The Division's first big post-launch update will make Dark Zone PvP more rewarding

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The Dark Zone will get more rewarding for high-level players in The Division as of update 1.02. It will be the first major patch since The Division launched on March 8 when it rolls out tomorrow, though the free update introducing Incursions and squad loot trading is still taking shape.

Middling rewards and massive risks spur few players to attack their fellow agents in the Dark Zone, making the current climate more akin to a Slightly Shaded Zone. Update 1.02 will bolster Dark Zone funds and experience point rewards both for hunting down Rogue agents and for outliving your wanted timer. Players will also lose less funds and XP for dying in the Dark Zone, and killed players will even start dropping ammunition and other consumable items - the downed player doesn't lose them, they just appear as tribute from the Dark Zone PvP gods.

Those tweaks should make the Dark Zone's current "peace and cooperation except for some trolls" atmosphere much less of a given, though you'll also have more cause to team up and take down non-player hostiles; level 31 and 32 NPCs will also start dropping more High-End items (those are the super powerful ones with the yellow boxes), and DZ rank 30 locked chests will get a chance to drop High-End items.

The Division update 1.02 will introduce a bunch of general gameplay tweaks too, just in case if the Dark Zone isn't your thing. Named enemies will drop better loot in Challenge Mode missions than in Hard Mode, further rewarding your struggle, and the Trained weapon talent has been reworked so that it won't keep powerful Signature Skills going indefinitely.

Check out Ubisoft's official forum for the full patch notes, and stay tuned here for more news as The Division's Season Pass DLC and free updates begin to roll out.

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Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.