Tom Clancy's The Division

"The modern world is a house of cards: remove one and everything falls apart. The virus struck the city only days ago. Black Friday, they called it, and society collapsed almost immediately. The Strategic Homeland Division is an autonomous unit of Sleeper Agents who lead apparently ordinary lives until they are needed. They are trained to operate independently in order to take back the streets. When society falls, they rise..."

- Description

Tom Clancy's The Division (referred simply to as The Division) is a tactical shooter action role-playing video game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft.

Plot
- The Outbreak

In 2001, an operation known as "Dark Winter" was launched which was a real-world exercise that tested the emergency response to a bioterror attack on the United States. The simulation spiraled out of control within a few days, and predicted a "breakdown in essential institutions," civil disorder, and massive civilian casualties. This event came true years later in November 2015, when a virus was created that attached to bank notes (nicknamed the "Dollar Flu" due to its infection vector) circulated on Black Friday, causing, within a day, an international pandemic. Manhattan, where the gameplay is set, is where the virus originated and the effects of the viral pandemic were the worst.

Gameplay
The player plays as an agent from the Strategic Homeland Division (SHD) using a third person cover-based system securing multiple locations in New York City through main missions with optional side missions. The player will have to scavenge for their own ammo and supplies in order to survive and upgrade their character. An online connection is required. Players can either choose to play on their own or join a squad of up to 4 players.

Locations
There are multiple locations around New York City to explore. In The Division, areas are separated into districts. There are 16 regular districts with 9 Dark Zone districts, divided by different levels of difficulty.

Weapons
The player will have a variety of weapons to use. Players can have a primary, secondary and sidearm equipped at the same time. Players start with a  and a .


 * Assault Rifles
 * Light Machine Guns
 * Submachine Guns
 * Sidearms
 * Shotguns
 * Marksman Rifles

Gear
Players have the ability to equip different gear in 6 unique slots. Each of the gear has a level, rarity and ARM (Armor Rating) to it. The ARM shows how much damage will be mitigated when wearing the gear. The ARM adds up from each gear equipped. The higher the rarity, the better the base stats will be. Cosmetics have no effect on the players actual stats. Examples include outfits, skins etc.
 * Backpack
 * Gloves
 * Body Armor
 * Knee Pads
 * Holsters
 * Masks

Additionally, players are able to equip passive aesthetic accessories with no effect on armor rating, such as hats, scarfs, jackets, shirts, pants, and boots.

Players start with a ,, , , , and a .

Clothing
Agents will be able to customize many different aspects of their character in The Division. Players can customize their looks after the prologue through gear and items.

Players start with, , , and.

Abilities
The player can obtain a variety of Skills, Talents, and Perks, enhancing their gameplay experience. These skills will help make each character unique. Skills may be changed during combat as well.

Skills
Skills are active abilities that are used by the player and then will recharge before their next use. See Skills for a list of all possible skills and their own traits and effects.

Talents
Talents are passive abilities that give the player a persistent bonus. Talents can be improved as the player's level increases. Up to 4 talents may be equipped, with more talent slots unlocking as the character progresses. See Talents for a list of all possible skills and their own traits and effects.

Perks
Perks are abilities which are always active and give players benefits in certain areas when unlocked. Some perks unlock supply lines for other types of items. Certain Vendors run supply lines such as high end equipment (which is bought with Phoenix Credits), clothing (aesthetic gear), among others.

Factions
Players will encounter different factions and groups throughout the game. Each enemy faction has different types of enemies.
 * The Division
 * Cleaners
 * Rikers
 * Rioters
 * Joint Task Force
 * Last Man Battalion
 * Hunters (featured in Survival, Underground and Resistance)

Dark Zone
When playing solo or in a group in Tom Clancy's The Division, players will have the opportunity to enter the "Dark Zone," areas where the virus has taken a big toll. Here the player will find other players and can engage in PvP (Player vs Player) or PvE (Player vs Environment) combat. Players can enter the Dark Zone through certain checkpoint gateways and by climbing over specific walls near the Dark Zone. The loot in the Dark Zone is some of the best acquirable in the game due to the fact that it is abandoned JTF (Joint Task Force) military gear. Players will lose any gear they pick up in the Dark Zone if they are killed while carrying the gear before extracting it via helicopter. The Dark Zone is designed to have up to 24 players in an instance at a time. (the player can go from the regular map to the Dark Zone with no instancing. It's located northwest of the player's Base of Operations.)

Players have the task of taking back New York City through different methods. This can be done through Tasks, Missions, or Encounters. These missions, once acquired, can be seen on the player's map.

People
In The Division, agents will encounter many different NPC's (Non-Player Characters). Some NPC's play a bigger role in the story than others. These people can help or hinder the agent(s). Some passerby NPCs may give vanity items or gear in return for supplies i.e. Canned food, water, and medkits.

Loot
There is a rarity based loot system within the game. Loot can be found when enemies are killed or in many locations all over New York City. However, not all enemies will drop loot when killed. Tougher characters will usually drop better quality loot. Loot ranking is as follows:



The higher the rarity, the better the item's statistics (and typically perks) are.

Crafting
The player will have the ability to craft items in The Division; crafting various weapons and equipment for themselves or other fellow agents, like attachments for their weapon systems. The pre-requisite for crafting is obtaining a blueprint of the item the player wants to craft. The main materials for crafting are weapon parts, tools, fabric, and electronics. Players are now able to trade items with each other within the groups they obtained an item with, within an hour window.

Social Hubs
Tom Clancy's The Division will have certain areas in New York City where players can interact with each other. These are safe zones where no weapons or skills can be used. They are referred to as "Hubs." Chelsea Pier is one of the explore-able Hubs at the beginning of the player's campaign into New York City. All safe houses outside the Dark Zone can be possible hubs, and once they are visited, the player is able to fast travel to them from that point on.

Achievements
In Tom Clancy's The Division, there is a multitude of achievements to earn throughout the game. You can earn these by completing main missions, finding collectibles, and doing certain activities.

Dynamic Choices
New York City will be at the player's discretion to restore, or otherwise, in Tom Clancy's The Division. The player will be able see the impact of their choices in-game. Agents will have the task of restoring areas of the city where communication, law enforcement, power, and water are failing, restoring them and making them fully operational again. Good luck!

Base of Operations
Players will have their own space within the city. The Base of Operations will include a Medical Wing, a  Security Wing , a  Tech Wing , and a trade station. Upgrading the player's base of operations will unlock skills and talents for use in the game, each determined by which wing is upgraded.

ECHOs
The ECHO is a heads up display for the player's menu access and investigation tool within the game. The options for the menu are:

Updates/DLCs
The Season Pass will give access to three major expansions.
 * Underground
 * Survival
 * Last Stand

Updates

 * 1.1 Incursions
 * 1.2. Conflict
 * 1.3. Underground
 * 1.5. Survival
 * 1.6. Last Stand
 * 1.8. Resistance

Patch Notes

 * Patch 1.01
 * Patch 1.02
 * Patch 1.6.1

Development
Tom Clancy's The Division was being developed as an eighth generation console exclusive, coming out to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Massive Entertainment is using the new Snowdrop engine to develop The Division.

On May 15, 2014, it was announced that The Division would be delayed to 2015 according to an anonymous source inside Massive Entertainment's studio. "The game engine works well, it's not done, but works well. The actual game development has barely started, however," said the anonymous insider.

In 2015, a Ubisoft conference call confirmed that The Division was slated for a 2015 release, but it was delayed yet again.

At E3 2015, it was stated that beta testing for Xbox One players would begin in December. A closed Alpha Test took place from December 9, 2015 to December 12, 2015. This was exclusively for the Xbox One console. The Closed Beta test took place January 28, 2016 through February 1, 2016 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

The release date for Tom Clancy's The Division was March 8, 2016.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack is composed by Ola Strandh. Other game soundtracks that he has composed are World in Conflict, Ground Control 1 and Ground Control 2.