In The Division, the Urban MDR has been considered the best weapon in the game since Update 1.6. What makes the weapon stand out and where can you find it?
The Urban MDR is an exotic assault rifle with an exciting history: It first appeared during E3 2016, initially known as “B.L.I.N.D. System Battle Rifle”. It raised the agents’ expectations that unique weapons tailored to gear sets would soon be introduced to the game.
However, nothing came of it. Update 1.3 did not bring a B.L.I.N.D. weapon. Then it went silent for a long time. When Update 1.4 deleted the B.L.I.N.D. set and replaced it with Banshee, many lost hope that this assault rifle would ever come. But with Update 1.5, the weapon suddenly appeared in the game – albeit with a new name: Urban MDR.
Urban MDR – First Unimpressive, Then Impressive
Initially, the weapon was barely usable. While it had interesting properties, it could not compete with the best weapons.
Two features distinguish (and continue to distinguish) the Urban MDR:
- It is an assault rifle that fires semi-automatically. This means that you cannot hold the trigger down to fire multiple shots in succession; instead, you must press the button repeatedly. Similar to a precision rifle.
- It comes with the unique talent “Distracted”: Damage is increased by 10% (now 18%) against enemies suffering from status effects.
It already enabled an interesting playstyle in 1.5. Agents combined it with FireCrest or AlphaBridge. However, the base stats were simply too poor. It could not establish itself, as a look at a graphic by WOBO shows:
With Update 1.6, the Urban MDR was heavily buffed. It took a substantial increase from the damage pool, raising the base damage by 65%. Additionally, the talent now increases damage by 18%. Consequently, the stats of the Urban MDR far surpass those of other assault rifles:
This makes the Urban MDR the best weapon in PvE as well as PvP in The Division 1.6 – at least in terms of stats.
Finding Urban MDR – Locations
You can get the Urban MDR through several sources, but you must always rely on luck. It can be obtained from Survival containers, Operational Performance containers, or Weekly Assignment containers. However, it can also drop from other sources where you can get exotic weapons.
But: The Urban MDR is not everyone’s assault rifle. If you prefer to play with automatic weapons, it is not for you. Instead, opt for an LVOA-C, which is also strong in 1.6. Nevertheless, some agents report that it is definitely fun to play with this weapon. “This thing is a beast”, says a Reddit user. Quick, precise kills at long range are hardly possible: The crosshair opens too wide when shooting.
Are you playing with the Urban MDR? What do you think of it?
You can find the talents of all exotic weapons in The Division here.
