Understanding Expertise in The Division 2: A Comprehensive Guide
What is Division 2 Expertise? Expertise in The Division 2 is a progression system designed to enhance the performance of your high-end and superior gear, extending your character’s power beyond the traditional gear score. It’s a system that allows you to improve the attributes of your weapons and gear, not by finding better loot, but by investing time and resources into your existing, preferred items. Think of it as a mastery system for your chosen loadout. It’s crucial for optimizing your build for the most challenging content. Unlike the straightforward climb through gear score levels, Expertise focuses on building proficiency with specific item types, leading to tangible stat improvements.
How Expertise Works: A Detailed Breakdown
The Expertise system revolves around two key concepts: Proficiency and Expertise Levels.
Proficiency: Mastering Your Gear
Proficiency is the first step in this process. Each piece of gear, whether a weapon, armor piece, or skill mod, has an individual Proficiency Rank, which you increase by using it in combat and donating duplicates to the Recalibration Station. To increase proficiency quickly:
- Equip your desired gear: Engaging in combat with the gear you want to master is the primary way to level it up.
- Donate duplicates: Donating items of the same type at the Recalibration Station also provides significant proficiency experience. The higher the quality of the item, the more experience it provides. Focus on donating high-end items of the same type that are near the max roll.
Once a particular item reaches Proficiency Rank 10, it becomes “proficient,” which is a critical milestone. At that point, you unlock the ability to upgrade it further via Expertise levels. Exotics are not donated, but deconstructed.
Expertise Levels: Unleashing True Potential
Once proficient, your gear can be improved through Expertise Levels. These levels are tracked individually for each type of gear you’ve mastered. By spending resources, you can upgrade each proficient item up to the current max Expertise Level, which is 24.
Upgrading an item through Expertise provides a significant attribute boost. Each level increases the base stats of the selected item, making it more powerful. This increase, while not massive on a per-level basis, compounds significantly, resulting in a substantial overall boost to your build at max Expertise Level.
It’s important to understand that Expertise is not just about optimizing your gear but about mastering it. This system requires a time commitment to truly max out.
Optimizing Your Expertise Progression
- Focus on your main loadout: Prioritize the weapons and gear you use most frequently. Leveling these first will provide the most immediate benefit.
- Farm efficiently: Identify activities that yield a high volume of loot. Certain control points, invaded missions, and Countdown runs can be efficient for quickly obtaining a large quantity of targetted high-end items.
- Donate efficiently: As previously stated, make sure to donate the right items. Do not donate exotics, and use items with high stat rolls. Deconstructing is a much better use of exotics in this process, and using lower stat rolls is a waste.
- Don’t neglect skills: Remember that proficiency also applies to skill variants and mods. Don’t forget to level them up to further enhance your build.
- Track your progress: The Expertise menu at the Recalibration Station provides a clear overview of your progression, allowing you to track your proficient items and their Expertise Levels.
The Max Expertise Level
The max Expertise Level in The Division 2 is currently 24. When all items that can achieve proficiency reach this level, you will have completely maximized the Expertise system for your agent.
Resources for Upgrading
Upgrading through Expertise requires specific resources like SHD Calibration, Field Recon Data, and Receiver Components, among others. These resources are acquired through gameplay, and you will have to continue to farm and play the game, to maintain these resources. Some resources are only available through specific content.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions to further clarify the Expertise system:
1. How do I increase my Proficiency Rank?
You increase Proficiency Rank by using items in combat and donating duplicates at the Recalibration Station. Items of higher quality provide more proficiency experience.
2. What’s the difference between Proficiency and Expertise Levels?
Proficiency is how well you know a particular item type, and the rank is specific to each individual item. Once an item hits rank 10, it becomes “proficient”, and Expertise Levels allow you to upgrade the item by spending resources.
3. What is the fastest way to level up Expertise?
The fastest way to level up Expertise is to play any activity with the gear you want to level equipped while also donating duplicates of those items at the Recalibration Station. Focus on playing content that is faster for you and more efficient for gathering specific gear types.
4. Do Exotic items benefit from Expertise?
Yes, they do, but they cannot be donated. They can gain proficiency through usage in combat, or through deconstruction. They also can benefit from Expertise level upgrades once they are proficient.
5. How many Expertise Levels are there?
Currently, there are 24 Expertise Levels for each item you can achieve proficiency with.
6. Can I upgrade all my gear to Expertise Level 24?
Yes, once your gear is proficient. You can increase the Expertise Level of any proficient item up to the current max level of 24.
7. What resources do I need to upgrade Expertise Levels?
Upgrading Expertise Levels requires resources like SHD Calibration, Field Recon Data, Receiver Components, and others depending on the item type.
8. How do I get the necessary resources?
Resources can be obtained by completing various in-game activities, including control point captures, missions, bounties, and through global events. Some resource types are tied to specific activities.
9. Does Expertise affect Skills?
Yes, Expertise affects all gear types, including skill variants and skill mods. Skill mods are upgraded in the same way as weapons and armor, using donations and combat usage.
10. Is Expertise account-wide?
No, Expertise is tied to individual characters. This means you need to level your Expertise on each agent you wish to use with maxed out gear.
11. Do all gear types have the same maximum proficiency and expertise?
Yes, all high-end and better items can have the same maximum proficiency rank of 10, and the same expertise level of 24.
12. Can I reset my Expertise progress?
No, you cannot reset your Expertise progress. Once you’ve upgraded an item, the upgrades are permanent for that character.
13. Is there a recommended order for leveling up my gear?
Start with your core loadout—the weapons and armor pieces you use most frequently. This will give you the most immediate and noticeable performance boost.
14. Does the Expertise system make the game easier?
Yes and no. The game’s difficulty scales, so a maxed-out agent still faces challenging content, but the Expertise system ensures you can maximize your preferred builds, which can result in easier gameplay.
15. Does it require the Warlords of New York expansion?
No, the Expertise system is available to all agents, however you will need to be level 40 to make use of the Optimization Station.
Conclusion
The Expertise system in The Division 2 is a crucial element for players seeking to fully optimize their builds and tackle the most challenging content. Understanding the mechanics of Proficiency and Expertise Levels, and employing efficient farming and resource management strategies, is key to success. By investing time and effort, you can significantly enhance your gear and take your agent’s performance to new heights. This is the primary way to make your agent as powerful as they can possibly be, and an essential part of The Division 2 end-game experience.