🛈 Announcement
Greetings! The Division forums are now archived and accessible in read-only mode, please go to the new platform to discuss the game
  1. #1
    sandpants's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    3,410

    200+ Bracket. Why...?

    It's obvious why a new bracket is being introduced.

    But why at the 201+ GS break point?

    The gap between 182 and 204 weapons is minuscule. Same with gear base stats. Surely you are not convinced that the source of all the lamentations about allowing "high level GS players mow down lower GS" is due to the weapon damage and gear base stat gap.

    Weapons base damage alone do not contribute for the majority of where damage comes from. It comes from Crit damage and head shot stacking as well as the Stalker Talent. For which gear sets are responsible.
    Neither are the base stat gaps so large between different gear score level. The gap IN a single gear score is like to be larger (204 has something like 526 - 645 spread)


    Before you make an enormous logic leap and release a redundant bracket that will do nothing other than segregate people by an arbitrary number which barely represents a characters true power, consider reducing the new bracket to 186+ breakpoint.

    This keeps the Stalker talent outside of the second high bracket and secludes it to the top tier bracket only. You can still have 3 piece sets in the second highest brackets and with an array of 182 items in the other slots, it amounts to 185 GS average. This means you can still have things like 30% extra head shot damage or 50% crit damage (which by their additive nature don't present a huge threat to balance), but not both at the same time, and neither can you have a flat 45% damage boost given practically free of charge.

    Unless the point of introducing a new bracket is entirely fictitious ...
    Share this post

  2. #2
    Syr.Jake's Avatar Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    461
    They used the Gear Score to determine the break point for the brackets.

    163

    204

    If most of your gear is above 163, you will be in the 161+ bracket in the Dark Zone

    If most of your gear is 204+ you will end up in the 201+ bracket in the Dark Zone

    If you go back and read my summary post, you will see that they said why there were doing this, and I included that in my post.

    1. To reduce the harassment of lower end players
    2. To gate off the higher end gear into the higher bracket

    Gear Score is as follows:

    163
    182
    191
    204
    214
    240

    If you go immediately from 163 to 240 gear, there is no real progression.

    By splitting up the DZ and putting 214 and 240 gear drops into the 201+ Gear Score DZ Bracket, it moves the higher end players up into that level where they will get drops and loot that actually means something to them.

    It will also give the lower gear scored players something to work towards earning.

    One of the really big issues in the game right now is that higher end geared players get crap for loot, because the loot is all mixed together, for everyone.

    Gating off the 200+ gear score players into a bracket that gets them the high end drops WILL move them out away from the lower end players because they wont get the good gear by attacking lower end players.

    Players that currently nerf their gear score just to try to get into under 160 bracket are doing so because they have as equal a chance of getting good gear as everyone else AND they can attack and kill lower geared players.

    Moving high end items into a high end bracket will cause the player to have a real choice. Do they nerf their Gear Score to get into a lower bracket, just to kill players and get garbage loot, or do they use their good gear to stay in the higher bracket where they will get good loot.

    The new bracket, and the changes coming in the new bracket, are a good thing.
    Share this post

  3. #3
    At least its something, instead of continuing to think pitting 163 against 240 is a good idea. Its pretty much the middle anyways.
    Share this post

  4. #4
    Soon we'll have full gear score brackets, i.e., 164-181, 182-203, 204-213 ...
    Share this post

  5. #5
    UNSCxSniper's Avatar Banned
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,348
    The gap between a 182 weapon and a 204 weapon isnt much. But the gap between a player decked in all 204+ gear vs one in 182 etc IS a big difference
    Share this post

  6. #6
    Originally Posted by III_Hammer_III Go to original post
    Soon we'll have full gear score brackets, i.e., 164-181, 182-203, 204-213 ...
    I'd be completely fine with that, even tho the DZ will have very few people in your bracket at any given time.
    Share this post

  7. #7
    sandpants's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    3,410
    Originally Posted by Syr.Jake Go to original post
    They used the Gear Score to determine the break point for the brackets.

    163

    204

    If most of your gear is above 163, you will be in the 161+ bracket in the Dark Zone

    If most of your gear is 204+ you will end up in the 201+ bracket in the Dark Zone

    If you go back and read my summary post, you will see that they said why there were doing this, and I included that in my post.

    1. To reduce the harassment of lower end players
    2. To gate off the higher end gear into the higher bracket

    Gear Score is as follows:

    163
    182
    191
    204
    214
    240

    If you go immediately from 163 to 240 gear, there is no real progression.

    By splitting up the DZ and putting 214 and 240 gear drops into the 201+ Gear Score DZ Bracket, it moves the higher end players up into that level where they will get drops and loot that actually means something to them.

    It will also give the lower gear scored players something to work towards earning.

    One of the really big issues in the game right now is that higher end geared players get crap for loot, because the loot is all mixed together, for everyone.

    Gating off the 200+ gear score players into a bracket that gets them the high end drops WILL move them out away from the lower end players because they wont get the good gear by attacking lower end players.

    Players that currently nerf their gear score just to try to get into under 160 bracket are doing so because they have as equal a chance of getting good gear as everyone else AND they can attack and kill lower geared players.

    Moving high end items into a high end bracket will cause the player to have a real choice. Do they nerf their Gear Score to get into a lower bracket, just to kill players and get garbage loot, or do they use their good gear to stay in the higher bracket where they will get good loot.

    The new bracket, and the changes coming in the new bracket, are a good thing.
    ...ok?
    Share this post

  8. #8
    I hope this adds some bite back into the dz. It's getting sort of blah to me.
    Share this post

  9. #9
    sandpants's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Posts
    3,410
    Originally Posted by UNSCxSniper Go to original post
    The gap between a 182 weapon and a 204 weapon isnt much. But the gap between a player decked in all 204+ gear vs one in 182 etc IS a big difference
    So is the gap of a player decked in a 191 Sentry Set compared to a person with 182 gear. But they will be bunched together because apparently 200 is somehow the 'middle'. It isn't.

    The new 200+ bracket will do the following:
    1) Low level bracket without gear sets
    2) High level bracket with top gear sets
    3) Middle bracket that is a mess, has mobs that drop purples and blues, has trash gear drops, and most of all, misses the intended point of the changes entirely.

    A fully decked 204 player is not far ahead of a 191 average. In fact, the only 204 pieces worth a damn currently are Reckless Chest piece and Savage gloves. Albeit the chest piece is being fixed.

    Still, point being is 191 players will be bunched up with 'low level players'.
    Share this post

  10. #10
    Kyosji's Avatar Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Posts
    1,206
    Also, from what I understood, the mobs in the DZ for the 201 bracket will start off at level 32. That alone makes it nice. Opens my chances of gaining better gear instead of walking my fat arse to DZ06 to fight LMB shotgunners. I like the thought of having Rikers/Looters/Cleaners all starting off at level 32.
    Share this post

Page 1 of 9 123 ... Last ►►