With the long wait finally over, players can get their hands on Watch Dogs, the much-anticipated title from Ubisoft Montreal. While we imagine that most players have been busy toying with bridges, listening in on telephone conversations and messing with traffic lights, we’ve been hard at work on the ctOS towers around Chicago. This guide will show you the location of all 13 towers, how to hack your way past all the gates and install the backdoor to each one. Doing so will not only unlock the Clear Signals trophy, it will also reveal collectibles, side missions, hideouts and fast travel locations.
Before You Begin
While you can install the backdoor to ctOS Towers in Parker Square as soon as the game begins, you will first have to deal with the ctOS Systems scattered around Chicago. These will not become available until after you complete the Backstage Pass mission early in the game. Once you’ve completed that, the ctOS Systems will show up on your map. By taking down each one, you’ll reveal the ctOS Towers in that district.
Parker Square District – 2 ctOS Towers
ctOS Tower 01 – Located just a few blocks to the northeast of your original hideout. You can easily run to this location in about the same time you can jack someone’s car. Hack the forklift in the back alley and it will lead you to a catwalk. Follow this catwalk to a blue lift. Hack the lift and use it to cross to a roof with some air conditioning units. Climb those units and then ascend a yellow ladder. Hack the camera on the inside of the fence, then use the camera to unlock the door. Head inside and install the backdoor.
ctOS Tower 02 – This is located to the north of the first tower we showed you, but is on top of a hill with a dirt road leading to it. When you arrive, go through the open gate and around back to find a camera high up on the wall. Hack the camera, then lower the forklift to reveal a second camera. Hack this one as well, using it to unlock the door. Double back to where you originally walked through the opening in the fence and go through a gate with a yellow ladder on the other side. Climb up the ladder and jump down to the ctOS tower where you can install the backdoor.
The Loop District – 3 ctOS Towers
ctOS Tower 03 – Once you take down the ctOS System in The Loop, you’ll see three ctOS Towers on your map. This one is on what we’ll call the west tower. Once you arrive, head into the alley and hack a camera up high on a fence, then turn that camera around and hack another one higher up on a wall. Use this to first unlock the gate (box is beside the front bumper of the car on the billboard), then jump to a camera that sits high up on the wall of a building with an open garage door. From this camera, unlock a second gate to your right. Use the nearby blue lift to reach the rooftop, then continue to climb up to the gates. Run through the gates, climb on some air conditioners and then onto a roof to install the backdoor.
ctOS Tower 04 – This is the one to the south of The Loop district. Once you arrive you’ll see a blue lift on the ground. Don’t use it just yet. Instead, hack the low hanging camera on the corner of the building, then use it to hack another one higher up and on the opposite side of the alley. Use this one to get to a third camera that you will use to unlock the gate, then hop to your fourth and final camera. This one is close to another unlock panel that you need to hack. With all the hacking done, climb onto the blue lift and ride it up. Scale the air conditioners and hop over a fence that leads to some stairs. Go up the stairs and then climb onto the roof to the left of an explosive panel. Head through the gate and then climb up onto more air conditioning units to your left, finally reaching the final gate and the ctOS panel you need to install the backdoor in.
ctOS Tower 05 – This one is located on the east side of the island and is also accessed from the alley. When you get to the alley, look up for a blue lift. Bring it down to ground level and take a ride to the roof. The camera you want is directly across from the lift, but you’re not in range. Vault the railing in front of you to the lower roof, which will allow you to hack the camera. Use the camera to unlock the door, then get back onto the roof that the lift delivered you to and go through the gate. This will allow you to install the backdoor on the ctOS Tower, completing the third and final one for The Loop district.
Mad Mile District – 3 ctOS Towers
ctOS Tower 06 – We’re going to start close to the west end of Mad Mile. Look for a courtyard with people going about their business. You need to hack the unlock panel on the wall just beyond the iron fence. Next, run through the alley and take a blue lift up to a balcony. From the balcony, climb a yellow ladder, go through the gate and head up a curved glass roof, looking behind you while standing on it and hacking another unlock box on the wall. Continue up the curved roof, onto some air conditioners and through a gate. Hang a right, cross another curved roof and hop a railing just beyond two people doing some yoga. This will take you to the ctOS Tower where you can install the backdoor. Have fun trying to get back to ground level.
ctOS Tower 07 – This one is actually on the very far west side of Mad Mile, tucked away on a small island close to Parker Square. From the street, hack the camera beyond the black iron fence, then use it to unlock the gate. Head to your left (while facing the building) and go around to the opposite side. You will pass through an open gate and head up two flights of stairs. Once you’re at the top of the stairs, run counter clockwise around the building until you reach a yellow ladder. Climb the ladder, hack the unlock box on the wall and go through the gate to install the backdoor on the ctOS Tower.
ctOS Tower 08 – This one’s fun. Hack the parking garage door from your car, then drive through and go up to the third level. Head to the west end and get out of your car. You should see a yellow ladder on the wall across from you. Head to the ladder and climb up, going counter clockwise around the building until you can’t go any further. Climb up some air conditioning units, then continue counter clockwise to reach the unlock panel. Hack it, then double back to another panel that will get you remote access to a server room. Hack the laptop on the desk, then use it to unlock the gate using the panel on the wall. Use the nearby air conditioning units to climb up to the ctOS Tower and install the backdoor.
The Wards District – 2 ctOS Towers
ctOS Tower 09 – We’re going to start off on the west side of The Wards. You’re in the right place when you are under some train tracks, and should be able to see the tower from the ground level. Go through an already unlocked gate on the opposite side of the street from the ctOS Tower (near a forklift) and head up the stairs. Climb the nearby ladder and head through another open gate to where some citizens are hanging out. Jump onto the tracks (wait for the train to pass) and head toward the tower. Hack the camera on the other side of the fence and hop to a second camera to the left. Look down and to the left with that camera and blow up the panel on the wall. This will reveal the unlock panel and allow you to go through the gate and install the backdoor on the ctOS Tower.
ctOS Tower 10 – When you arrive at the ctOS Tower, head around the building to a blue lift. Take a ride up and hack the camera on the light pole to the right, then another one higher up that should be over your head. Hack a third camera through a door and then the unlock panel. Climb onto the roof and go through the gate you just unlocked, turning right and climbing on some nearby air conditioning units. As you stand on top of the air conditioners, you should see another unlock panel below you. Hack it, then go back the way you came, heading through a gap in the buildings to find a yellow ladder at the end of a catwalk. Climb the yellow ladder and head through a gate to find the ctOS Tower. Install the backdoor to finish up with The Wards.
Brandon Docks District – 3 ctOS Towers
ctOS Tower 11 – Head to the ctOS Tower at the southeast end of the Brandon Docks. When you arrive, look for a car lined up with a shipping container. Before you get into the car, go around the building behind it and hack the unlock panel. Next, get in the car, drive into the shipping container and take a ride up. Crash the car through the fence, go through the gate and climb the yellow ladder to reach the ctOS Tower. Install the backdoor and then find your way back to the ground.
ctOS Tower 12 – This tower is on the west end of Brandon Docks. Run all the way around the building to see a camera mounted on the corner of another building. Hack the camera, then use it to unlock a gate back in the direction you just came from. Double back the way you came and go through the door of the building you just hacked. Hop through the window, climb the fence and take the lift up. Go around the building and through the gates to reach the ctOS Tower. Install the backdoor and head back the way you came.
ctOS Tower 13 – Head around to the back and find a camera mounted on one of six concrete structures that are all connected. Hack that camera, then hack another one mounted to the outside of a wall on a white building. Turn that camera to the right and hack the unlock panel. Go back to the first camera to see another one inside the white building we already described. Hack that camera and then unlock the door. Head to the nearby blue lift and ride it up, then climb the nearby yellow ladder. Follow the gates until you find yourself inside that white building with the ctOS Tower. Install the backdoor and you will unlock the Clear Signals trophy/achievement.
If the trophy does not unlock, make sure you have successfully cleared each ctOS Tower on our list. If you can’t see some of the towers we listed, read the top of the article to make sure you passed the correct missions and cleared the ctOS System in each district.
For players who might find a visual walkthrough more helpful, we’ve included a video with each of the ctOS Towers (numbered to match this walkthrough) and how to install the backdoor. Check it out below.
Hack Chicago with Prima’s free Watch Dogs walkthrough.
Go in-depth with the official Watch Dogs guide!
Published: May 28, 2014 04:08 pm