INTRO:
This will be a bit of a read, but please bear with me as I think this idea could greatly improve the game. EDIT: Please watch the Division short films before reading on, they'll give some great context to my ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GLJPKQSBuc
There have been a lot of concerns about the Dark Zone and how it functions within the game. I for one think that the DZ isn't meeting its full potential. Here's an idea that I feel would positively affect the DZ and the game as a whole. The idea revolves around the consumable resources, specifically food and drink, but also medkits and ammo. It came to me while watching The Division Agent short films.
In the films, as would be the case in real life, food and water would be the most sought after items, followed by weapons and ammo. However, this isn't the case in the game. Bizarrely, food and water are used as buffs, and are often totally forgotten about. Most people just have them to give to 'civilians in need'. My idea is to totally overhaul how these items are used in the game, and thus bring them in line with the films. Doing so would result in the game incorporating more of a survival aspect, which would be well suited to the overall theme.
THE IDEA:
The main thing I would do is make food and water essential to surviving in the game. In the case of an apocalypse type situation, they would be the new gold. They would become more important than anything else. Acquiring better weapons and equipment would be necessary in order to give you the best chance at acquiring (and keeping) these items.
So how could this be achieved? Firstly, reduce medkit drop rates. They should be a rare resource (we'll come back to this later). Secondly, introduce perishable mask filters, which would also be very rare. This would mean that entering contaminated areas/CA's (where the best loot is) would be very very risky. Your mask filter would only have a certain amount of 'life' and would tick down while you're in the CA. After that your health would slowly tick down and could only be sustained with food/drink/medkits.
In addition, food, which would give you more the most health back, would be perishable... and ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE DZ. Players wouldn't be able to hoard it indefinitely. However, water can be stored, but doesn't boost health as much. Ammo would also be rarer, requiring players to think before they shoot. Ammo packs would then become a purchasable item within the PvE world and the Dark Zone (where it would cost a lot more).
SO HOW DOES THIS IMPACT THE DARK ZONE?:
Now that food/drink/medkits/ammo have a lot more value they would become the number one target for looters. Only the strongest survive, so we still need weapons and armour, but the strongest are still human, so still need food and drink to stay alive. Dark Zones would now become the number one place to acquire these items.
Instead of just hanging around randomly guarding a chest, NPC enemies in the DZ could now be guarding caches of food/water/medkits and ammo. Not every gang will have them (the loot scan skill would become a lot more useful), so players would have to battle through in the hope of finding supplies. Most gangs would inhabit contaminated areas. So now, as well as the risk of your filter running out, you also run the risk of being shot while there. Tactics would now play a huge part in how you approach enemies, not just in terms of combat, but in terms of having the resources to see it through.
But let's not stop there. PvP combat in the DZ can be sporadic, and often involves shooting other players in the back or lulling them into a false sense of security before betraying them. Personally, I don't find this very enjoyable. I like fair fights that test my skill and tactical thinking. Chasing Rogue Agents can also be a bit of a chore. They run, you chase, you damage them, they heal, they damage you, you heal. You all wait for your health skill to recharge, then it continues until they're either cornered or they find somewhere to hide that's out of reach.
Adding the new mechanics I've mentioned would mean that if someone goes Rogue and runs off to hide in a contaminated area, they can't just stay there indefinitely and wait for their timer to reach zero... unless they've managed to stock up on resources first. This would mean going Rogue would require planning and forethought. They could try and hide in a non-contaminated area, but these would be much harder to defend and it would be easy to get surrounded.
I mentioned trying to focus combat... I would do this by having supply caches drop at random locations at various times. This would be announced over the comms and a count down timer would start., in the same manner as the extractions. The location would only become apparent a few seconds before the timer reached zero. Players then have the option to head to the cache location and try to fight for supplies.. which could contain any combination of food/water/ammo/medkits and even possibly a weapon. I feel like this would add a much needed element of excitement to the game.
All items recovered would have to be extracted as usual, so it might take multiple extractions to recover everything. The temptation to go Rogue would be higher than ever. But with the new balancing would be a tougher choice.
Making food perishable would mean players would have to keep coming back to the game world to stock up. They can stock it in their BOS once extracted, but it has a shelf life. Water, would be available in the PvE world, but it only grants a very small amount of health.
SUMMARY:
I think these ideas would massively improve the game, and bring some much needed focus. Please feel free to reply with any ideas you have, but keep it constructive. I'm aware that it's probably too late for any of this to be implemented but you never know. If you made it this far, well done and thank you... take this magazine of ammo and this bottle of water and good luck agent!
It affected the whole world. That's the point of the game. Your task is to stabilise society.Originally Posted by agarc045 Go to original post
I'm aware of that. But none of the current themes are original and the game as a whole is inspired by many others. Plus, no AAA game has implemented these features in this way which would give it a USP. Remember, the games you've mentioned are PC only.Originally Posted by GSVodka Go to original post
I'm sorry but dayz and h1z1 are coming to consoles so that means they're not pc onlyOriginally Posted by Gash_Hammer Go to original post
The game doesn't know what it is at the moment. It has an identity crisis. It has mechanics that don't compliment each other particularly well and this is painfully clear in the general feedback people are giving the game. My ideas wouldn't turn it into a full on survival game, it still has all the other features. It would just be the glue that held it all together. It would give some purpose to it all, something it lacks right now.Originally Posted by Smileyguy24 Go to original post
Ok, give me a release date for both. DayZ and H1Z1 barely function on PC, let alone console. Why you wouldn't want features of these games in a full AAA game, that has brilliant graphics etc, is beyond me. It's like you're being obtuse just for the sake of it.Originally Posted by Smileyguy24 Go to original post
I like the food/drink idea
masks, not so much although it wouldn't be so bad if you made the filters craftable.
Implement it as supply drops from JTF, government, whatever.Originally Posted by Gash_Hammer Go to original post
This part is inconsistent with A my suggestion above. Why would we have to extract stuff that was just air dropped to supply us?Originally Posted by Gash_Hammer Go to original post
and B lore. Stuff needs to be extracted so it can be properly decontaminated. Food/water are probably impossible to decontaminate without rendering them useless.
It was announced as having survival elements in the past which are now sadly missing. Also using food/water in the DZ to encourage and focus pvp does not turn this into a survival game as it is not an end but a means for the player to be able to remain in one DZ session for a longer period of time.No this isn't a survival game nor does it need to be turned into one you want survival go play one of the count less ones out there