The Division 2 endgame trailer: Specializations, blowing up drones, and more

There's always talk about endgame content with online titles like The Division 2, and this new trailer shows how Ubisoft will give players plenty to do after they hit the level cap. It's a quick introduction to one of the key areas Ubisoft is pushing for The Division 2, and it's packed with enough details that I decided to pull seven of them out for further scrutiny in gif form. Let's take a look.

Sharpshooters get sneaky sniping power

One of three specializations you can unlock for your agent once you hit the level cap, Sharpshooters get exclusive access to the .50 caliber sniper rifle and a set of perks to support a long-range playstyle. The Division's urban setting means you won't be doing any miles-long, coriolis-effect-calculating shots, but you can still deal plenty of death from the other side of the block.

Survivalists get explosive crossbows

The name "Survivalist" calls to mind folks who are no further than 10 feet from a bugout bag at all times, and The Division 2's Survivalists may have those too, but mechanically speaking they're the crowd control masters. They can set traps to damage enemies or impair them with status effects, and they get to exclusively wield the crossbow weapon. I don't know if it has to fire explosive bolts or if there are other options, but if it can explode… why not?

Demolitionists get explosive (duh) grenade launchers

The Demolitionist specialization is self-explanatory: they blow stuff up with grace, efficiency, and professionalism. Their Grenade Launcher (which kicks out explosive rounds a whole lot faster than a crossbow) gives them the ultimate tool for disrupting enemy positions and emplacements. Not to mention they make that satisfying "thunk" sound when they discharge.

New strongholds will keep you busy after the campaign

Once you finished the main campaign in the original Division, the open-world of New York was mostly safe and boring. The opposite will happen in The Division 2. Once the end game begins, a new PMC-styled faction called Black Tusk will descend on DC and start capturing territory across the city and in the Dark Zones. You'll have a whole lot more work to do after they show up.

Black Tusk basically have Power Armor soldiers

There's something very familiar about the sight of a near massively armored soldier stomping across a ruined Washington DC and firing a hundred-pound minigun… just can't put my finger on it...

You can still fight helicopters, sort of

Spoiler warning for a three-year-old game, but the original Division's vanilla campaign ends with a boss battle against - no lie - a heavily armed attack helicopter. After all the somewhat-grounded, close-up combat against dudes in hoodies and gas masks, it was the most beautiful jumping-the-shark moment I had experienced in years. I don't know if we'll fight full-on choppers in The Division 2, but we can at least take down helicopter drones and reminisce about the old days.

The open beta starts March 1

Ubisoft already announced this a few weeks ago, but tell your friends: The Division 2 beta opens up from March 1 to March 4. No need to pre-order or register for a spot ahead of time. The full game will follow shortly after on March 15.

See what else is on the horizon with our big list of video game release dates.

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 now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.