Earn The Division 2 Rewards By Playing The First Game Now

Ubisoft is preparing to launch The Division 2, even as the original The Division still enjoys a relatively active player base thanks to a steady stream of content updates and quality-of-life tweaks. To tempt players back, and perhaps to ease the transition into the sequel, the company is offering some free goodies, as well as limited-time access to older expansions.

Shields are special commendations that are granted for fulfilling specific mission objections. Every Shield you unlock will grant you rewards in The Division, including 2,000 Phoenix Credits, three Cypher keys, one exotic weapon, a patch with the Shield icon, and more. But it also grants you a tiered rank that will transfer to The Division 2. As detailed on the official blog, the higher the tier, the more rewards you'll get:

• Tier 1 - Weapon Skin
• Tier 2 - Outfit and Patch
• Tier 3 - Emote and Gear Dye
• Tier 4 - Taunting Emote and Backpack Trophy

Every month, the Division is adding a new Shield, and another one just became available. It's called the Sacred Shield, and since it's tied to the Underground expansion, Ubisoft is making that expansion free for a limited time. You can play it gratis until next Wednesday, July 25.

The Sacred Shield is granted for completing 10 phases, getting to level 10, and killing 10 Hunters in the Underground. It joins Shepherd, Avenger, Deadeye, and Hazard as the Shields that are obtainable so far. Getting all of the Shields, and keeping up with new ones as they come out, will get you the best head-start when The Division 2 is released next year. You can read up on everything we know about The Division 2 for more details.