The Division 2 Best Perks & How To Unlock Them

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The Division 2 Perks

The Division 2 has a long list of perks that you unlock, but it can be a bit tricky to know where to get started. Unlike many traditional RPGs, the perks in The Division 2 are for the most part gear based and not exactly related to your character per se. To help you reduce the anxiety over choosing your first perks, here is a handy guide to help you out.

 

How To unlock Perks In The Division 2

The Division 2 cover

In The Division 2, you buy perks and upgrades using SHD points. As expected, you gain these by levelling up your character, but that is only one of a few different ways to go about this.

As you reclaim districts in Washington D.C., SHD caches start popping up, which are basically a free upgrade point for you to collect. Clear them out as soon as possible to give yourself a boost.

A little more challenging, but ultimately more rewarding, are the SHD side missions. These offer some stiffer opposition but are definitely worth doing. Clear out a few of these and you’ll have enough points to make life easier as you go.

 

The Division 2 Starter Perks

The Division 2 deconstruction perk

XP boost
In The Division 2, the XP boost perk is called accolade, which will grant you bonus XP for doing certain things during missions or out in the world. Tier one will grant you a bonus to headshots, the next one will give you a bonus for hitting weak points while the last one benefits players who stay alive. Since all tiers stack, this is a good skill to completely unlock early in the game. The bonus XP may seem small at first but once the whole tree is unlocked it can give you a real boost.

Deconstruction
Crafting is actually a somewhat essential part of getting the best gear in The Division 2. To get the materials needed for crafting you will have to scrap some of your weapons and gear. This is where the deconstruction skill comes in. Unlock the first tier of this skill and you’ll get extra materials when scrapping stuff. In the beginning, I only recommend the first tier as the second one costs 5 points and only gives you rare materials, something you won’t need until later in the game.

 

The Division 2 Survival Perks

The Division 2 Armor Perks

Armor restock
Throughout the game, you will come across restock crates and safe rooms. Initially, these will only restock your basic ammo. With this perk, however, the crate will also give you some armor kits. These kits are essential to surviving longer missions. I recommend getting this perk as soon as possible as it will make life that much easier for you.

Armor kits 1-3
Armor is a really nifty thing to have in The Division 2. It helps protect all you squishy inside bits and lets you stay on your feet for longer before you take the dirt nap. Armor kits are used to replenish this, and this perk lets you carry more armor kits. At first, I’d unlock at least 2 tiers of this as it will greatly help you survive.

The Division 2 Quality of Life Perks

The Division 2 iNVENTORY Perks

Inventory
Unlike the first game, inventory space is not determined by your backpack in The Division 2. In order to carry more, you have to upgrade this perk. How essential you feel this is will depend on how much you like to run back to base to sell stuff. Alternatively, you can scrap things in your inventory to make extra space, but having more room is always nice.

Resources
Once you start helping settlements out and liberating outposts, they, will start asking for resources like water and food. These are found throughout the world but in the beginning, you can’t carry all that much. This perk expands this inventory and lets you do just that. While it won’t help you survive or level, helping settlements will get you blueprints and other upgrades so it can be worth it for this reason.

 

The Division 2 Combat Perks

The Division 2 gRENADE Perks

Mods
Mods and attachments in The Division 2 are not dropped as loot but rather unlockable perks. These mods can be extra sights or better magazines for your guns. They are all trade-offs, however, so that shiny scope might get you a headshot bonus but it will also come with a reload penalty. Because of this, I do not think they are essential as you start out, but once you have boosted your leveling and survivability, it is time to take a look at them. Which ones to unlock first largely depends on your play-style and the weapons you use.

Grenades
Between the turrets, drones and the weapons I had at my disposal, I didn’t find grenades all that useful, to be honest. Enemies are just a little too good at getting out of their way from the blast area. That said, they can really help you flush someone out of cover from time to time. Upgrade this perk to enable you to carry more of them into battle.

So here are the skills I recommend you get first in The Division 2. Of course, if you have a particular play style, you might want to adjust these accordingly but I find these to be essential starter skills.

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