The Watch Dogs multiplayer mode includes hacking and stalking that can happen as you roam the city. If you want to turn off Watch Dogs multiplayer hack sessions so you can play uninterrupted, this is an option in the Watch Dogs menu.
We’ll show you how to turn off Watch Dogs attacks and invasions, and explain why you might want to leave it on, even if you’re worried it will ruin your Watch Dogs gaming sessions in the first place.
Watch Dogs is available on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, and PC, and there’s a free Watch Dogs ctOS app that allows mobile gamers to join and play with any of these console players during multiplayer sessions.
Here’s how to turn off Watch Dogs Online Invasions.
Instead of using lobbies and parties to kick off Watch Dogs multiplayer gaming sessions, Ubisoft made Watch Dogs so players can challenge others from the free roam portion of the game. So if you’re just wandering around exploring the city, another player might come and try to hack you. This should keep the game interesting, but you can turn it off if you don’t want any interruptions.
Turn off Watch Dogs Multiplayer Hacking
The short video below walks you through how to turn off the hacking and tracking parts of Watch Dogs multiplayer games. It takes about 30 seconds and is something you can easily turn on and off, but turning it off can affect notoriety and skill points.
The first time you open Watch Dogs, you must sign in to UPlay and accept the terms and conditions before you get to the home screen. You can skip UPlay, but it unlocks some extras, so it’s worth doing.
To turn off multiplayer hacking, go to Watch Dogs settings.
Select Options in the Watch Dogs menu and press the action button on your console to select it. This will take you to another menu where you have to select Online using the same button. On Xbox One, it’s the A button. These instructions are from the Xbox One Watch Dogs game, but should work on any console version, and the menu is likely similar on PC.
Next Go to Online settings.
Scroll down on this screen and select Online Invasions, which is set to On by default. You can change it to Off using this screen. When you turn off Watch Dogs Online Invasions, you lose the ability to play Online Hacking and Tailing on your own.
You also lose your Notoriety and the skills you unlock are turned off. With that in mind, you may not want to turn this off, or you may want to do it initially and turn it on later.
When you close Watch Dogs Online Invasions, you give up some options.
Of course, that means you’ll be giving up some of the gameplay, and that might make the online version of Chicago less exciting. Ubisoft explains that Watch Dogs hacking is set up so that no other player can jump into your game.
Ubisoft Chief Game Designer Danny Belanger explains“If you are in a narrative experience, this is your The narrative experience you’re having,” he adds, “we try to make sure it’s when you’re available and free-roaming, and you’re not doing anything else that might be interrupted. That’s when we open it and let the players come in and invade you.”
There’s also a part of the game that detects how often you go out and hack in Watch Dogs multiplayer mode. If you are not involved in this game, you will get a shield that keeps external attacks to a minimum and it will adapt over time.
