The Division Dark Zone is getting hourly supply drops and guaranteed high-end loot

If the Dark Zone is still a little bit too chummy, you can look forward to The Division's lawless multiplayer region becoming far less cordial on an hourly basis as of next week. In an interview posted to the Ubisoft Blog, game director Petter Mannerfelt confirmed that the new Dark Zone supply drops coming in The Division Update 1.1 on April 12 will bring tons of powerful loot to a random location every hour.

Since the precious loot hasn't had time to be contaminated by the Dark Zone's gross air or whatever, it will go straight into your inventory without the need for extraction No helipad ganks will let rogue agents claim your prize - it's all about that one big fight to claim the package. This sounds like exactly the kind of risk-versus-reward proposition the Dark Zone needs to amplify the tension and uncertainty of open PvP, hopefully without pushing it too far into constant anarchy.

Certain pieces of new loot will only be available in these drops, or in the new Falcon Lost Incursion, so players will probably take them pretty seriously. On the other hand, update 1.1 will also bring more cause for collaboration. A post on The Division's official site revealed that all named NPCs of level 30 or higher will always drop a high-end item after the update, with their level determining the Gear Score of the loot in question.

Named NPCs are the toughest foes in the game, and you'll find plenty of them in the Dark Zone. So help each other take down bosses, then shoot each other in the back on the way to the supply drop. Sounds like a plan.

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