You need to know plenty about the weapons in The Division 2 to dominate the enemy NPCs. Not only does it help to understand what you’re reading, but you’ll also have a better idea of what you want to bring with you on a tough mission, or how to best support your squad in the Dark Zone. There’s a good deal of information when you open up the weapon screen, and here’s what all of that means, and what you need to know when choosing a weapon for your Division agent.

The Division 2 Weapons

Different Weapon Types

There are six different weapons you’re going to find in The Divison 2.

  • Assault Rifles
  • Submachine Guns
  • Marksman Rifles
  • Semi-automatic
  • Bolt
  • Light Machine Guns
  • Belt
  • Magazine
  • Shotguns
  • Pump-action
  • Semi-automatic
  • Breech
  • Sidearms
  • Revolver
  • Semi-automatic
  • Burst
  • Breech

Of the primary weapons, the shotgun features the most diversity. There are benefits and positives to each one. For example, you’re going to unleash the most damage with the breech-type shotgun. However, it’s going to take the longest to reload. The same goes for the bolt-action marksman rifle. Consider the pros and cons each one before picking it up. If you use a bolt-action marksman rifle or a breech shotgun, you may want to take a reliable assault rifle or a magazine light machine gun as your second primary.

  • Semi-automatic

  • Bolt

  • Belt

  • Magazine

  • Pump-action

  • Semi-automatic

  • Breech

  • Revolver

  • Semi-automatic

  • Burst

  • Breech

DMG, RPM, and MAG

At a glance, these tell you a great deal about the weapon you’re wielding. The DMG stands for the maximum amount of damage a single shot from this weapon can deal. The RPM stands for how many rounds you can expect to fire off with this weapon in a minute if you can freely fire the gun at your leisure. This number is not entirely accurate. For example, with a bolt-action marksman rifle, you cannot fire off 59 rounds in a minute when you consider how long it takes to reload the weapon, but it does provide you an idea of how many times you can pull the trigger.

Lastly, the MAG tells you how many rounds your weapon can hold before needing to reload. For assault rifles, submachine, and light machine guns, you’ll want to pay attention to this number because it’ll shed light on how many times shots you can fire before needing to retreat to cover.

The Importance of Weapon Drop Off

When players compare the differences between weapons, the weapon drop off stands out as a massive piece of information every Division player needs to reference. Thankfully, Ubisoft was kind enough to provide an in-depth displaying it. A weapon’s drop off chart shows how much damage the gun loses based on how far away its target is. For marksman rifles, this is a reasonable distance away likely close to 40 meters, whereas the shotgun and submachine lose their effectiveness after more than 20 to 30 meters.

So, if you decide to bring a submachine with you and have a shotgun tucked away as your second primary, you need to get real close for those weapons to remain effective. When considering which weapons to take with you, bring a mid to long-range rifle, and have a shorter distance weapon nearby. When the armored melee enemies rush you, you’ll be ready.

Weapon Firing Types

Each weapon has a different rate of fire. Some are significantly faster than others, and you need to consider each type when choosing what weapon to use.

  • Assault Rifles – Full rate of fire
  • Submachine Guns – Full rate of fire
  • Marksman (Semi-automatic) – One shot per trigger pull (quick magazine reload)
  • Marksman (Bolt-action) – One shot per trigger pull (reloads one round at a time)
  • Light Machine gun (Belt) – Full rate of fire (replaces entire belt of ammo)
  • Light Machine gun (Magazine) Full rate of fire (reloads the magazine, quicker than LMG belt, but less ammunition)
  • Shotgun (Pump-action) – One shot per trigger pull (reloads one round at a time, quickly)
  • Shotgun (Breech) – One shot per trigger pull (unloads spent bullets, then replaces them. The slowest shotgun reload)
  • Shotgun (Semi-automatic) One shot per trigger pull (reloads entire magazine at once)
  • Revolver (Sidearm) – One shot per trigger (replaces all of the bullets at once)
  • Semi-automatic (Sidearm) – One shot per trigger pull (reloads entire magazine at once)
  • Burst (Sidearm) – Fires in quick successive bursts (reloads entire magazine at once)
  • Breech (Sidearm) – One shot per trigger pull (reloads each round one at a time)