The Division 2 is one of Massive Entertainment’s most successful titles, and on March 3rd they’ll be releasing a massive expansion — Warlords of New York. The update will completely overhaul gear and introduce a host of new enemies, most notably The Division’s Aaron Keener.
Right now you can pick up The Division 2 for only $4 on the Ubisoft store. This move is, obviously, to hook new players before the launch of the expansion. New players to the game may be overwhelmed by all there is to do in Washington, but - luckily - there’s not much you need to prepare for before most of your gear becomes obsolete.
First off you’ll need to complete the base game’s campaign and get to the current level cap of 30. Players can easily grind through the story in about 20 hours — less if you skip all the cut-scenes. You can bypass all the side missions too, as you’ll be playing them plenty in the end game, and stick to the main story missions. You may need to hit a control point or two to level match the next mission, but The Divsion 2 will allow you to matchmake when you’re 2 levels under the recommended mission level. Playing with a friend will help you clear missions even quicker and boost your XP.
Anyone who’s been playing The Division since it’s initial release knows that it’s all about the gear. Gear Scores (GS) have been the true way to signify your power to other players. The official Warlords of New York page seems to hint at the fact that Gear Scores will be done away with in the expansion, so just focus on equipping the most powerful gear you can so you can get to World Tier 5 as quickly as possible. This can be done by having a GS500 player join you in lower tiers so enemies drop higher loot, allowing you to jump tiers in a matter of hours.
While Gear Scores may not matter as much going forward, Specializations will! Once you hit level 30 you’ll notice your entire map change and you’ll be prompted with the introduction of Specializations. Specializations are powerful weapons that require “Skill Points” for added perks for your division agent. They range from snipers to explosives and fire. This is all based on preference, but we recommend playing any missions that give you ‘Specialization Points’ to help boost your power.
Division 2 is as grindy a looter-shooter as you can get, but it’s one of the most entertaining games on the market today. Obviously you can play at your own pace and level up in whatever way matches your play-style… but if you don’t want to put in 20+ hours to prepare for the expansion, you can just purchase a level 30 boost from the store that will max all of your specializations and give you a gear score of 500. We’d still recommend you hone your skills and build though, otherwise your going to get kicked out of every group you join. Division players take their missions very seriously.
