The private beta gave players a taste of the endgame by opening up the level 30 Invaded version of Jefferson Trade Center. The Black Tusks spare no expense trying to take down the Division, utilizing their own skills and exclusive tech like waist-high robots mounted with gun turrets (two variants, at that). The end of the mission brings the intimidation factor up a notch - instead of spawning by charging through doors as most enemies usually do, the Tusks send multiple waves of attack choppers with several squads rappelling into the battlefield — possibly on top of a player caught off-guard. The whole ordeal is a far cry from Legendary missions in the previous game, which had no narrative justification or the same sort of atmosphere this Invaded mission gives. The best part? Every single main and side mission will get this treatment at level 30!
The different enemy factions have different styles of combat and specialists, forcing players to adopt new tactics depending on who they're fighting.
Hyena specialists fight from long range while their foot soldiers boost their health through narcotics and rush the player's position. They're easy to pick off but can overwhelm the player like a pack of... well...
True Sons, being ex-military/police, use cover at all times and almost never engage in melee combat. Battles against the Sons tend to be longer, more drawn out conflicts as they need to be picked off strategically.
The Outcasts' battles are fast and deadly because they upend the combat mechanics from both the Hyenas and the True Sons. Many Outcasts don't use firearms, but instead use improvised weapons and bombs. If a Hyena rushes your position, they'll melee you, but it's not a one hit kills. An Outcast will rush and detonate a bomb vest with only a few seconds for the player to get out of the blast radius. Their Tanks wield sledgehammers and bullrush the player to try to get one-hit-kills.
And the Black Tusks? Their AI is easily the most aggressive and tactical of the factions, and as detailed above, their resources allow them a lot of big options for taking you down. Their Snipers actually use lenses to confuse players as to where their shots are coming from, and a drone fitted with a taser to allow them easy kills. And their Heavies? They have honest-to-god belt-fed miniguns, and a support station on their backs to regenerate their health, staying far from the fray to suppress you.
Bringing each Settlement and the Base of Operations to full upgrade. They all go from being on the brink of being overrun and collapse to something approaching Pre-Green Poison Levels. Especially the Settlements as hope is restored to the area, artwork starts to crop up on the walls, replace the trash and graffiti. Children playing, people actually living.
After bringing the SHD network back online, there's an awesome cutscene where every Agent in the US has a collective "Hell, Yes!" Moment as their tech starts working again. That, in and of itself is awesome, but what makes it even better is that we get a cameo of Faye Lau kicking Cleaner ass in NYC while sporting an Eyepatch of Power that would make Big Boss proud!
Securing the Declaration of Independence. After upgrading the Theater to a certain point, a woman will ask the Agent to break into the Historical Archives, and ask them to find the Declaration, and bring it home safely. She says that while the Declaration is a symbol, she also says that saving it will help remind people what they are fighting for. Manny agrees with her, and adds that saving the Declaration will also inspire more people to join them.
The assault on the Hyenas' headquarters is a massive battle against everything the gangs have as they continually send their best and brightest after you while you travel through the ruins of a DC mall. Eventually, the Council starts facing you directly with the most notable being a guy in a converted APC that you end up blowing up.
Tidal Basin. The Black Tusk's Stronghold; with all that entails. With the Black Tusk still having some grip on the city, and having a set of anti-virals, the same kind found in New York, the SHD decides to do the only thing they can; raid their FOB, make sure they're weakened to all hell, and retrieve the anti-virals. Mid-way, however, it's found that they have a fucking battleship ready to blow the White House i.e your Base of Operations to pieces. Overall, it makes you feel like a badass throughout.
Crossing over with Nightmare Fuel, the return of the Hunters from the first game. No fuss about it; a single one of them straight-up uses deception to lure the SHD into a seemingly abandoned Control Point to attempt a rescue of a fellow agent, with only the fact that the Hyenas have been scared shitless about the location serving as a hint that something's wrong. Once it's done, they swoop in, use their signature EMP, and promptly put up a hell of a fight; no matter what level you are by then, it'll be a challenge to grind even a single armor bar down...not that it matters, as once it's completely depleted, they immediately paralyze everyone, approach the lead...and taunts them, before leaving them be. And as it happens, twelve of his comrades enter D.C once the Black Tusk arrive, all of them using a adapted version of their moveset in the first game.
You taking on the BTSU and their replacements. First you knock out Bardon Schaeffer's hand picked operators one by one, eventually wiping them out over the course of several missions. Then their replacements don't last their first mission out after they meet you, much to Bardon Schaeffer's annoyance. Then the replacements for them don't even make it to full BTSU status due to you wiping them out during the BTSU tryouts. Then finally when you track down Schaeffer himself the BTSU with him don't even qualify as bosses themselves and are instead elite mooks with a custom look and voice lines. You won't even know their names without the looking at the subtitles when they speak.
