A lot of my gaming friends² picked up The Division when it first came out and then dropped off when the game became a bit of a mess. The Division recently got an update patch that added some new content and fixed some long time plaguing issues. These fixes have started to bring back players and a lot of them are asking "I haven’t played in a long time, what loot is good now? I’m not sure how to set up my characters anymore." The loot drops are a continuous flow in The Division, so much so that sometimes it's hard to understand what you should keep, hold on for later, and dismantle/sell now for resources. I'll be using Destiny (D1) as a comparison to information a player will see in The Division (TD) since that's the audience I'm trying to speak to.

Everything I'm about to talk about assumes your Agent is L30, you have completely unlocked the Base of Operations (BoO)¹, and can play on World Tier 5 (WT5). If you don't meet these requirements, find a friend that is and power level³ until you get all 3 completed.

Character Stats Overview

Let's get the hardest topic out of the way first... Agent ability stats and attributes. In TD your Agent also has 3 main stats:

• Firearms: Higher stat will improve the damage output from your Agent.
• Stamina: Higher stat will improve the damage your Agent can receive.
• Electronics: Higher stat affects how effective your Skills are (see below).

The easiest way to think about your characters stats in TD is in D1 your character had 3 main stats: Int / Dis / Str. Those stats dictated how fast you would get your grenade to recharge, how long it took to fill your super, etc. While the stats between D1 and TD don't match up one to one, it should set the tone of how they work in TD. The detail that was never fully explained as I played TD was how these stats interact with other the related attributes: DPS / Health / Skill Power.

Icon	Stat	Modifier	Attribute
	Firearms	1 Firearms point increases weapon damage (DPS) by 1%	DPS
	Stamina	1 Stamina point increases Health by 30 pts	Health (HP)
	Electronics	1 Electronics point increases Skill Power by 30 pts	Skill Power (SP)

These numbers are just as important as your base stats because the attribute numbers dictate how your character interacts with the gaming environment.

Just like in D1, your primary stats in TD come from the gear you equip on your Agent. As more powerful gear (chest, backpack, holster, etc) is equipped, your stats will go up and/or change. You can adjust your stats even further with weapon mods and addition attributes on your equipment. More on weapon mods later.

Agent Ability Tree

The aspects of your character that are selectable are your abilities that enhance your Agent's strength and gameplay style. There are 3 types of abilities your Agent possesses:

Name	Division Descr	Destiny Equivalent
Skills	Offensive or defensive abilities that have a cool down.	Grenade type / Melee effect
Talents	Combat enhancement perks triggered by certain actions	Auto reload behind shield wall
Perks	Passive abilities that affect character without any actions	Titan Codex I/II/III

This list is what you're working on when you unlock the BoO. As you unlock the BoO, you will be given access to new Skills, Talents and Perks. This is why I recommend having your BoO 100% unlocked before moving on.

Skills

Skills are a set of abilities in TD that are the closest equivalent to D1's grenade/melee/super cool downs. The Skills your Agent can use are grouped into 2 normal skills and 1 signature skill. The 2 normal skills have a cool down equivalent to D1's grenade and melee cool down. Your signature skill is more powerful, like your D1 super, and therefore has a longer cool down. All skills are grouped by the talent resources in the BoO: Medical, Tech, and Security.

Normal Skill	Description
Pulse	Sends out recon pulse that marks hostiles and allies through walls and covers.
First Aid	Launches a localized device that heals all allies within a small radius.
Support Station	Drops a support station that heals allies and can be used to revive downed allies.
Sticky Bomb	Fires a bomb that sticks to most surfaces and explodes when detonated remotely.
Turret	Deploys a stationary turret that attacks nearby hostiles until it is destroyed or its battery runs out.
Seeker Mine	Releases an automated mine that seeks out hotile targets before exploding on proximity.
Ballistic Shield	Equips a portal Ballistic Shield that absorbs damage.4
Smart Cover	Reinforces a cover, increasing the user’s damage and decreasing the incoming damage for all allies behind it.
Mobile Cover	Creates a temporary cover for one person, which provides standard cover protection until destroyed.

Signature Skill	Description
Recovery Link	Heals and cures the users and nearby allies. Revives downed allies within range.
Survivor Link	Increases damage resistance and speed for the users and nearby allies.
Tactical Link	Increases damage and critical hit chance to user and all nearby allies.

Talents

Talents give your character some special abilities during gameplay to enhance the way you play. Your character can select 4 talents once the BoO is completely unlocked. ⁵

Talent	Description	Unlocked By
Medical Wing
Adrenaline	Medkit gives 7s of immunity from status effects.	Decontamination Unit
Triage	Heal an ally with a skill to reduce skill cool downs by 15%.	Decontamination Unit
Shock and Awe	Suppress a hostile to increase movement speed by 25% for 10 seconds.	Pharmacy
Battle Buddy	Revive a downed agent to reduce incoming damage by 30% for 10 seconds for both players.	Pharmacy
Critical Save	Use a medkit during low health to increase damage resistance by 20% for 10 seconds.	Counseling
Shrapnel	Applying Bleed to any target triggers a 30% chance to apply the effect to all targets within 10m.	Counseling
Combat Medic	Use a medkit near allies to heal group members and proxies within 20m by 40%	Recharge Center
Strike Back	Reach low health to reduce active skill cool downs by 20%	Recharge Center
Tech Wing
Tactical Advance	Complete a cover to cover move to increase weapon damage by 2% per meter covered for 5s, max 30%.	Central Heating
Demolition Expert	Kill a hostile with an explosion to increase explosion damage by 20% for 15s.	Central Heating
Police Up	Kill a hostile with any skill for a 10% chance of auto-refilling all ammo types to capacity.	SatComms
Fear Tactics	Applying Shock to any target triggers a 30% chance to apply the effect to all targets within 10m.	SatComms
Evasive Action	During a cover to cover move incoming damage is reduced by 30%.	Recalibration
Tech Support	Kill a hostile while any skill is deployed to extended any active skills duration by 10%.	Recalibration
Wildfire	Applying Burn to any target triggers a 30% chance to apply the effect to all targets within 10m.	Recharge Center
Death by Proxy	Destroy a hostile’s deployed skill to increase skill power by 20% for 30s.	Recharge Center
Security Wing
Steady Hands	Enter any cover to reduce recoil by 25% for 10s.	Procurement Team
On the Move	Kill a hostile while moving to reduce incoming damage by 15% for 10s.	Guard Posts
Precision	Headshot a hostile to pulse them for 10s.	Guard Posts
Chain Reaction	Damage multiple hostiles with an explosion to apply 20% more damage from the blast.	Guard Posts
Desperate Times	Reach low health to increase blind fire accuracy by 20%.	Shooting Range
Stopping Power	Suppress a hostile to increase headshot damage by 25% for 10s.	Shooting Range
Repo Reaper	Kill a hostile with the sidearm to receive 30 rounds for your primary weapon.	Canine Unit
One is None	Headshot a hostile to have a 50% chance of not consuming the bullet.	Canine Unit

My personal recommendations for a solo PVE player:

• Critical Save: Use a medkit during low health to increase damage resistance by 40% for 10 seconds.
• Tech Support: Kill a hostile while any skill is deployed to extended any active skills duration by 10%.
• On the Move: Kill a hostile while moving to reduce incoming damage by 30% for 10s.
• One is None: Headshot a hostile to have a 50% chance of not consuming the bullet.

Once you move into a group or PVP, the talent selection would change based on the type of gear and character you're playing - healer, tank, DPS, sniper, etc.

Perks

These are passive abilities that don't require any interaction or selection by you for your character. These are just additional perks your character has as your Agent levels up.

Perk Name	Description
Medical Wing
Medkits	Increases Medkit inventory by 1 slot.
Protective Measures	Increases Virus Protection by 1.
Supplier	Collect canned food, water, energy bar and soda in the Supply Line once per hour.
Contamination Intel	Reveal all contaminated areas on the map.
Hazardous Materials	Increases Dark Zone inventory by 1 slot.
Rigger	Collect fabric (crafting materials) in the Medical Wing once per hour.
Credit	Increase credit gains by 10%.
Tech Wing
Inventory	Increase inventory by 10 slots.
Hazardous Materials	Increases Dark Zone inventory by 1 slot.
Division Tech Materials	Convert Division Tech crafting materials into other materials at the crafting station.
Engineer	Collect electronics (crafting materials) in the Tech Wing once per hour.
Soda	Increase Soda consumable effect duration by 10s.
Water	Increase Water consumable effect duration by 10s.
Craftsman	Collect tools (crafting materials) in the Tech Wing once per hour.
Energy Bar	Increase energy bar effect duration by 5s.
Resource Assessment	Reveal all Division Tech crafting nodes on the Dark Zone map.
Stat Switch	Unlock item stat switching at the Recalibration Station.
Dark Zone Funds	Increase looted Dark Zone fund gains by 10%.
Stash	Increase stash by 10 slots.
Security
Experienced Agent	Increase XP gained from all activities by 10%.
Grenades	Increase the grenade inventory by 1 slot.
Advanced Weaponry	Unlock advanced weapons vendor in the Security Wing.
Combat Veteran	Increase XP gained from accolades by 25%.
Hazardous Materials	Increases Dark Zone inventory by 1 slot.
Black Market Vendor	Unlock Dark Zone fund purchases in the Base of Operations.
Clothes Vendor	Unlock a clothes vendor in the Base of Operations.
Explosive Bullets	Increase Explosive Bullets effect duration by 10s.
Gunsmith	Collect weapon parts (crafting materials) in the Security Wing once per hour.
Scavenger	Collect items from the scavenger box in the Security Wing once per hour.
Incendiary Bullets	Increase Incendiary Bullets effect duration by 10s.
Special Ammo	Collect incendiary and explosive bullets (ammo) in the Supply Line once per hour.
Shooting Range	Train in Marksmanship at the Shooting Range.
Intel Discovery	Completing Side Missions & Encounters, reveal all undiscovered Intel on the map in that zone.
Collector	Increases Scavenging by 15%.

Next post, understanding how your equipment and gear influence your character.