So, you’re looking for Scout 1. If you've spent any significant time roaming the ruins of Washington D.C. in Tom Clancy's The Division 2, you know that Massive Entertainment loves hiding things in plain sight. But the Scout 1 classification isn't just another loot box. It’s part of a very specific, somewhat cryptic side quest chain that leads you toward the Secret Side Missions—content that doesn't just pop up on your mega-map with a bright teal icon.
You have to find it.
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Honestly, the "Scout" designations are often where players get tripped up because the game’s UI doesn't hold your hand. We aren't talking about a main campaign mission here. We are talking about the Hidden Wire Muriville questline and the elusive "Scout" collectibles that flesh out the world-building of the different factions. Most people stumble into these while trying to clear their map completion percentage, only to find they’re stuck at 98% because one specific NPC hasn't been talked to or one specific interaction hasn't been triggered.
What Scout 1 Actually Is (and Isn't)
When players talk about Division 2 Scout 1, they are usually referring to the initial encounter or the first collectible intel piece related to the scouting parties sent out by the settlement leaders. Specifically, this is tied to the Missing Curators or the Navy Plaza area investigations. It’s a bit of a mess because the game uses "Scout" as a descriptor for both enemy types (the sniper-adjacent archetypes) and specific mission objectives.
But let's be real: you’re probably here because your progression tab says you're missing an objective.
The most common "Scout 1" hurdle involves the Secret Side Mission: Garage Stash. You don't just get this by leveling up. You have to go to the Foggy Bottom region. Specifically, look for a nondescript brick building near the safe house. Inside, you’ll find an NPC who looks like every other survivor, but she’s the trigger for the entire "Scout" investigation chain. If you haven't talked to her, the rest of the sequence simply doesn't exist. It’s invisible.
Finding the Trigger Point
To get this moving, head to the West End/Foggy Bottom border. There’s a laundry shop. Go through it. You’ll find a woman in a basement who tells you about a scout who went missing. This is your "Scout 1" moment.
Many players mistake the "Scout" designation for the Scouting the True Sons commendation. That’s a different beast entirely. That one requires you to observe enemy patrols without being detected, which is a massive pain in the neck if you’re running a high-aggro build like a Strikers set or a Heartbreaker setup. If you’re trying to do the "Scout" commendations, you need to swap to a Decoy and a Pulse.
The Mystery of the Missing Intel
Why does this matter? Because of the rewards. Completionists want the Full Deck of Snitch Cards, and some of the scout-related intel is gated behind these specific open-world interactions.
The Division 2 uses a "breadcrumb" system. You find the first scout (Scout 1), which leads to a loot cache, which leads to a boss spawn. If you skip the initial investigation, the named elite (the "Boss") won't spawn in the open world at that specific location. It's an old-school RPG mechanic buried inside a modern looter-shooter.
The Connection to the Snitch and Cassie Mendoza
If you can't find your first scout objective, you might want to look for Jared Fagan, otherwise known as The Snitch. While he’s not "Scout 1" by name, he acts as the primary scout for the player. He moves. Constantly.
Common spots for the Snitch:
- The alleyway near the 1040 Safe House.
- The underground parking garage near the Lincoln Memorial.
- A small shack northeast of the Truman Safe House.
Talking to him often resets the world state for minor side investigations. If your "Scout" quest is bugged or won't trigger, finding the Snitch and getting a Bounty from him often "wakes up" the game's objective tracker. It's a weird workaround, but it's been a staple fix in the community since the Warlords of New York expansion launched.
Why Scouting Missions Feel Different
The atmosphere in these minor tasks is actually some of the best in the game. You aren't fighting a skyscraper-sized drone. You're following a trail of breadcrumbs left by a Division agent or a civilian scout who was just trying to find some clean water or medicine.
The "Scout 1" mission—specifically the investigation near the Navy Hill—is a love letter to the first game's tone. It’s quiet. It’s eerie. You’re exploring a bunker that doesn't feel like the rest of D.C. It feels like a tomb.
Common Pitfalls and "Bugs"
Sometimes, you’ll reach the area for the scout objective and... nothing happens. No prompt. No audio log. This usually happens because you’re in a "Global Difficulty" that is too high or you have certain Directives active.
Try this:
- Open your map.
- Change Global Difficulty to Normal (just for a second).
- Remove all Directives (especially "Fog of War").
- Fast travel away and come back.
The game's scripting for these older side missions can sometimes break if you have too many "World Modifiers" active. The script for the NPC interaction simply fails to fire because the game is preoccupied with calculating the loot drops for your Heroic-level world.
The "Scout" Archetype: A Different Perspective
If you aren't looking for a mission but are instead looking for the Scout enemy type, that’s a different story. The Outcasts and Black Tusk both have "Scout" units. These are the ones who deploy the annoying RC cars or the explosive drones.
If you're trying to complete a project that asks you to "Eliminate Scouts," don't go to the Dark Zone. It’s too unpredictable. Instead, farm the Federal Emergency Bunker mission. The first few encounters are crawling with Outcast scouts. You can kill them, restart the mission, and finish your project in about ten minutes.
It’s efficient. It’s boring. But it works.
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Actionable Steps for Completion
If you are currently staring at a 95% completion rate and can't find that first scout interaction, here is exactly what you need to do to fix it.
- Check your Side Mission log. If you see "Navy Hill Transmission" or "Garage Stash," go do those immediately. They are the gateways to the Scout 1 collectibles.
- Visit the West End. Walk, don't fast travel. There are several "hidden" NPCs in the apartment buildings who only give you their quests if you are physically walking past their door.
- Find the Snitch. Use the 1040 Safe House method. Exit the safe house, take the stairs to the left, and check the alley. If he’s there, talk to him. If not, fast travel to a different region and come back.
- Look for the "!" icons. These aren't the big teal ones. They are small, white exclamation points that only appear on your mini-map when you are within 50 meters of an NPC.
Completing the Scout 1 objective isn't just about the XP. It’s about the blueprint rewards often attached to these hidden chains. Some of the best weapon attachments in the game—like the sturdy extended magazines—are locked behind these "minor" side activities that players often overlook in favor of grinding the Summit or Countdown.
Get it done. Clear your map. Stop letting that 98% completion rate haunt your UI.
Once you’ve cleared the initial Scout 1 investigation, the game usually "unlocks" the subsequent steps automatically, and you'll see the follow-up objectives appear in your list. If they don't, check your inventory under the "Intel" tab. Sometimes you actually have to "read" or "interact" with a collected document in your menu to trigger the next waypoint in the real world. It's a clunky mechanic from 2019, but it's still how the game functions today.