With the Devs hard at work on Update 1.4, we wanted to take this opportunity to provide some insight into key aspects we are looking at in order to improve the overall experience.
The features addressed in Update 1.4 are not only limited to those listed above, of course. In order to bring a better balance to the game play experience, NPCs aren’t the only factor we need to look at. Player power comes with it’s own imbalances and we will be looking at a number of criteria that impact that like, for example, attribute scaling, skills, talents, etc. This means that while some stats may change, the end result will be a more balanced and fun experience.
- Time to kill: With recent updates, the time to kill has increased as the NPCs have gone up in level. While higher levels should bring increased difficulty and effort required to kill an NPC, it’s important that it still feels natural to your character’s progression and that we move away from just changing health and damage when scaling difficulty.
- Difficulty scaling: Currently the progression between certain difficulties is too harsh, namely the jump between Hard and Challenging. There should be clear progression steps as you journey from being a fresh level 30 Agent to one with min-maxed gear of the highest gear score possible. To ensure smooth progression and make these steps clear, we need to look at the current scaling and resdesign the system so it feels like a more natural jump in difficulty. It’s also worth noting that the gap between our most “geared” players and those that we would consider to have an average loadout is far too big. This is something that we will need to adjust as well.
- Loot Rewards: To continue taking steps to improve the progression systems we need to address the way loot rewards are handled. As a player, you should be able to play at your appropriate difficulty and acquire loot that allows you to progress to higher difficulties. You should also be able to obtain loot by doing the activities you enjoy doing. This isn’t supported very well in the current system and it’s important we address it.
- Shooter: As the game has progressed, some of the core shooter elements have diminished. It’s important that you feel the impact of gun handling and that it’s factored in when you are considering which gun to use. We want to bring back and improve upon the importance of gunplay along with the cover based elements so the experience you have while leveling is consistent throughout the entire game.
I haven't played the division in months. My gear score was only in the 180s, but it just wasn't fun getting 1-2 shotted by snippets and shot gunners, but needing to dump mag after mag into them. I also got tired of hosts booting me and my friend the second we killed the last boss so we couldn't pick up the loot.
I have been keeping up on the 1.4 info. It has me excited to get back into the division again. Do we know when it's dropping?
I haven't played the division in months. My gear score was only in the 180s, but it just wasn't fun getting 1-2 shotted by snippets and shot gunners, but needing to dump mag after mag into them. I also got tired of hosts booting me and my friend the second we killed the last boss so we couldn't pick up the loot.
I have been keeping up on the 1.4 info. It has me excited to get back into the division again. Do we know when it's dropping?
Next week I think.
Sounds pretty awesome. I may actually fire it up when that comes out.
Same here. Hopefully it'll still have the same draw for me, however, when I did last it was rough going...
Ok. It seems Ubi have finally put up the written report of the last stream with all the 1.4 info.
http://tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.co....aspx?c=tcm:154-267742-16&ct=tcm:148-76770-32
Check out the current Time to Kill scaling...LOLZ!
This update sounds substantial. I'm really excited for the for the open world being used again as a sort of PvE Darkzone. And no more loot drops being weighted to certain activities is huge. But the most important thing I want more information about is Gear Sets. Many of the Gears Sets need fine tuning to make them usable. If Massive can sort that out things will get a lot better. We need more build options badly.
Huge 1.4 update.
IMPROVING CHARACTER BALANCE
http://tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.co....aspx?c=tcm:154-268296-16&ct=tcm:148-76770-32
So what does that Gear Set that has 100% scavaging get now that it's out of the game ?
There are so many changes there it's hard to know what to think. Smart Cover nerf might annoy me. As might all the mods and gear rerolls. Guess we'll have to wait and see after it comes out.
Many of these changes sound awesome. I especially like the change that will lower Gears Set items score to 229 and bring up the effectiveness of high-end 229 gear. This in theory will open up a lot more builds. We can either use Gear Sets /high-end or a combination of both. The mixing and matching potential is huge. It still needs to be tested but I think Massive might have a very good chance at redeeming themselves if they get most of this stuff right. However, Massive doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to releasing bug-free updates so lets see how this all goes. I can't wait to hear more specifics on changes to Gear Set bonuses.
My concern now is weapon handling. At low levels weapons handle like crap because you don't have mods. I know this because I just started a new character which I want ready for 1.4. And with Massive removing the damage buff from Smart Cover and replacing it with a weapon handling perk while also reducing the effect mods have on weapons. I fear we may still be pushed to using Smart Cover. My hope is Massive has taken this into account and don't reduce weapon handling to the point where I'm fighting the recoil because I'm not using Smart Cover.
These changes Massive will be implementing are game changing and it seems like I'll need to relearn how to play this game all over again. That's not necessarily a bad thing because it could breath new life into the game. I can't wait for this update. I just hope it turns out well because I really like The Division and see a lot of potential for it going forward if 1.4 delivers in a positive way.
I'm not surprised they are nerfing Sentry. That set was too powerful. I'd like Massive to increase the damage over time from Predator's Mark. I also wouldn't mind if they lowered stat requirements to activate weapon talents for better use of Alpha Bridge. And if Sentry/Striker are back to needing 4 pieces to activate all set bonuses I can go back to the savage gloves/reckless build which was awesome. Well probably not as awesome anymore with the changes but should still be a great combo.
Reckless has changed, it now has 15% extra damage and 15% extra incoming damage. So depending how you view it, it is a buff or nerf. Lol.