The Division 2 will be one of the biggest releases of early 2019, and it will immediately face a burden of scrutiny: after EA and BioWare have struggled to make Anthem stick, how will Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment fare instead?
There's a lot to separate the two games, though, not the least of which is the fact that The Division 2 features a PvP mode. The Dark Zones are returning from the original game, and even though they've been restructured, they function somewhat similarly to their predecessors. The biggest change will be that they've been split into three different areas, each smaller than the original and meant to force players to interact with each other more often. That's a design change that stems directly from feedback that Massive received on The Division, which should make fans cautiously optimistic about how the Dark Zone will play out in The Division 2.
Related: The Division 2 Endgame Unlock Guide: How to Reach Level 30 FAST
Unfortunately, though, The Division 2's Dark Zones aren't immediately available when players join the game as new Agent. Players will need to complete a few tasks prior to their unlock, and by then, they'll be better prepared for the Dark Zones anyways, since they'll be more adept at using the various skills and gear that defines The Division 2's combat. Here's our quick guide on how to unlock the Dark Zones in The Division 2 as quickly as possible.
How to Unlock The Dark Zone
Find Senait Ezera
Unlocking the Dark Zone requires players to progress to a certain point in the main campaign mode. Prospective Agents will need to bring Senait Ezera to the Whitehouse safe zone in order to receive a mission related to Dark Zones. Ezera can be acquired by completing missions and then recruiting her from the Theatre settlement. After that, she'll be available in the Whitehouse, where she'll inform the player about the dangers of the Dark Zone before politely inquiring that the Agent go check one of them out.
Complete Dark Zone East Recon
Once players are given the coordinates of the Dark Zone East area, simply going there will progress the mission and begin what is honestly one of the easier tasks in The Division 2. The directions are straightforward, the area is well laid-out, and it only requires some basic tasks and a simple enemy skirmish before the mission progresses to another sequence of the exact same tasks. At the point in the game where players will acquire this mission - typically somewhere between level 9 and 11, although that can certainly vary - these tasks will be routine and won't require much in the way of strategy.
After completing the mission itself, the game then gives players a quick rundown on what the Dark Zone entails for Agents. That's mostly to do with extractions, the basic win condition, and contaminated gear, the randomized loot that makes Dark Zones worth chasing in the first place. The game makes the introduction easy, so just follow instructions until the end until the mission is done. Once completed, players will have access to the Dark Zone through Dark Zone East, and they'll be able to begin farming for rare weapons and proving their mettle.
What Level Is Best To Begin Playing Dark Zone?
Unlocking the Dark Zone around level 10 is probably best, since that will be roughly when it first becomes available anyways and it exists in a zone that begins at a base level of 10. It's also recommended that players use the Dark Zone fairly frequently, since it contains much better loot than average and can help make the grind to level 30 even faster than it already is.