In The Division, the raid “Clear Sky” is available on Challenging. We provide you with a guide full of tips and tricks on how to successfully complete this mission.
With a delay, the developers finally unlocked the new difficulty level of “Clear Sky” on June 9th. Many brave agents immediately faced the Rikers at level 34 and found out: The “overwhelming” challenge promised by Massive is not the case.
The developers mentioned in the livestream that agents would initially struggle and probably have to return to Hard Mode to develop and test strategies. One has to approach the Challenge Mode completely differently.
As numerous videos and posts from agents show: “Clear Sky” on Challenging is not that tough after all. This raid is a welcome challenge, but not to the extent one would expect based on the developers’ statements.
How to Master the Challenge Mode of “Clear Sky”
“Clear Sky” in the Challenge Mode is definitely doable and not an impossible task – if you have a well-coordinated team. How can you tackle this mission?
The YouTubers Skill Up and MarcoStyle have successfully completed “Clear Sky” on Challenging together. In the video, they present how they accomplished this feat:
Focus on a Balanced Team
Important requirement: You need a balanced, preferably also well-coordinated squad. Utilize various builds and proceed in an organized manner. Four agents are recommended – although some agents may currently also try to complete the raid solo in CM.
All your builds should come with high toughness values; otherwise, you’ll be forced down too quickly. For example, MarcoStyle went in with this build with over 500k toughness. Therefore, he was able to act as the defender.
All agents rely on the ability First Aid (to heal themselves and each other), one agent on the Support Station, two agents on Tactical Link, and one has the Seeker Mine with gas charge.
Overall, you need:
- At least one player with extremely high toughness.
- Two players focusing on skill power.
- One “flexible” player who focuses more on firearms.
Essentially, no “special over builds” are needed – a good mix works.
In the gear sets utilized in this team, one agent uses four parts of the Tactician’s Authority for more skill power, and another agent has created a “Guardian” build. These can make the battle against the Rikers easier for you. However, they are not essential: You can also rely on other gear sets that suit you well.
How to Proceed
The Challenge Mode of “Clear Sky” generally runs like the Hard Mode. It consists of three phases at two different locations.
- On the way to Columbus Circle, you can take out the Rikers “nice and easy” and proceed just like in Hard Mode to set the explosives. For example, an agent from the background can take the enemies into his sights with the sniper while the others fire with submachine guns at the front line. This phase should not cause major problems.
- Then you enter the area where the rest of the raid takes place: Columbus Circle. The following sketch from Arekkz shows you the main landmarks.
- Start in Challenge Mode on the left side. There is a cover option labeled “Rikers Law”. Here you can barricade yourself for most of the raid. You should not often be without protection, as the level 34 enemies hit hard. Ensure that the Tactical Link is always active.
- Now clear a large portion of the enemies. Once the way is somewhat clear, your “tanky” agent should head over and grab the fuse on the left side. Keep in mind the Survivor Link. The other agents shoot from cover with First Aid on the carrier and take out the approaching enemies on the side. Communicate effectively so that no healing skill is wasted.
- After that, the same procedure takes place on the right side. Accompany your tank there, heal him, make use of the Survivor Link, and provide him with cover.
- Now comes the most difficult part of “Clear Sky” in Challenge Mode: The boss appears and brings a multitude of enemies with him.
- Take cover again on the left side near the small house and try to survive. Many tough enemies want to overwhelm you. Inflict as much damage as you can and do not forget your skills in the process.
- There, wait in the heated battle until the boss is nearby. You need to make him “dance” so that he drops his shield and you can deal full damage. Fire is effective and shots at his backpack.
- Once the boss is down, you must take out the remaining enemies. Only then is “Clear Sky” complete, and you will receive the rewards.
Note: “Clear Sky” in Challenge Mode is not a walk in the park. Especially in the last phase, you must bring all your survival skills to action. It is not impossible – but by no means easy.
Update: Schorri TV shows you in the following video a clever way to easily master the second and third phases of the raid:
In this guide, we have created a step-by-step guide for “Clear Sky” in Hard Mode.
