This week’s The Division 2 State of the Game livestream offered up an advance look at what’s coming to the game with Episode 3 in February. With Associate Creative Director Yannick Banchereau and Associate Game Director Drew Rechner on hand to talk about the finer points of fighting fire with fire, the stream dove into Coney Island, the return of the Cleaners, and the new, flamethrower-equipped Firewall Specialization.
Here are a few of the stream’s highlights:
- Episode 3 will bring the action to Coney Island, which features two new main missions and brings Agents back into conflict with the Cleaners.
- In addition to a flamethrower, the new Firewall Specialization packs a Strike Shield that buffs damage for Agents standing behind it.
- Year 1 Pass holders get immediate access to the Firewall, as well as two new Classified Assignments.
State of the Game streams on Twitch, Mixer and YouTube. (To find out what was covered in the last episode, make sure to check out the previous State of the Game Recap.)
PRIORITY ALERTS
- No planned maintenance for this week.
- The team is investigating the cause for Clan XP not updating.
- The underlying cause for some Blueprints not showing up (for example, on the second or third agent after sharing Blueprints) has been found. The developers are working on the issue, but a fix may not be ready for Episode 3.
- The team is investigating the reports that the Kenly College chapel is not opening for players who have finished all investigation areas.
EPISODE 3 CONTENT
- The Division is headed to summery Coney Island!
- The battle-hardened Cleaners will give players a warm welcome.
- The new content will be free for all players.
- Episode 3 includes two new main missions: Coney Island Ballpark and Coney Island Amusement Park.
- New Specialization: Firewall, which can fight fire with fire.
- Benefits for Year 1 Pass holders include instantly unlocking the Firewall specialization, as well as two new Classified Assignments: Detention Center Rescue and Nightclub Infiltration.
NEW EXOTIC - CHAMELEON
The Chameleon is an Assault Rifle that changes color based on its environment, and which comes with the following Talents:
TALENT: ADAPTIVE INSTINCTS
- Hitting 30 headshots grants +20% critical hit chance and +50% critical hit damage for 45 seconds.
- Hitting 60 body shots grants +100% weapon damage for 45 seconds.
- Hitting 30 leg shots grants +150% reload speed for 45 seconds.
TALENT: OVERLAP
- While holstered, gain +5% weapon handling.
SPECIALIZATION #6 – FIREWALL
- New Signature Weapon: Flamethrower
- New Skill mod: Striker Shield, which buffs the Firewall Agent and their allies with a damage increase. The strength of the buff increases with the number of enemies in front of the player. The Agent receives the buff as soon as they equip the shield, and allies have to be in range behind the Agent to get its benefit.
- New Specialization Sidearm: Firestarter Double Barrel Sawn-Off. Its unique Talent, Primer Rounds, inflicts 50% reduced burn resistance for five seconds on any enemies it hits.
- New Grenade: Cluster Grenade. When detonating, it sends out shrapnel in a radius around its trigger point.
- New Armor Kit: Extracellular Matrix – recover 200% armor and 200% health over 10 seconds. The intention with this kit is to allow players to recover health and armor while maintaining an aggressive playstyle.
- Special Ammunition Acquisition – killing enemies within 10 meters of the Agent increases the Spec ammo bar faster than other kills.
- Tac Link – allies deal +10% damage to enemies that are within 10 meters of you.
FIREWALL TALENTS:
- Bull Rush – +50% Bonus Armor during cover to cover moves
- Enriched Magnesium Formula – 10%/20%/30%/40%/50% increased Burn duration
- Frontline Recovery – 10%/20%/ 30% Health on Kill
- Fiery Response – on armor break, apply burn to enemies within 5 meters.
The Firewall Specialization can be unlocked for free via the Special Field Research. Year 1 Pass owners get it unlocked immediately, and can finish the Special Field Research for additional rewards. They will also immediately unlock the Firewall Safety Mask.
STATE OF THE GAME 146
Next week’s show will be a narrative recap of the events of The Division’s universe so far, including the first and second games.
The Division 2 is available now on PC, Xbox One, and PS4, and is included in a UPLAY+ subscription. For more The Division 2, check out our previous coverage.
