Revealing the New Frontier: The First ROGUE and Beyond

Just this week, Team Ubisoft Massive unleashed a series of announcements at their Forward 2024 event for The Division 2, charting a future course in a litany of seismic shifts – and the next major ones take effect in the final months of Year 6. Following the ‘First Rogue’ season that begins on 11 June, an inflection point before the upcoming revolution, the game shifts to a new seasonal character progression model. Here’s what veterans could expect from this massive overhaul for starters.

The Dawn of "First ROGUE": A New Beginning

Year 6 Season 1 is ‘First Rogue’, and it’s going to be a doozy. Though it’s billed as the grand finale of Blizzard’s familiar seasonal formula, it’s hard not to see it as the half-way point between a triumphal signpost and a rough overpass. It might just be the most nostalgic season of Heroes of the Storm there ever will be.

From Legacy to Legends: The Evolution of Seasonal Gameplay

Year 6 Season 2 will have a difference from the seasons that came before it. The Division 2 is, fundamentally, a third-person shooter, but with this latest update it is set to pivot to adopt a Diablo-like character progression system. This isn’t a simple update, this is a total overhaul. The key word here being overhaul. Seasonal characters will get reset with each new season. This not only means that Ubisoft can manage the balancing act far better but, crucially, that the game will be totally different each season, free from the legacy of old characters.

Embracing the New Seasonal Characters

It is seasonal characters — who start at level 1 and are allowed to go all the way to level 40 — who are at the centre of this rogue transformation. With an ‘accelerated’ progression, the path to the endgame is sped up so that it remains fun, and never becomes grindy. There will be seasonal modifiers that will mantle the rogues and change the rules of gameplay so players are more apt to make different and continual choices, making the experience what keeps it fresh and fun.

The Manhunt Reimagined: A Deep Dive into Narrative

The Manhunts (the summit, highest-level missions) are going from control points and bounties to something with a narrative: weekly ‘Scouts’ that reveal the storyline bit by bit, concluding with one big mission each week, complete with a higher Master difficulty that kicks the operatives of The Division into maximum gear.

Mastering the Climax: The Introduction of Master Difficulty

But the Division 2’s year 6 is not just about levelling up and story arcs; it’s also about paying homage to the needs of a hardcore community: a new Master difficulty setting attests to Ubisoft’s continued commitment to provide an end-game ‘extreme’ for the already super-levelled and battle-hardened agents who have seen and done it all.

The Future Beckons: Operation "Brooklyn Redux"

Year 6 is heading for a climax: another story DLC that will send us back to Brooklyn in New York, which is where The Division’s story started. I don’t know what it’s going to be or if the developers will finally explain everything that happened, but if there’s one thing that Year 6 proved, it is that The Division can do anything. And, everything is tense. And, everything is interesting.

Understanding the ROGUE Philosophy

What is at the heart of The Division 2’s overhaul is the rogue philosophy: the spirit that drives a disruptive process of game development that reimagines conventional approaches to the industry, reimagines the role of player experience, and above all, seeks to reinvent and replenish player engagement and reinvolvement with the community – all in the pursuit of continuously evolving The Division 2 into a dynamic, living world. This is the spirit that keeps Ubisoft true to its community and dedicated to serving the best interest of the players.

Out of the Ashes of the Old Rose the ROGUE Phoenix

As The Division 2 prepares to launch ‘First Rogue’ and prepare the new seasonal character model to soar, The Division 2’s Year 6 promises to be a revolution, a renewal, a rebirth all at once, and The Division 2 promises to cape all over you as you prepare for battle, defy the Man and generally cause chaos all over Washington DC at every given moment. The Division 2: are you ready to be a rogue?