The Division 2 Shield Build: A Powerful Endgame Loadout

The Division 2's Shield Build has risen as a strong defensive loadout for players looking to engage in both player-versus-player (PvP) and player-versus-environment (PvE) endgame combat.

Tom Clancy's The Division 2 released on March 15 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The sequel to 2016's The Division sees the setting shift to a fictional future for Washington D.C. wherein a smallpox epidemic has ravaged the city and chaos rules the streets. Players take on the role of agents of the Strategic Homeland Division looking to restore order as they battle against each other or against the AI enemies.

As part of the role-playing game elements in The Division 2, players can earn experience to level up and unlock new abilities, weapons and gear that they can equip into their loadout. One such combination which has gained prominence as a powerful set-up for taking on endgame opponents is focused around the Shield skill.

The Division 2 Shield Build

The Shield Build is best used at Level 30 but its core components can be implemented early on and it is easy to adopt for most players.

The needed abilities are the Deflector Shield and the Chem Launcher. The needed gear are those that grant the Skill Power and Cooldown Reduction attributes on all gear parts. The Deflector Shield allows players to redirect fire at a target while using their pistol to supplement damage. The Chem Launcher should be used to deploy Reinforcer Gas to regenerate armor to contribute to the loadout's ability to tank damage.

The armor needed is the Providence Defense Brand Set and two pieces of Alps Summit with one additional piece of choice. The most important talents are the Capacitive Talent to allow for longer skill duration and Self Adjusting and/or Safeguard talents to further strengthen survivability. The Survivalist Specialization should be the focused skill tree.

Weapons should be a sub-machine gun (SMG) that possesses the Recharged talent to shorten cooldown reduction. The primary source of damage will come from a Sidearm, optimally the Liberty Exotic Pistol. The X-45 or Survivalist D50 are good substitutes. A marksman rifle is unnecessary but helpful to deal with enemies beyond the range at which the Shield Build can normally engage.

A different, offensively-focused loadout is the Assault Rifle Build. Enemy factions such as the Underground provide safer PvE opponents to test out builds before taking to the PvP.

Images courtesy of Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft