The Division plays much like a standard third-person shooter, but has many elements of an MMO / RPG. Keep these things in mind during your first few play sessions...
One of the ways The Division differs from other RPGs is that instead of earning new skills and abilities by earning XP and leveling up, players unlock new abilities and perks by improving and expanding their Base of Operations.
This means that when you build a new wing of the Medical ward, you'll unlock a new healing skill (and potentially a new perk or two). Earning XPis valuable, however, as you can use better weapons and gear after reaching higher levels.
See our section on
Leveling Up for tips on how to reach
max level quickly!
Despite requiring an online connection, The Division can be played either entirely on your own or with a group of up to three friends. The difficulty of the game scales based on how many people are playing together, meaning that if you're playing as a Lone Wolf you'll have an easier experience than if you were in a full four-person fireteam.
When replaying a mission on Hard, the difficulty is increased considerably. It is advised that you bring at least one team member with you when replaying a mission on higher difficulty.
Remember that you can only be revivied if you have a partner and that there are no AI partners that you can have. Go down solo and you will have to restart from the checkpoint.
When you need to switch from cover fast you can aim your screen towards the cover and hold the A button. This lets you beeline for the cover and minimizes the time you are exposed to enemy fire.
If you are in a group, one person can use a LMG to suppress the enemy in their cover. This allows you to move up and flank them, attacking them at their sides.
When an enemy is suppressed they cannot peak above the cover and fire back allowing people to move around without fear of being shot at as long as some is still shooting in the enemy's cover.
If an enemy lobs a grenade in your direction, or you're suppressed by heavy fire, you can double-tap the Cover button to perform a dodge-roll to quickly evade incoming damage. This is particularly useful when moving across open spaces between cover.
Keep in mind though that, due to the fact you you have to press the Cover-button. You will automaticaly go towards a cover if you are close enough making it annoying for directing where you want to go.
In the general open world (not the Dark Zone), the weapons you see dropped will be different from those that your squad members find. Not only is the loot instanced, but each weapon has a randomly rolled set of stats and attributes.
The max level in The Division is Level 30 for PVE experience, and the max level in the Dark Zone is Rank 50. Use these tips to quickly increase your XP and DZ level.
Unfortunately, TCTD doesn't have "get-rich-quick" exploits that will allow you to level up quickly. However, there's a ton of opportunities to earn additional XP here and there, in addition to playing story and side missions. Here are some example activities to keep an eye out for while playing (or re-playing) the game:
- Replay missions on higher difficulties.
- Find and complete Side Missions
- Complete random encounters
- Locate ECHO sequences
The more you do, the more XP you'll earn. You can earn bonus XP by replaying missions on higher difficulty as well, so consider running each mission at least twice.
Your Dark Zone ranking will allow you access to better weapons, gear and resources both at vendors and when crafting. You can increase your DZ rank by killing enemies (and other rouge players), locating loot crates and completing objectives.
Keep in mind, however, that your DZ rank will go down if you die too often, so be careful about which enemies / players you choose to cross paths with.
There are several ways to score better loot once you reach a higher level in The Division, but here are some pointers for scoring good gear early on.
A few blocks south of your Base of Operations, near the corner of 8th and 24th is an alleyway between rows of apartment buildings. Make your way to the end of the alley and enter the contaminated building (marked with yellow hazard signs and sheeting).
This is also an encounter location, but more importantly each floor has rooms full of customization gear (hats, jackets, etc). There is also a lockpick door on the bottom floor containing a loot chest and some item packs.
After you've completed the available story missions for the first time, you can opt to replay them again on a higher difficulty. This results in more valuable mission rewards (typically a blue item or weapon, as opposed to the green one you'd receive for playing on Normal), and enemies that are more likely to drop better items.
Enemies will be more plentiful, deal more damage and have much greater HP than on normal. However, the end-mission "boss" will also drop a high-value item. To change a missions difficult, approach the starting area and enter the Mission Replay menu by pressing the Interaction button (pictured above).
While exploring the world and doing missions, players will occasionally come across a locked door that can only be opened with a lockpick. These rooms often have substantially better loot than players would regularly find out in the street.
Lock picks are dropped randomly by vanquished enemies, and can also be found in the loot satchels that are scattered around the map. If you're unsure whether or not you have any lockpicks, check the Pouches tab of your Inventory.
