- See also: Traffic Lights
Traffic Lights Control is a hack that Aiden Pearce and Marcus Holloway can perform with the Profiler.
Description
The traffic light control hack uses the CTOS connection with all the traffic lights in Chicago to manipulate traffic lights. When hacked, all traffic lights in an intersection turn green, causing all cars approaching to go at the same time thinking they have the right of way. This will result in some kind of a traffic accident, big or small. The results will vary depending on the current traffic situation, such as how many cars there are approaching, from which direction, how fast they are going, and how far they are from the intersection.
In Watch Dogs 2, Traffic Lights have been upgraded in San Francisco. Instead of going full green the traffic light will go into a flash mode which will confuse drivers and will start accelerating. The lights reset themselves after a minute of the malfunction.
Usage
The traffic accident caused from the traffic light control hack can be used in many ways to Aiden's advantage, such as a chase breaker or to stop a specific car or even just means of a distraction. This hack uses one bar from the profiler's battery and can be used even if Aiden is not hacked into the district's CTOS. In Watch Dogs 2, the hack does not use botnets.
Tactics
- Since effectiveness depends on traffic density, it should be used collaboratively with blockers or rupture pipe for maximum effect.
- A simple and rather useful hack to obstruct or disable fleeing vehicular targets.
- If the hack is used against patrol cars during pursuit, it will increase Aiden's heat level.
Gallery
Trivia
General
- This method would be completely impossible in real life, even with illegal remote access to a city's traffic control systems (a parallel to what the player uses in-game). All traffic lights are legally required to have a failsafe against turning green on all four lights, in order to prevent lethal and dangerous accidents. Interestingly, the traffic lights were hacked in Los Angeles in 2009 by two hackers.
Watch Dogs
- During the E3 Gameplay Video, Pearce uses this ability to aid in assassinating Joseph Demarco.
- When this is used too many times, it will cause the News Report to mention Public outrages on defunct Traffic Lights and the investigations.
- Oddly enough, the CPD will not respond to traffic accidents unlike real-life emergency services. If a patrol car witnesses a traffic accident, it will casually drive off, making the scene unrealistic.
Watch Dogs 2
- Drivers involved in collisions will sometimes argue with the other driver(s), and may even fight.
- If a police car witnesses the traffic accident, they may sometimes investigate the situation and the source of hack. They may also arrest certain drivers who caused the most damage to other properties or whoever was hostile to other drivers.
- Police can sometimes be called if several civilians witness a traffic accident or drivers fighting each other.