Survivalist specialization in Division 2 The Division 2 guide, tips
Last update: 04 April 2019
The first from the three available specializations is the Survivalist. This specialization is a perfect choice for support builds and players that prefer crowd control at the cost of lower damage. In this chapter you will find all the information about this specialization - equipment, characteristics, and unique abilities, as well as useful hints that will allow you to use the specialization to its fullest potential.
Equipment
The signature weapon of the Survivalist is the crossbow that fires explosive bolts, which after few seconds from reaching their target - explode, inflicting additional damage in a small radius. Importantly, enemies hit by the bolts are stunned for several seconds (generally until the explosion takes place) and will not be able to do anything - this is a great way to stun problematic enemies, such as bosses charging at the team.
Using the crossbow, however, is not an easy task. The biggest flaw of this weapon is the lack of any magazine - there can be only a single bolt loaded into the weapon and the weapon must be reloaded after each shot. This significantly reduces the amount of damage dealt by the weapon, because it has an extremely low rate of fire. There is also a problem with the low amount of ammo for the weapon that can be carried by the character - this can, however, be somewhat solved by unlocking a specific upgrade that gives additional ammo from enemies killed under crowd control effects (blind, burning, shocked, disoriented). What is more, bolts do not reach the target as quickly as a normal bullet - hitting an enemy on the move might be problematic. This weapon deals the lowest damage from all of the signature weapons in the game. However, the main purpose of the crossbow is the crowd control effect and the effectiveness against individual opponents, it is not meant to deal damage.
The Survivalist is also equipped with unique incendiary grenades. They do not deal as much damage as ordinary grenades, but they allow the player to set all targets in the area of explosion on fire. Burning enemies will receive damage over time and will be under a crowd control effect, preventing them from performing any actions. This is a perfect tool for mass crowd control and it works extremely well with the special ability allowing the Survivalist to acquire more ammo for the crossbow for killing enemies under control-impairing effects.
Passive abilities and characteristics
The Survivalist has access to a skill tree with 20 unique abilities to unlock. All of the available abilities were presented in the following table.
Name | Cost to unlock + requirements | Effects |
Incendiary grenade | 3 points | Unlocks the incendiary grenade that applies Burn to targets within the radius. |
Triage Specialist | 3 points | +5% received healing for the character. The ability has 3 levels. |
Elite Defense | 3 points, requires the Triage Specialist ability | Protection from Elites increased by 5%. The ability has 3 levels. |
Distributed Repair | 3 points, requires the Triage Specialist ability | Armor kits now repair over 5 seconds instead of instantly, but the repair effect now also applies to group members within a radius of 10 meters. |
Mender | 3 points | The Mender Seeker mine follows allies, repairing their armor. Note - for the healing to have an effect, the character must be standing still, as the mine creates a repairing field on the ground. |
Magnetic Disc | 3 points, requires the Mender ability | A mod to decrease the seeker mines cooldown time. |
Larrea tridentata Infusion | 3 points, requires the Mender ability | A mod to increase the seeker mines healing. |
Survivalist Uniform | Unlocked by default | Unlocks the unique Survivalist outfit. |
Survivalist Tactical Link | 10 points | Group members get a 10% bonus to damage against target s with status effects - burn, shock, disorient, blinded. |
Scraping By | 5 points, requires the Survivalist Tactical Link ability | Gain 5 ammo per second or your current weapon, while performing a cover-to-cover maneuver in combat. |
Vital Protection | 5 points, requires the Survivalist Tactical Link ability | Decreases the chance you are critically hit in conflict by 20%. |
Crunch Time | 5 points, requires the Survivalist Tactical Link ability | While in cover, gain 10% skill cooldown reduction for your character. |
Survivalist D50 | 10 points | A hard hitting but precise pistol, the D50 features .44 Magnum rounds and an optic slot for added customization. |
Gunslinger | 5 points, requires the Survivalist D50 ability | +5% sidearm weapon damage. The ability has 3 levels. |
E.M.I. | 5 points | +5% Assault Rifle weapon damage. The ability has 3 levels. |
Infantry 5.56 Mag | 5 points, requires the E.M.I. ability | Custom magazine for 5.56 assault rifle style weapons. |
Running The Gun | 5 points | +5% Shotgun weapon damage. The ability has 3 levels. |
Explosive Bolt Acquisition | Unlocked by default | Enemies killed while under status effects (blinded, shocked, burning, disoriented) may drop additional crossbow bolts. |
Group Signature Ammo Supply | 5 points | The group has a Chance to gain 1 signature ammo when a target with status effect is killed. |
Signature Weapon Damage | 10 points | 25% increased signature weapon damage. The ability has 3 levels. |
Abilities worth attention
The following abilities are particularly worth noting:
- Incendiary Grenade - the 3 point cost is small and the incendiary grenade perfectly supplements all of the Survivalist abilities and allows this specialization to apply crowd control effects to enemies.
- Distributed repair - this ability causes the effects of the Armor Kits of the Survivalist to be spread over time instead of instantaneous, but at the same time renewing the armor of all of your allies within 10 meters. This is a great way to passively support your team.
- Survivalist Tactical Link - a damage boost for your whole team, activating against enemies who are under control-impairing effects (blinded, disoriented, shocked or burning). A very useful ability, especially if there are more Survivalists or Sharpshooters in your team and applying those effects is not a problem.
- Mender - the unique type of Seeker Mine, available only to the Survivalist. The mine follows your allies and repairs their armor. This is one of the most effective healing abilities in the game and it is worth using, especially if you are building a support character.
- Group Signature Ammo Supply - another ability worth unlocking, as it allows your teammates to acquire additional signature ammo.
- Signature Weapon Damage - a very costly ability, but offering a huge damage boost to the signature weapon. An ability worth your interest, but only after you have unlocked all of the other skills from this list.
- E.M.I. and/or Running The Gun - depending on the type of weapon you will be using, it is worth to unlock those abilities, as they offer a significant boost to damage.
Tips
To sum up, here is a handful of tips on how to play using this specialization:
- The Survivalist is a perfect choice for a support character. Thanks to the incendiary grenades, crossbow and the passive abilities this class is extremely effective at crowd control, limiting or preventing the enemies from reaching other players.
- The Survivalist is also very effective as a tank using the Ballistic Shield. You can either activate it without any upgrades, using only sidearm in combat, or with the Crusader variant to be able to use main weapons, at the cost of losing leg protection.
- While playing as the Survivalist, you should focus on crowd control. This specialization cannot deal as high damage as the Demolitionist or the Sharpshooter, but is extremely effective at limiting the effectiveness of your enemies.
- To maximize the effects of passive abilities - acquiring additional signature ammo for killing enemies under control-impairing effects - you should use specific variants of active abilities. The Incinerator upgrade for the Turret and the Firestarter one for the Chem Launcher will set enemies on fire.
- The Survivalist's crossbow functions as a combination of a sniper rifle and a grenade launcher. You should always aim at a weak spot (a destroyed piece of armor, head, an ammo box or a grenade pouch) to deal as high damage as possible, further increased by the upcoming explosion of the bolt.
- The Survivalist's crossbow stuns enemies - they will be unable to perform most of their actions for several seconds (until the bolt explodes). This makes it a perfect tool to control the movement of powerful enemies - like a boss charging at your team.
- The Survivalist can use all of the weapons, but it is worth to focus on Assault Rifles and/or Shotguns. This specialization has access to abilities that increase damage dealt with the mentioned weapon types.