During E3 2018The Divisionreceived its 1.8.2 update and with it the first four Shields. Shields are a new form of achievement inThe Division, achievements that challenge players to prove their mastery of specific aspects of the game and reward them appropriately. Twelve Shields in total will be made available inThe Divisionbetween June and February 2019 and the more that players complete, the more rewards await them inThe Division 2.
Division Shields Require A Grind
Twelve Shields, each with a unique goal, spread out month to month would seem to imply that dedicated players will be returning at least once a month between now and next February. A handydatamine of the upcoming Shieldsshows that may not be the case, though. While only four of the Shields are available to acquire right now, many of the forthcoming Shields can be worked towards immediately. And players are going to need that build-up time, because these Shields can’t be completed in a weekend or two. Dozens of hours, if not well over a hundred, will be required. If you’re looking to earnThe Division’s Shields, start now.
And even starting now, it’s going to be a substantial grind for those who haven’t been playingThe Divisionfor an extended period of time (and even for those who have). One Shield, the Commendation-requiring Talon Shield for September, requires a staggering amount of work. Another, the Marshal Shield for collecting Exotics, relies entirely on RNG and likely requires players to fill their storage until a proper recording system launches later this year.
Finally, before even considering starting, it’s important to know thatThe Division’s Season Passis required to complete several Shields. That’s not a surprise, but still important to be aware of before diving in.
How To Complete The Shields In Division
For those brave Agents who are still dedicated to the cause of earning their Shields, it’s time to look at the specifics of what needs to be done and the best approach to reaching completion. For new players that includes power leveling up to 30. Focus onStory Missionsand Encounters, and then grind out Gear Score. A good rule of thumb is to constantly do as challenging of content as possible. And luckily Shields will give players a wide diversity of content to decide from.
Certain Shields should be prioritized over others, however, given how much of a time investment they will be. So it’s important to understand what the goals are for each Shield:
Note that only the first four Shields are officially confirmed. The other eight have been datamined but are subject to change without notice. That said, Massive seems to have wrapped up development ofThe Divisionalready, so changes are unlikely.
Just to reiterate the key points for Shield hunters - always complete Commendations, always hunt forExotics, wait for the expansion Shields to launch before going out of your way to do them, and deprioritize the “easy” Shields because they’ll likely get completed while pursuing the others.
As should now be abundantly clear, completingThe Division’s Shieldsis intended for only the most dedicated of fans. Not only are players required to dabble in every aspect of the game, often at the most challenging difficulties, but they must also wrestle with RNG drops for the most of it.
Are the rewards worth it? That’s going to depend on the player. Each Shield completed rewards the player with an in-game Audio Log, a Vanity Patch, and a Shield Cache packed with an Exotic Weapon, twoClassified Gear Set pieces, 2,000 Phoenix Credits, 500 D-Tech, and three Cyber Keys. But of course, the rarest of rewards comes with the launch ofThe Division 2:
Ubisoft and Massive have yet to make clear how many Shields are required for each Tier, but a spread of 1-4-8-12 seems likely. The questionThe Divisionplayers have to ask themselves now is whether or not it’s worth it. If you’re already planning on playing a lot moreThe Division, then go for it. If not, it’s definitely a lot of time investment for relatively little reward. But we can all agree that whoever is wearing that Tier 4 Backpack Trophy inThe Division 2will be one badass Agent.
The Divisionis available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.The Division 2releases on June 28, 2025 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
