“itreallydependsonyourplaystyle.The
automatedturretalsohelpswithcrowd
control,havingtheenemiesfocusonthat
andgivingyousomespace.”Themain
thingis pickingstuffthathelpsyou,as
wellasbeingfun.“There’soneI reallylove
whichis thechemlauncherwhichwehad
in theE3demo.It firesa canisterofgas
andwheneveranenemystepsin it you
justshoota bulletin andit willignitethe
entirearea.That’soneofmyfavourites.”COLLECTGEARBRANDSETS
FORA BONUS
TheDivision2 is fullofgear,fromhatstotrousers, knee pads to gloves. As much
for protection as looks, and this time
it’s all branded. It’s not just labels either,
as collecting sets can give you a boost.
“Regarding the gear, we’ve introduced
brand sets so every piece has a brand,”
says El Zibaoui. “If you accumulate gears
of the same brand they will unlock talents.
When you get two gear items with the
same brand you will unlock a talent, three
will unlock a stronger talent.”WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO PLAY
AS A TEAM?
Like what items or gear you chose in-game,
how to play as a team will depend on what
you and your friends prefer. Whatever
that is, it will help if you pick things that
complement each other. “I think you will
want to pick up a skill that will allow you to
heal you and your teammates so you can
have one guy focus on that,” suggests El
Zibaoui for this The Division 2 tip. Mixing
up things like firepower and distance is also
important: “maybe play as a sniper so you
can have some range.”
Out on the streets of The Division 2
you’ll find control points that are basically
barricaded spots on the road. These are “a
very good activity,” according to El Zibaoui.
“You can approach it from any direction
[and] it’s an interesting challenge where
it ends up with reinforcements with
enemies a bit tougher than the others.
You can also call in civilian reinforcements
and it really creates a dynamic combat
moment.” However, as well as being
fun there are also “great rewards from
those activities.”IT’S EASIER TO GET LOOTFROM
THE DARK ZONE NOW
In the previous zone theDarkZonewas
a place to fear as you couldfighthardto
get a great piece of gear then lose it all in
a clash with other players. This time things
are a little less dangerous. “You won’t risk
anything the first time as there’s a story
introduction mission,” says El Zibaoui.
However, a big The Division 2 tip here that
now there’s also now loot you can send
straight to inventory and keep without
extraction. “In the first game you were
looting contaminated loot and you had
to extract it so there was a big risk and
reward ratio, and sometimes you could
lose everything. Now we’ve introduced
direct to inventory loot so it no longer
needs extraction. Of course the loot you
extract will be better, but you have a more
accessible experience that just goes to
you inventory so even if you die you can
keep it.”THE DARK ZONE ROGUE SYSTEM
HAS CHANGED A LOT
One of the more interesting elements of
the Dark Zone in the first game was the
ability to go ‘Rogue’, effectively killing
other agents for gear. You could get
great loot but also mark yourself as a
target to every other person in the Dark
Zone. This time the Rogue system has
“added more granularity,” according to El
Zibaoui. “We’ve introduced the notion of
greed and theft,” he explains. “You have
the lower Gray Rogue level where you
have the option to steal loot that will take
you into that first leve: so there will be a
bounty on you but maybe [it] won’t create
a big incentive for other players to shoot
you because then they might turn to the
first level of [full] Rogue, which is the
disavowed level.”IF YOU DO GO FULL ROGUE,
PLAY FOR KEEPS
The Division 2’s Rogue system’s core
escalation is killing another player/agent.
When that happens you can get great
loot, but also a timed bounty on your
head meaning you’ll really need to fight to
keep it. “You need to try and escape other
players during that time because if they
kill you they will get the bounty and extra
rewards,” says El Zibaoui. However, if you
think you can survive you can make things
worse/better in search of better loot. “If
you keep on killing players you will reach
the manhunt status which his the biggest
risk reward situation,” says El Zibaoui. “To
get out of a manhunt you have to interact
with Division terminals that are spread in
the Dark Zones. There are three of them.
You have the choice when you reach one
to trigger it and stop the manhunt [and]
you will get the rewards accordingly. But
you can chose to disable the terminal so
you have two left, increasing your reward
but reducing the choke points for players
to come at you. The more you take risks
the bigger the reward.Enemies have
armour now so
focus your shots.Collect gear brand
sets for a bonus.ADVICE
What’s the best way
to play as a team?
If you do go full
Rogue, play for
keeps.