The release date of The Division 2 is known for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Division 2 also received a gameplay trailer at E3 featuring some scenes. This is what the trailer reveals about the game.
Leak was correct: As speculated beforehand, Microsoft presented the first gameplay trailer for the online shooter The Division 2 at the E3 press conference. The city where the sequel will take place was already known. An E3 banner revealed Washington D.C as the setting for The Division 2 and showcased a few new weapons like crossbows and grenade launchers.
Washington, Civil War, Summer: All of this has been confirmed. The Division 2 will take place 6 months after The Division 1, specifically in Washington, DC, during the summer. A civil war looms.
Release next spring: The Division 2 is set to release on March 15, 2019. And there will be a beta for The Division 2 that you can sign up for now.
This is what the first gameplay trailer of The Division 2 shows
What can be seen in the trailer? In the trailer, a team of Division agents is searching for resources in the crumbling ruins of Washington D.C. Along the way, they encounter civilians asking for medicine for the sick. Whether this means we will be able to interact more with the local population in the future remains to be seen.
While searching, the agents move through an area near the Capitol and encounter a hostile group. We do not know what faction this is.
Notable are the increased physics elements. More destructible elements and additional effects appear more realistic than in the predecessor.
Information from interface, map, and game world
Smart players have already been able to discover additional details in gameplay on Mein-MMO and reddit. Capitol Hill, East Mall (Level 30-32), Southwest Mall, Judiciary Square, Union Station, Federal Triangle (Level 3-9), Downtown East, Penn Quarter, White House, West Mall, and 4 other areas left of the White House are shown throughout the trailer.
The map interface is also different. A function called “call for backup” can be seen. This innovation is reminiscent of the emergency signal beacons found in Monster Hunter: World.
A list of the currently confirmed, important locations in Washington:
- US Capitol,
- National Archives, or the Museum,
- the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
- and the Smithsonian American History Museum,
- and the White House must not be missed.
New faction “True Sons” – more likely
Information about the shown enemy faction: The enemies we meet in the trailer are apparently called the “True Sons”. They seem to have access to military equipment and control parts of the city. According to the displayed mission data, they also possess some other resources such as drinking water and food.
Also visible: “Theater Restoration” points. These may be needed for our new operations base. In the predecessor, you could upgrade these using points earned in missions. However, these were split into electronics, firearm, and stamina branches. A hint at a changed upgrade system?
More factions likely: Based on the gameplay, parts of the city can be controlled by more than one faction. A clear indication of further hostile groups. It’s not a big surprise, but still important.
Changes to RPG elements
Much anticipation surrounds the changes to the agents’ skills, specialization, and equipment. The gameplay already provides some insights.
Weapon talents are back: During the combat, we get a look at the weapons the player uses in the demo. The equipped purple weapon has one less weapon talent than before, named: “Pyromaniac”. Free translation of this talent indicates that it has the effect: “Damage against burning enemies is increased by 15%. Requirement: Over 10% weapon damage.” This strongly resembles the exotic talent of the Urban MDR.
What do the 10% weapon damage required by the talent mean? Apparently, changes have been made to the primary attributes system. Previously, firearm, stamina, and electronics values were crucial for unlocking weapon talents.
Also visible in the menu: An armor bar seems to also be present for agents in the game. This was previously reserved only for NPCs. There is also a menu item labeled “Specialisations”. Could there possibly be fixed classes?
Matching this: Despite having 2 primary weapons, the player uses a grenade launcher. Is this secondary weapon possibly dependent on the “Specialisation”?
This time from the start: Loadouts will also be available in The Division 2. In the predecessor, it took until Patch 1.6.1 for these to find their way to Manhattan.
The Division 2 finally with clan feature?
New social features: Also interesting are additional points from the menu. Besides the usual “Friends online” display, there is now also a “Members online” variant. Additionally, there is a sort of personalized banner. Are we finally going to get a clan feature? At least, we also see an “[ETF]” next to the agent names in the demo.
This likely stands for “Elite Task Force”, named after the group that dealt with the problems of The Division in the first part. The ETF consisted of community members and developers.
Surely more information will be announced at the Ubisoft E3 conference. We are looking forward to it!
All information on The Division 2:
- Releases on March 15, 2019, beta will come
- Takes place in Washington D.C, 7 months after the predecessor, in summer
- Washington likely in a civil war, many known locations part of the game world
- First known enemy faction “True Sons”, paramilitary organization
- Other factions still unknown, but likely
- Likely again with upgrades for the operations base
- Changes to RPG elements, weapon talents, “Specialisations”, armor bar for players
- New inventory system and menu, new social features
- New skill, the “Chem-Launcher”, plus new weapons like the crossbow or grenade launcher
- Parts of the environment likely destructible, generally apparently better physics effects
We will keep you updated.
