The Division – Team Strategies

Ubisoft is preparing to release the first DLC bundle for Rainbow Six Siege, just as we’re starting to look at the next team-based shooter from the French company, The Division. The Xbox One Alpha test took place late last year, with a Beta coming sometime before the March release of the highly anticipated title. We’ve already covered character customization in The Division, so now it’s time to delve into team strategies.

One of the big differences between Rainbow Six Siege and shooters such as Call of Duty is the amount of strategy required to be successful. That’s not to say Call of Duty lacks strategy, but you can win plenty of Call of Duty games by running and gunning, shooting everything that moves. If you try to run and gun in Siege, it’s not going to work well against even a remotely competent team.

From what we’ve seen and played of The Division, this is another shooter that will require strategic team play if you want to get ahead. While the game doesn’t feature specific classes, there are skill trees that allow players to build characters to fit what would normally be RPG-like classes. We detailed how you can create these custom classes in our strategic preview, so be sure to check that out if you’re unfamiliar with the skill tree system in the game.

If you choose to play The Division alone, enemies will scale to whatever your party size may be. By yourself, enemies will be much easier to contend with compared to playing with three other people. Of course if you play with other people, there’s always the chance they’ll go rogue and turn on you.

The Division is essentially an MMORPG, which means that loot and character progression are important. If you’re feeling like being uncooperative, you can turn on your party, kill them and steal their loot. Keep in mind, this puts a mark on you, alerting all other players in the area that there’s a bounty on your head, so you may not live long enough to enjoy your stolen loot.

When playing as a team, it’s best to try to create a party that mimics that of a traditional role-playing game. You want at least one teammate who has a focus on the Security Branch of skills so that they have the necessary abilities to take a lot of damage. This gives you someone who can lead you into encounters and will be more difficult to kill in the Dark Zone PvP areas. Think of this character as the tank of an RPG party.

It’s also very helpful to have at least one member of your party that has a focus on the Medical Branch of skills. This player will be able to heal teammates and provide ample support that can keep your team alive and healthy when they engage hostiles. You probably don’t want to have more than one “medic” on your team as they will won’t be able to dish out as much damage as other custom classes (unless they’re some sort of hybrid), but it’s a good idea to have at least one person in a support role.

In addition to at least one party member focused on the Security Branch and another focused on the Medical Branch, you want two or more party members with skills from the Technical Branch. These characters are going to pack a punch when it comes to dishing out damage to hostile foes. In addition, they’ll have the latest tech and gadgets to give you an edge over the competition. The more Technical-focused characters you have in your party, the more damage you can dish out. The only downfall is that you likely won’t have a lot of protection as these heavy damage dealers, which is why a tank and support character are very helpful to keep these damage dealers alive.

Given the very open nature of The Division skill tree system, you can have a lot of hybrid classes. For example, you might have a player who has a few skills from each branch and doesn’t excel at any one class archetype. This is why communication and team work is important. Talk to your team and figure out what you’re lacking. If you need more support skills, have one of your team respec to offer more Medical Branch skills. If you need more damage, pick up a few Technical Branch skills. It’s best to have a well-rounded team that’s ready for anything.

We’ll have more on The Division as the March 8, 2016 release date swiftly approaches. In the meantime, be sure to check out our first look at the game, as well as how it compares to Destiny!