Tom Clancys The Division - How the end-game works
Our guide to all of the activities currently available once you hit Level 30 in The Division, with tips for farming plenty of Phoenix Credits
Once you reach Level 30 in Tom Clancy's The Division, you not only gain the ability to awe lower level characters when you visit a safehouse, you also gain access to Daily Missions, Phoenix Credits, and a Challenging difficulty mode to tempt you out of the Dark Zone and back into the wider world.
Here's a quick run through all of the content available once you hit the level cap, and what you'll need to do to get involved.
Daily Mission
Every day at midnight UTC, three missions on the map will be highlighted on the map and marked as Dailies. Replaying them on a specific difficulty will earn you a bonus item drop and 15-20 Phoenix Credits.
Think of this currency as the good guys' equivalent of Dark Zone credits. They give you access to a selection of top-tier weapons, gear, mods, and blueprints that aren't available to mere mortals. While they can be gruelling to earn, they have the benefit that people can't kill you and then make off with them.
Challenging difficulty
The name is fairly accurate, so don't be surprised or discouraged if you struggle at first. The enemies you encounter will be higher levelled than you are, they'll all be armoured to the hilt, and they'll all do a lot of damage. If that wasn't enough, the entire mission map becomes a no-respawn zone.
Playing solo is completely out of the question here, and you need a balanced party that works well together and where everyone knows their role. The more familiar with the level layout you are, the easier it becomes, and eventually you'll find things a little more manageable.
Earning and spending Phoenix Credits
You can earn 30 Phoenix Credits by completing any mission on the Challenging setting, while finishing a Daily mission at the indicated difficulty will earn you 15-20. Killing a Named Enemy will also drop a couple of Credits, and you can even claim a one-time bonus of 30 from the Ubisoft Club (formerly UPlay). If you're struggling to complete a mission on Challenging you can still earn a few here and there while you work up to it.
These can be used at the Special Gear Vendor in the Tech Wing of your Base of Operations or the vendor in the safe house in DX06. Some items purchased in the Dark Zone also require a Rank of 50, so getting hold of them requires a lot of effort. The vendors stock different items and their inventory changes once a week (midnight UTC on Fridays) so don't feel like you have to buy the first thing you see. Item prices range from the low 40s up to a few hundred, so there should be something to suit every budget.
Farming for Phoenix Credits
The quickest way to rack up Phoenix Credits is to simply find a mission you can survive on Challenging difficulty and replay it over and over again. We've found that Lincoln Tunnel Checkpoint and Lexington Event Center are your best bets, but whichever mission you choose, grab a group and run through it a few times.
When you can afford to make a Phoenix Credit purchase and upgrade your gear, do so, and then run through it again: the more top-tier equipment you have, the easier the fights will become and the quicker you can cycle through it in the pursuit of new and shinier gear.
Going Rogue
If you're bored of killing NPCs you may want to consider taking on other players in the Dark Zone. So far, there seems to be an unspoken truce and most PvP is accidental, but as more players reach the level cap and form regular groups, it's likely that raids on other players will become more common. Of course this isn't limited to the end-game, but to stand a better chance of gaining significantly from treading the dark path, then you want to be pretty certain you can win the fight and survive the bounty period.
The "safest" way of making a profitable PvP attack is to camp at an extraction zone, wait for an unsuspecting group to call in the chopper, and then pounce. Co-ordination on your team is key, as you'll need to get the drop on your prey and eliminate them quickly. If you can time your attack so that you wipe out your opponent just before the extraction actually arrives, then you reduce the risk of getting a taste of your own medicine before you've had a chance to get rid of the evidence. After all, once you're marked you won't want to stand around in one place for too long.
- Return to the index page for more entries in our guide to Tom Clancy's The Division.