‘The Division’ RPG Trailer Touches Base Building, Loot, Bounties, And More

Ubisoft officially released a new trailer for The Division Wednesday to shows off the role-playing elements of the upcoming PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC shooter. The trailer is loaded with small details on base building, leveling up, and more indicating what gamers should expect when they get their first taste of the multiplayer shooter when the beta hits soon.

Interestingly, the trailer released today is slightly shorter than the European trailer that leaked on Tuesday. It appears to be missing some of the cut-scenes that included violent imagery such as one image featuring three people being hung upside down from the ceiling in front of a sign that said, “Welcome to the party.” It’s also missing an extended boss fight look.

Ubisoft has previously stated the game will have cut-scenes, but they will be short and not intrude into gameplay.

The first interesting tidbit from The Division trailer occurs at the 17-second mark with the player walking underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Ubisoft has primarily focused on Manhattan as the playable open-world area in the game, so fans will want to keep an eye out on how Brooklyn might come into play.

It doesn’t take long afterward to get into the meat of the game. The 24-second mark of The Division trailer takes the player in front of the base. As the narrator suggests, the base is run-down and battered when first arriving. It is the player’s job to restore and upgrade it.

The 28-second mark of the video shows there are three different wings to the base – Medical Wing, Tech Wing, and Security Wing. Each has their own mission completion requirement to bring them back online. It just so happens that each wing also corresponds to the three categories in the character skill tree.

The big board for Base status also shows that there are 30 upgrades that can be applied to the Base, 10 for each wing. The trailer shows that as upgrades are applied, the Base is spruced up and improved and adds more characters to it.

Reaching the 39-second mark of The Division video takes players to the Tech Wing. On the left, you can see a progress meter pegged at 30 percent, that presumably ties to the player’s Tech progress on their skill tree. On the right is a Control Room indicator. This is likely where missions are picked up.

Jumping to the 50-second mark brings the Base status board back that shows progress being made toward the three wings. Interestingly, a Canine Unit station is seen though it appears to be more attached to some sort of NPC upgrade than as an AI companion.

The Division trailer jumps away from the Base building and into the game world. The 58-second mark reveals that Bounties will be part of the game. Players can accept these bounties to go after specific NPC bad guys. This sounds similar to the Destiny bounty system that is refreshed on a daily and weekly basis. Players are asked to either kill specific characters in the game world or complete certain feats to be rewarded with experience and reputation.

The loot system is then shown that comes from killing bad guys in The Division. Players have the option to inspect weapons and items before adding it toe their inventory, equipping it, or just flat ignoring it. The system nicely displays all the primary attributes of the weapon, its level, special abilities, and value to help make your decision.

Immediately after this shows the player’s inventor. The three primary skills of Firearms, Stamina, and Electronics are displayed across the top row. Meanwhile, the bottom right corner of the screen shows a talent associated with the highlighted weapon that has yet to be unlocked.

Heading to the 1:20 mark in The Division trailer brings players to a Safe House. This appears to be a social space separate from the player’s base. A comparison could be made to Destiny‘s Tower as you can see there are more players in the space than the game’s four-player squad size. There’s also an NPC in the background on the left side of the screen who appears to be some kind of vendor.

The Division video then goes through a quick cut of various action pieces including what appears to be one of the game’s boss-like characters with a flamethrower. You can also see one character use an ability to heal two other characters at the 1:43 mark and his super ability to heal his entire squad at 1:52.

Once again, this appears to be another comparison to Destiny where players will earn a super ability while progressing through the skill tree. It might even be tied to pressing the two shoulder bumper buttons at the same time.

The Division is currently set for a March 8 release for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A beta is also planned to launch soon. The current rumor is around the end of January, but you can sign up for a chance to get in it at the official website. Pre-ordering the game at participating retailers also guarantees access.

[Image via Ubisoft]