'The Division' gameplay news: 1.8 update coming this week

PTS Update 1.8 is now live in "The Division."Twitter/TheDivisionGame

New player-versus-player and player-versus-environment modes are coming to "The Division" this week as part of the game's 1.8 patch.

Ubisoft announced the upgrades via "The Division" sub-thread on Reddit.

Among the expansions coming this week is the new PvE Horde mode called Resistance, where players can build fortifications against allied factions by using SHD-Tech. The upcoming 4v4 PvP mode called Skirmish, on the other hand, will be all about close-quarter combat and gunplay.

Ubisoft adds that the Underground will also get a revamp. It will still feature the same agents, but with new directives, checkpoints, chances for classified gear, and hunters.

A new system for gear optimization will also be in place, to allow players to spend D-Tech and upgrade their weapon and gear statistics to maximum level. New weapons will come in the new "Big Alejandro" exotic light machine gun (LMG), the new "Devil" and "Heel" exotic matchmaking rank pair, and the new "House" sub-machine gun (SMG).

Players will also have an extended fighting vicinity with a map expansion on the left-hand portion of Manhattan, to be called West Side Pier.

As for Rogue 2.0, a voluntary rogue toggle for PvP flagging is coming, in hopes of re-balancing the Dark Zone.

"We recognize there is plenty of passion around the Dark Zone, but we also want to remind everyone that The Division is a live game. As such, we are always evolving to best suit the overall balance of the game," Ubisoft explained.

The game developers added that they want to make a zone that is equally divided between PvE and PvP. Their previous data revealed that the balance is entirely off. "Seventy-five percent of player deaths in the DZ are exclusively PVP, and that is something we want to change," Ubisoft said.

"The Division" 1.8 patch is completely free to all users. No official date yet on when this week it will be released.