A Guide to How to Win Most of Your ctOS Mobile Challenges

The ctOS Mobile challenge pits a console (or PC) player against a mobile (smartphone or tablet) player on an asymmetric competition. As the console player, you're tasked to pass all checkpoints, while the mobile player tries to stop you from doing so.

The ctOS Mobile challenge has two race modes:

• Free ride
  
• Race

In free ride, you have the freedom to choose your path to go from one checkpoint to the other.
In this mode:

• You start with about two minutes.
  
• You can find time pickups which adds a few seconds to your time.
  
• You are not given a route to follow. Find your own path.
  
• Generally, the checkpoints in free ride mode are dispersed.

In race, you are given a route to travel to each checkpoint.
In this mode:

• You start with about a minute.
  
• You will not find time pickups.
  
• You're given a route mapped by GPS. This is the best route to follow (only the driver will see this route).
  
• Generally, the checkpoints in race mode are close together.

As the console player, you can see what mode are you going to play by looking at the loading screen.
The mobile player does not get to choose the mode or the course, so they can only figure out the mode after they look at the timer. However, if the mobile player is playing a friend-to-friend match, they get to choose the course (and effectively, the mode).

Before you fight, you have to know yourself. As Aiden Pearce, you have various toys with you to help you succeed.

Your equipments are:

• Your conventional weapons, such as the Destroyer or any other guns to your liking.
  
• The Jam Comms - it stops your enemy from dispatching units.
  
• The Blackout - it stops your enemy from using ctOS powered utilities.
  
• Your smartphone (and all its hacking capabilities).

There may be other things you can utilize, but these four items are the most significant ones and should always be prepared for when things go south. Also:

• Owning blow steam pipes will give you a very significant advantage.
  
• Jam Comms and Blackout is purely optional, but it may give some advantage.

Remember that as the driver, you are not in a race - you are being pursuited, and the operator can stop you the same way you stop them. Drive carefully, but quickly.

• Keep an eye out to the minimap to see for alternative routes, location of pursuers, as well as activated ctOS utilities.
  
• Learn to utilize your brakes and handbrakes - slowing down can deceive cops and help your turning tremendously. It also helps you avoid other cars or obstacles (apparently, trees are your biggest enemies - you cannot take them down the same way you take out traffic lights).
  
• There are some polygons that can launch you into air, stop you, or even flip your car. Be careful, as they may shave off some of your precious time. Those damn curbs.

Be most aware for:

• Blockers
  
• Steam pipes

These devices can deal massive damage to your vehicle and stop you.

Luckily, you can combat these devices by simply driving outside of the road (or on the sidewalks), where the devices don't affect you.

There is almost no reason to worry about spikes or traffic lights.

• Spikes only exist on small alleys. If you don't take too much shortcuts, they've no reason to scare you.
  
• If you drive fast enough, you can pass the intersection before all the cars start moving when the traffic lights change (or you can learn to maneuver with extreme precision by driving in places with high traffic density - Mad Mile or The Loop might be a good place to start).

Also, pay attention to the sound the operator makes when they activate ctOS utilities. They tell you when they activated the devices.

Your pursuers are persistent - they will chase you until their vehicles are destroyed.

On the bright side, you just have to destroy them, right?

• Always keep whatever finger you use to hack devices ready. The moment you can neutralize them appears, press it and watch them blow.
  
• Ram the dispatches! Ramming them deals damage, and if they build enough damage, they'll be destroyed without the need of ctOS utilities!
  
• Is your car taken down? Get revenge - the Destroyer is a one shot-one kill sniper rifle - show those pesky pursuers what happens when they wreck your car.

Or perhaps:

• Stop the operator from adding more pursuers by using the Jam Comms.
  
• Do you know that raising the bridge stops your pursuers no matter what? You can get far enough from them, which causes them to lose track of you if they're not redispatched.
  
• Steal a heavy vehicle - the Ambulance has the highest speed in its class, while the Convoy is the only vehicle with a perfect-5 score for durability! Try ramming THIS, dispatch!

How about that helicopter, then?

• Hack that helicopter! When the helicopter is hacked, they cannot move, which means their ctOS utilities activation range becomes limited. Repairing the helicopter takes resource too, so it can stop the operator from adding more pursuers.
  
• Destroy it! A helicopter out of commission cannot move, cannot be repaired, and it'll take time for the helicopter to respawn! While the helicopter is out of commission, the operator cannot activate devices (more testing needs to be done to see if the ability to dispatch is also disabled - if anyone has solid intel on this, please mention it on the comments below)! Use this as a chance to get as far as you can!

Note that:

• The Blackout does not 100% help you lose your pursuers. However, they help you stop the operator from using devices. Just remember that the same goes to you.
  
• In combat? Forget focusing - ctOS Mobile challenge counts as multiplayer, which means you don't get the benefit of time slowing down. It still gives you a control and zoom bonus, though.
  
• Wrecking dispatches and/or killing officers gives the operator Heat Points. If you absolutely must stop them, just wreck their vehicles instead of killing the officers.
  
• Beware of civilians. Killing them gives the operator Heat Points. Of course, it is nearly impossible to avoid them completely.

The driver is not the only one who owns all the fabulous toys! As the operator, you also own a wide array of equipments, each capable of decimating the driver.

The equipments are:

• ctOS powered devices - each capable of doing the same damage to the driver.
  
• Officers of the Chicago PD with their high-powered vehicles.
  
• Your helicopter, with a trusty sniper on board.

Your equipments are upgradable!

• You can make the officers drive more efficiently, or increase the ramming strength of the vehicles. Or you can give your officers shotguns and heavy armors!
  
• Gain access to steam pipes and make the driver taste their own medicine!
  
• Let your helicopter chase the driver on its own with the autopilot or have the driver eat some .50 lead with the precision shot!

Also:

• Upgrade your dispatch capacity - having five dispatches at one instance can cripple the driver.
  
• Unlock steam pipes as soon as possible - the power it provides is immense, giving you a significant advantage.

This is a suggestion as to which upgrades should you get first based on it's cost-effectivity ratio. However, this is merely a suggestion, and your preferred upgrades can differ based on your playstyle.

Patrol Car: upgrade last
You won't find the Patrol Car interesting - they don't have outstanding perks except for the fact that they're cheap to dispatch. Save those upgrade points for something else.

Interceptor: upgrade to at least level 1
When you begin playing, you will want something that can knock the driver hard enough. The Interceptor with a level 1 upgrade has a good stopping power.

SUV: upgrade to at least level 2 (get this upgrade ASAP)
You will find the SUV to be the most interesting dispatch unit. At level 2, they have a great stopping power for a moderate cost. You can go for level 4 and get the benefit of cheaper dispatch costs.

SWAT SUV: upgrade to at least level 1
A SWAT SUV carries one elite unit with a machine gun - which does not work if your opponent doesn't stop. Also, it is expensive to dispatch a SWAT SUV. You might want it for some situations, though, so at least get it.

ctOS Powers: upgrade to at least level 3 (get this upgrade ASAP)
At level 3, you can dispatch five units and use the steam pipes. Fighting five units is a real pain, and the steam pipes makes it worse for the driver - more things to be aware of. You can go for level 4 and build up those Heat Points quickly.

Helicopter: upgrade last
If you're good enough in controlling the helicopter, you won't really appreciate the benefit of extra activation range. Your sniper does not shoot much as well. Also, the cost to activate autopilot or precision shot outweighs the benefits.

Once you have these upgrades, you should be able to compete against some of the better drivers!

Now comes the fun part - stopping the driver himself. To win the match, you must:

• Stop the driver from reaching all checkpoints by running the time out.

Actually, that's the only way to win the match.

Killing the driver is possible. However, it doesn't mean you instantly win. When the driver is killed, they will respawn a little bit farther than where they died. The timer, however, resumes from the moment the driver was killed. Killing the driver doesn't mean you are going to win the match, so stay vigilant.

How do you stop the driver?

• Spam dispatch. At one or two dispatches, they ram the driver. However, at four to five dispatches, they not only ram the driver - they create a blockade in front of the driver! Never let that dispatch slot empty (unless you're saving up for a better unit)!
  
• Activate ctOS utilities. Armed blockers can stop the driver, while armed steam pipes can cause massive damage to the driver's vehicle and spin them out of control, giving time for your units to intercept. When the vehicle is damaged enough, the driver will be forced to find another vehicle to use, which takes time.

Keep in mind that:

• The driver and the operator share the same ctOS utilities. Whoever hacks it the first gains the device, with the other party being unable to use it. Use this feature to deny all of the driver's hacks! Pre-arming all the devices nearby the driver will cause him to be unable to use the devices against you!
  
• Your Precision Shot only boosts the damage dealt by the sniper's next shot. It will not modify the rate nor change the requirements for your sniper to fire a shot. If you find that your sniper rarely fires a shot, it's better to save up those 12 points for something else.
  
• Don't waste your Heat Points activating Autopilot or Precision Shot. Use them to dispatch more and better units, or use them to deny the driver's hacks!
  
• Some bridges do not raise from the center! Some of them raises from both ends, which can completely stop the driver from proceeding! Study which bridges raises like so and use them to completely block the driver!

A map of Brandon Docks. At Brandon Docks, there are 5 bridges which can hinder the driver's progress. The color of the circle indicates the threat level for the driver - a green circle means that it is of a lower threat, while a yellow circle means that it is of a bigger threat. Left: a picture of the bridges in green circle. Right: a picture of the bridges in yellow circle. When should you activate ctOS utilities?

• Be aware that some players may experience lag issues, causing a delay between device activation and the device arming. Study the delay and activate the devices accordingly.
  
• Keep in mind that devices that are armed are marked on the driver's minimap. If you activate them too early, the driver can anticipate this and use a different route. Or you can use this to redirect the driver!
  
• Pre-arm the devices to deny the driver's access to the ctOS utilities so that the driver can't use it against your dispatch units.

Take note:

• Get ready to redispatch your units. When your units get too far from the driver, they will be lost unless redispatched. Always keep an eye out on that dispatch bar. Redispatching can save you resources and relocate your units at a more advantageous position.
  
• If your units are almost wrecked, recall them. Recalling gives you more Heat Points than when your units are down.
  
• Units that are too close to the driver can not be recalled.

* For this explanation, I will use the following terms for the following meanings:
- Activate (device): pressing the device to arm it
- Arm (device): devices that have finished activating

• As of June 17, 2014, Ubisoft has patched the ctOS Mobile app into version 1.3. This change* includes the free win rule for mobile players. If the driver aborts their mission, the operator will be notified of so, and the operator will be given a win, no questions asked. Drivers, no more ragequitting (but you operators can hope for them to ragequit).
  
• In case that it feels so hard to find a game (for you mobile players), ctOS Mobile app is designed to only compete you against the person who is playing on the same system as to the account you're logged in**. If you want more, try creating a free PSN account or XBox Live account and link it to your UPlay account.

* More confirmation of this change is required - until an official changelog/proof is established, take this fact with a grain of salt.
** Based on this website: http://blog.ubi.com/watch-dogs-ctos-mobile-companion-app-faq/. A confirmation is required to further reinforce this fact (a confirmation of the opposite can also help to disprove this fact).

So now you understand how to win most of your games. Now it's time to get out there and put the theories into practice!

If you have any suggestions on some things I might have missed, leave a comment below. If it's plausible, I will add that information, as well as credit you as one of the contributors!

Thanks for reading the guide to how to win most of your ctOS Mobile challenges!

Changelog
v1.0 - June 13, 2014

• Creation of the guide.

v1.1 - June 17, 2014

• Added a new section called [Things you (probably) should know].
  
• Changed the title of the section [The operator - suggestible upgrades] to [The operator - upgrades to get you rolling].
  
• Improved the section [The driver - stopping your pursuers].
  
• Improved the section [The operator - stopping the driver].
  
• Fixes on diction and grammar use.

v1.2 - June 18, 2014

• Improved the section [The operator - stopping the driver].
  
• Fixes on diction and grammar use.