Weapon talents | Equipment The Division Guide

Last update: 11 May 2016

Weapon talents are one of the most important things on a weapon.

Each weapon, aside from its standard parameters described in the previous chapter, has several talents - unique characteristics, which increase the weapon's effectiveness significantly. Talents appear on weapons of Superior and High-End rank - in the former case there will be two talents, in the latter three (pistols are an exception to this rule - Superior pistols have one talent, whereas High-End have two).

Most talents in the game have their own requirements - a character wielding a weapon with specific talent will need to have a high enough amount of a given stat: Stamina, Firearms and / or Electronics. Each talents requires up to two stats, with varying amounts of them. If the character does not meet the requirements, the talent will remain inactive. The only exception to this is the third talent of the High-End weapon (as well as every talent on a piece of gear - more on that topic can be found in the next chapter) - it does not require anything to work.

The following table represents all the talents that can roll out on a weapon, coupled with their descriptions. Some of the talents have varying values (as well as duration times) - those were replaced with "X" and "Y" respectively. The game is still in the early stage (as it was released only a few weeks ago), which is why some of the numbers are still unknown, and some will certainly change over the next weeks.

A couple of hints that will help you with weapon, as well as talents selection:

Most talents (located in the 1st and 2nd "talent slot" of a weapon) will have their own requirements of Stamina, Firearms and / or Electronics, which is why you most certainly won't be able to use all of them at the same time. You shouldn't rewrite your whole character in order to, for instance, activate a talent increasing the chance for a critical hit.
Weapon talents are often more valuable than pure weapon damage (the best example is the "Self-Preserved" or "Balanced" talent). It's worth to sacrifice a small portion of damage in order to activate extremely powerful talents. Use moderation - decreasing the DPS of a weapon by half is never worth it!
Creating weapons by crafting them on your own will cause the talents on a weapon to reroll each time - if a weapon you've created doesn't satisfy you, repeat the process as many times as you want until you reach the best combination.
Talents must go in harmony with the weapon. A talent that gives increased damage on a distance higher than 40 meters rolled on a shotgun is useless.
Talents must go in harmony with your character as well. There's no point in using weapons that have talents focused around killing enemies, when your character is a support / tank one, and your damage output is too low to kill enemies constantly.

Weapon talents

Name	Description and rating
Accurate	*Description:* Accuracy is increased by x% Note: Weapon accuracy is always needed - even if it does not increase your overall damage output by any significant amount. This talent is most important for marksmen rifles, where you always want to aim for the headshot.
Adept	*Description:* Skill increases your critical hits chance by 3% for y seconds. Note: On paper this talent is quite good, but in practice it's completely useless and only takes up a precious talent spot - a 3% increase to critical hit chance is a rather small bonus (single weapon mods can give up to three times us much).
Balanced	*Description:* Weapon acquires maximum accuracy faster when shouldered. Note: Probably the most powerful weapon talent in the game. "Shoulder fire" is basically when you shoot after aiming - the "acquires maximum accuracy faster" causes the reticle to "calm down" quicker. Basically in means, that you can take your shot almost immediately after aiming your weapon - without the talent your crosshair would be scattered around the whole screen. Without a doubt the most valuable talent on a weapon.
Brutal	*Description:* Headshot damage is increased by x% when using this weapon. Note: A talent that is a must-have when using a marksman rifle - they have their own headshot damage bonus, but every additional percent of damage counts. In case of weapons other than a marksman rifle, the talent is not that useful, as most of the times you won't have enough time to carefully aim for the head.
Capable	*Description:* Using a skill improves the handling of your weapon for x seconds. Note: A good talent for those classes, that are focused around supporting the rest of the team (which have a lot of cooldown reduction), as well as for the tanks, that use Light Machine Guns to suppress enemies.
Commanding	*Description:* Every kill performed while the signature skill is active extends its duration by x%. Note: A powerful talent that can almost double the duration time of the signature skill, provided that you activated the ability at the right moment.
Competent	*Description:* Weapon damage is increased by x% for y seconds after using a skill. Note: A talent that is effective on characters that are focused on dealing damage with their weapons, and abilities are used only as a support, not as a source of damage. With that talent, every time you activate any of your abilities, your damage will increase for a few seconds. This talent is also good for support characters, as well as tanks, as those classes tend to have low damage output.
Coolheaded	*Description:* Performing a headshot reduces all skill cooldowns by x%. Note: An extremely effective and must-have talent for all characters built as a tank, who uses a Ballistic Shield and a pistol. With this, each headshot you perform will decrease the cooldown times of your abilities (which should be low already thanks to your Skill Power). Aside from that, the talent is effective on almost any character, provided that you can aim your shots properly.
Deadly	*Description:* Critical hit damage is increased by x%. Note: A talent that increases your damage output significantly. Every weapon should have that.
Destructive	*Description:* Armor destruction value is increased by x% when using this weapon. Note: A talent that comes in handy when doing Challenge missions, as well as when you are in Dark Zone (zones 04, 05 and 06), where enemies tend to have heavy armors, decreasing the amount of damage you deal to them by a fair amount.
Determined	*Description:* Killing a target reduces skill cooldowns by x%. Note: A weaker version of the "Coolheaded" talent, which will come in handy for those who are not focusing on shooting at the enemy head. Missions of the Challenger difficulty, as well as ventures into Dark Zones render this talent completely useless - killing enemies there will take a lot of time and you won't even notice any difference. The biggest problem of this talent is the fact, that you must KILL THE ENEMY for the talent to work - when playing in a team, especially with three other people, chances for that are a lot lower.
Dominant	*Description:* Every kill while your signature skill is active reduces the cooldown of your other skills by x%. Note: Another talent that looks good in theory, but in practice is completely useless. The duration time of signature skills is way too low for you to get something off that talent - you should look for something else on a weapon.
Expert	*Description:* This weapon deals x% more damage when the target is below y% health. Note: An extremely effective talent when dealing with enemies who have immense amount of health - all of the ones with unique names, as well as regular enemies you stumble upon during Challenge missions, as well as in higher zones in the Dark Zone. In the case of enemies on 30-31 levels, you won't even notice the difference - they will die too fast for you to even feel the damage increase.
Ferocious	*Description:* Damage against elite and named enemies is increased by x%. Note: One of the best talents that can roll on a weapon. Every enemy you stumble upon during the Challenge missions, a large portion of those in the Dark Zone (DZ 05 and 06), as well as all of the uniquely named enemies are treated as elites. Together with the "Damage vs Elites" attribute from gear, this talent will turn even the most powerful enemies into regular cannon fodder.
Fierce	*Description:* Critical hit chance is increased by x% when using this weapon. Note: Another powerful talent. A lot of things in the game are activated when you perform a critical hit (not to mention a portion of talents as well) - ignoring the obvious damage increase that it offers, you want your shots to critically hit as often as possible.
Fordern	*Description:* Kills by active skills prolong their duration by x%. Note: A fairly situational talent, and, in general, completely useless - your abilities will be able to kill enemies only when playing missions on normal and hard difficulty, elsewhere they are used mainly for supporting your team.
Harmful	*Description:* Each hit has a x% chance to apply the 'bleed' status effect. Note: In theory a decent talent, in practice you should look for something else. Bleeding is simply a portion of damage caused by the bullet dealt over a few seconds - on higher difficulty levels you won't even notice any difference.
Intense	*Description:* The first bullet of a magazine has a x% chance to apply the 'on fire' status effect. Note: A talent similar to the one described above, the only difference being that it causes the enemy to be set on fire, rendering him useless for a few seconds. The only problem of this talent is the chance to cause the effect - a small chance, and especially only with the first bullet of a magazine causes this talent to be completely not worth the precious slot.
Meticulous	*Description:* Killing a target has a x% chance to instantly refill the magazine. Note: A talent that is especially useful when using Light Machine Guns. Those weapons take ages to reload, and a free magazine is a blessing, as it allows you to fire at your enemy continuously. There's only one problem with this talent - you must be the one to kill the enemy for it to work. You can't really count on that when playing in a team.
Prepared	*Description:* Damage is increased by x% when more than 40 meters from the target. Note: An extremely powerful talent for characters that use marksman rifles - in most cases you will be further than 40 meters from your enemies either way. If the talent is rolled on a weapon that is incompatible with it (like an SMG or a Shotgun), you can ignore it.
Provident	*Description:* The last bullet in your magazine deals x% bonus damage. Note: A talent that might be useful only using a risky tactic. It will require you to use a marksman rifle with extremely high damage from a single shot, and the character talent "One is None". The talent gives you a 50% chance to regain the bullet when performing a headshot. With enough luck you can perform your shot, regain the bullet thanks to the talent (and with a damage increase from the "Provident" weapon talent, as it is the last bullet in the magazine) and repeat the process. This works even better when using a shotgun - it shoots numerous pellets, and each one of them has a 50% chance to give you the ammo back. As it is quite an unreal situation, this talent is pretty much useless.
Proficient	*Description:* The first bullet shot when out of combat has a x% chance to result in a critical hit. Note: A useful talent, which will activate each time there's no enemy nearby, with whom you are fighting. This goes extremely well with marksman rifles with huge damage from a single bullet - by shooting at the enemy head you have a chance to cause absurd damage. Aside from that the talent is completely useless.
Predatory	*Description:* Killing a target regenerates x% health over y seconds. Note: Each additional healing you are able to gain is extremely valuable. This is even more important when fighting with higher-leveled enemies (31 and 32), as it will take some time between killing them, allowing the talent to "work" for a few seconds, regenerating your health. There's only one problem with this talent - you must be the one to kill the enemy for it to work. You can't really count on that when playing in a team.
Restored	*Description:* Killing a target with this weapon removes all negative status effects. Note: A powerful talent that comes in handy in numerous situations. Killing an enemy will remove bleeding, burning, shock and stun effects from your character. On the other hand, it is quite situational - you shouldn't really be in the range of those effects in the first place.
Responsive	*Description:* Damage is increased by 5% when closer than 10 meters to the target. Note: The equivalent of the "Prepared" talent, this time giving boost to damage when fighting on a short distance. Perfectly suited for characters fighting on a short distance, using Shotguns and SMGs. Useless when you tend to fight on a medium / long distance.
Stable	*Description:* Stability is improved by x%. Note: Similar to the talent increasing the Accuracy, Stability is always important. It will allow you to perform continuous fire without the risk that your bullets will scatter around the whole screen. Useful especially when using Light Machine Guns and Assault Rifles.
Sustained	*Description:* Killing a target increases your health by x%. Note: The description of this talent is quite weird, but the working method is simple - each kill restores a specific amount of your maximum health. Together with the "health for kill" attribute from gear, killing enemies might restore a whole segment of your health! There's only one problem with this talent - you must be the one to kill the enemy for it to work. You can't really count on that when playing in a team.
Skilled	*Description:* Headshot kills with this weapon increase signature skill resources by x%. Note: Extremely overpowered talent, especially for those that are able to constantly kill enemies with headshots. Each time you kill an enemy with a headshot, your signature skill's cooldown will decrease - in extreme scenarios, you might be able to use it again after a minute it wore off (which is enormously powerful, given the ~10 minutes cooldown of those skills).
Swift	*Description:* Reloading is x% faster. Note: Increasing the reload speed of your weapons is extremely valuable - especially for those using Light Machine Guns. Each fraction of a second of reload time can decide whether you will live or die.
Self-Preserved	*Description:* Critical hits with this weapon heal the user for x% of damage dealt. Note: A talent similar to the one described above ("Sustained"), but a lot more powerful. Each critical hit will heal your character, which is absurdly effective when using SMGs. SMGs have an increased chance for a critical chance - coupled with the rest of your equipment, you should be way over the 50% chance for a critical hit, healing your character with every second shot. One of the most valuable talents on a weapon.
Talented	*Description:* Killing a target with this weapon increases skill power by x% for y seconds. Note: This talent would be good on support and healing-oriented characters, if not for one thing - it requires you to kill the enemy to gain the boost. Characters that will benefit the most from it (support and healing ones) won't be able to benefit from it, as they won't be able to secure a kill on their own. On the other hand, those classes that are focused on dealing damage and gain the benefits of this talent won't gain must, as their Skill Power won't be high enough to matter. To sum up: the talent is completely useless.
Toxic	*Description:* Headshots with this weapon have a x% chance to apply the 'blind' status effect. Note: A talent useful for those using marksman rifles - as those weapons require you to go for the enemy head the most. Blinding the enemy causes him to be disoriented for a few seconds, preventing him from doing anything. This talent is very situational and a lot of other talents are simply better than it.
Trained	*Description:* Critical hits increase signature skill resources by x%. Note: Having a large critical chance will allow you to make the signature skill ready before the previous use even ended - which will in turn allow you to continuously use this powerful ability. The talent is disabled (as of version 1.02), as it was simply overpowered.
Unforgiving	*Description:* Missing health segments increases your damage by x%. Note: In theory this is a powerful talent, as it gives you one of the highest damage boosts in the game, but it is also extremely dangerous to use. Playing with a single segment of health in order to get the full benefits of this you risk way too much - a single bullet from the enemy sniper, or a grenade blast will kill you. You shouldn't use this talent at all.
Vicious	*Description:* Critical hit chance is increased by x% while at full health. Note: A powerful talent, provided that you can keep your health at the maximum all the time. To increase your chances, install a silencer (that gives Reduced Threat) on your weapon, so that the enemies won't attack you that often. This is most effective on a character built as a tank, which uses a Ballistic Shield with a pistol - in most cases the enemies won't be able to take any of your health, as the shield will block any attack.

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