It’s been a week since The Division, Ubisoft’s newest franchise, launched. We’re here to bring back what we’ve learned in New York City.
While some have already reached the game’s level cap and are exploring the Dark Zone, many aren’t quite there yet. Fellow fanatics, we’re here to give you a couple of pointers to help make your experience in New York City as enjoyable as possible while you progress to level 30.
Don’t Buy Gear
It sounds weird, especially if you’ve never played an MMO before, but trust me on this. You never, ever, ever want to buy gear in an online game, especially while you’re leveling up. Sure, it seems like a great idea to pick up that shiny new weapon when you’re earning “disposable” credits as you progress through missions. Here’s the catch, though. That weapon will be outdated before you know it. In fact, The Division seems to go out of its way to remind you when your equipment is outdated. Never fear, though, because there’s plenty of gear waiting to be looted by simply progression through the game’s missions.
In fact, speaking of those missions…
Story / Side Missions Are Your Best Bet For Easy Leveling
There’s a lot to do all throughout New York City. This isn’t exclusive to The Division; it’s natural for any open-world game to be filled with missions, tasks, and sights to see. If you’re looking to explore your heart out, then you’ll be right at home. For those that are aiming to stay focused in their leveling, though, a word of advice: stick to story missions and side missions.
At first, it’s hard to differentiate between the different types of missions within the game. For story missions, they’ll be recognizable by the large chunks of the map color coded (in line with the wing supplies they give out) that also offer match making. In essence, they’re the “dungeons” of The Division. Side missions are, literally side missions; that’s what they’re called and are marked by a teal-ish icon on the overhead map. They’re your best bet to continue gaining experience points as you continue to explore new areas in New York City as you’re waiting to be eligible for new story missions.
Keep Things Easy
If you’re like me, you’ll be tempted to do one of two things: perform The Division’s story modes alone, and/or do them on hard mode. After plenty of (painful) experience(s), I’m here to tell you to not do any of these. It’s flat out not worth it.
Matchmaking is simple, quick, and painless. You can access matchmaking for a story mission from the map. You can fast travel to your party at the start of the mission after its formed. It’s so easy, YouTube’s comments section can do it.
Seriously. Use matchmaking.
As for completing the missions on hard…sure that grants you better equipment, but as I eluded to earlier, equipment is quickly replaceable. Why spend 90+ minutes banging your head into a wall when you can breeze through a dungeon in 15-20? Again, it’s just not worth it.
Have Fun
This is the most important tip of the bunch. Look, you’re going to hear about people that rushed to max level and are enjoying what the game has to offer in terms of high-level content. That’s great for them, but if you’re enjoying taking your time and exploring every nook and cranny of New York City, then stick with that. The Division’s open world nature allows for this kind of freedom; it’s only natural you take advantage of it.
