The Division’s April update, Incursions, brought with it a bunch of new features and content to enhance the game’s end-game content. As part of this, Massive Games introduced a Gear Scoring system to allow you to further develop your character once you hit the level cap.
Gear Scores are an incredibly important part of the Incursions update and for any further time that you play The Division once you’ve hit level 30. With that in mind, you’re going to want to make sure you have a solid understanding of everything about them and how exactly you can increase your Gear Score. So without further ado, let’s get to it.
What Is It?
Once you hit level 30, you will find that next to your character’s level there will be a new symbol that looks a little like an arrow with the bottom missing out of it. The number next to this is your Gear Score. This Gear Score is an average of all the scores of each piece of gear you currently have equipped. The higher your gear score, the better gear you have equipped. Think of it just like Destiny’s Light Level.
Each piece of gear also has a score which is displayed by viewing the different pieces of gear you have for a particular type of armor or weapon. Check the image above for an example. The piece of High-End armor has a Gear Score of 163 which, when equipped results in the number in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen in white to be higher than if one of the Specialized pieces of gear was equipped. Every piece of gear you come across in the game as soon as you hit level 30 will have a Gear Score and it’ll take some grinding of levels and scouring of the Dark Zone in order to raise it further.
Why You Need to Increase It
So why exactly do you need to increase it? First off, it’s all part of the grinding process in The Division. Rather than just looking for gear that increases your DPS or Health, you’re now wanting to be that guy in your group of friends who has the impressive Gear Score level.
Bragging rights aside, you actually now need a Gear Score level of at least 140 to even be allowed to start the Falcon’s Lost Incursion. The game actually recommends that you have a Gear Score of at least 160 before starting it, so you don’t want to just settle for the minimum, either. Of course, Falcon’s Lost is just the first of many Incursions coming to The Division, and you can bet your bottom dollar that some of the later ones will probably require you to have a higher Gear Score level. Get grinding now and you’ll be prepared for any requirements that future content may drop.
How to Increase It
As we eluded to before, each piece of gear that you have will have its own Gear Score. Equipping a piece of gear with a higher score than what you previously had equipped will raise your average Gear Score and thus the overall number in the bottom. What is important to note, however, is that Gear Score is not merely a representation of the overall DPS or statistics that your gear has. Instead, it takes into account your gear’s attributes and more to calculate an overall score as to just how good it really is.
More often than not, High-End gear will have a higher Gear Score than any other type of gear, as evidenced by the picture a couple of pages back. Despite the fact that the Specialized gear had a much higher ARM score, the Higher-End piece had a higher Gear Score due to its Talent.
In order to effectively increase your Gear Score, you’re going to need to head out into the Dark Zone, look for Dark Zone Supply Drops, run missions on Hard and Challenging difficulties, and even grab Gear Sets from the Falcon’s Lost incursion. Oh, and don’t forget you can also craft some bad ass gear if you’ve got the blueprints for it.
That’s a quick rundown of just about everything you need to know about Gear Scores. For more guides, tips, tricks, and information on The Division, be sure to check out our wiki.
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