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  1. #1
    Sircowdog1's Avatar Senior Member
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    Mar 2016
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    Overall thoughts on what TD2 should NOT be, and how TD1 screwed up.

    First and foremost: Attempting to split focus and mix PVP and PVE.

    Just....don't. PVE players don't want to be forced into having to deal with Arch-trolls from the Land of Bridges in order to play the game or progress. Players don't want to FEEL like they're required to PVP. And most people who are interested in actual, real PVP recognize that the only way to do it well is to have it be an even playing field where skill is greater than gear. This is where the entire concept of the Dark Zone fails.

    Attempting to mix PVE and PVP aspects into the game only works in something like a MOBA game. It's a pre-arranged match of two teams where an equal number of players know they're going up against other players. And while there might be PVE aspects to help push the final objective, ultimately you know you're in a PVP match. Throwing random players, some on a team and some individual, into an area where there are no rules about who's on what team..... uhg...it's all the worst parts of ganking and trolling. It was a bad idea from its inception.

    DO NOT REPEAT the Dark Zone in the Division 2 like this. If you have to have a dark zone, make PVP optional, or split it into PVP and PVE instances where a player gets to choose if they want to be ganked by trolls all day long. You're not doing your game any favors by catering to the trolls who get their rocks off by attacking people who aren't interesting in PVP, and who aren't geared for it. That is not how you make a good game.

    And if you absulutely MUST have random ganking PVP, then do like many people have suggested: Make it so there are no teams. Everyone can shoot everyone, even your own friends. No rogue agents, no regular agents. Everyone is the same target. No one shows up on anyone else's maps. Everyone's gear gets normalized. Make it as even and as fair of a playing field as absolutely possible.

    Lack of focus in the PVE side of the game:

    Open world exploration? Instance-based missions? Procedurally generated maps in Underground? Hardcore survival/scavenging mode? WTF is this game even trying to be, everything at once?

    TD2 absolute MUST focus its PVE aspects. Make a decision as to what it's going to be and stick with it. Make THAT aspect as good as possible instead of spreading the focus of the game over such a broad area and watering down everything in the process. Trying to be everything at the same time only results in a bunch of half-baked products.

    Character Progression:

    Character progress needs to avoid being so linear. Right now in TD1 you reach level 30 then start farming gear until you have a perfect set. Then what? The only way for Division agents to progress is through random item drops. Progress is, largely, out of player control because of such a heavy reliance on RNG. There's nothing for most players to even do right now, besides farming gear, because the rate of content creation can't keep up with the rate of consumption. How do to you remedy that? Not by forcing people to farm for super-low droprate items with perfect rolls.

    You solve that problem by giving players more lateral progression to work on. Look at something like Path of Exile's passive talent tree, or EVE online's skill system. Progress never really stops because there's always some new area for you to work towards. Character's don't necessarily get continuously stronger in a linear fashion, but get more diverse as they unlock more build options and versatility.

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    There's probably more that went wrong with The Division, such as bugs that still exist and rampant hacking going unaddressed. But those are problems that almost every game faces. All in all I just hope that UBI/Massive looks at The Division and learns from its mistakes instead of repeating them.
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  2. #2
    I'm on board with all of it.
    Except,I think rogues should still be marked as rogue and on the map.
    When you come across a group,even if only one or two are marked rogue,you still know the group are there to kill other agents but only one of them got the kill so far.

    Guilt by association. They are all a threat.
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  3. #3
    Agreed, also it should NOT BE ONLINE ONLY! If we can play it offline and keep toons there to play i'll be a happy camper.
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