Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 has finally received its first specialization for endgame content in its Title Update 4. The Gunner specialization is sure to be a hit with players, as it turns a character into an intimidating tank with massive weapons.
Players will recognize those who are using the Gunner specialization by the minigun they carry. When drawn, players have increased armor allowing them to take more damage while allies work to wrap up a task. This comes also with a new trait called “Banshee” which will confuse all enemies using cover. The Gunner also gains a special grenade named “Riot Foam” that stuns enemies caught within its radius. Overall, the specialization should be a fantastic addition to endgame content and feels a bit like a “tank” from traditional MMOs.
Unlocking the Gunner requires the completion of Special Field Research challenges. However, players who purchased The Division 2 Year 1 Pass will have the specialization unlocked immediately, and those challenges will instead reward exclusive cosmetic items.
Special Field Research Challenges
Each component of the challenges have four objectives. Players should not be distraught if they find the objectives difficult to complete, as there are currently reports by some that bugs are preventing their completion. One way that players are creatively bypassing this bug is to head to the White House and use the shooting range for certain objectives, but this is not working for everyone.
Special Field Research Stage 1
Note that these can be completed in any order.
Task 1: Shock Roach twice before defeating him in Bank Headquarters on Normal or harder difficulty.
This is an easy one as Roach is the final boss of the mission. Deal with all other enemies, and then take the shock ammo that should be in the middle of the room he is located in. If you shock him at least twice, the objective should mark as complete.
Task 2: Capture all Downtown West control points while using the Sharpshooter specialization.
This objective takes a little longer because control points must not be under friendly control. If they are, you need to wait for them to be lost, and then actively capture them. Easy, but perhaps more time consuming that one would first expect.
Task 3: Defeat enemies with the mounted gun in the Grand Washington Hotel on Normal or harder difficulty.
This one takes a little bit of creativity. As the mounted weapon is near the beginning of the mission, you can use it to eliminate enemies, and then have your character die to the final opponent in the room, leading you to respawn at the previous checkpoint. It seems counter-intuitive, but this is the quickest way to get those kills.
Task 4: Complete five public execution activities with only the marksman rifle.
We can call this one the easiest of all the challenges needed to unlock the Gunner specialization. As always with these kinds of requirements, ensure the weapon does the killing, not your skills, else it will not track towards completion.
Special Field Research Stage 2
Task 1 : Set Lt. Kennedy on fire three times before defeating him in the Air & Space Museum on Normal or harder difficulty.
Similar to having to shock in the previous set of challenges, there again is incendiary ammo in the hall after the Mars exhibition, along the East end of the upper balcony. Some players report that spacing out their shots, even by a few seconds, helps ensure that the hits are marked as three distinct times.
Task 2: Capture all Southwest control points with the Survivalist specialization active.
Like before, you may spend more time waiting for points to be lost in order to actively capture them.
Task 3: Defeat enemies that are trapped in foam.
This can be done on missions or as you wander in free roam.
Task 4: Complete five propaganda missions using only shotguns.
Much like the marksman rifle, ensure that the weapon gets the kills without the aid of your skills or the eliminations will not count towards progress completion.
Special Field Research Stage 3
Task 1: Break Sgt. Wade’s helmet before defeating him in ViewPoint Museum on Normal or harder difficulty.
This one is easier than the first two as you do not need to worry about special ammo to complete the objective. Wait for the boss to arrive and break the helmet before taking him down for good.
Task 2: Capture all Downtown East and Federal Triangle control points using the Demolitionist specialization.
Same as before, actively capture the points.
Task 3: Defeat enemies while they’re confused.
There is an easy and a hard way to do this, depending on your friends. If you are rolling with another player who already has the specialization unlocked, they can confuse enemies for you to eliminate, and the entire thing can be wrapped up quickly. If not, you do not really have any ways to confuse on your own.
For this, you can head to Hyena territory, or take on Hyena bounties where charging Hyena enemies wielding batons have a hip bag that can confuse other nearby enemies when shot. It is one of the longer objectives, but still completely manageable with some patience.
Task 4: Complete five resource convoy activities using just an SMG.
Are you already of fan of SMGs? Great! If not, learn to love them for these short missions, which are the red, rectangular icons that move around the map.
Special Field Research Stage 4
Task 1: Defeat General Ridgeway in the Capitol Stronghold without using any armor kits on Normal or harder difficulty.
This challenge is always appreciated, because it forces the player to consider how to defeat content without relying on band-aids to fix your mistakes. Learn the boss, dance around the encounter, and become a better player for it.
Task 2: Defeat five heavy weapons enemies in the open world.
True Sons Territory Control usually has more than one spawn, and that is a good place to loop through for a quick completion. Demolition Site CP usually spawns one as well, so alternate or server jump to finish quickly.
Task 3: Defeat enemies highlighted with Pulse.
Equip the Pulse skill and use it on cooldown, making sure you eliminate an opponent before the effect expires.
Task 4: Complete five territory control activities using only an assault rifle.
As before, the weapon needs to be making the kill, not your skills.
Special Field Research Stage 5
Task 1: Destroy all of the Basilisk’s armor before defeating him on Roosevelt Island on Normal or harder difficulty.
This one is a bit tricky, but only because the issue it not that you will die before the objective is complete, but that the Basilisk will. You have a couple of options here. First, using a Demolitionist’s grenade launcher damages all of the armor at once, and in equal amounts. Using that consistently will ensure that every piece is broken. Alternatively, you can single target each piece. Both work depending on your own aim and how quickly the boss is going down. If you believe that you will run short on time, you can die to restart the fight.
Task 2: Use a mounted weapon to kill enemies in the Roosevelt Island Stronghold.
The mounted guns are located halfway through towards the rescue of Angela Woods on the right side of the area. Like the previous mounted gun objective, die to the final opponent to respawn and quickly finish this objective.
Task 3: Use only an LMG to complete control point activities.
Here is a buggy encounter, as the objective is vague in how many of these we need to do. In addition, some players state that the objective only progressing towards completion when capturing both Ivy Tunnel (in Constitution Hall) and The Mast (West Potomac Park) control points.
Task 4: Defeat enemies using mounted guns in the open world.
Same as before, except now with fast travel you can kill all but the last enemy, die, respawn, and quickly back into the action. Surprisingly, this one feels like the quickest to complete of all the mounted gun challenges. What a nice way to wrap everything up before getting your own minigun!