On March 15, The Division 2 will be released, and some interested players might consider purchasing the predecessor beforehand. Our author Tarek explains why starting in The Division is still worth it for beginners.
Starting with The Division 1 just two months before the release of The Division 2? This question might be on the minds of some players right now. It’s hard to finish such a massive game in such a short time.
Is it still worth taking a detour to the snowy New York? I think so. The Division offers an extensive campaign and additional content that can provide many hours of entertainment.
The campaign alone is an argument
The extensive story campaign of The Division can take between 15 to 30 hours of gameplay, depending on how much time you spend on side missions.
What the story is about: In New York, a deadly virus broke out on Black Friday, the “green poison.” This virus has plunged the city, and even the entire world, into chaos through extremely rapid spread.
The streets of Manhattan are lined with corpses, looters and other malevolent factions roam the city, taking advantage of the situation. In the midst of the chaos, the Division operates, a special unit of sleeper agents specifically trained for such a scenario. The aim is to restore order and find out who released this deadly virus.
Here’s why it’s worth playing the campaign of The Division 1: The Division 1 and 2 are story-wise connected. The events of the second part take place about seven months after the story of the first part in Washington D.C.
In terms of quality, the story in its presentation may not match other games, but the campaign impresses with diverse missions scattered throughout Manhattan. Different enemy types and interesting locations make the missions continuously entertaining. It’s really fun when you also have friends to play with.
Are there also story elements outside of the campaign? Yes, and through these elements, the atmosphere of The Division unfolds its effect. In the city, you can find audio logs recorded by the residents of New York everywhere. Some are also from enemy faction members, helpers like police officers, and missing Division agents.
These audio logs provide a direct insight into the struggle for survival and the tragic stories of the people, giving a sense of the threatening situation in New York. Additionally, there is useful information about characters and events that took place before the campaign. Thus, The Division has created a detailed backstory.
After the campaign, it really begins
The Division is a massive game. There is plenty to do for both single players and multiplayer after the main campaign. If you start with The Division 1 now, you will need to invest a lot of time to reach the endgame by the release of the second part. It is almost impossible to do everything.
Nevertheless, I would like to briefly list what The Division has to offer in the endgame.
Loot System
As in many classic RPGs, The Division features equipment with rarity levels, which are defined by different colors. From standard to exotic gear, collectors will definitely be satisfied.
There are entire gear sets where you unlock more bonuses the more pieces you wear from one set. Particularly rare are the secret gear sets that have up to 6 bonuses.
The Dark Zone
The Dark Zone is the flagship of The Division and is a separate instance with several servers, accommodating up to 24 players per instance. It mixes PvE and PvP, so you can attack other players or be attacked yourself.
You need to secure and extract the loot you find there. Other players can contest it during that time. Or you can hunt down the loot of other players. The Dark Zone is unpredictable.
Incursions
These are larger missions or “mini-raids” designed to challenge players significantly. Unfortunately, not all four incursions are available for free; some can only be unlocked through DLCs.
Resistance Mode
[Resistance is a kind of horde mode] where you can fight your way through an area to obtain ammunition, loot, and other resources. Waves of increasingly tough opponents will attack you.
PvP Modes
Besides the Dark Zone, players can compete in Last Stand and Skirmish. While Last Stand is part of a DLC, Skirmish is available for all.
Legendary Missions
Part of the endgame of The Division is replaying story missions. Some have the legendary difficulty level. Here, the enemies are particularly strong and behave differently than usual. Our guide shows you how to complete the legendary missions.
Underground
In randomly generated areas, you can fight through multiple sections beneath the streets of New York. You can also encounter the infamous Hunters in the Underground since patch 1.8, a particularly mysterious and vicious faction.
Survival
In this survival mode, you must fight your way from the edge of the map to the Dark Zone without equipment. Along the way, you’ll encounter tougher enemies but also find better gear. Hunger, thirst, and a progressing illness make life difficult, and you are constantly under time pressure. Here are some tips and tricks for the survival mode.
Survival gives players the choice of whether to choose a PvP server or prefer to do pure PvE survival without the threat of other players.
Downside due to DLCs: As mentioned above, some activities require the purchase of the three available DLCs: Underground, Survival, and Last Stand. This can be a downside for some players. For The Division 2, developer Massive wants to avoid such issues and will bring all DLC expansions of the first year for free.
Are there enough players on the servers? The Division still has an active community. Player numbers have naturally declined since it has been out for almost three years and The Division 2 is on the horizon. Nevertheless, you should find enough players for most activities. The Division has held up well, which even surprised the developers.
However, there are problems with the Survival mode. Here, you may often have to wait longer for other players.
Is it worth starting?
It really depends on your own desires. If you’re looking for a game that is fun and offers a campaign you can play with friends, you will likely have a good time with The Division.
If you are planning to purchase The Division 2, you also have the opportunity to become familiar with the mechanics in advance. Although The Division 2 will differ in many points from the first part, the core gameplay remains intact in many aspects. Thus, you can hardly prepare better than having played the first part.
Additionally, there are the 12 Shields with which you can unlock rewards for the second part by completing tasks in The Division 1.
The simplest answer is: You can’t go wrong with The Division. The Gold Edition, which includes all DLCs, is regularly on sale. So keep an eye out, as it rarely gets cheaper.
If you want to learn more about the endgame of The Division, our guide contains everything you should know.
