watch dogs legion best operatives to start with

In the near-future, dystopian London of Watch Dogs: Legion, your greatest weapon is not a gadget, but your people. The game's revolutionary "Play as Anyone" system means every citizen is a potential recruit for DedSec. However, starting your resistance with a random assortment of characters can lead to a frustrating early game. Strategic initial recruitment is crucial for establishing a strong foundation. This guide focuses on the best operatives to start with, prioritizing those who provide unique advantages, simplify core gameplay loops, and unlock the city's potential from the very first hours.

Table of Contents

1. The Foundational Recruits: Covering the Basics
2. The Infiltrator: The Construction Worker
3. The Ghost: The Hitman
4. The Key to the City: The Getaway Driver
5. The Digital Lifeline: The Hacker
6. Building Your Cell: Synergy and Specialization

The Foundational Recruits: Covering the Basics

Before pursuing specialists, your first few recruits should form a reliable core. Look for characters with universally useful perks. An operative with a silenced pistol is invaluable for stealth, providing a clean, non-lethal takedown option that doesn't alert entire districts. Similarly, any recruit with the "Faster Download" skill accelerates data collection from access points, a constant activity in Legion. Avoid starting with operatives whose only notable trait is a Gunkata or a specific melee weapon; these are situational and don't address fundamental needs like infiltration, escape, or hacking efficiency. Your foundation should minimize early-game friction, allowing you to explore recruitment opportunities safely.

The Infiltrator: The Construction Worker

The Construction Worker is arguably the single most powerful starting operative you can find. Their unique tool, the cargo drone summon, is a game-changer for navigation and infiltration. This personal aerial vehicle allows you to bypass ground-level security, reach high-altitude access points with ease, and infiltrate compounds from the roof downwards—a consistently less guarded approach. In a tense situation, hopping onto a cargo drone provides an instant and often untouchable escape route. The drone can also be used to carry incapacitated enemies or explosive barrels, adding creative tactical options. Securing a Construction Worker early transforms London from a maze of streets into an open playground, fundamentally altering how you engage with every mission.

The Ghost: The Hitman

For players who favor direct, albeit stealthy, action, a Hitman operative is a premier starting choice. This professional comes equipped with a suppressed P9 pistol and the exclusive "Gun Kata" ability, enabling deadly slow-motion gunplay. Their innate combat proficiency means they take less damage and deal more in firefights, which are sometimes unavoidable. The Hitman excels at "loud stealth," quickly eliminating multiple threats before they can raise an alarm. While their skills are less focused on pure hacking or bypassing, they solve problems of enemy density with brutal efficiency. Starting with a Hitman ensures you have an answer for when stealth plans unravel, providing a safety net of exceptional combat prowess that can rescue missions from failure.

The Key to the City: The Getaway Driver

London's streets are heavily patrolled, and chase sequences are a core part of the Watch Dogs experience. The Getaway Driver specialist makes these moments trivial and even enjoyable. Their personal vehicle, often an armored or high-performance car, is permanently available for summoning. More importantly, they possess the "Vehicle Hack" skill on a reduced cooldown, allowing you to disable pursuing vehicles or manipulate traffic with greater frequency. This operative turns escape and pursuit into a controlled exercise rather than a chaotic scramble. For missions that end with a frantic exfiltration or require rapid traversal across boroughs, the Getaway Driver is indispensable. They provide reliability and control in the most unpredictable aspect of open-world gameplay: vehicular mobility.

The Digital Lifeline: The Hacker

While every operative can hack, the Hacker specialist does it better, faster, and with greater impact. Their reduced cooldown on all hacking abilities is a constant, subtle advantage. They can download data quicker, hijack electronics more frequently, and deploy combat hacks like the "Ar Distract" or "Botnet" with impressive regularity. In a game about systemic manipulation, having a Hacker means you have more tools available at any given moment. They can turn a drone swarm against its owners, lock down a building's security system for longer durations, and generally exert more digital control over the environment. Starting with a dedicated Hacker reinforces the core fantasy of the franchise, making you feel like a true master of the city's interconnected technology from the outset.

Building Your Cell: Synergy and Specialization

The ultimate goal is not to have one perfect operative, but a synergistic team. A well-rounded starting cell might consist of a Construction Worker for infiltration and verticality, a Hacker for digital control, and a Getaway Driver for seamless transitions across the map. This trio covers mobility, stealth, hacking, and escape comprehensively. Alternatively, pairing a Hitman with a Spy—an operative with a cloaking device and an elite vehicle—creates a potent offensive and infiltration duo. The key is to recruit operatives whose abilities complement each other and cover for weaknesses. Avoid redundancy; two construction workers are unnecessary. Instead, use your first few hours to consciously build a roster where each member excels in a distinct role, ensuring you have the right tool for every challenge London's oppressive regimes throw at you. Your initial choices set the tone for your entire resistance, transforming a scattered rebellion into a precise and formidable force.

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