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29 November 2018

Intelligence Annex: The Division 2 Skills

Agents!

Welcome to the third Intelligence Annex—our series of detailed development blogs covering all aspects of The Division 2. This month, we are covering five different skill categories: the Chem Launcher, Drone, Hive, Seeker Mine, and Turret. Each skill category comes in several variants with very different gameplay and effects. These are just some of the skills you can expect to see on March 15th, so prepare for more options and build customization! If you are new to The Division 2, skills are specialized abilities that change the way you play the game. They provide advantages in combat that directly affect the outcome of your engagements. Whether you want to specialize in offensive abilities or roll full utility, the choice is yours.

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CHEM LAUNCHER

First on the list is a new skill that we are introducing in The Division 2—the Chem Launcher. As a grenade launcher inspired weapon, the Chem Launcher fires various ampules of chemicals in an arc that disperse into a cloud on impact and linger to cause unique and devastating effects. When you have the Chem launcher equipped, you can choose between four different chemical charges:

  • Firestarter

    • The Firestarter canister sends out flammable, near-invisible gas. These gas clouds can be ignited with any spark—bullet impacts, enemies firing their weapons inside the cloud, explosions or even enemies running into them while on fire. If you combine multiple clouds over a large area, you can create devastating chain reactions.

  • Riot Foam

    • This skill fires a canister with riot control foam that disperses on impact. This is the same riot foam as you have seen the True Sons use in the E3 demo. The foam is sticky, heavy, and it expands rapidly. Anyone affected by the foam is stuck in place for a period of time, but the hardened foam can be destroyed to break them free.

  • Oxidizer

    • The Oxidizer fires a canister that emits a cloud of corrosive chemicals. The chemical cloud lingers for a long time and efficiently eats away at enemy armor or any enemy mechanical items.

  • Reinforcer

    • The Reinforcer fires a projectile that detonates and disperses an armor repairing cloud. If this powder hits you or your teammates, it restores an amount of your armor. Powder that sticks on the ground grants armor restoration over time. You have the ability to heal your friends very fast, or even yourself over time.

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DRONE

In The Division 2, we have drones! When deployed, the drones hover around your shoulder and follow you around. Depending on what drone you equip, it can stay passively by your side until assigned an order or it can automatically target your enemies and even friends in some cases. There are five different categories of the drone:

  • Striker

    • As suggested by the name, this is an offensive version of the Drone. Built for combat, the Striker possesses a turret that inflicts continuous damage upon its target. This drone can receive remote orders from its controller to attack specific targets.

  • Defender

    • The Defender is a defensive drone that protects its owner by utilizing an experimental directed emitter. It deflects incoming bullets with microwave bursts, creating an invisible barrier. However, each bullet deflected greatly drains the battery, and it is incapable of defending itself from enemy fire. It can, however, be ordered to guard friends or other friendly skill items.

  • Tactician

    • Built for intel, this utility drone flies to maximum elevation at a location of your choosing and spots all hostiles it can see, effectively highlighting their location. While deployed, it gives you and your party continuous information about the position of the enemies within your area. This is the Specialist skill for the Sharpshooter Specialization.

  • Bombardier

    • This drone can perform a bombing run across a long area. The drone flies to an area designated by the player and drops a barrage of explosives as it strafes from one end of the zone to the other.

  • Fixer

    • This defensive drone repairs armor over time. You can choose whether you want it to fly next to you and passively repair your armor, or choose a friendly target whose armor needs repairing, including other damaged skills.

Hive_Gif

HIVE

Also new to The Division 2 is the Hive—a group of advanced micro-drones that deliver special effects to their targets. You either place or throw the Hive, which affects targets within its radius. While most Hive categories are used primarily for defensive measures, there are offensive alternatives to suit all playstyles:

  • Stinger

    • Micro-drones swarm hostile targets that enter their range, inflicting damage and targeting weak spots, destroying them efficiently.

  • Restorer

    • When the Restorer detects missing armor on a friendly agent in its range, it deploys micro-repair drones towards the agent. On impact, an amount of armor is repaired.

  • Booster

    • The Booster sends out one micro-drone per friendly player that administers stimulants to increase combat efficiency—boosting weapon handling, movement and other physical capabilities of the agent.

  • Reviver

    • When deployed, the Reviver Hive can revive allies within a specific radius on the ground. If any of your downed allies are within the range of your Reviver Hive, you can manually order a set of micro-drones to revive them. However, you can also press and hold the button to charge up the micro-drones. The longer you hold the button, the more health and armor your ally revives with.

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SEEKER MINE

Here is a skill every Division Agent should recognize — Seeker Mines! These spherical, self-propelled ordnance delivery devices are returning in The Division 2 with more features and abilities. These mines use sensors that allow them to target hostiles — or friendlies — as needed to perform various effects. You can activate Seeker Mines by dropping them to the ground or throwing them straight into the action. Each category offers something new to Agents in the field:

  • Explosive

    • This classic seeker mine chases the target, designated by the owner, and detonates with a staggering explosion. However, it can be avoided as there is a slight arming time before it explodes.

  • Airburst

    • This mine rolls to your designated area and then launches an explosive burst into the air at head height of the enemy when reaching proximity.

  • Mender

    • Similar to the Reinforcer Chem Launcher, this friendly little seeker mine releases repair chemicals. These chemicals form a cloud that repairs your armor or that of an ally. If you have not chosen a specific target for the Mender Seeker Mine, allies that lose all their armor are automatically targeted by the mine. This is the Specialist skill for the Survivalist Specialization.

  • Cluster

    • The Cluster contains a number of smaller charges in one package, each capable of propelling itself. When deployed, each of the smaller mines picks a target and sets off towards it. However, these smaller mines are easier to avoid as they do not have room for advanced tracking equipment and cannot adjust their destination if their target moves.

TURRET

The last skill on today's list is no stranger to Division players — the turret. This compact, self-unfolding device tracks and shoots designated targets. Turrets can be placed next to you with a quick-press of the Skill button or thrown a short distance with a long-press. Let's discuss turret variants:

  • Assault

    • Similar to the Striker Drone, this skill is designed with offensive players in mind. Equipped with a machine gun turret with 360-degree rotational capabilities, this skill attacks the closest target while you are in combat. Outside of combat, you designate your turret's targets.

  • Incinerator

    • If you enjoy crowd control, this skill is for you! Equipped with an incendiary tank, the Incinerator ignites fuel and fires it in a cone to deal area-of-effect damage. This turret can be toggled on and off when deployed.

  • Artillery

    • The Artillery is a specialized deployable that launches exploding ordinances at locations of your choice. Firing once per press, shells are launched in an arc at a target position. This is the Specialist skill for the Demolitionist.

  • Sniper

    • This long range, semi-automatic turret targets the same enemy you are engaging. While there is a slight delay on target acquisition, the Sniper can adjust its aim to match your own aim on the target.

Remember that the game is still under development and all the names and details are subject to change.

Which of these skills are you most excited to use on launch day? Be sure to join us over on the Official Forums or on the community Reddit to discuss today's article; we would love to hear your thoughts! We will be releasing these articles regularly, so remember to keep an eye out!

/The Division Dev Team