How to Unlock the Castle Settlement in The Division 2

The Castle Settlement plays a critical role in The Division 2, with a dedicated mission and cutscene introducing the horrors that took place there. Knowing how to find and unlock it is fairly straightforward, but there are a few wrinkles to the process. We’ll discuss them all today.

How to Find and Unlock the Castle Settlement

You’ll find the Castle Settlement in the East Mall district, specifically near the southwestern end of the zone. East Mall itself is southeast of the White House, south of the Federal Triangle, and north of Southwest (with me still?).

For a more specific point of reference, there’s a Control Point objective in Southwest, just south of the Settlement, and a Contaminated Zone north of it. You can easily fast travel to either for easy access to Castle, should you need to leave and come back later after you have a better build or whatever other reason you may have. If you’re a map reader, look for Jefferson Dr. Southwest in the East Mall. That’s the street Castle Settlement is on.

Unlocking Castle

The most important things you need to do before trying to unlock the Castle Settlement are to reach level 15 and complete the American History Museum and Air and Space Museum missions. While the bug that blocks access to the Castle Settlement cutscene has (supposedly) been patched out for years, there is still an official article on Ubisoft’s support website saying to take those exact steps, so it never hurts to be careful.

Once you’ve made it to the settlement, a cutscene will play showing the sorry state of the place. Shortly after, you’ll receive an objective to find Agent Kelso, the Agent you’ve partnered with on previous missions. Unfortunately, there’s no mission marker to guide you to her. If you want to find Keslo, you’ll need to do a little exploring. Don’t worry, though. You don’t need to look far. 

How to Find Agent Kelso at Castle Settlement in The Division 2

Agent Kelso is down below the settlement, in a bunker beneath the church building. To find the hatch that leads to Kelso, start by heading to the front of the church with the greenlit tree and a dead body just outside.

To the left of the church entrance is a blue storage container/mobile office. There’s also a stone path behind the tree through the bushes leading to the hatch you’re looking for. The hatch itself is almost up against the side of the church.

Once you’ve found the hatch, approach it, and you should receive an Interact button prompt. Press X on Xbox, Square on PlayStation, or whatever your “Use” binding is on PC. Hold the button down until the circle fills, and you’ll trigger the second Castle Settlement cutscene, unlocking it for fast travel and bringing Kelso into your team for a while. 

Can You Upgrade the Castle Settlment? What Else Can You Do?

In short, no, you cannot upgrade or do anything additional to the Castle Settlement once you’ve unlocked it. The place has been through far too much hell to ever be livable again, and there are no NPCs, vendors, or other services like a Crafting Bench available there at any point in the game. Castle serves only a grim narrative moment and fast travel point. There is no other reason to come here.

That’s about everything you need to know about The Division 2 Castle settlement. Enjoy your quest to save DC! Check out our other Division 2 guides for more on the looter shooter:

• The Division 2 Bravo-09 Error Fix
• The Division 2: Warlords of New York — Making the Perfect Build
• The Division 2: Warlords of New York — The Big Changes and How They Work
• The Division 2: Where to Get the Judge Key and How to Use It
• The Division 2 Survivalist Specialization Guide: Best Skills and Talents