The Division 2 guide: Crafting and Recalibration

The Division 2 is all about loot. Outside of random drops, the game includes a robust crafting system that can help get you the specific gun or piece of gear you are looking for. If that gun doesn’t work exactly the way you were hoping, you can use the Recalibration system for some customization.

In this guide we’ll explain how crafting and Recalibration work in The Division 2.

Crafting and blueprints

Crafting in The Division 2 is a necessary and helpful way to get loot, but it’s best not to use it early in the game because you’ll be getting new and better weapons constantly.

To craft something, you’ll need its blueprint. You’ll receive some blueprints as you upgrade your crafting station, but most are rewards for completing missions. Main missions often grant blueprints, but side missions and Bounties are the most lucrative. You can craft from blueprints for gear and weapons over again once they’re unlocked, but their power will be determined by the level of your crafting station.

Collecting resources

Once you have the blueprint, you’ll need to collect a variety of resources. You can find resources spread throughout the world and by deconstructing some items. You can also get them by taking on certain enemy factions who have a higher chance of dropping certain materials.

How to get each material:

• Receiver Components — Salvaged by deconstructing items
• Protective Fabric — Salvaged by deconstructing items
• Steel — Often dropped by True Sons
• Ceramics — Often dropped by Outcasts
• Polycarbonate — Often dropped by Hyenas
• Carbon Fiber — Often dropped by True Sons
• Electronics — Often dropped by Hyenas
• Titanium — Often dropped by Outcasts
• Printer Filament — Salvaged by deconstructing mods

There are also several High-End resources that are rare and manufacturer-specific. You can get these by deconstructing other High-End gear made by the same manufacturer.

You need many of these resources to create specific items, but they are also required to upgrade your crafting station. Crafting station upgrades should always be your priority. Before you worry about making any new items, upgrade your crafting bench.

When you should (and shouldn’t) craft

Crafting during the campaign can be a good way to unlock gear that’s slightly better than what you’re currently using. If you have one piece that’s especially low or needs an upgrade to do a harder activity, crafting is an easy way to make sure you get that piece replaced.

But you’ll always replace these pieces quickly during the campaign, so you don’t want to craft too much before you’re level 30 or you’ve reached the game’s maximum Gear Score. Gear and weapons crafted when you’re at the cap will be more useful and can slot into endgame builds. It’s even worth saving your materials until the release of Tier 5 if you can.

All of the gear you can craft will take similar materials, so it’s better to wait until you can get the best possible version of each piece. Otherwise you’ll end up blowing resources on gear you’ll have to quickly replace. This is especially true when you start crafting High-End and Exotic weapons. The one exception to this is weapon attachments, which you can craft at any time because they are usable on any weapons, no matter their Gear Score.

Recalibrating

Recalibrating is a way to customize a weapon or piece of gear. At the Recalibration station in the White House, you can select one stat or talent from a piece of gear and transfer it to a new one. This allows you to take something useful from an item you wouldn’t normally use and put it to better use — destroying the old item in the process.

Recalibrating has limitations: It’s only available once per item, and you can only transfer attributes from similar items. For instance, sniper rifles can only get stats and talents from other sniper rifles, shotguns from shotguns, backpacks from backpacks, and so on.

Most weapons cost Steel and Titanium to Recalibrate, along with credits, while pieces of gear take Ceramics and Electronics. The type of weapon you are trying to Recalibrate determines how many of each resource you need.