devtrackers.gg
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Firstly, I'd like to start by saying that it is I, Merphee.
If you haven't seen me post in a while, it is because I am on an alternate account. The above account was permanently banned by Real Dude for bumping a post regarding gear mods. Even despite the ban and the bump to that thread, gear mods still weren't given the buff that they desperately needed, so it was lose-lose. Confidently, I've decided to break the rules of the forum in order to try to improve the game, although I kept a low profile for a while. Regardless, if the forum mods decide to ban this account for ban evasion, I understand, but I only ask that you not move, close or delete this thread, as this is the only way that I can communicate with the devs in detail (in a way), as well as get the most amount of forum members to post their thoughts in a centralized thread.
I am not a Youtuber, I am not a Twitch streamer. I am not a Star player or a cosplayer. I am simply someone who can type, much like many of you here. Demizer, Rush, Goo, Mad-Cap, Jack, hope you all are well.
If this thread isn't enough effort in trying to improve the game, then I don't know what is and I'm not sure if I can post these any longer.
To begin, for those of you who would like to see your suggestions gain attention, it requires a couple of things:
Which the final ingredient being hoping for the best.
This is what happened with a thread I made during Division 1 at the tail end of 2017. Division 2 has a shear amount of open world PVE because of a thread I started. It got so much support from other forum members (I even posted it on Reddit), a lot of bumps, views, and replies, that it would have been criminal if it were ignored, and I thank Amper and the other mods then for curating and allowing that thread to live, despite the toxicity that it may have brought out by the playerbase, and the constant bumps that may have warranted a permaban for multiple members who never got it. However, if that thread weren't able to exist during a time when it had all the evidence that justified a close, Division 2's PVE may have been different.
The honeymoon of Division 2 is over, though, and it's time to get real before it's too late.
Contents
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Loot - Gear - Build Diversity / Skills - PVE - Weapons - PVP - Dark Zone - [On The Ropes] - Conflict - TL;DR
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Loot
The only thing left for me to do in the game is the raid. I haven't found the time to dedicate a late night session. I'll do it eventually because I sure as hell want the Eagle Barer and to finish off those commendations. But that leads me to my first point:
I understand that Raid gear is exclusive to the raid, of which I personally wanted before release and was happy to discover that it became so, but that also means that a portion of the player base may not be able to obtain those gear sets.
So Massive, as the overseer, the studio involved in making loot must introduce new brand sets. Course, you can create new gear sets and have them drop from specific factions, but if you continue to only introduce gear sets, you create a perception - out with brand sets, in with gear sets. If it should be that way depends on who you asks, but that's exactly what killed high ends in Division 1, further killing build diversity.
Loot drops can been seen as bad, currently. You might be getting what you don't need. You could blame the lack of targeted grinding for this. Sure, it somewhat exists in a way: some bounties reward a specific item, The Pestilence, Black Tusk, and Yaahl gear, and if you want gear mods, hit those dangling supply drops, but targeted grinding is otherwise non-existent in a general sense.
If I want a specific brand set, there is no focused way for me to get it. I've championed for this ever since Division 1. Division 2 could benefit from targeted loot. We have bounties, Level 4 control points, Named enemies in the open world, Elite activities, both the silent Underground faction and the larpers or whatever their name is. So many unique opportunities for specific gear.
Now, I cannot mention targeted loot without acknowledging the other argument: "I don't want to do something that I wouldn't find fun."
If you are a PVE only player, what PVE activity is not fun in Division 2? Fun is subjective at the end of the day, but what in the game makes you go "Ugh, I have to do this again?" What's the difference between grinding out Level 4 control points for that extended mag versus grinding for Barrett's chest? Is it because there are multiple control points in various types of scenery, compared to that of one mission?
Anyways, with those questions awaiting answers, Division 2 still needs a constant introduction of new brand sets. Again, new gear and weapons should not be limited to gear sets and exotics, because of the fact that all gear sets and exotics will not accessible to everyone, since those can be used as incentives to do specific activities that may require a group. You must also introduce more than 3 or 4 sets during a major update.
Do you guys really think that's substantial? Some of you may not have noticed this either, but there were only 9 new weapons introduced in Division 2:
With the AWM (Nemesis) coming later. Would have been 10, but the Glock was removed from the game (or held back, it was in the open beta). The rest are the exact same weapons from Division 1. I don't know about you, but.... I think that's a pretty abysmal number. This might be me being an armchair developer, but I was expecting more new than returning. I understand that, compared to other looters, you guys have to license actual real world weapons in order for them to be put into the game, but Destiny, for example, introduces a bunch of new gear all at once with new updates.
Division has to do the same in order to keep player retention, not a handful. We have the PTS for a reason. I must admit, our first true major content update will be DC Outskirts, but again, if we are to only get 3 new gear sets and 2 exotics, do you guys seriously think that will be enough to hold everyone over until the next episode?
We have these FX mod slots, but who has actually gotten FX drops in-game? I'm inclined to believe they aren't even in the game yet, excluding the ones that you get with the ultimate edition. More opportunities for new loot. They might come with Global Events, but devs, you must be aware as to why the game feels dry in regards to new loot, and why players are upset.
Point being: there is not a lot of "new" loot, and when there is, it's only a handful.
Gear
Good loot is determined by unique bonuses, but this, in turns, requires the needed content to exercise those bonuses, which I will discuss next. In Division 1, Striker healed you and provided a damage bonus. These two effects were so general to the game, that it became the most popular gear set. But there wasn't any content in the game that persuaded a player to run Firecrest. I don't think I've ever actually put together a Firecrest build. Especially with the size of that backpack. God, it was ugly.
In Division 1, Gear Sets made high end gear obsolete. This killed build diversity and lead to complaints. Sure, the Hexotic build existed during 1.6, but once classifieds were introduce, that build was obliterated. At the end of the game's "live" life, it only became a niche in Skirmish because normalization brought down classifieds to its level, and even so, it struggled and required more effort to use. Its bonuses had "kinetic" prerequisites versus gear sets that had bonuses from simply wearing them. You were effed if you walked into the DZ with it and you'd likely get kicked from the group if you brought it in Stolen Signal for holding the team back.
Some of you may not like that the current gear sets are underwhelming, and yes, buffs are welcomed, but if the wanted buffs are too extreme, the current brand sets could see the same fate as the high end gear did in Division 1. Gear sets can be buffed, but only to a point where they are just out of reach when comparing the power of brand sets to gear sets. Gear sets should do what brand sets can't, but without making brand sets obsolete. So, to keep up with Gear Sets, again, there needs to be a constant introduction of brand sets along side new gear sets. Not saying there shouldn't be buffs to existing brand sets, but Division 1 never got any new high end gear, except on a technicality (Named gear items, but then being converted into Exotics).
This means creating niches or creating obvious bonus hierarchies that makes sense (for example 25% Reload Speed -> 15% LMG damage), instead of creating gear that can be used everywhere. You don't want the game to fall ill to another case of Striker.
Designers, take a look at Ongoing Directive, for example. You've given it +20% Burn Damage as well as +20% Bleed Damage. In order to get that bleed damage, you need to equip a fourth piece of OD, when you could have just created two separate gear sets or placed bleed and burn damage as both 3 Piece Bonuses. That fourth piece bonus could have been a status duration increase because that's what you are persuading me to run - a status build, but I digress.
Along with new brand sets should come new talents.
This may be creatively taxing, as I don't personally know how many is involved in making talents and bonuses, but that is why you play other games. It is why I play different types of RPGs. It is why I listen to different types of music - it fuels creativity. I also acknowledge that Division has to be realistic or grounded in reality much more than something extremely fantastical.
I wanted to make a Close and Personal tank build with a high armor on kill percentage. The idea of this build was to get up close to the NPCs and do work while refreshing armor with AoK and Unbreakable. What killed this build was that NPCs did an unfathomable amount of melee damage, to the point where you question the balance of the NPCs. In a two-man (Challenge, pre armor / health buff), I had Wyvern one shot me with one melee. While my face was planted on the ground, the damage indicator said 400k+. I thought to myself, "why isn't there a common defensive talent that reduces melee damage?"
This lack of melee reduction prevented that build of mines from truly being an "up close and personal" tank, in a traditional sense. New talents refresh the game. That's not to say that some current talents don't need a buff, because they do, but new talents are even better. Again, you cannot leave the newness to gear sets and exotics. A plethora of new items slow meta development, because players would have a lot to sift through before figuring it out. PVP was much different before Chatterbox / Vector - it was fun.
Build Diversity / Skills
Builds require content for those builds to be utilized. There were high expectations to the raid regarding different types of builds... welp.
There isn't any content in the game that would favor a group member to run a high Hazard Protection build, requiring this player to tank traps and poison clouds while navigating in a room towards a button on the other end of it (Playing Divinity OS 2 made me think of this). Division is missing a lot of basic rpg elements like enemies being weaker to certain types of damage or the ability to lower resistances. The closest thing we had was the Merciless bypassing Heavy plated armor, and that was apparently a bug.
There isn't any content in the game that persuades someone to make a maxed out Hive Booster build. There isn't any content in the game that persuades a player to run Trauma, to CC an HVT from reaching an objective before the player(s) do. There isn't a piece of content that limits our HUD and makes Pulse incredibly useful, like how it was in Survival.
You get the point. But compare these to Dragon's Nest or Stolen Signal. Two pieces of content that persuaded players to run specific builds. Division 2 doesn't have any of that. Builds in this game are more "you could run this if you want to", and I get that. You leave the freedom to the players, but because Youtube exists, METAs exist. So, the freedom that you may leave to the players won't even be explored, especially in PVP. People are extremely impressionable.
This is also why gear mods needed to be buffed, especially for skill builds. That is why I bumped that thread. Status damage and duration percentages are incredibly poor on utility mods, to the point where you won't even notice the differences if you equipped them or not. DPS builds have the "weapon damage" attribute. You can roll this on chests, backpacks, and you can get a specific weapon damage roll on gloves.
The easiest skill build in the game to use and create is a Seeker build, because of how Destructive rolls on gear and how much manual aiming is not needed. You cannot make a Flame turret build as powerful as a Seeker mine build, because there is no common talent, or gear attribute that increases Burn damage. You cannot make a Hive build as powerful as a Seeker mine build because there is no common talent that increases Hive damage. There is no common talent that increases Blind duration, no common talent that increases Confuse or Disorent duration, etc.
This is why skill builds are weak. With not scaling off skill power natively, their effectiveness is left up to their skill mod slots (except seeker, mortar or bombardier) (and poor percentages on utility mods), with some skills having limited slots! You can run a zero skill power build, but roll Destructive on every piece of gear, and still have strong Seek-... Heh, I'm not even gonna finish that thought, because as I was thinking of it, it made me laugh at how ridiculous it is, lol. More reasons why introducing new common talents would express build diversity.
There's only one active utility talent on chest, which only increases grenade radius! Not even grenade damage! And Payload is a defensive talent that increases explosive damage! Where's the burn damage increase active talent? Where's the oxidizer damage increase active talent? Where's the blind duration increase active talent? You're missing a lot of talents that support skill builds, only persuading players to go DPS!
I had to scrape for pennies in order to get my flame turret to do 10k damage per tick natively, fighting RNG to get utility mods with poor + Burn damage and + Burn duration. But, my Seeker mine build was up to 600k+ (400k with Cluster), without a Payload or Tech Support proc.
It's... BAD.
Crit got nerfed on weapon mods, and Critical gear mods are poor in value, so SMG and Rifle builds are hurting. You've nerfed the damage options of these weapon types and because of these nerfs and the buff to armor, you've carved out an LMG meta.
Don't get me started on Heal builds. ...by that, I mean I cannot speak on something that doesn't exist, but here goes. Extra out-going healing, much like duration stats and extra burn or bleed damage stats on utility gear, suffers from poor values. Safegaurd was nerfed because it was being utilized more for self heals rather than group heals. The Restorer Hive's little flying healing node doesn't reach a player who needs healing fast enough to be effective, on top of the poor out-going healing values, especially with us getting tankier!
I know you guys don't want to create the out of cover, chicken dancing that is Division 1, but Division 2 has a serious issue with build diversity.
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Right now, there is one brand set that's kind of unfair compared to the others: Fenris.
Fenris Chest is the only brand set chest in the game that can roll an active and a common talent. Why? This combination even makes an SMG build run the Fenris Chest. Hell, I'm currently running it on my pvp shotgun build.
It's also the only holster that rolls two attributes and a talent, and the only knee pads that rolls a common and an active talent. This set seems pretty biased for some reason. I really only wanted to bring this to people's attention who may not have noticed. Some sets can roll two commons, or also a common and an active, but that's only limited to their backpacks, as oppose to Fenris' entire set.
PVE
Thanks to those who've posted in that Light Zone thread, Division 2 now has the amount of PVE that Division 1 needed, and then some... but there are a couple things that need some attention.
Division 2 lacks Incursions. There isn't any end game activity that bridges normal PVE content, to Raid content. There isn't any sort of threshold before a grand spike in difficulty. Before release, I had assumed that Strongholds would be the Incursion replacement, but the name Stronghold is more of a narrative indication rather than a difficulty indication.
Division 2 needs that end game, 4-man only activity that exists between raid and normal missions (matchmaking included, just like Division 1 Incursions). We might be getting that in a way with DC Outskirts, but if Episode 1 doesn't introduce a bunch of new gear and weapons (more than 3 gear sets!), some of which that can only be obtained through DC Outskirts, what's the point? Who with the Season Pass actually does the Classified Missions everyday? I know I don't. They are just convenient fast travel locations at this point.
Division 2 is still missing those PVE public events, as well.
This next bit has been on my mind for a while, way before WT5 was introduced, and I waited until then to see if anything were to change, but nothing did. We've built up the settlements in the 1-30 process. Unfortunately, the upgrades are only aesthetics. I have a bunch of Trinkets that aren't getting used. I could sell them, but I have a gold necklace. So... nah.
Why not have these upgrades to the settlements accept trinkets for loot or for crafting materials? Gold necklace for exotic components? You can do so much with trinkets right now, it's laughable. You can give trinkets to ally patrols. but I never realized that until one day I walked up to one. I'm never actively seeking ally patrols because nothing in the game directs me to interact with them.
This also leads me to my next point, Division credits are pretty useless outside of crafting. Vendors lack appropriate gear score items, as well as also selling purple items, making them useless. Why not just turn vendors into factions or something? Give them personality - have them sell unique vanity items exclusive to that vendor. Have the accept specific trinkets. I'm smiling but I'm also face palming, because there's just so much more than can be done with them. Cassie is okay, because she sells named weapons, but even those are missing potential.
Weapons (and Named Weapons)
I've only used two named weapons in the game during my 1-30. The AUG and the SIG. They got sold when I didn't need them anymore.
Named weapons could be the equivalent of Division 1's exotic weapons. Two random rolls and a unique talent. That unique talent could roll in any of the three slots and come from an exclusive pool or with a fixed talent, potentially netting someone both an active and fixed talent. These talents could very well be talents from Division 1, giving them a legacy feel, but new talents are welcomed. Mentioned earlier, this is harping on making new, exciting loot to look out for when playing, using something that already exists in the game, as well as bolstering weapon and build diversity.
Course, I'd make those talents non-transferrable. Exotics should always be the best of the best, no doubt, but now named items are no longer worthless outside of lore, or outside of being slightly helpful in the early portions of a level during 1-30 with these types of changes. Remove them from being purchasable, or change the way Cassie works. Or set them as vendor faction items, give them their own item color, limit them so that a player would have to choose between either equipping an exotic or named item.
po-ten-tial
Some weapons in the game sit in a strange spot. This is what the FAL currently looks like, based on the spread sheet:
FAL
RPM - 650
Magazine Size - 20
Damage Range - 11718 - 14322 @ GS 500
Now look at the P416
RPM - 750
Magazine Size - 30
Damage Range - 11718 - 14322 @ GS 500
So, who is gonna use the FAL? It needs a buff. It makes no sense for it have less RPM, a smaller magazine size, but yet do the same amount of damage that a P416 can, which has a higher RPM and larger magazine size. This weapon has been underwhelming in Division 1. Let's not have it underwhelming in the life span of Division 2.
Melee damage is great on shotguns in PVE.... if the game isn't scaled to a group size higher than solo, but in PVP melee damage is pretty bad. Melee damage would either have to increase or be removed from Shotguns and replaced with something else. If it isn't stagger, give them reload speed or weapon handling. Armor damage would be a pretty meta stat, and I understand why it was removed from Assault Rifles.
PVP
Oh boy...
Normalization has to go, especially in Conflict (or introduce a non-normalized playlist). I didn't realize this, but stats transferred over to a piece of gear get hits by normalization, compared to non-recalibrated items. This means that, if you find a holster with 40k health, and transfer it over to a different piece of gear, it will drop down to 18k under normalization. Whereas if you simply put on the holster with 40k health, that number will not move under normalization.
That's not good. This means that you can't be as strong of an agent as you could be. Some of you are asking for the optimization station to return, but super optimized builds will be hit the hardest under normalization if it doesn't get removed. Optimization station also removes the need to play content. With the way "density" works and looking at the max rolls on gear, I don't think the optimization station is coming.
PVP's biggest issue, however, is the lack of build diversity. This is because some things in the game are just underpowered or ineffective, which leads to metas. If a player feels forced to use the same weapons and gear that other players are using in order to be competitive, there is no balance. There is no build diversity. Think back to Division 1 when everyone was running Striker. EMP was weak against it, despite being its hard counter, and you gained Striker stacks from shooting someone's shield! The only counter that Striker had was itself.
Hipfiring LMGs are the current talk of the town. Ideally, to stop this and any future hip firing spam, the hip firing from Division 1 must be brought over to Division 2. Towards the end of Division 1's life, I was mainly in Skirmish. Every time I saw player hip fire, there was a moment of "on second thought, how about I don't do that" in their eyes. This is the only way you stop the current LMG hip firing - instantly apply negative weapon handling stats that cannot be brought to neutral in any way, or be affected by the Demolitionist's med kit.
Hip firing should be the last act of desperation, not a first. Ideally, you'd tune hip firing based on weapon type or weight, with SMGs having the better hip firing stat and LMGs having the worst, but I don't think you guys are wanting to get that hardcore.
But because of the nerfs to crit and headshot damage, like I mentioned, you've carved the current Tanky LMG meta - a weapon that hasn't been affected by either of those stat nerfs.
Dark Zone
I don't go into the DZ because there isn't anything enticing for me to go after in there. I did get the Pestilence, and I could use a Yaahl mask, but I could also get that mask from Conflict caches. The DZ could use its events, like how Division 1 DZ had contamination events, but there's a much more prevalent issue regarding the DZ.
This one is for Red Storm. Guys, you must understand that solo players hate groups. A solo player will not walk into the DZ, just to get jumped. Division 2 supposedly has a solo queue DZ, but it's not a hard rule, meaning you can still walk in solo and be met with groups.
Why. Isn't. Solo. DZ. A. Hard. Rule?
Terry, I know you said "Trust me, the DZ isn't scary anymore" or something similar, but it's not about it being scary. It's about the experience being annoying. Listen, I like PVP. I've been level 100 in Conflict since before WT5. PVP could be better, for sure, but I 100% hate getting 1 v 4'd. It's not fun.
If you want more players in the DZ, do this - make solo DZ a hard rule. That way, solo players aren't being put into unfair situations. If you walk into the DZ solo, you should not be able to invite players to your group, nor can players join your group from the social tab.
If you were to walk into a DZ as a group of two or more, then so be it. You would then be in a DZ instance with other groups consisting of two or more.
A true solo queue DZ is not an attempt to stop rogue action. If anything, it's an attempt to make it fair and balanced, and probably a lot more exciting. Disable world and local chat, disable voip if you have to. Multigrouping might become a thing, but it doesn't make sense to walk into the solo queue DZ with the intent to group up. Regardless, a true solo queue DZ has to become reality.
On The Ropes
This isn't as important as the rest of the thread. It's more of a hyper specific balance suggestion that was made in the spur of the moment, so I'll just put in a spoiler if you'd like to read it.
Spoiler: Show
On The Ropes provide a damage increase when all skills are on cooldown, but in regards to the chem launcher, "on cooldown" =/= "charges depleted." So, a player can drop 1 chem launcher charge, and have that count as a cooldown. Objectively, it shouldn't work like that. This is because a player can have a damage boost for an indefinite amount of time, given the amount of charges that the chem launcher can hold.
Now, you can't really change it to where it provides a skill damage boost for x amount of seconds when skills are on cooldown, because you'd be better off using Tech Support or you'd need an extreme amount of cooldown reduction.
Instead re-work the way the chem launcher works with On The Ropes - when all charges are depleted.
This goes the same for Jammer pulse. Have it work when the pulse has been fully charged, that way On The Ropes cannot be proc'd so easily by double tapping the button. Jammer Pulse is not even being used for its effects. It's only being used to proc On The Ropes easily.
Conflict
Conflict is fun. Straight up dedicated PVP. I don't have to go looking for it or anticipate it like I would have to in the DZ. It's just 100% PVP all the time... but, Conflict has a bad tick rate issue. If you've ever notice yourself getting killed around a corner, or from behind cover when you were clearly in cover on your screen, blame the tick rate of the Conflict servers. Conflict also has a matchmaking issue. Waiting times seemed to have increased, of which I posted about the other day.
Here is that thread
Spoiler: Show
Otherwise, I've already posted an extensive thread on Conflict a while back. This might be slightly outdated and can be improved, but it still contains quality of life improvements.
Spoiler: Show
TL;DR
There still much more than can be discussed in detail, like how some skills and weapon talents can be reworked, but these topics were the most prevalent. I'll leave it up to you guys to discuss what I didn't. This is intended to be a serious thread. Please, no low effort or trolling, because if you guys are serious in wanting the game to get fixed, I should expect serious posts. I may get IP banned for doing this because rules are rules, but I'll still be reading from the clouds if that ends up being the case.
Division 2 is in a rough spot right now. PVP is hurting and PVE can be improved. We're three months in. Devs, you guys probably know what you need to do in order to improve the game (Uncle Yves is watching, you know), and those decisions might hurt certain demographics, but I think that it's a matter of whether or not you guys want to go through with those pending improvements. You may lose players, but those improvements could be what helps the game in the long run. You guys have the data, the numbers. We as players can only post our thoughts and feedback, and what we say might seem ignorant, but we are playing the game based on what we are perceiving in real time. We can only hope you make the right decisions. You must understand why your own community may trash talk and bad mouth you, this own forum for that matter, but I'm sure you are aware that... that is only passion. Those players do not want potential to be poured down the drain.
- Merphee
P.S, my Division watch still can't tell the in-game time and I'm still waiting on that floral print hawaiian shirt for my agent to wear!
There's a lot here, so if you'd like to quote a part of this post, simply highlight the section, copy it and paste it in a response, then wrap it in quotes, indicated by the text box icon left of the number sign under "Go Advanced." There is no need to try to delete a bunch of text just to segment 1 paragraph or something.
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Firstly, I'd like to start by saying that it is I, Merphee.
If you haven't seen me post in a while, it is because I am on an alternate account. The above account was permanently banned by Real Dude for bumping a post regarding gear mods. Even despite the ban and the bump to that thread, gear mods still weren't given the buff that they desperately needed, so it was lose-lose. Confidently, I've decided to break the rules of the forum in order to try to improve the game, although I kept a low profile for a while. Regardless, if the forum mods decide to ban this account for ban evasion, I understand, but I only ask that you not move, close or delete this thread, as this is the only way that I can communicate with the devs in detail (in a way), as well as get the most amount of forum members to post their thoughts in a centralized thread.
I am not a Youtuber, I am not a Twitch streamer. I am not a Star player or a cosplayer. I am simply someone who can type, much like many of you here. Demizer, Rush, Goo, Mad-Cap, Jack, hope you all are well.
If this thread isn't enough effort in trying to improve the game, then I don't know what is and I'm not sure if I can post these any longer.
To begin, for those of you who would like to see your suggestions gain attention, it requires a couple of things:
- You cannot be selfish with your suggestions and you must think objectively. It's also a plus if you play all aspects of the game, to educate yourself.
- You need support from other players / members and need to centralize those ideas and/or improve upon each other's ideas. You might have to also write 2000 words lol.
- Community reps must acknowledge that support, and then pass your suggestion(s) along to the dev teams if they deem it worthy. If they are doing their jobs and there isn't any unforeseen bias, then they are the ones who truly matter in the end. They are the MVPs.
Which the final ingredient being hoping for the best.
This is what happened with a thread I made during Division 1 at the tail end of 2017. Division 2 has a shear amount of open world PVE because of a thread I started. It got so much support from other forum members (I even posted it on Reddit), a lot of bumps, views, and replies, that it would have been criminal if it were ignored, and I thank Amper and the other mods then for curating and allowing that thread to live, despite the toxicity that it may have brought out by the playerbase, and the constant bumps that may have warranted a permaban for multiple members who never got it. However, if that thread weren't able to exist during a time when it had all the evidence that justified a close, Division 2's PVE may have been different.
The honeymoon of Division 2 is over, though, and it's time to get real before it's too late.
Contents
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Loot - Gear - Build Diversity / Skills - PVE - Weapons - PVP - Dark Zone - [On The Ropes] - Conflict - TL;DR
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Loot
The only thing left for me to do in the game is the raid. I haven't found the time to dedicate a late night session. I'll do it eventually because I sure as hell want the Eagle Barer and to finish off those commendations. But that leads me to my first point:
I understand that Raid gear is exclusive to the raid, of which I personally wanted before release and was happy to discover that it became so, but that also means that a portion of the player base may not be able to obtain those gear sets.
So Massive, as the overseer, the studio involved in making loot must introduce new brand sets. Course, you can create new gear sets and have them drop from specific factions, but if you continue to only introduce gear sets, you create a perception - out with brand sets, in with gear sets. If it should be that way depends on who you asks, but that's exactly what killed high ends in Division 1, further killing build diversity.
Loot drops can been seen as bad, currently. You might be getting what you don't need. You could blame the lack of targeted grinding for this. Sure, it somewhat exists in a way: some bounties reward a specific item, The Pestilence, Black Tusk, and Yaahl gear, and if you want gear mods, hit those dangling supply drops, but targeted grinding is otherwise non-existent in a general sense.
If I want a specific brand set, there is no focused way for me to get it. I've championed for this ever since Division 1. Division 2 could benefit from targeted loot. We have bounties, Level 4 control points, Named enemies in the open world, Elite activities, both the silent Underground faction and the larpers or whatever their name is. So many unique opportunities for specific gear.
Now, I cannot mention targeted loot without acknowledging the other argument: "I don't want to do something that I wouldn't find fun."
If you are a PVE only player, what PVE activity is not fun in Division 2? Fun is subjective at the end of the day, but what in the game makes you go "Ugh, I have to do this again?" What's the difference between grinding out Level 4 control points for that extended mag versus grinding for Barrett's chest? Is it because there are multiple control points in various types of scenery, compared to that of one mission?
Anyways, with those questions awaiting answers, Division 2 still needs a constant introduction of new brand sets. Again, new gear and weapons should not be limited to gear sets and exotics, because of the fact that all gear sets and exotics will not accessible to everyone, since those can be used as incentives to do specific activities that may require a group. You must also introduce more than 3 or 4 sets during a major update.
- WT5 brought 3 gear sets, 2 exotics.
- The raid update brought 3 gear sets and 1 exotic
Do you guys really think that's substantial? Some of you may not have noticed this either, but there were only 9 new weapons introduced in Division 2:
- M16
- D50
- CTAR
- F2000
- P90
- 1886
- SPAS
- AK-M (Merciless)
With the AWM (Nemesis) coming later. Would have been 10, but the Glock was removed from the game (or held back, it was in the open beta). The rest are the exact same weapons from Division 1. I don't know about you, but.... I think that's a pretty abysmal number. This might be me being an armchair developer, but I was expecting more new than returning. I understand that, compared to other looters, you guys have to license actual real world weapons in order for them to be put into the game, but Destiny, for example, introduces a bunch of new gear all at once with new updates.
Division has to do the same in order to keep player retention, not a handful. We have the PTS for a reason. I must admit, our first true major content update will be DC Outskirts, but again, if we are to only get 3 new gear sets and 2 exotics, do you guys seriously think that will be enough to hold everyone over until the next episode?
We have these FX mod slots, but who has actually gotten FX drops in-game? I'm inclined to believe they aren't even in the game yet, excluding the ones that you get with the ultimate edition. More opportunities for new loot. They might come with Global Events, but devs, you must be aware as to why the game feels dry in regards to new loot, and why players are upset.
Point being: there is not a lot of "new" loot, and when there is, it's only a handful.
Gear
Good loot is determined by unique bonuses, but this, in turns, requires the needed content to exercise those bonuses, which I will discuss next. In Division 1, Striker healed you and provided a damage bonus. These two effects were so general to the game, that it became the most popular gear set. But there wasn't any content in the game that persuaded a player to run Firecrest. I don't think I've ever actually put together a Firecrest build. Especially with the size of that backpack. God, it was ugly.
In Division 1, Gear Sets made high end gear obsolete. This killed build diversity and lead to complaints. Sure, the Hexotic build existed during 1.6, but once classifieds were introduce, that build was obliterated. At the end of the game's "live" life, it only became a niche in Skirmish because normalization brought down classifieds to its level, and even so, it struggled and required more effort to use. Its bonuses had "kinetic" prerequisites versus gear sets that had bonuses from simply wearing them. You were effed if you walked into the DZ with it and you'd likely get kicked from the group if you brought it in Stolen Signal for holding the team back.
Some of you may not like that the current gear sets are underwhelming, and yes, buffs are welcomed, but if the wanted buffs are too extreme, the current brand sets could see the same fate as the high end gear did in Division 1. Gear sets can be buffed, but only to a point where they are just out of reach when comparing the power of brand sets to gear sets. Gear sets should do what brand sets can't, but without making brand sets obsolete. So, to keep up with Gear Sets, again, there needs to be a constant introduction of brand sets along side new gear sets. Not saying there shouldn't be buffs to existing brand sets, but Division 1 never got any new high end gear, except on a technicality (Named gear items, but then being converted into Exotics).
This means creating niches or creating obvious bonus hierarchies that makes sense (for example 25% Reload Speed -> 15% LMG damage), instead of creating gear that can be used everywhere. You don't want the game to fall ill to another case of Striker.
Designers, take a look at Ongoing Directive, for example. You've given it +20% Burn Damage as well as +20% Bleed Damage. In order to get that bleed damage, you need to equip a fourth piece of OD, when you could have just created two separate gear sets or placed bleed and burn damage as both 3 Piece Bonuses. That fourth piece bonus could have been a status duration increase because that's what you are persuading me to run - a status build, but I digress.
Along with new brand sets should come new talents.
This may be creatively taxing, as I don't personally know how many is involved in making talents and bonuses, but that is why you play other games. It is why I play different types of RPGs. It is why I listen to different types of music - it fuels creativity. I also acknowledge that Division has to be realistic or grounded in reality much more than something extremely fantastical.
I wanted to make a Close and Personal tank build with a high armor on kill percentage. The idea of this build was to get up close to the NPCs and do work while refreshing armor with AoK and Unbreakable. What killed this build was that NPCs did an unfathomable amount of melee damage, to the point where you question the balance of the NPCs. In a two-man (Challenge, pre armor / health buff), I had Wyvern one shot me with one melee. While my face was planted on the ground, the damage indicator said 400k+. I thought to myself, "why isn't there a common defensive talent that reduces melee damage?"
This lack of melee reduction prevented that build of mines from truly being an "up close and personal" tank, in a traditional sense. New talents refresh the game. That's not to say that some current talents don't need a buff, because they do, but new talents are even better. Again, you cannot leave the newness to gear sets and exotics. A plethora of new items slow meta development, because players would have a lot to sift through before figuring it out. PVP was much different before Chatterbox / Vector - it was fun.
Build Diversity / Skills
Builds require content for those builds to be utilized. There were high expectations to the raid regarding different types of builds... welp.
There isn't any content in the game that would favor a group member to run a high Hazard Protection build, requiring this player to tank traps and poison clouds while navigating in a room towards a button on the other end of it (Playing Divinity OS 2 made me think of this). Division is missing a lot of basic rpg elements like enemies being weaker to certain types of damage or the ability to lower resistances. The closest thing we had was the Merciless bypassing Heavy plated armor, and that was apparently a bug.
There isn't any content in the game that persuades someone to make a maxed out Hive Booster build. There isn't any content in the game that persuades a player to run Trauma, to CC an HVT from reaching an objective before the player(s) do. There isn't a piece of content that limits our HUD and makes Pulse incredibly useful, like how it was in Survival.
You get the point. But compare these to Dragon's Nest or Stolen Signal. Two pieces of content that persuaded players to run specific builds. Division 2 doesn't have any of that. Builds in this game are more "you could run this if you want to", and I get that. You leave the freedom to the players, but because Youtube exists, METAs exist. So, the freedom that you may leave to the players won't even be explored, especially in PVP. People are extremely impressionable.
This is also why gear mods needed to be buffed, especially for skill builds. That is why I bumped that thread. Status damage and duration percentages are incredibly poor on utility mods, to the point where you won't even notice the differences if you equipped them or not. DPS builds have the "weapon damage" attribute. You can roll this on chests, backpacks, and you can get a specific weapon damage roll on gloves.
The easiest skill build in the game to use and create is a Seeker build, because of how Destructive rolls on gear and how much manual aiming is not needed. You cannot make a Flame turret build as powerful as a Seeker mine build, because there is no common talent, or gear attribute that increases Burn damage. You cannot make a Hive build as powerful as a Seeker mine build because there is no common talent that increases Hive damage. There is no common talent that increases Blind duration, no common talent that increases Confuse or Disorent duration, etc.
This is why skill builds are weak. With not scaling off skill power natively, their effectiveness is left up to their skill mod slots (except seeker, mortar or bombardier) (and poor percentages on utility mods), with some skills having limited slots! You can run a zero skill power build, but roll Destructive on every piece of gear, and still have strong Seek-... Heh, I'm not even gonna finish that thought, because as I was thinking of it, it made me laugh at how ridiculous it is, lol. More reasons why introducing new common talents would express build diversity.
There's only one active utility talent on chest, which only increases grenade radius! Not even grenade damage! And Payload is a defensive talent that increases explosive damage! Where's the burn damage increase active talent? Where's the oxidizer damage increase active talent? Where's the blind duration increase active talent? You're missing a lot of talents that support skill builds, only persuading players to go DPS!
I had to scrape for pennies in order to get my flame turret to do 10k damage per tick natively, fighting RNG to get utility mods with poor + Burn damage and + Burn duration. But, my Seeker mine build was up to 600k+ (400k with Cluster), without a Payload or Tech Support proc.
It's... BAD.
Crit got nerfed on weapon mods, and Critical gear mods are poor in value, so SMG and Rifle builds are hurting. You've nerfed the damage options of these weapon types and because of these nerfs and the buff to armor, you've carved out an LMG meta.
Don't get me started on Heal builds. ...by that, I mean I cannot speak on something that doesn't exist, but here goes. Extra out-going healing, much like duration stats and extra burn or bleed damage stats on utility gear, suffers from poor values. Safegaurd was nerfed because it was being utilized more for self heals rather than group heals. The Restorer Hive's little flying healing node doesn't reach a player who needs healing fast enough to be effective, on top of the poor out-going healing values, especially with us getting tankier!
I know you guys don't want to create the out of cover, chicken dancing that is Division 1, but Division 2 has a serious issue with build diversity.
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Right now, there is one brand set that's kind of unfair compared to the others: Fenris.
Fenris Chest is the only brand set chest in the game that can roll an active and a common talent. Why? This combination even makes an SMG build run the Fenris Chest. Hell, I'm currently running it on my pvp shotgun build.
It's also the only holster that rolls two attributes and a talent, and the only knee pads that rolls a common and an active talent. This set seems pretty biased for some reason. I really only wanted to bring this to people's attention who may not have noticed. Some sets can roll two commons, or also a common and an active, but that's only limited to their backpacks, as oppose to Fenris' entire set.
PVE
Thanks to those who've posted in that Light Zone thread, Division 2 now has the amount of PVE that Division 1 needed, and then some... but there are a couple things that need some attention.
Division 2 lacks Incursions. There isn't any end game activity that bridges normal PVE content, to Raid content. There isn't any sort of threshold before a grand spike in difficulty. Before release, I had assumed that Strongholds would be the Incursion replacement, but the name Stronghold is more of a narrative indication rather than a difficulty indication.
Division 2 needs that end game, 4-man only activity that exists between raid and normal missions (matchmaking included, just like Division 1 Incursions). We might be getting that in a way with DC Outskirts, but if Episode 1 doesn't introduce a bunch of new gear and weapons (more than 3 gear sets!), some of which that can only be obtained through DC Outskirts, what's the point? Who with the Season Pass actually does the Classified Missions everyday? I know I don't. They are just convenient fast travel locations at this point.
Division 2 is still missing those PVE public events, as well.
This next bit has been on my mind for a while, way before WT5 was introduced, and I waited until then to see if anything were to change, but nothing did. We've built up the settlements in the 1-30 process. Unfortunately, the upgrades are only aesthetics. I have a bunch of Trinkets that aren't getting used. I could sell them, but I have a gold necklace. So... nah.
Why not have these upgrades to the settlements accept trinkets for loot or for crafting materials? Gold necklace for exotic components? You can do so much with trinkets right now, it's laughable. You can give trinkets to ally patrols. but I never realized that until one day I walked up to one. I'm never actively seeking ally patrols because nothing in the game directs me to interact with them.
This also leads me to my next point, Division credits are pretty useless outside of crafting. Vendors lack appropriate gear score items, as well as also selling purple items, making them useless. Why not just turn vendors into factions or something? Give them personality - have them sell unique vanity items exclusive to that vendor. Have the accept specific trinkets. I'm smiling but I'm also face palming, because there's just so much more than can be done with them. Cassie is okay, because she sells named weapons, but even those are missing potential.
Weapons (and Named Weapons)
I've only used two named weapons in the game during my 1-30. The AUG and the SIG. They got sold when I didn't need them anymore.
Named weapons could be the equivalent of Division 1's exotic weapons. Two random rolls and a unique talent. That unique talent could roll in any of the three slots and come from an exclusive pool or with a fixed talent, potentially netting someone both an active and fixed talent. These talents could very well be talents from Division 1, giving them a legacy feel, but new talents are welcomed. Mentioned earlier, this is harping on making new, exciting loot to look out for when playing, using something that already exists in the game, as well as bolstering weapon and build diversity.
Course, I'd make those talents non-transferrable. Exotics should always be the best of the best, no doubt, but now named items are no longer worthless outside of lore, or outside of being slightly helpful in the early portions of a level during 1-30 with these types of changes. Remove them from being purchasable, or change the way Cassie works. Or set them as vendor faction items, give them their own item color, limit them so that a player would have to choose between either equipping an exotic or named item.
po-ten-tial
Some weapons in the game sit in a strange spot. This is what the FAL currently looks like, based on the spread sheet:
FAL
RPM - 650
Magazine Size - 20
Damage Range - 11718 - 14322 @ GS 500
Now look at the P416
RPM - 750
Magazine Size - 30
Damage Range - 11718 - 14322 @ GS 500
So, who is gonna use the FAL? It needs a buff. It makes no sense for it have less RPM, a smaller magazine size, but yet do the same amount of damage that a P416 can, which has a higher RPM and larger magazine size. This weapon has been underwhelming in Division 1. Let's not have it underwhelming in the life span of Division 2.
Melee damage is great on shotguns in PVE.... if the game isn't scaled to a group size higher than solo, but in PVP melee damage is pretty bad. Melee damage would either have to increase or be removed from Shotguns and replaced with something else. If it isn't stagger, give them reload speed or weapon handling. Armor damage would be a pretty meta stat, and I understand why it was removed from Assault Rifles.
PVP
Oh boy...
Normalization has to go, especially in Conflict (or introduce a non-normalized playlist). I didn't realize this, but stats transferred over to a piece of gear get hits by normalization, compared to non-recalibrated items. This means that, if you find a holster with 40k health, and transfer it over to a different piece of gear, it will drop down to 18k under normalization. Whereas if you simply put on the holster with 40k health, that number will not move under normalization.
That's not good. This means that you can't be as strong of an agent as you could be. Some of you are asking for the optimization station to return, but super optimized builds will be hit the hardest under normalization if it doesn't get removed. Optimization station also removes the need to play content. With the way "density" works and looking at the max rolls on gear, I don't think the optimization station is coming.
PVP's biggest issue, however, is the lack of build diversity. This is because some things in the game are just underpowered or ineffective, which leads to metas. If a player feels forced to use the same weapons and gear that other players are using in order to be competitive, there is no balance. There is no build diversity. Think back to Division 1 when everyone was running Striker. EMP was weak against it, despite being its hard counter, and you gained Striker stacks from shooting someone's shield! The only counter that Striker had was itself.
Hipfiring LMGs are the current talk of the town. Ideally, to stop this and any future hip firing spam, the hip firing from Division 1 must be brought over to Division 2. Towards the end of Division 1's life, I was mainly in Skirmish. Every time I saw player hip fire, there was a moment of "on second thought, how about I don't do that" in their eyes. This is the only way you stop the current LMG hip firing - instantly apply negative weapon handling stats that cannot be brought to neutral in any way, or be affected by the Demolitionist's med kit.
Hip firing should be the last act of desperation, not a first. Ideally, you'd tune hip firing based on weapon type or weight, with SMGs having the better hip firing stat and LMGs having the worst, but I don't think you guys are wanting to get that hardcore.
Some of you may be complaining about the Double Barrel Shotgun, but I'd like to give my two cents on this as someone who has been maining the weapon in PVP since reaching WT4. The strength of the double barrel has been around since before WT5 was in the game and I can understand why you might be surprised. Everyone was just too bent out on the Vector / Chatterbox meta to notice, and it end up being the only way to truly counter that meta at the time.As mentioned, PVP's biggest issue is build diversity, or lack thereof. Returning crit to its former glory could bring SMG and Rifle builds back into the fray. The buff to health and armor indirectly nerfed the Vector / Chatterbox, because our normalized health and armor aren't as close to the maximum DPS of the Vector / Chatterbox build. Buffing Crit is a way for SMGs and Rifles to fight the tank meta, same with buffing Headshot damage for marksman rifle builds. We were getting one shot by the m700 because its damage was extremely close to our overall armor and health rating under normalization.
A double barrel is doing what it's supposed to do. If someone has the ability to get up close and land both shots, of which requires more accuracy than you might believe, they should be rewarded. If they miss those shots, they are f****. And, I bet you all didn't even notice that the double barrel was stealth nerfed in PVP when WT5 was actually released, and I would know because that was all I used before WT5. I am aware of the numbers that the double barrel was reaching and am aware of how to use it.
If you noticed a delay before you can shoot the double barrel after reloading, just know that that wasn't there pre-WT5. If you notice your WT5 double barrel hitting 60k+ under normalization, just know that a WT4 double barrel was reaching 100k+ under normalization pre-WT5.
But again, everyone was too bent on the Vectorbox to notice. The double barrel was already nerfed once when WT5 dropped, with its nerf never being detailed in the patch notes, it doesn't need to happen again. If you don't believe me, take a look at these screen shots yourself. I've had them saved for a while, because I was gonna make a separate thread about the stealth nerf long ago, but ultimately let it go.
This is a screenshot of someone's WT4 Double Barrel under normalization. Note: this was when WT5 first released. (The thread I wanted to make was about this because it drove me crazy. I even made a new character, brought him up tom WT4 to try to find a Double Barrel to see if what I was seeing was true, prompting me to assume that this was a legacy Double Barrel, one that did not get affected by the stealth nerf, or that player was still in WT4. Turns out, its nerf was just never detailed). Now, here are two shots of my WT5 / GS 500 double barrels, one being with better damage rolls.
The second shot is with better rolls on gear, although not maximum. Even if I did have max rolls, I would still not be hitting 123k damage.
Again, it was already nerfed and nothing was said about it in the WT5 patch notes, you can take a look yourself
Spoiler: Show
Rifles:
Damage on the MK17 rifle reduced by 14%, also corrected this weapon not having a damage falloff over distance.
LW M4 damage increased by 5%, RPM increased from 240 to 360.
LVOA-C RPM increased from 240 to 380.
Marksman Rifles
Model 700 damage reduced by 13%.
Shotguns
AA12 damage increased by 16%.
LMGs
MG5 damage increased by 12% and fixed reversed falloff, causing the weapon to do more damage over a longer range.
So, there is no need to complain about it. There is no need for a fix nor is there a need for another nerf, because damage has already been done to it. They just never said they nerfed it. Shame.
But because of the nerfs to crit and headshot damage, like I mentioned, you've carved the current Tanky LMG meta - a weapon that hasn't been affected by either of those stat nerfs.
Dark Zone
I don't go into the DZ because there isn't anything enticing for me to go after in there. I did get the Pestilence, and I could use a Yaahl mask, but I could also get that mask from Conflict caches. The DZ could use its events, like how Division 1 DZ had contamination events, but there's a much more prevalent issue regarding the DZ.
This one is for Red Storm. Guys, you must understand that solo players hate groups. A solo player will not walk into the DZ, just to get jumped. Division 2 supposedly has a solo queue DZ, but it's not a hard rule, meaning you can still walk in solo and be met with groups.
Why. Isn't. Solo. DZ. A. Hard. Rule?
Terry, I know you said "Trust me, the DZ isn't scary anymore" or something similar, but it's not about it being scary. It's about the experience being annoying. Listen, I like PVP. I've been level 100 in Conflict since before WT5. PVP could be better, for sure, but I 100% hate getting 1 v 4'd. It's not fun.
If you want more players in the DZ, do this - make solo DZ a hard rule. That way, solo players aren't being put into unfair situations. If you walk into the DZ solo, you should not be able to invite players to your group, nor can players join your group from the social tab.
If you were to walk into a DZ as a group of two or more, then so be it. You would then be in a DZ instance with other groups consisting of two or more.
A true solo queue DZ is not an attempt to stop rogue action. If anything, it's an attempt to make it fair and balanced, and probably a lot more exciting. Disable world and local chat, disable voip if you have to. Multigrouping might become a thing, but it doesn't make sense to walk into the solo queue DZ with the intent to group up. Regardless, a true solo queue DZ has to become reality.
On The Ropes
This isn't as important as the rest of the thread. It's more of a hyper specific balance suggestion that was made in the spur of the moment, so I'll just put in a spoiler if you'd like to read it.
Spoiler: Show
On The Ropes provide a damage increase when all skills are on cooldown, but in regards to the chem launcher, "on cooldown" =/= "charges depleted." So, a player can drop 1 chem launcher charge, and have that count as a cooldown. Objectively, it shouldn't work like that. This is because a player can have a damage boost for an indefinite amount of time, given the amount of charges that the chem launcher can hold.
Now, you can't really change it to where it provides a skill damage boost for x amount of seconds when skills are on cooldown, because you'd be better off using Tech Support or you'd need an extreme amount of cooldown reduction.
Instead re-work the way the chem launcher works with On The Ropes - when all charges are depleted.
This goes the same for Jammer pulse. Have it work when the pulse has been fully charged, that way On The Ropes cannot be proc'd so easily by double tapping the button. Jammer Pulse is not even being used for its effects. It's only being used to proc On The Ropes easily.
Conflict
Conflict is fun. Straight up dedicated PVP. I don't have to go looking for it or anticipate it like I would have to in the DZ. It's just 100% PVP all the time... but, Conflict has a bad tick rate issue. If you've ever notice yourself getting killed around a corner, or from behind cover when you were clearly in cover on your screen, blame the tick rate of the Conflict servers. Conflict also has a matchmaking issue. Waiting times seemed to have increased, of which I posted about the other day.
Here is that thread
Spoiler: Show
Originally Posted by Looticrous
Conflict queue times seem to have gotten longer. There are two possibilities:
- Skill Based Matchmaking
- Lower player count
The current wait times are remancient of Division 1's Skirmish wait times (towards the end of the game's life). We wait and wait until 2 more players join the queue and because of this waiting, we spend more time waiting for players than we do in a match.
Believe it or not, Call of Duty solves wait time issues by starting a match when a minimum amount of players have filled the lobby. I believe it is 8, or 4 v 4. A full lobby consists of 12, or 6 v 6. Division 2 can solve this exact same issue by starting a match when the queue has reached 6/8 or 3 v 3.
Once 6/8 players have been reached, provide an expectancy. Indicate near the matchmaking feed that, after an elapsed amount of time upon reaching 6/8, the match will start. This incentivizes players to stay in the queue, by providing those who have been waiting an expectation of when the match will start. And, this elapsed time still allows 2 more players to be found.
That's not to mention the time spent in the map voting lobby. 2 additional players could join then as well. But, no matter what, a match will begin and no one is waiting.
As I type this, I am staring at [6/8]. It's been like this for the past 30 minutes. I'm thinking to myself, why not just start it when there are enough players to form both teams with an equal amount of players on them?
So to recap
- Start Conflict match processing when the lobby reaches 6/8 players
- Provide an additional elapsed timer indicating when the match will specifically start. This timer still allows two remaining players to join.
- By doing this, no one is stuck waiting for an exceeded amount of unnecessary time. No one leaves the queue.
Otherwise, I've already posted an extensive thread on Conflict a while back. This might be slightly outdated and can be improved, but it still contains quality of life improvements.
Spoiler: Show
Originally Posted by Merphee
Right now, I am level 85 (51 Hours play time) in Conflict and man, has there been highs and lows. I've wanted to make this thread for a while now (and this one is my second attempt at it), providing my thoughts on Conflict and other aspects of PVP, but always came around with "This issue will work itself out" or, "I'm sure the devs are aware of this."
I think it's best to go on ahead and provide my thoughts and hope some of these things will be implemented in a future patch. There may be a lot here, so take your time or chime in your thoughts on Conflict and PVP or on something you may agree or disagree with on what you've read here and/or provide a solution that you think may work better. Let's get this discussion going. This will mainly be about PvP, so some of these ideas / discussions may not affect you.
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Conflict
Matchmaking
The first thing I'd like to address and get everyone's thoughts on is this:
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On multiple occasions, this has happened - being pushed into a 4 v 3 + 1. This shouldn't happen. I mainly run Conflict solo, and multiple times have I been matched against full groups of four or tacked on a group of three that were then matched against another group of four. It's easy to tell now because of clan tags, however in Division 1, if you played Skirmish long enough, you'd notice which players played together.
I think there should be a change within the matchmaking.
- Solo queues should be matched with other solo queues.
- Groups of two should be paired with other groups of two, creating two groups of 2 + 2. (Too many twos.)
- The Trio lobby should be its own thing. If a group of three matchmake for Conflict, they should be matched against another group of three.
- And full groups of four versus full groups of four.
I am also convinced that playing in a group can bypass Skill Based Matchmaking.
Regarding SBMM and Group Based Matchmaking, a collective average of the group's win/loss / score / or K/D should be taken into account. This average should then be matchmade against another group who share this average or shares an average within a value range that the average exists in.
Georgetown
Georgetown has a real issue with roof top camping. I usually vote against the map because of it. It stems from climbing and vaulting being much more slow compared to Division 1, which allows their current entry points to be easily camped or a lot risker to approach. Not to mention that boosts are up there, which should be removed.
Would like to get you all's opinion on this, but I think a solution to this problem would be to create a third, more accessible entry to the roofs, preferably some stairs. The location of these stairs should connect perpendicular from the alleyways parallel to the roofs. Here is an example of what I mean in Red:
Now, for obvious reasons, this would mean that the stairway would be "watched" more because of its easy access, but its ease of access lessens the decision to camp the roof. Remember the spot in DZ02, I believe, in Division 1? It was a small roof access that was only accessible by ladder. Georgetown roofs are reminiscent to this.
Stadium
I've brought this up before in my Private Beta feedback thread, the roof is a prime spot to have control over. If properly held, it can shift a team's momentum. However, boosts currently exist on top of the roof. What has the ability to overwhelm is if a team is currently in control of the roof and a boost spawns up there. This increases the momentum of the team in control of the roof by a huge margin.
Consider moving the boosts from on top of the roof to the warehouse below. Because it has 5 entry points, if you count the ceiling access, and because the warehouse is a lot more approachable from spawn compared to the roof, it is possible that a lot more balanced fights over the boosts will occur, much like how B is fought over in that spot in Domination.
Game Lobby
I am one who tends to stay in Conflict match after match. For the most part, we are stuck staring at the After Match Report screen waiting until players are found so that the the next match can start, or we are staring at the vote screen until the match starts. It can get pretty boring.
To kill that time in a more effective way, we should be allowed to edit and tweak our builds and navigate our inventory. If we are able to do this in the lobby or during the after match report screen, we wouldn't have to waste time tweaking or changing our builds around when an official match starts. This causes teammates to fall behind and possibly affect the first encounter over a choke point / objective.
This goes for choosing specializations as well. If you want to change to a different specialization while playing Conflict, you have to leave Conflict, go to the White House if you aren't already there, choose, then re-matchmake. It's an unnecessary step, in my opinion, and would be much more convenient if we could do it in the pre-game lobby. Of course, once you choose your specialization, you should be locked in and unable to switch until the match is over.
These additions to the game lobby would streamline the Conflict experience more.
Boosts
How do you all feel about the boosts?
I didn't like them at first, but I guess they're tolerable (also, does anybody know what the green +1 boost does?) I think that the boosts shouldn't have locations near spawn, or "come online" while a team is spawned trapped. If a team is spawned trapped, those that are doing the spawn trapping will have the better odds of grabbing the boosts.
Boosts should only be located mid map and only obtainable when there is a moment of neutrality.
What I mean by neutrality is this: when both teams have an equal opportunity to reach the middle of the map at the same time.
When a team is spawned trapped, the team that is doing the spawn trapping, as long as they don't push into the spawn, has the entire map behind them all to themselves, which means they have a 100% chance of grabbing any boost that comes online, even the one near the spawn they are trapping.
So, to provide an equal chance for both teams to grab the boosts, boosts shouldn't come online until the spawned trapped team is no longer spawn trapped (or when the spawns flip) or essentially when no one is spawned trapped or has the ability to spawn trap, which will then allow the previous spawn trapped team to reach the middle of the map at roughly the same time the spawn trapping team can.
Which brings up my point about why boosts should only be located mid map, in the cross section where all three lanes connect with one another. This also would mean that the boosts' "about to come online" timer should be increased slightly in an attempt to predict ETAs.
This goes for the Specialization Supply drops as well. For example, with Georgetown:
The giant red dots indicated where the supply drops could drop. Because they drop in the middle of the map, combined with the change to when boosts are available provided above, no one team will have the better odds of obtaining a boost..... theoretically, of course.
TL;DR
There still much more than can be discussed in detail, like how some skills and weapon talents can be reworked, but these topics were the most prevalent. I'll leave it up to you guys to discuss what I didn't. This is intended to be a serious thread. Please, no low effort or trolling, because if you guys are serious in wanting the game to get fixed, I should expect serious posts. I may get IP banned for doing this because rules are rules, but I'll still be reading from the clouds if that ends up being the case.
Division 2 is in a rough spot right now. PVP is hurting and PVE can be improved. We're three months in. Devs, you guys probably know what you need to do in order to improve the game (Uncle Yves is watching, you know), and those decisions might hurt certain demographics, but I think that it's a matter of whether or not you guys want to go through with those pending improvements. You may lose players, but those improvements could be what helps the game in the long run. You guys have the data, the numbers. We as players can only post our thoughts and feedback, and what we say might seem ignorant, but we are playing the game based on what we are perceiving in real time. We can only hope you make the right decisions. You must understand why your own community may trash talk and bad mouth you, this own forum for that matter, but I'm sure you are aware that... that is only passion. Those players do not want potential to be poured down the drain.
- Merphee
P.S, my Division watch still can't tell the in-game time and I'm still waiting on that floral print hawaiian shirt for my agent to wear!
There's a lot here, so if you'd like to quote a part of this post, simply highlight the section, copy it and paste it in a response, then wrap it in quotes, indicated by the text box icon left of the number sign under "Go Advanced." There is no need to try to delete a bunch of text just to segment 1 paragraph or something.
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