Dark Zone Gear Guide

The **Dark Zone** in The Division requires a certain set of gear in order to survive Rogue Agents, in addition to the normal environmental hazards.

## Summary

This guide will focus predominately on gearing for the DZ, predominately against players (as Rogue or against). This is of course of my own opinion and up to interpretation but throughout the game so far I've had a lot of success as a Rogue and against them. For each piece, I'll mention the strong options available, if a stat hasn't been mentioned it's most likely I regard it as too weak to bother going for.

## Chest

* (3 Majors) Armour (Mandatory), Mod Slots (Highly suggested two)

The chest slot is a rather weak area in terms of customizing. With armour being the only real useful primary, it's highly suggested you obtain it. Two mod slots is brilliant here seeing as the alternative majors are weak or PvE orientated, however since this isn't always an easy find, Exotic resilience, or elite damage/resistance are better than nothing.

## Mask

* (2 Majors) Skill Power Mod Slot (1-2), Crit Chance

The above options are all rather good, which makes for a lot of diversity in how you gear for this slot. 2 mod slots is a safe bet, allowing for easy changes to your build. Crit chance is strong here given that it is the only armour piece outside of gloves that can roll it. Skill power and armour are usually good choices, but seeing as they compete with mod slots or crit and the possible skill power and armour rolls are much lower than on a backpack, I wouldn't suggest aiming for them unless you are foccusing on a skill heavy build or are desperate for the armour. It's also important to note that enemy armour damage can be rolled as a minor here, which is a nice small gain for PvE content.

## Kneepads

* (2 Majors) Crit Dmg, Mod slot, Armour

It's highly suggested to seek crit damage and a mod slot as your majors on this piece, as the armour roll is very low in comparison to other opportunities. However, again, if you're desperate for armour or simply weren't lucky with drops, armour is still a solid roll.

## Backpack

* (2 Majors, mod slot guaranteed to be one of them) Armour, Skill Power, Crit Damage, Mod Slot

The backpack is a very important piece when it comes to gearing. The armour and skill power rolls are very high as well as the mod slot and crit damage both being strong rolls on and piece. This one really comes down to choice, with a mod slot being highly suggested, with skill power being a very strong pick not to be disregarded. As always, a mod slot is strong and offers the most customize options. Armour is a solid pick here if you're below the cap, but in an ideal situation, you will cap out without the need to have armour here.

## Gloves

* (3 Majors) Crit Chance, Crit Damage, Weapon Damage (of preferred weapon choice)

The gloves are the dps piece of gearing, with really no option outside of damage selections for majors. Because of this and the fact the rolls are so high, crit damage and chance are practically mandatory. Weapon damage for your most used weapon is a great third choice, however missing out and being stuck with something like health on kill or elite damage isn't too bad. Just make sure you get the two crits at the least. Important Note This is the one piece of gear I highly suggest not being a set piece. Gloves with the Savage talent offer 13-14% crit chance on enemies out of cover (which is near everyone in pvp and most pve enemies) Make sure your gloves have savage unless you are running 6 set pieces

## Holster

* (2 Majors, three primary stats counts as 1 major) Armour, Primary Stats x 3, Mod Slot

Finally, we have the holster. This is, in my opinion, the most optimal area to roll armour outside of the chest piece, seeing as it only contends with a mod slot and rolls a large amount compared to mask or knees. Three primary stats are highly suggested, practically mandatory even. A mod slot is a fine option if you didn't get armour, but beware that you'll have to make up for the armour elsewhere.
Skill Attributes I'm not going to go into depth on these, instead I'll just mention that ideally you'll have skill attributes on your gear that benefit your chosen skills for your build. First Aid Heal bonuses and pulse bonuses stand out as two strong options, with others being far more specific to your build (eg sticky damage, smart cover bonuses). Overall, these can add up to a rather large benefit, but only come into play as more of an afterthought. Focus on your majors first and treat these as a bonus, until you're thoroughly geared that min/maxing comes into play more.
Secondaries These are all very minor and barely affect your gameplay, but deserve a mention regardless. Ammo is nice to have on the chest and backpack, but keep in mind you only need to have +ammo pieces equipped when you restock, not after. Resistances may come into play if bleed becomes popular, but at the moment I've seen no need to delve too deeply here. Enemy armour damage is a nice PvE roll on certain pieces but still largely irrelevant in the grand scheme.

## Exotic Damage Resilience

I've added this as it's own category, mainly for it's benefit of protecting from sticky bomb players or explosive rounds. This makes for an okay roll on a chest if you didn't manage two mod slots, but outside of that, it's far too situational to bother gearing toward. If you're interested in having a counter for such attacks, a great means is to carry a 2 set of Final Measure gear, ready to be equipped and grant 50% exotic damage resilience. This provides a great option of protection while not having to invest your gear toward highly situational stats.