The release of The Division 2 on March 15, 2019 is near. Therefore, we summarize the biggest differences to its predecessor The Division 1 for you.
What is new in The Division 2? The Division 2 will do some things differently than The Division 1. In every aspect of the game, there are innovations and adjustments.
The Division 2 vs. The Division 1
What are the biggest differences between The Division 1 and 2? Here’s an overview:
- A new setting with Washington D.C.
- Armor bars and armor kits for players
- Control points, civilians & Division vs. hostile factions
- Brand sets and new gear sets for build diversity
- Specializations with their own skill trees in the endgame
- The Division 2 will have 8-player raids
- DLC expansions will be free
- 3 Dark Zones instead of one
- PvP will be available from the start
- In the endgame, the game will be upended by a new faction
The new setting of The Division 2
This is how it was in The Division 1: In The Division 1, the story began around the virus in New York. The green poison broke out on a Black Friday in November. Therefore, the story of the first part takes place in snowy Manhattan.
While New York’s Manhattan consists almost entirely of large building blocks, which are still quite close to each other, Washington is significantly more expansive and has more nature to offer, as Central Park in The Division 1 was not accessible.
This is new in The Division 2: In The Division 2, the story takes place in the fallen capital of the USA, Washington D.C. Thus, the eternal winter comes to an end. The story takes place 7 months after the first part, so it is now summer.
Washington D.C. has a milder climate and is relatively smaller compared to other major cities in the USA, with less than 700,000 inhabitants. D.C. is built on a former swamp and has a warmer climate. All these factors were taken into account by the developers; Washington’s open world is supposed to become a kind of main character of the game.
How does this affect gameplay? Due to the more expansive areas and the changed geography, there will be significant changes in gameplay. It is more horizontally oriented, as there are not tall buildings everywhere. Moreover, there are more obstacles in the environment such as trees, denser vegetation, and damage to roads and buildings.
This offers additional tactical options for you, but also for your enemies. Where narrow alleys previously influenced the course of action, flank attacks can now be launched. Enemies will try more often to encircle players.
Visually, a lot will change as well. In summer, agents no longer need winter clothing. This will allow for many different outfits.
Cover shooter thanks to armor bars
This is how it was in The Division 1: Players only have a health bar. However, they can pull out a medkit at any time, which works immediately and restores a substantial amount of health points. There’s also the first aid skill, which can also restore health points immediately.
This is new in The Division 2: You have armor in addition to your health display. As long as it is not destroyed, it protects you from incoming damage. With an empty bar, your armor is destroyed. You have to restore it with parts, similar to a medkit.
However, this takes a short time and has its own animation. During this time, you are vulnerable to attacks.
How does this affect gameplay? Due to the necessary repairs, players who have taken a lot of damage must first seek safe cover. Prior to this, it is hardly possible to repair the armor.
The days are over when one could simply rush at enemies and quickly pull out a medkit when needed to replenish health points within a second. Especially in PvP, this could change the dynamics. Until now, fights where players openly charged at each other without seeking cover were the norm.
Now you cannot just rely on fast healing but must seek cover to avoid dying.
Factions and civilians play a bigger role
This is how it was in The Division 1: Although there were several factions, including the Cleaners, Rikers, looters, and the Last Man Battalion, their role was mainly limited to the campaign; their influence on the game is rather gameplay-related. They are simply different enemy types that you fight in missions.
This is new in The Division 2: The enemy factions are constantly in conflict with civilians in Washington, D.C. The True Sons are one of these brutal factions that have already been introduced.
As agents, players are meant to actively intervene in these conflicts. There are several control points in the game world that are constantly contested. You can either capture them for the civilians or defend them against attacks.
How does this affect gameplay? Developer Massive describes this system as a kind of meta-game that runs continuously in the background. Sometimes civilians control these points, sometimes hostile factions.
As agents, players can actively influence this and assist civilians in the conquest of these control points. This should be possible at all times and function independently of other activities.
This feature could make the game world feel more alive than it was in the predecessor. The people truly live in the city and struggle for their survival.
Brand and Gear Sets – it’s all about loot
The many changes to equipment allow for even more possibilities in building in The Division 2. Specializations and brand sets give you better opportunities to optimize your playstyle. Thus, you have more freedom than in The Division 1.
This is how it was in The Division 1: Loot in the first part was rather classic. There was equipment with various rarity levels. The system remains intact in its fundamentals.
While there were gear sets that allowed some cool builds thanks to their bonuses, players mostly used the same sets and build options, and variety was rare.
This is new in The Division 2: The basic principle has not changed. You can still find equipment with different rarity levels and continuously improve yourself.
However, the new brand sets come into play now. Almost every piece of equipment has a brand or marker. This brand partially determines which bonuses the piece of equipment provides.
A specific brand can, for example, increase the damage for assault rifles, while another increases it for precision rifles.
If you wear multiple pieces with the same brand, you unlock additional bonuses, similar to the regular gear sets that will also return in The Division 2.
So you can build targeted builds that match your playstyle, but also combine different brands. For each brand, a maximum of 3 bonuses can be activated. Since there are 6 equipment slots, you can utilize, for example, 2 brands fully.
The gear sets have also been revised. While in the predecessor you could combine 2-6 pieces to unlock 1-5 set bonuses, in The Division 2 you must equip 6 pieces to unlock the special ability of the new gear sets.
How does this affect gameplay? Combinations of multiple gear sets are no longer possible; you must choose one and find 6 pieces of it first. Gear sets can also have brands, which allows for even more optimization.
At first glance, this seems to limit the possibilities. However, with brand sets, you can already actively influence what bonuses you want to enhance, regardless of the gear set. A direct comparison of the systems can only be made once the game is released and all gear sets are known.
But not only equipment determines your playstyle. In The Division 2, there are the new specializations. They expand your repertoire of weapons and skills.
This is new in The Division 2: In the endgame of The Division 2, there are 3 specializations, each with a so-called unique weapon. They replace the super attacks that existed in the first part. Each of the weapons brings a different element and is suitable for different situations.
You unlock specializations when you reach level 30. Three have been introduced to us so far:
- Survival Specialist (Crossbow)
- Destruction Expert (Grenade Launcher)
- Sharpshooter (Caliber .50 Precision Rifle)
Each of these specializations represents its own progression tree that can be further expanded. This allows you to unlock specific skill variants.
You can switch between the specializations at will and upgrade all to the maximum.
How does this affect gameplay? By combining specializations, brand and gear sets, one can only imagine how vast the selection of options for optimizing your character is.
While specializations determine your character’s basic playstyle, you can use gear and brand sets to additionally optimize your builds and adapt them to your preferred weapons and skills.
In the future, even more specializations are planned. However, there is no information about that yet. Fans speculate about a minigun as a unique weapon that could be part of a new specialization.
There will be real raid activities for 8 players
This is how it was in The Division 1: Raids were already a major wish of fans in The Division 1. With incursions, there was a slimmed-down raid version. However, these were merely larger missions with minimal different mechanics compared to regular campaign missions.
Thus, the desire for real raids among fans still exists. In The Division 2, this wish is fulfilled.
This is new in The Division 2: After the release of The Division 2, an 8-player raid named “Operation: Dark Hours” will come. Here’s what is known so far:
- The setting of the raid will likely be the Washington Ronald Reagan International Airport, a huge airport.
- The raid is supposed to really challenge you
- and apparently resembles raids in classic MMORPGs.
- It will be released for free shortly after launch, as part of the roadmap for the first year.
- No exact date is known.
Later, additional raids are planned.
How does this affect gameplay? Large-scale raids for 8 players could become interesting. Previously, only in The Division 1 were there such large groups of players in PvP mode Last Stand.
According to the developers, the raids will differ significantly from everything played previously in The Division. Exploration will likely be a central factor, and progression should be one of the main tasks.
Through raids, hardcore players can be motivated with cool rewards. Such a challenge was missed by many fans of the predecessor.
DLCs will be free
This is how it was in The Division 1: DLCs in the first part were paid. There were a total of three:
- Underground
- Survival
- Last Stand
All DLCs introduced different PvE and PvP modes to the game. However, they could consequently only be played by DLC owners. Therefore, The Division 2 has different plans.
This is new in The Division 2: Expansions of the main game will not be paid. The developers stated that they do not want to splinter the community with paid content.
The DLCs of the predecessor had some fans, but are considered a flop by developer Massive. A total of three major expansions are supposed to come in the first year.
What’s coming in the first year of The Division 2? In a trailer, the contents of the first year were presented:
- Tidal Basin – A fortress of the Black Tusk, the endgame faction of The Division 2
- Operation Dark Hours – the first raid of The Division 2
- The 3 DLC episodes of year 1
- Episode 1 “Outskirts of D.C.” (Summer 2019)
- Episode 2 “Pentagon – The Last Castle” (Fall 2019)
- Episode 3 (Winter 2019)
- Each episode brings a new specialization including a unique weapon.
You can also watch all Year 1 content in the official trailer:
This does not mean that players cannot spend real money. Like in the predecessor, there will again be a premium shop where you can buy cosmetic items. Additionally, there will be a season pass.
What’s included: Anyone who buys this pass with the corresponding edition gets early access to upcoming DLCs. Besides, there are contents that are mainly cosmetic in nature. However, the season pass also has something for story fans.
What bonuses are included in which edition and which pre-order contents are available can be found on our site.
How does this affect gameplay? It is certain that every player has access to these DLCs. Thus, you do not have to worry about not finding players for DLC activities.
This is an increasing problem in The Division 1, as the player count continues to decrease as the game ages. It is hardly possible to play a round of Survival since no session forms.
Story continuations as well as map expansions have already been announced for the DLCs. Thus, it is likely that there will be no content drought.
Washington D.C. has 3 new Dark Zones
This is how it was in The Division 1: In New York City, there is a single, large, contiguous Dark Zone. It stretches from the center of Manhattan to Central Park.
In a total of 9 zones, up to 24 players can loot in PvE or hunt other players. The principle remains the same in The Division 2, but there are some changes.
This is new in The Division 2: In Washington D.C., there are a total of 3 Dark Zones located in the west, south, and east. Each of these Dark Zones differs in size and design.
How does this affect gameplay? At the moment, it’s hard to say. During the private and open beta, a visit to the eastern Dark Zone was possible.
Compared to The Division 1, the areas are significantly more open, with fewer building canyons and narrow alleys. Just that has already strong impacts.
The changes of the new Dark Zones:
- 12 instead of 24 players per server: This is due to the size of the individual zones. Individually, they are smaller than the Dark Zone in The Division 1
- New rogue status: There is now another rogue status where players do not have to act aggressively against others. This status has a countdown that can be increased by hacking terminals or cracking loot crates. If you reach the limit, a secret safe house for rogues becomes accessible.
- Equipment is normalized: To enable a fair PvP experience, equipment in the Dark Zones is adjusted. Your gear is still important; only the individual values are raised to the maximum for everyone.
The biggest innovations are showcased in our special:
PvP is included from the start with Conflict
This is how it was in The Division 1: Pure PvP outside the Dark Zone was only introduced in The Division 1 much later with the Last Stand DLC, which was released almost a year after launch.
Later, Skirmish followed, a team deathmatch mode where 4 could compete against 4.
The maps vary in size and are locations that can be found in the open game world.
This is new in The Division 2: With Conflict, The Division 2 will have 2 PvP modes available at the start:
- Skirmish: A classic team deathmatch, 4 vs. 4
- Domination: In Domination, the goal is to capture and hold 3 points. Here too, 4 will compete against 4.
As in the Dark Zone, equipment is normalized so that players are on the same level, and their skills are more important than a strong build.
Unlike the first part, the maps of the PvP modes are specially designed for this purpose and are not just fragments of the actual open world.
Finishing the story is not the end
This is how it was in The Division 1: Once you finished the story in The Division 1, that was it with story content. While you could still find audio logs and other collectibles that delivered a story snippet.
However, the actual story was not continued, not even with the DLCs.
This is new in The Division 2: In addition to the announced story episodes, which will only come after the release, The Division 2 also already has story elements in the endgame.
Once you finish the story, the new faction Black Tusk appears. This group is highly trained and possesses advanced combat technology.
After the campaign, they appear in Washington D.C. and significantly disrupt the power struggle between factions and civilians.
- They will take control points in the open world,
- actively fight against you and other factions
- and also appear in special invaded missions within the story missions.
The story does not conclude with the end of the main campaign because Black Tusk also ushers in a new chapter in the story. Thus, the story in the endgame is not over.
