The Division’s PVE just became interesting again thanks to High-Value Targets

The Division isn’t just a catchy name for the biggest Ubisoft release of 2016. It’s also an apt description of the fanbase today, as they’re firmly divided between exploring New York in PvP and PvE encounters. The Dark Zone has received some big buffs over the last week, to make that environment even more appealing for those backstabbing f***s who come out of nowhere just ten seconds before an extraction starts.

But PvE has also been in the crosshairs, as The Division has been working on making that side of the game more appealing with better loot drops and raids. And the latest such carrot that they’re dangling on their stick, comes in the form of High-Value Targets. High risk, even higher rewards. So how’s it all work then?

Once you’ve clocked the game and dinged level 30, you’ll be able to earn Target Intel as part of the new features in the 1.2 update. It’s a new form of currency, that allows you to buy contracts that open up missions to take down High Value Targets. Remember, ALL side missions in a district will also need to be cleared, so stop being so lazy and get to it.

Search and Destroy missions which render unto you that Target Intel currency, are available on a safehouse notice board. Activate it, hit the zone and take down a trio of enemy groups, which will give you 1 Target Intel when done. Now that you’ve got some coin, head back to the safehouse and you’ll pick up some rewards. Back at your BOO you’ll find the daily and weekly HVT vendors that you can spend your coin at, loitering in the insecurity wing because someone called it fat recently. Easy.

Right, so you’ve got the Target intel. You’ve got a High-Value Target. What’s next? There’s four tiers of HVTs to choose from, ranging from challenging through all the way to F*** off mate. If you choose a daily target, you’ve got 24 hours to kill the bugger. Weekly target, the obvious seven day time limit. Some targets can be handled solo, others recommend that you bring some pals with because these guys are hard as adamantium nails.

You can try as much as you want to kill a HVT if you choose daily or weekly missions, so long as you do so in the timeframe set out above. You can only have one HVT activated at any time however, so choose wisely. The kick here however, is failing to kill an HVT means that you have to fast-travel back to your BOO and re-activate the mission. Why? Because the targets are on the move.

But it’s worth it. So, so worth it, because of the loot. Here’s a quick rundown of what you can get from taking out a High-Value Target:

• High Value Target (Daily) – 182 High End/214 Gear Set with a chance of obtaining a 191 Gear Set piece
• High Value Target (Weekly) – 182 High End/214 Gear Set with a chance of obtaining a 214 Gear Set piece
• High Risk Target (Weekly) – 204 High End/214 Gear Set with a chance of obtaining a 240 Gear Set piece

Carrot, meet stick. This is the kind of content that I like seeing in The Division, one that has a definitive path of reward laid out for players that doesn’t rely on the tedious grind. It’ll be interesting to see what Massive does with this mode as The Division continues to evolve over the rest of 2016.

Last Updated: May 26, 2016