The Division had a rough launch, but as has been the case with so many similar live service games, it managed to correct its course quite significantly in the following months with major improvements and additions. With The Division 2, Ubisoft now have a solid foundation to build on, and it seems like they’re looking to address most of the issues that plagued its predecessor. With its launch within touching distance, in this feature, we’ll be taking a look at fifteen things you should know about the game. Without further ado, let’s begin.
THE SETUP
The Division 2 takes place in Washington D.C., seven months after the events of the Dollar Flu in New York City. In the wake of the epidemic, acivil war has broken out in the area between the survivors and murderous bandits and factions that are attempting to take control. To curb the ongoing chaos and to re-establish order, Directive 51 is enacted in Washington D.C., following which Division agents are sent to the capital, tasked with working alongside the civilian militia to overcome the enemy factions and recapture the capital.
SETTLEMENTS
Settlements of survivors in Washington D.C. will be an important gameplay mechanic in The Division 2. Throughout the game, players will also have to seek out and aid civilian settlements. This will entail rescuing or aiding citizens against antagonistic factions, and undertaking tasks and missions from civilians and NPCs found within settlements.
NEW SKILLS
The Division 2 introduces several new skills that players will be able to utilize during combat. These include the Chem Launcher (which can fire different kinds of chemicals to have various offensive and defensive effects), Drone (which deploys one of five unique kinds of drones that each have different advantages), Hive (which deploys a hive of micro-drones that can do everything from inflicting damage to boosting combat efficiency), Seeker Mines (which can be both offensive and defensive), and Turret (which also includes long-range sniper turrets and flamethrowers).
ARMOUR
Agents in The Division 2 will now be equipped with armour, which will add an additional armour bar on top of your health which will have to be chipped away first before enemies can start depleting your health. Once your armour is broken, you will have the option to put on new armour plates and pieces- but since that can take some time, doing so in the middle of combat might prove to be a little tricky.
FACTIONS
As the game’s narrative setup implies, The Division 2’s Washington D.C. is embroiled in conflicts between various factions that are all vying for power, and there will be several of these that players will come across throughout the game, with each having their own unique style of soldiers, abilities, and tactics. These include the True Sons, the Civilian Militia, the Hyenas, the Outcasts, the Black Tusks, and Rogue Division Agents.
PVP
The Division 2 will, of course, have PvP modes in place as well. There are the Dark Zones, of course (which we’ll get to in just a bit), but there’s also a more traditional PvP mode, called Conflict. At launch, this will consist of two modes- Domination (which will see teams capturing and defending objectives), and Skirmish (which is a regular team deathmatch mode). Ubisoft have said that they plan on adding more PvP modes after launch.
CAMPAIGN LENGTH
The Division 2 promises to have a meaty and lengthy campaign to dive into. Ubisoft have said that the main campaign will last players around 40 hours. Publishers and developers often have a tendency to bloat these numbers before a game’s launch, so we’re probably looking at something that’s closer to 30-35 hours- but still, that’s a lot.
ENDGAME
The campaign is hardly ever the point in co-op looters such as The Division, though. Once you see the credits roll, that’s when the game really begins. And Ubisoft are really planning to go all-out with The Division 2’s endgame content- at least based on what they’ve said so far. According to the developer, the endgame is going to be more of an extension of the campaign itself, and will have quite a lot of narrative reveals up its sleeve, most of which will come through the endgame faction called Black Tusks.
DARK ZONES
The divisive yet hugely popular PvPvE Dark Zone will be making a return in The Division 2, to no one’s surprise- and it’s going to be bigger than before. How? Well, because now, there are three Dark Zones in the map, placed in the East (Capital Station), West (Georgetown), and South (Waterfront) sections of the map. Each of these three Dark Zones has its own distinct environments, landmarks, visual looks, and challenges.
DARK ZONES- GOING ROGUE
PvP mechanics in Dark Zones are going to be overhauled in The Division 2, through the “Going Rogue” system. The Going Rogue system entails players going rogue against fellow Division agents in the Dark Zone, and is segmented into three separate tiers. Players fall into the first tier if they take non-lethal action against other players, into the second tier if they kill a fellow Division agent, and into the third tier if they kill various fellow Division agents. The bounty on the player’s head increases with each successive tier, encouraging other players to track them down and kill them.
DARK ZONES- CHECKPOINTS AND OCCUPATIONS
Dark Zones in The Division 2 also have checkpoints, with their entrances being manned by automatic turrets, which protect newcomers and low-level players against Rogue agents or other enemies. If you’re looking for something a little more cutthroat, however, the Occupied Dark Zones are probably going to be more to your liking- Occupied Dark Zones are the toughest areas in the games, with higher level enemies, no safety checkpoints, while player stats are also not normalized. These areas, as you can imagine, have higher rewards and higher level loot.
SPECIALIZATIONS
The Division 2 also introduces Specializations, which is an added level of progression in the endgame. Upon reaching level 30, players can select one out of three classes to continue their character and weapons progression. These three classes are- Sharpshooter (specializes in sniper rifles and long range combat), Demolitionist (grenade launcher specialists), and Survivalist (which specializes in using traps and stat effect attacks against enemies, and can use a crossbow).
RAIDS
Another significant addition being made by developers Ubisoft Massive to The Division 2’s post-campaign endgame content is raids. The game will allow players to tackle 8 player-raids, and the developers have also promised that the plan on continuing to add more raids to the game after it has launched.
YEAR ONE
Once The Division 2 has launched, Ubisoft plan on keeping the flow of content steady and healthy in a bid to keep players engaged. Multiple expansions are planned, while raids, new missions, new PvP modes, and more new content is also planned for launch within the game’s first year after release. What’s more, all of this content is also going to be free.
EPIC GAMES STORE EXCLUSIVITY
When The Division 2 launches on March 15th, if you’re planning on playing it on PC, you won’t be able to do so through Steam, since its one of many games that have recently abandoned Valve’s storefront to instead pledge exclusivity to the Epic Games Store. It won’t be fully exclusive, of course- you can still purchase it on Uplay.
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