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March 12, 2019

Intelligence Annex: Skill Modding in The Division 2

We hope everyone missed the Intelligence Annex, as we are returning today to discuss the remaining skills categories in The Division 2 as well as introduce a new system—skill modding.

If you missed the first Intelligence Annex dedicated to skills, you can read up on the details here. Let us begin with the last three skill categories that will be featured in The Division 2:

PULSE

A very popular skill from The Division is making a return for the sequel! At its core, the Pulse skill category scans the surrounding area when activated to provide useful feedback to the player.

  • Scanner

    • This category of the Pulse skill functions similarly to the basic Pulse in The Division—it scans the player's surroundings for hostiles and marks enemies with a visual highlight. The most notable difference here is that the Scanner Pulse is explicitly used for Intel. There are also talents that trigger when shooting pulsed enemies!

  • Remote Sensor

    • This iteration of the Pulse works exactly like the Scanner Pulse but offers more flexibility as a throwable option. The Remote Sensor Pulse continually scans a location after being thrown. Players must be conscious of their target location, as this Pulse can be destroyed by enemies.

  • Jammer

    • The Jammer Pulse acts as an EMP, disrupting hostile electronics as well as other player skills in an area. Players can press and hold the skill to activate an EMP with a larger radius.

SHIELD

Also returning in The Division 2 is every frontline's favorite accessory for battle. This time around, there are more Shield options available to cater to more granularity in gameplay styles.

  • Ballistic Bulwark

    • Returning from The Division, this Shield category provides full-body coverage for players. Due to its size, only side arms can be used while the Ballistic Shield is equipped.

  • Crusader

    • In contrast to the Ballistic Shield, the lighter Crusader Shield exposes players' legs and head but allows the use of primary weapons. Note that this does not include LMGs and sniper Marksman rifles.

  • Deflector

    • The smallest of all the Shields, the Deflector has a coating of micro-actuators that causes incoming bullets to ricochet to a nearby highlighted target with a clear line of sight to the Agent. Though not a full-body shield, the attention required to re-target means that only a sidearm may be used alongside the shield.

FIREFLY

Entirely new to The Division 2, the Firefly is a throwable device with a propulsion unit that targets a number of enemies to provide unique types of crowd control in the field.

  • Blinder

    • The Blinder Firefly flashes targeted enemies, leaving them blind and unable to function at full combat effectiveness.

  • Demolisher

    • The Demolisher Firefly destroys enemy weak points, skill proxies, and even environmental objects.

  • Burster

    • The Burster Firefly tags enemies with metallic shrapnel as it passes from one to another. If these hostiles get too close to one another, the Burster Firefly triggers a chain reaction causing devastating explosions. Killing a tagged hostile also sets of the explosion in the nearest other tagged enemy.

SKILL MODDING

We are also happy to introduce the skill modding system in The Division 2! In addition to picking your skills and respective skill categories, you will also have the option to customize specific details of each skill using two slot options:

  • Gameplay slots—Similar to weapon attachments, skill attachments are placed in these slots. These grant bonuses to the skill but require a certain number of Skill Power to operate. These mods are earned as loot and will be available in different rarities. Unlike weapon attachments, skill mods are not static. Examples include cooldown reduction or bonus damage.
  • Cosmetic FX slot—provides alternative effects and visuals to skills that are purely cosmetic. Skill statistics are not affected by this slot. An example includes changing the color of the Incinerator Turret's flame.

We not only wanted to offer an entirely new level of customization into the Division 2, but we also wanted to offer visibility into that customization. As a result, any changes made using your skill mods will be directly reflected in the skill-sheet in real-time.

SkillsPartTwo_Asset

Thank you for reading up on the remaining skills and mods in The Division 2! 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