steam pipe detonation ruins your target’s perception of the action and panics civilians, allowing you to slip away or continue to observe during the confusion.
Hacking // Infrastructure Cracks III: Don’t forget to try “odd” hacks, too, like moving a bridge on its own so your foe heads to it. Meanwhile, you should be far away from the bridge but still within observable distance of your foe.
Hacking // Riding the L-Train: A rather cunning plan is to stop an L-train so your foe heads into it, looking for you. Try to stay hidden (on the roof or the other side of the train). Then reactivate the train when your target is inside, trapping him in there while you continue to observe!
Take to the ocean; there’s no place to hide, but you can’t be shot or ambushed if you’re quick!
The ultimate humiliation; bring your Fixer foe down with a melee strike!
Stealth // Cat and Mouse I: Although risky, being extremely close to a foe is also a great (if brazen) way to win; pretend to be a citizen while walking directly behind the target who’s looking everywhere except in front of their face!
Stealth // Cat and Mouse II: Another scary proposition is to observe your foe at close quarters, such as on the opposite side of a newsstand, and then circle the structure, always keeping your foe on the opposite side. This structure is just big enough to keep you hidden and your foe none the wiser!
Stealth // Driving I: Take a bike to reach your target quickly. But don’t ride around on it or you’re instantly spotted (as no citizen uses bikes). However, during escapes, bikes are great, as they can travel between blockers and through alleyways; use one to escape if you need to.
Stealth // Driving II: Use a vehicle that blends in with the district you’re in. A flashy performance car looks odd in Pawnee. Then drive slowly, mimicking the movements of the citizen drivers. This allows you to pass the target while en route to a hiding spot; it isn’t a great tactic while observing, as your foe can easily move out of view.
Stealth // Elevation I: Is your foe looking up or down to find you? Not instinctively perhaps, which is why elevation is extremely helpful when tracking your target. Though less helpful during tailing missions compared to hacking, looking down on your foe is a great way to confuse them. Just make sure you profile on the ground, or your target will know to find you by heading to an elevated position! Of course, you can use this as a double bluff too!
Stealth // Elevation II: Hide in rooftops that require your target to leave the search area to reach them: They aren’t usually tempted to investigate outside the purple circle, so if you can find a rooftop inside a zone, but with a ladder to reach it well away from the search zone, you dramatically increase your chances of success.
Stealth // Expect the Unexpected (Observing): Try to blend in with the general population. Are there three or four citizens watching a busker? Then stand with them. Is there a vehicle parked properly with a load of others? Then get in and hide inside. Have you parked your car? Make sure it isn’t at a strange angle; the telltale sign of a Fixer! Or, completely reverse this plan and double-bluff the target—actually park a vehicle at a strange angle so your target investigates there. Just remain away from that location!
Stealth // Expect the Unexpected (Evading): You must flee—by finding a vehicle and heading out of the target’s search area as quickly as possible. Find a fast car. Or position yourself near one while you observe. Plan your escape before you even start your hack. Use erratic escape routes and infrastructure hacks. And get out of there!
Escaping in a truck? Not bad if there’s room, as the truck withstands punishment.
Follow this! Fast-moving vehicles, insane jumps, and shortcuts get you away from your foe.
Stealth // Hidey-Holes: Lying low inside a structure is a great way to disappear from view. Try heading into businesses (such as gun shops or coffee shops), using the cover opportunities inside and the rear exits. Look for buildings with foyers you can hide inside. Head into the traffic tunnels.
Stealth // Hidey-Holes (Double Bluff): Of course, a foe with a good knowledge of the area might head to a hidey-hole immediately, so use this to your advantage. For example, start a hack (or observation) near a poker game, but don’t hide in that location!
Stealth // Multiple Exits: You don’t want your target cornering you after your discovery, so choose a location with multiple exits and hopefully plenty of cover. An open area of park is just as problematic as a dead-end alley.
Stealth // Parking Garages: Small garages are reasonable for hiding in, though you’re easily caught. But large, multistory parking garages (like the one attached to the Palin Correctional Facility) are excellent places to hide; there are multiple levels, openings down to the street level, great hiding spots, and numerous vehicles to use for quick getaways.
Stealth // Patience Is a Virtue: You have five minutes to start your tailing or hacking, so don’t simply start the intrusion when you first see your foe; it pays to stay patient and wait for your target to move to a better area, one more open. Or wait until the last second as your foe is likely to be increasingly frustrated at the hack not happening yet!
Stealth // Parkour: When you’re being chased, take as many parkour-inspired shortcuts as possible. Don’t blindly run around corners; never let your foe gain on you if he decides not to shoot you during a chase. Also wreak as much havoc as possible; if the police are called, they might be able to cause enough of a distraction for you to flee.
Stealth // Towers of Power: Have you explored the ctOS control centers or towers? Then you’ll know they require a certain amount of puzzle solving to fully explore; use them as a base for hiding if one is close by.
Stealth // Trees and Bushes: Use the natural coverage of trees and bushes, as they can make you almost invisible. Stand in a clump of bushes and fade away from view. Head into the woods or crouch along hedgerows and vary your movements.
Violence // Stay off Target: Gunfire! Grenades! IEDs! Just not aimed at the target: You can’t blast away at the foe, but you can preoccupy the target in an area you want them to be in—within observable distance from you but not dangerously close. A good example is standing by an L-train station, lobbing down a grenade near an alley below, and watching your foe investigate.
TARGET TACTICS // METHODICAL SEARCHING AND VIOLENCE
Put a temporary halt on the hack by utilizing Jam Coms.
You’re looking for a foe who isn’t blending in with the general population, like this bad driver.
Crafted Items // Blackout: If your opponent is using cameras to track you, employ a blackout. This breaks your enemy’s line of sight and forces them out of their hiding place. Utilize a blackout if you’re attempting to chase your foe, and expect them to use infrastructure hacks against you (though you can’t employ the same hacks during the blackout).
Crafted Items // Jam Coms: Temporarily halt the backdoor installation during Hacking contracts with this tool. It works only once, but buys you a little more time during your search for the Fixer. It has no effect on Tailing missions.
Hacking // General Tactics: Utilize all of the single-player tactics! Blow up infrastructure during the chase phase (whether you’re driving or on foot). Blow up anything you can, simply to check how the citizens react, if you haven’t spotted your Fixer yet.
Hacking // Portraits: Note the portrait that appears on your screen; this is the hacker’s face. If a young redheaded hacker is shown, don’t waste your time checking for old men! Remember, this is a hint your rival doesn’t have.
Hacking // Security Cameras: You can use cameras on your Fixer foe too! If you suspect he’s around a corner, or even a couple of blocks away, drop into a hiding position and use the cameras to find the foe; this starts the chase and stops the observation of the hack. Also look for cameras that you can’t hack; if they’re in use, your rival is tracking you using them, and you should hone in on the area as a hiding place for your foe.
Toying with your foe (removing them from a vehicle) is amusing, but don’t get overconfident!
You should have no qualms about using weapons and hacks on a fleeing Fixer.
Stealth // Expect the Unexpected (Observing): Look for oddities in the way the general public is acting. A lone figure jaywalking across the road or walking diagonally, climbing, getting into a vehicle, and generally not blending in. Remember some cunning Fixers may try to fool you using precisely this type of activity; for example, by parking a vehicle in an odd location, then staying away from it so your attention is centered around it! Remember, too, that only a rival Fixer would ride a bike.
Stealth // Expect the Unexpected (Evading): Remember your search area is relatively small. When you’re “invaded”, but the hack hasn’t started yet, attempt to flee. During the time it takes for the foe to reach you, try fleeing to an area of open ground, with fewer hiding places. Learning the layout of an area helps too; check every alley, garage, rooftop, and parked vehicle that looks oddly positioned.
Stealth // Parkour: When you’re giving chase, take as many parkour-inspired shortcuts as you can; if your foe runs down some steps and turns right, leap over the low wall to the right of the steps so you can gain on your foe, prior to a takedown. Remember you can gun your foe down, but you may wish to use melee strikes to keep the police away from this altercation.
Stealth // The Waiting Game: When you see the “invaded” objective appear, but the hack hasn’t started yet, don’t panic! Sometimes it’s better to let the foe come to you: Remember he has to reach you in order to succeed in his objective, during which time you can force him into a trap (proximity IEDs around a corner? Nice!) and catch him more easily.
Your choice of vehicle is important; check the top speeds and handling, so you know you can keep up.
When a Fixer foe changes vehicles, drop him with grenades or gunfire.
Violence // General Tactics: Remember all those cunning tactics you used in all the other game modes? Well employ them here! Don’t be shy when employing your guns and projectiles; you’re here to end the rival in whatever manner you wish, whether that’s running them over, melee-striking them, or blowing them up!
Violence // Police: Remember that citizens are still going to call the police, so any wanton acts of carnage or destruction could lead to a Heat level and police intervention; this usually hinders progress or can be used as a smokescreen.
Violence // Reaction Shots: Is your foe trying to blend in with a crowd? Then shoot into that throng and see who reacts differently (why isn’t that citizen running in the same direction as the others?). Don’t get too trigger-happy, as you don’t want the police to arrive and take your attention away.
Violence // Sidewalk Antics: Ramming speed! Drive up onto the sidewalk and drive along, seeing how the citizens dodge out of the way; a player usually behaves differently when faced with a vehicle heading for their knees.