The Division: 10 Crucial Tips & Tricks You Need To Know

By Martin Harp / March 12, 2016

Although it's Ubisoft's most successful game to date - selling more copies in 24 hours than anything else - and being one of the most highly-anticipated games of 2016, The Division is a game that doesn't hold your hand. Instead, you get thrust into the city of New York and must figure the majority of things out yourself after the basic tutorial. To that end, there are some features in the game that may go completely over your head in the beginning, and they are vital to know. Also, for new players coming in, the following tips will greatly help you get a better start. This game has a lot going under the surface, so figuring out precisely which stats to track and what items to hunt down will make your life much easier. Diving in head first can certainly be overwhelming for players who don't have any sort of experience in these sort of grind-heavy, loot-based games, so here are some essential tips and tricks that are going to make your experience in The Division a much smoother ride.

10. Know What The Coloured Numbers Mean

You may have noticed while you were playing, every time you shoot an enemy, damage numbers pop up in four separate colours, depending on various things. White numbers indicate that you are dealing base body shots that are chipping away at the enemy's health, and this is what you will be seeing the most as you play. Blue shows your shots are connecting with any armour they have on and not their health - which once you've destroyed it, white numbers will resume. Red denotes you have fired a headshot, plain and simple, but here's where things get a little less obvious. Orange denotes you've fired a critical shot, the highest damage shot. In most games you'd be used to a headshot being a critical shot regardless, but in The Division the two do not go hand-in-hand. A headshot CAN be critical, but so can anywhere else, there's a percentage chance that one of your shots will register as critical, no matter where you're shooting. While playing, pay attention to these colours as they will best help you know not only where your shots are landing, but how effective they are as well outside of the base damage.