The Division is consuming all my game time, to say I’m hooked would be a massive understatement – as more of my friends join The Division as new agents I keep getting asked for any tips I have to start them off on the cold streets of New York… and here they are.

Don’t forget the collectibles

There’s a stack of things to find in New York, 293 to be exact, these collectibles (intel) not only give you an XP reward and work towards achievements, but more importantly they tell the story of New York’s demise. There’s also some pretty entertaining phone recordings.

Once you complete all Encounters and Side Missions, all intel will be marked on your map making hunting them as easy as pie.

Stats

Don’t be too hasty to equip a new piece of gear that has a higher armour rating. Instead pay attention to the Firearm, Stamina and Electronics value – by increasing these stats you will unlock weapon talents that can give a far greater edge in firefights than a slightly increased armour value.

Collect and sell

Stick with a favoured kit and sell the rest – you’ll need the credits for when you hit level 30. The weapons, gear and mods that are available from safe house vendors scale with your level, so don’t waste your credits until you’re level 30. There’s also an advanced weapon vendor in the security wing of your base – available once you unlock the Armoury.

You like wings?

Speaking of unlocks, when you upgrade the Medical, Tech and Security wings save up and unlock the upgrade that cost 1000 supplies – this will allow you to equip a signature skill.

Get into cover, then snap out

Can’t get past a heavily armoured enemy? There’s a sneaky trick that you can use when snapped against cover – preferable a doorway – pull out of cover and edge round with your gun raised until the reticle is red, you should be able to shoot around the door post without getting any return fire.

SMGs are king

Once you add some range mods and an extended magazine, SMGs are the most powerful weapon at your disposable. The amount of bullets they spew out beats the powerful but slow bolt action sniper rifle, the cumbersome LMG and the accurate assault rifles. Then again, if you like getting up in the face of your enemy a shotgun will be your best friend.

Fire is your best friend…

…well not when the cleaners are torching you, but how about you give them a taste of their own medicine? Once unlocked, you can add a fire mod to the turret – a stream of fire will engulf anyone who comes near – distracting them while you take some cheeky shots without getting any return fire. The turret’s fire mod is particularly useful against elites, although the big LMG guys will kick them over so don’t place them too near.

Hold to the right

Hitting right on the dpad will give you a medkit hit when your health is low, but if you hold the button down a radial wheel comes up with some rather useful options – Explosive and Incendiary bullets are great for giving your firepower an extra punch and bottled water can boost you an additional 20% damage to elite enemies for a limited time.

Scavenge for more supplies to keep these topped up – you can even hand out supplies to needy citizens and get some extra XP and often a new piece of gear to cutsomizse your agent’s look.

Going dark

The Dark Zone scales with player bracket so you needn’t worry about getting bullied by high level players – you will get bullied by groups so always go in as a pack. If you have no friends online then jump to safe house and matchmake with another group – safety in numbers.

Power level

If all else fails (or you’re lazy) then jump in with a level 30 player and let them take carry you through a couple of levels – you can go up several ranks with minimal effort.