At first glance, The Division looks like many other games out there. It's got cover-based, third-person shooter mechanics; it features a huge recreation of Manhattan, and players can roam around the city completing all sorts of quests.

Once you really dig into the game, however, it quickly becomes clear that The Division is more than just another open-world shooter. Systems that are usually reserved for MMOs or traditional RPGs are at the forefront of the experience, while traditional shooter tropes — such as dedicated multiplayer modes — are nowhere to be found. The Division may look like just another action game, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Given its deviations from the usual genre trappings, The Division can be a bit obtuse at first. There's a lot going on, and players who aren't ready for such a drastic shift might find themselves lost, even in the first few hours of the game. That's why we've put this guide together: if you've been stuck wondering what to do during The Division's opening hours, look no further.

Establish Your Base Of Operations

Once in Manhattan, The Division really starts to open up: the game's full map is unlocked right from the get-go, and Camp Hudson is a great source for easy side missions and encounters. Exploration seems like the next natural step — though it's not really the best choice.

Instead, players should immediately head to the Base of Operations mission that pops up after leaving Camp Hudson. It's extremely short (there are only a handful of enemies to take out, and then the base is yours), and it helps open up a wealth of upgrades and the game's next set of story missions. You can always head back to Camp Hudson — and chances are, you'll be a lot more powerful when you do.

Complete The VIP Missions

That being said, there's one last set of missions that you should tackle before you really start exploring. Once the Base of Operations is up and running, three VIP missions will appear on the map — these missions will not only provide you with the personnel needed to get the Base's different tech wings online, they're required to unlock the rest of the Abilities, Skills and Perks.

There's no real order to tackle these in, but most players will probably start with the Medical Wing mission — the starting point is right across the street from the Base, after all. Once that's done, make sure to complete the Tech and Security missions as well, and you'll be well on your way to unlocking that second set of Abilities.

Start Exploring

Now that you've got a foothold in Manhattan, it's time to start clearing out the map.

It may seem a bit like overkill at first, but the early hours of the game are really the best time to thoroughly complete Side Missions and Encounters. Enemy levels will be similar to yours, and it's an easy way to rack up XP, and the resource rewards will help unlock different bonuses back at the Base of Operations. Finishing up these objectives is also a good way to avoid a mid-game grind, as Main Missions will start to out-pace players if they're avoiding the game's optional missions.

Between the rewards, the extra upgrades and the lack of end-game grind, players can only benefit from wiping the extra icons off the map.

Choose Your Abilities Wisely

By the time players hit Level 20, they've accumulated a number of different Abilities, Talents and Perks — but in the early hours of the game, Agents are far from indestructible.

As such, choosing the right Ability for the job is of the utmost importance. If you're playing solo, you'll want to choose something that'll keep you safe or buff your damage output — on the other hand, if you're playing with a group of friends, you'll want to coordinate Abilities and cover every angle. The Division makes it extremely easy to switch out and experiment with different Ability and Perk combinations, so there's really no excuse for heading into a mission with the wrong skill selected.

Don't Rely On DPS

The Division uses a single standard across all of its different weapons: DPS, or damage-per-second. It's a unique way of giving players an idea of how guns stack up to one another, even if they're not in the same class — but it's not a perfect system.

For example, a submachine gun and a rifle could have a vastly different DPS value simply because of firing rate: obviously, a rifle is going to fire more slowly than a bullet hose. However, the difference in DPS doesn't necessarily mean the rifle is useless, and players will quickly learn that a slight decrease in DPS is worth it.

A lot of the time, DPS is a perfectly functional system for comparing different weapons — it's just that players shouldn't solely rely on which gun has the biggest number.

Find A Marksman Rifle

Speaking of rifles, players should try and get their hands on a Marksman rifle as soon as they possibly can. Yes, it's tempting to carry a heavy machine gun, a shotgun and a magnum into the heat of battle, but a rifle will be far more useful in the long run.

A Marksman rifle's high-damage output can help take care of tough enemies early on, and once enemy snipers are introduced in later missions, the rifles become invaluable. They're even great in co-op, where a traditionally lone-wolf weapon becomes a great way to keep other Agents covered. Even if you don't necessarily play a sniper in other games, it pays to keep a long-range rifle in your inventory.

Play With People

If you're playing through the game's main story, it can be easy to forget that The Division isn't a solo experience. The levels are designed so well that a single person (of appropriate level) can get through missions without having someone else by their side.

Even so, The Division is best experienced with other people. Enemies are tougher, loot is better and it's just more fun to play in general — plus, it's not so tactical that groups of random players are doomed to fail over and over and over again. What's even better is that, in our experience, matchmaking is generally smooth on Xbox One, so you won't have to worry about trying to join a game and getting stuck on the loading screen.

Avoid The Dark Zone (At First)

The Dark Zone, or The Division's walled-off PvP arena, is one of the game's biggest selling points. It's entirely possible to head in with a group of friends, take out some Rogue Agents, grab their loot and then betray everyone — something that's never been done on such a scale before.

Here's the thing: it's definitely not for beginners.

New players shouldn't even think of entering the Dark Zone until they've got a halfway-decent arsenal and a number of different Abilities from which to choose. Dark Zone PvP doesn't pull any punches, and if you try to run in at the beginning of the game, you're going to get slaughtered. Just take your time, complete some quests and build your character — then, think about hitting the Dark Zone.

The Division is a huge game, and there's quite a lot to it — hopefully, this guide will help you get through the early hours of Ubisoft's latest with the absolute minimum amount of headaches.

We'll be covering more of The Division as the community continues to grow, so make sure the check out our coverage hub for more!