The Division Beta going on this weekend doesn’t have a lot of content as it’s more about getting into the Dark Zone and blasting people rather than moving through the story. Due to this fact you can only unlock a small number of skills and mods with no additional talents or perks associated with these skills available. It’s also only possible to equip two skills at a time, so the skills you choose are important.
We covered the primary story mission that unlocks the first medical wing and allows you to obtain a few more skills, but if you want to survive the Dark Zone, you’ll need to know what skills to equip and when they’re useful. Let’s take a closer look at the Medical, Security and Tech skills available in The Division Beta.
Medical Skills
Pulse – You begin the game with the Pulse skill. This allows you to scan the area for hostiles. After you scan there’s a short cool down period before you can scan again. If your scan doesn’t find any hostiles, the cool down period is much shorter. At least one member of your party should have Pulse available to scan for nearby enemies. If two people in your party have it, you can scan more often, which is always beneficial.
First Aid – This is your default healing skill. While everyone has medkits, First Aid allows you to heal a group of party members in a small radius. You can even target a party member that isn’t close by and heal any other party members around them. That means your “healer” can stay back under cover and use First Aid to keep the party alive in a fire fight.
Medical Skill Mods
Note: Mods for the Pulse skill become available once you obtain 400 medical supplies (by completing missions) and upgrade the Medical Wing of your base of operations with a Quarantine section.
- Recon Pack (Pulse Mod) – Increases the range of Pulse and will find hostiles through walls.
- Tactical Scanner (Pulse Mod) – Increased damage when attacking a hostile marked by Pulse.
- Scrambler (Pulse Mod) – Use Pulse to hide your party against hostile Pulse scans.
For the purposes of the Beta, it’s best to stick with the Recon Pack or Tactical Scanner. You’re going to run into a lot of other parties in the Dark Zone, and blocking their scans doesn’t generally give you much of an advantage. However, getting additional damage or increasing the range of your scan can be very beneficial. The only time the Scrambler comes in handy in the Beta is when an opposing team is using the Tactical Scanner.
Security Skills
Ballistic Shield – If you’ve played Rainbow Six Siege you already know the riot shield is a great tool. The same goes for the ballistic shield in The Division. Grenades can be hard to come by in the Dark Zone, and without them it’s very difficult to take down an opponent with a ballistic shield. You need to shoot them from the side or back, or save your grenades specifically for these hostiles. At least one party member should have a ballistic shield and lead the other members into fire fights.
Tech Skills
Sticky Bomb – Think of the sticky bomb in the same way you’d think of a grenade. While in the Dark Zone you won’t have a lot of time to setup traps or lure people into your sticky bombs. You’re going to throw these out and blow them up almost immediately. However, they’re extremely helpful when defending an extraction point. You can setup sticky bombs around the perimeter and detonate them as hostile forces close in.
Be sure to head back to Prima Games as we’ll be covering all of the skills in The Division once the game releases on March 8, 2016. For now, enjoy the limited selection of skills and mods in the Beta, and remember to check out the main story mission and the Dark Zone!
