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  1. #1

    Special Report - May 19, 2016

    Okay so I just watched the special report, and also got my Forum issue fixed (THANK you, Mods, for clearing that up). By the way, folks, do NOT post more than 5 times in under 10 minutes or the forum will think you are a bot LOL.

    Anyway, so as the video played, I took notes, and wanted to start one of my threads for discussion. I am also going to reference information from the following news articles published today as well:

    http://tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.com...-may-19th-2016

    http://tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.com...p-in-update-12

    http://tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.com...10-spice-it-up

    Okay, so here goes:

    The devs have looked into the following issues:
    1. Loot drops do not feel rewarding due to rare upgrades and low Gear Score.
    2. Sources of the best gear currently limited to Challenge mode Incursion.
    3. Crafting is still the best source of 204 weapons as loot drops are rare.
    4. Dark Zone drops often do not match the Gear Score of the player.
    5. Supply drops in the Dark Zone are underwhelming.

    Okay so they then added the following to try to mitigate some of this:

    • High Value Target (Daily)
    • 1x 182 High End or 214 Gear Set
    • chance for 1x 191 Gear Set
    • High Value Target (Weekly)
    • 1x 182 High End or 214 Gear Set
    • chance for 1x 214 Gear Set
    • High Risk Target (Weekly)
    • 1x 204 High End or 1x 214 Gear Set
    • chance for 1x 240 Gear Set
    My thoughts: COOL! I watched the gameplay on the video, and I absolutely love this. Now I have something to do again in the open world besides farming story missions or crafting material nodes. I am very excited about this one.

    They are also adjusting the loot from the main story missions:

    • Hard Mode (Boss Drop)
    • 1x 163 High End
    • Hard Mode (Mission Reward)
    • 1x 163 High End
    • Challenge Mode (Boss Drop)
    • 2x 182 High End
    • 1x 182 High End or 214 Gear Set
    • chance for 1x 191 Gear Set
    • Challenge Mode (Mission Reward)
    • 1x 182 High End
    To be perfectly honest, I am surprised they are not making at least the mission reward or at least the daily or something give a 204 gear reward. But the chance for 214 gear set stuff is nice, at least, and it looks like CM will drop more loot again like it did right after 1.1 launched ... only THIS time - intentionally

    As for Incursions, here is what they have to say for changes:

    • Hard Mode (Boss Drop)
    • 1x 204 High End Weapon
    • 1x 214 Gear Set
    • 182/204 High End or 214/240 Gear Set
    • Hard Mode (Weekly Reward)
    • 1x 204 High End Weapon
    • 1x 214 Gear Set
    • Challenge Mode (Boss Drop)
    • 1x 204 High End Weapon
    • 1x 240 Gear Set
    • 1x 204 High End or 240 Gear Set
    • Challenge Mode (Weekly Reward)
    • 1x 204 High End Weapon
    • 1x 240 Gear Set
    Neat! 240's EVERY run. Loving that, I am. OH! And while we are on the subject of Incursions, mind you there is a lot different about the new one:

    1. No waves! You work your way through the enemies as fast or as slow as your team feels comfortable doing.
    2. Gear score is the SAME as Falcon Lost
    3. It is in the open, so there will be weather and day/night conditions. HOWEVER - don;t panic ... they have stated that they have put blocks on the heaviest fog and blizzards from occuring in this area.


    Changes to the DZ for gear brackets 0-161 and 162-200:

    • Named NPC Level 30 (DZ01 and DZ02)
    • 1x 163 High End or 191 Gear Set
    • Named NPC Level 31 (DZ03 and DZ04)
    • 1x 163/182 High End or 191/214 Gear Set
    • Named NPC Level 32 (DZ05 and DZ06
    • 1x 163/182/204 High End or 191/214/240 Gear Set
    So for those who are even in the lower brackets, you DO get a chance at a 204 weapon drop. A lot of people were asking and talking about this, so it is nice to see this verified.

    Enough about that, though. let's look at the NEW bracket, which i am excited about:
    • Named NPC Level 32 (DZ01 and DZ02)
    • 1x 182/204 High End or 214/240 Gear Set
    • Named NPC Level 33 (DZ03 and DZ04)
    • 1x 182/204 High End or 214/240 Gear Set
    • Named NPC Level 34 (DZ05 and DZ06)
    • 1x 204 High End or 240 Gear Set
    Oh VERY VERY nice. 204-240 stuff!!!!! NO more 163 items. AWESOME!

    As for supply drops? No problem! Those are explained as well:
    The Supply Drop rewards are as follows for the Gear Score 0-161 and 162-200 bracket:

    • DZ01 and DZ02
    • 1x 163/182 High End
    • chance for 191 Gear Set
    • DZ03 and DZ04
    • 1x 163/182 High End
    • chance for 191/214 Gear Set
    • DZ05 and DZ06
    • 1x 182/204 High End
    • chance for 214 Gear Set

    Similarly, the Supply drops in the Gear Score 201+ bracket are:

    • DZ01 and DZ02
    • 1x 182/204 High End
    • chance for 214/240 Gear Set
    • DZ03 and DZ04
    • 1x 182/204 High End
    • chance for 214/240 Gear Set
    • DZ05 and DZ06
    • 1x 204 High End
    • chance for 240 Gear Set
    Now THAT is more like it. I was absolutely HATING the constant purple crap from supply drops. It was terrible. NOW they might be worth glancing at if one happens to land near me. And the fact that these do not need extraction also makes them appealing as long as we get gear like this.

    As for the rope cutting and gold div tech, I am not going to add that here because it has been discussed to oblivion already in these forums. For now I'll just concentrate on NEW information. With that in mind, let's take a look at more new info:

    In the gameplay video, we watched as Gabe went after HVT (High Value Target) missions. He first went after a level 32, which had veterans for the trash mobs and an elite for the boss. Then he went after another, I did not catch the level/difficulty, but it had all elites which he solo took down very easily. he also took on an HRT (High Risk Target), which is timed. The timer started at 10 minutes, meaning he had 10 minutes to make it to the location AND take down the boss, which he did in around half that time easily.

    One thing people will need to bear in mind ... these missions require a new currency called "Intel" to get. I did not catch how we can get initial Intel to begin with, so I am unsure if this can drop randomly in the open world or not. Either way, on the High Risk missions, if you fail the timer, you are out the currency and have to go back and re-purchase the mission again, so be sure you are prepared BEFORE you buy the missions.

    Also, you can only have ONE target at a time, so as to prevent people from biting off more than they can chew as far as timers, etc. go.

    At this point in the video, we went on to Dark Zone discussion, where we saw Gabe roll a sweet weapon ... and then weep because he was on the dev server and could not keep it (I think it had Accurate, Steady and Brutal ... an Aug I think). LOL. But I digress ...

    We are now getting Stashes at the checkpoints!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUZZAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    So ... what about Gear Sets?

    Final Measure
    Set Bonus (2)
    50% Exotic Damage Resiliance
    Set Bonus (3)
    15% Protection from Elites
    Set Bonus (4)
    Final Measure
    When damaging a hostile with a grenade, gain the "Defuse" buff. When in range of a hostile grenade, the buff is consumed and defuses the grenade as well as gives you a grenade.
    Cool. I like this set, though I would have easily traded the Exotic crap for flat damage defense, but hey - still a neat set. Also, even more good news for Incursion Tanks ... in FL, those Mortars that drive you bonkers when someone is trying to pick up a fallen teammate? Well bonk no more!!!!!!!!!!!! Now your tank, if he has the Defuse buff, can step into the mortar and defuse it! No, I am not making this up. They stated this specifically in the video that the Defuse buff WILL work, intentionally, on the APC mortar

    Hunters Faith
    Set Bonus (2)
    +20% Marksman Rifle Critical Hit Damage
    Set Bonus (3)
    +20% Damage to Elites
    Set Bonus (4)
    Hunter's Faith
    Hitting an enemy with a bullet grants you temporary armor. The further your shot, the more armor. The armor disappears after one bullet hits you.
    Uhm ... okay THIS one I am a bit fussy about. Here are the reasons why:
    1. As a sniper, you arenlt supposed to be taking damage in the first place. You are supposed to be far away from the action, and not getting hit.
    2. If anything, snipers need damage, not defense. We're not tanks. But ... even moreso ... the buff gets removed when hit by ONE bullet? That makes this set nothing more than a sniper vs. sniper set. Okayl, so it MIGHT save you from being one-shot by a sniper, but what about cases like the Incursion, where there are multiple snipers up at a time?
    3. I would have easily made the armor percent based and not single bullet based. Build up the armor, and either have it used up as you take damage OR until the buff timed out.


    Okay, enough nitpicking on that one. Let's nitpick the next one ....
    Lone Star
    Set Bonus (2)
    100% Ammo Capacity
    Set Bonus (3)
    +1000 LMG Damage
    +1000 Shotgun Damage
    Set Bonus (4)
    Lone Star
    When the weapon is holstered, it regains full ammo.
    WOAH! Okay no nitpicking here. I can already see it now. For ANY class, I don;t care who you are, this is going to be the go-to set for your 2-piece bonus. 100% Ammo Capacity, and it STACKS, so if you have regular stats that already have the usual 50% ammo capacity on chest and also on backpack, that's 200% ammo capacity. No one in their right mind is going to pass this one up. Check, please, waiter. We need to hit the streets with this!

    Predator's Mark
    Set Bonus (2)
    +20% Optimal Range
    Set Bonus (3)
    +800 Assault Rifle Damage
    +700 Pistol Damage
    Set Bonus (4)
    Predator's Mark
    Hit 10 shots without switching target to make the target bleed for 100% of the damage already done by those bullets.
    Okay this one is definitely for the assault types, and it actually looks decent except for the 4-piece bonus. I mean ... really? Do ANY mobs in this game take 10 bullets to kill??? I don't even know many PLAYERS in the DZ that take that many hits to kill. Well, then again I don;t play assault classes, so I'll just leave this one alone and move on.

    Let's discuss!
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  2. #2
    great post. everything is looking good to me. hopefully it all pans out. and it looks like it will be easier to get to higher gear score for the more casual gamers.
    there's going to be a LOT of going rogue in the first week with all the gear sets in the DZ and the ability of cutting the rope. should be very interesting. lots of tears and heart rates going through the roof!
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  3. #3
    Fantastic outline of all the information. These new sets look pretty exciting, i cant wait to see some different sets in the DZ.
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  4. #4
    Originally Posted by gt2k Go to original post
    20% range and use a shotgun. LOL
    ROFL! True. Wait I have seen this done before ... ~looks at NPC Shotgunners~

    Originally Posted by Matt_Krouse Go to original post
    Fantastic outline of all the information. These new sets look pretty exciting, i cant wait to see some different sets in the DZ.
    Thanks. It's a LOT of information to consume this round. Almost like drinking from a fire hose.
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  5. #5
    Originally Posted by gt2k Go to original post
    20% range and use a shotgun. LOL
    Sounds like fun, especially with that new AA-12
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  6. #6
    Ok, I am going to be honest. I am a lurker of these forums (or any forum of a game I play)... I rarely comment, but I read A LOT. I just wanted to comment on your thread because something occurred to me... As awesome as those sets are, I am going to stick with my 3sentry/3striker combo. For some reason, I just love those bonuses for my playstyle.

    Anyway, I didn't exploit "Reckless" specifically because I knew in the long run, it would be fixed. Then, I would have had to adjust. Anyway, I stuck with legit sets to make sure I was prepared for nerfs (that would not affect me). Shoot, I even gave up "Savage" for gloves to stick with my set. I am a GS203. I rarely go down. I kill fast. Incursion Challenge, while VERY HARD, is a cakewalk.

    I will just continue to upgrade my current setup.
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  7. #7
    willyvic's Avatar Moderator
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    Originally Posted by Faelandaea Go to original post
    Okay so I just watched the special report...

    Nice, clear, concise post......thank you.
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  8. #8
    Thanks for taking the time to do this. Really.

    1. Yes, many of the game's bosses and tanks (Machine gunners) ARE tanky enough to take more than 10 rounds to put down. Also this will make it MUCH easier for front-line players to put down those obnoxious shotgun rushers. Its a way of giving them a skill-based nerfing.

    2. I'll probably be looking to run either a 3 piece Strikers/Lonestar or 3 piece striker/3 piece Predators. As LMG/Support guy the possibility of getting a major buff to my LMG's damage..and being able to carry up so 1600 rounds in reserve has me DROOOOLING..... So I'll probably go STriker/Lonestar in most situations.

    3. IF...and I mean IF....the items dropping are mainly weapons and armor...and not MODS...then it seems Massive FINALLY got the message about the loot system. ...and FINALLY got the message about PVE players not wanting to have to go into the DZ. That has the potential to finally undo the damage patch 1.1 did to this game. As well as validates the month of painful grinding I've been doing in this game to go from GS 177 to 197.

    It would have been nice if the daily CM missions were a little better rewarded...but with the HVT and hopefully a more accessible/playable Incursion....this may prove to be a moot point.

    All in all, I'm even more cautiously optimistic than I was before.

    Thanks, again.
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  9. #9
    dnrobs's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by gt2k Go to original post
    20% range and use a shotgun. LOL
    6 feet plus 20% is only 7 foot 2.
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  10. #10
    Originally Posted by Fennimoe Go to original post
    Ok, I am going to be honest. I am a lurker of these forums (or any forum of a game I play)... I rarely comment, but I read A LOT. I just wanted to comment on your thread because something occurred to me... As awesome as those sets are, I am going to stick with my 3sentry/3striker combo. For some reason, I just love those bonuses for my playstyle.

    Anyway, I didn't exploit "Reckless" specifically because I knew in the long run, it would be fixed. Then, I would have had to adjust. Anyway, I stuck with legit sets to make sure I was prepared for nerfs (that would not affect me). Shoot, I even gave up "Savage" for gloves to stick with my set. I am a GS203. I rarely go down. I kill fast. Incursion Challenge, while VERY HARD, is a cakewalk.

    I will just continue to upgrade my current setup.
    NP.

    Its all about options...and a chance to tailor the sets to YOUR play style. A mark of them getting this "right" is if there is no one BEST answer for what to equip. The fact that Sentry's was so far-and-away the best before, was a mistake on their part.

    As a player who likes to provide backline crowd control with an LMG, and use an AR as my primary.....combinations of STrikers, Lonestar, and Predator look REALLY good to me.
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