The Division Adds Huge 24-Player Battle Royale Survival Mode To The Public Test Server

The Division’s 1.5 update and its upcoming Survival expansion have gone live on the PTS (Public Test Server), Ubisoft has announced. This is the first we’ve heard of what Survival actually is, and on the surface it sounds absolutely awesome. 24 players are dropped onto the outskirts of The Division’s city limit and must make it to the centre in order to retrieve life-saving antiviral drugs. Everyone starts in a different spot and with no gear, tasked with making it the centre within two hours.

As you may have guessed, Survival is all about, well, survival. On top of your usual concerns in The Divison, you must also wrap up warm against the cold (all clothing items now have a warmth rating), eat food to keep hunger at bay, drink water to stay hydrated, and take medication to avoid falling sick. Let any of these slip and you’ll face varying effects from slow health regeneration to limited vision and, eventually, death.

Throughout the city you’ll be able to scavenge for these resources along with better gear and loot. In this sense The Division - Survival is a little like a roguelike, each match starting you with nothing and tasking you with making it as far as you can. You start with no skills and only the most basic weapons and clothes.

For those who don’t want to go full Battle Royale, there is a choice between PvP and PvE modes. If you opt for PvE you will get less points, although you are still battling with other players over scarce resources.

I have to say from what I’m hearing this sounds all sorts of cool. Dropping players in with next to nothing levels the playing field so it should also be great for newcomers as well. Ubisoft has said there’s going to be no level requirements for accessing Survival.