After several hours in The Division 2, our author Tarek has identified his first personal highlight. However, it’s not the gameplay or the story, but the setting of Washington D.C. and its dynamic game world.
The Division 2 is a big deal. After several hours of gameplay, I’m still amazed at how much content the online shooter offers:
- large story campaign
- numerous side missions
- open-world activities
- a lot of other little things to do
Not to mention the PvP area Conflict and the Dark Zones, which I haven’t even touched yet. I’m saving those for the endgame, which is still ahead of me.
Currently, I’m level 19, and my biggest highlight from the abundance of content is neither the familiar gameplay from part 1 nor the rather fluctuating story. What impresses me most is how the developers have realized the setting. I want to explain to you why.
The new setting of Washington D.C.
The Division 2 takes place 7 months after The Division 1, shifting the setting from the snow-covered New York to the summer capital of the USA, Washington D.C.
This is where the headquarters of the Division and of course the government of the USA is located, but the capital is now in a civil-war-like state on the brink of collapse.
Civilians and factions are fighting for dominance, organized in their own settlements and strongholds.
The change of setting caused skepticism among many fans. Why summer? Why D.C.? The flair is lost! The atmosphere might suffer. And in any case, New York is much more exciting.
New York was both a strength and a weakness of part 1
While The Division 1 had a beautifully designed game world, I found it overall empty and offering little variety. This has less to do with the city itself, but rather with what was made of it. A million-person city just weeks after the outbreak of an apocalyptic virus, which is so deserted? Unbelievable.
Additionally, a lot of potential was left untapped. I would have loved to see more of NYC, Brooklyn, Queens, Central Park, all of that would have surely turned out cool.
I constantly walked through the streets of Manhattan and had to imagine what could have been if the setting had been implemented better.
The few civilians you met there just ran around aimlessly and offered hardly any interaction opportunities (except when I could occasionally get an AK-47 for granola bars).
- The setting was a significant strength in part 1 for me, due to the atmosphere and beautiful design.
- But at the same time, it was one of the biggest criticisms, as it felt very lifeless and sometimes like a facade.
The Division 2 does this better in almost all aspects.
D.C. gives me the feeling that it is alive
Now, Washington D.C. I had no specific expectations, but I was still optimistic. My knowledge of the city was limited to the series House of Cards and the usual things one sees in the news.
I decided to immerse myself in it and just hope that Massive makes the right adjustments. And in my opinion, they did.
In Washington, there’s something happening on every corner. When I head out for a story mission, I can count on coming across something interesting along the way.
The world is indeed dynamic
All around, enemies and allies are moving about, frequently engaging in battles. As a good Division agent, I obviously assist civilians and drive off the miscreants.
In return, it can happen that patrolling allies save my skin when I’m pressured by an enemy NPC team.
Even though the civilians are not the most capable fighters, they are definitely more competent than the JTF forces from New York, and even just the distraction can save agent lives.
At some point, I also got tired of the always same house canyons and find it great that you can simply change neighborhoods depending on your mood.
I also find it impressive how much emphasis Massive placed on wildlife. Foxes, raccoons, deer, cats, dogs, insects like dragonflies and bees – the world buzzes with life.
Surely this takes away a bit from the desperate apocalypse atmosphere. Personally, I like the “I Am Legend” feeling (a movie with an apocalyptic scenario that ironically takes place in New York) almost as much as the desolate mood of the predecessor. There’s still enough trash and corpses lying around to create an apocalyptic atmosphere.
My first impression of the setting is very good overall, and I’m glad that Massive made this change in setting.
For the future, I hope that Massive could possibly even introduce seasons. A snowy D.C. would surely reconcile many fans and would be an interesting twist. One can dream.
The setting is, for me – as of now – the biggest factor that positively distinguishes The Division 2 from its predecessor.
What do you think of the setting? How do you feel about the change?
Civilians are not only wandering in the game world, they also organize themselves independently in control points (which must first be conquered). I often observe civilians independently searching for resources.
I can even see on the map which routes they take. You can simply join them if you feel like it. This leads to new skirmishes.
All of this happens continuously throughout the entire game world, regardless of what you are currently doing.
Additionally, there are events like
- executions that can be prevented,
- supply drops in the form of dropped crates that can be captured or defended,
- important points with water and food sources that can be snatched from enemies
and many other activities you can engage in. There’s always something to do and someone to help. The world is indeed dynamic.
Exploration is finally worthwhile
A crucial point that The Division 2 improves upon significantly with the new setting is the exploration factor.
There’s loot everywhere in the game world in the form of materials, equipment, and weapons. You don’t even have to look for specific farming routes, as the abundance of loot is huge, no matter where you are.
You can debate how believable it is when containers are lying around everywhere. But personally, I don’t care at all. The amount of loot is an additional incentive to explore the world.
Materials in part 1 eventually just piled up for me, as crafting rarely made sense and had no other use.
The Division 2 offers a significantly larger selection of materials than its predecessor, and each has its purpose, whether for crafting or for projects that in turn support the settlements.
Overall, the city is much more accessible than New York, where you are almost exclusively restricted to the streets. Roofs, alleys, and interiors provide much greater freedom of movement when traversing the world.
Due to the exploration factor, I’m getting to know the city better and discovering cool places, observing new things repeatedly. Certainly, one has to wait and see how it looks after 100, 500, or 1000 hours. But so far, it all looks very promising, and I’m not even at the endgame yet, where there are supposed to be significant changes.
Washington offers significantly more variety
The developers have kept their promise. D.C. offers with its 6 regions a greater variety than New York. There’s significantly more nature between the typical urban areas.
This factor was almost entirely missing in part 1 and opens up new tactical possibilities, especially for someone like me, who prefers to play as a sniper.
At some point, I also got tired of the always same house canyons and find it great that you can simply change neighborhoods depending on your mood.
I also find it impressive how much emphasis Massive placed on wildlife. Foxes, raccoons, deer, cats, dogs, insects like dragonflies and bees – the world buzzes with life.
Surely this takes away a bit from the desperate apocalypse atmosphere. Personally, I like the “I Am Legend” feeling (a movie with an apocalyptic scenario that ironically takes place in New York) almost as much as the desolate mood of the predecessor. There’s still enough trash and corpses lying around to create an apocalyptic atmosphere.
My first impression of the setting is very good overall, and I’m glad that Massive made this change in setting.
For the future, I hope that Massive could possibly even introduce seasons. A snowy D.C. would surely reconcile many fans and would be an interesting twist. One can dream.
The setting is, for me – as of now – the biggest factor that positively distinguishes The Division 2 from its predecessor.
What do you think of the setting? How do you feel about the change?
