"We're seeing less people engage in the Dark Zone." | Forums

[Spiko252]

The reason I don't engage with the DZ is

• There is no suspense in the DZ like their used to be
• The teleporting NPCs and heal delays
• Loot I can get outside the DZ in scripted/voiced missions
• The DZ leveling is pointless. I wish this had a purpose.
• I don't enjoy the PvP in the Division. Not from a lack of trying.
• Most people seemed to be running the same build

The 3 things I love about the DZ is

• 24 player Interaction. I really hope the Division implements +8+12+24 player PvE public events in the future.
• Contaminated events. I just like the idea behind them. Cleaners eradicating the virus wherever it flares up.
• The environmental design. To bad it's limited in the DZ

" * most people running the same build "

This is what I don't understand, if we're all running the same build (which we are basically) WHY is there such inconsistency with TTK between one player and another? I have the 3 major talents people want on their AR's, I have all talents unlocked, yet here I am getting squashed in a second, only to watch them COMPLETELY overheal. It's infuriating. Then they clap and dance and i just want to reach through the screen and choke the life out of them. lol

[PostCarnage]

It's now clear why they dumped all of the exotics in there. After Supply Drops, Contamination Events, the DZ is still shrinking in activity. I think we all know where the real action needs to be.



That's definitely a part of it.

But I'd imagine that's not the reason on consoles.

On consoles the DZ is shrinking because the best players have left to play other games. It's no longer a super competitive area. I mean COD, Destiny, and several other games have stolen the population. You need a solid team of 4 to run in the DZ if you want to be super successful.

Literally - everyone in the DZ is a rogue hunter and nobody goes rogue anymore from what I can tell.

Me, Pimpson, and Lioness were playing last night in the DZ where like 3 groups of 4 were afraid to go rogue. So - I would snipe someone down with my 1 tap all gold build and we would fight the entire server. As soon as there was an accidental - the ENTIRE group would focus those 4 players down.

The DZ is no longer a "everyone is trying to go rogue and fight" but is merely a everyone sits and waits for someone to go rogue to multi-group against them. Now I'm fine with that, but the rogues have left the game for the most part on console. The solid teams that could fight for 30+ minutes without wiping have left. Out of all of my friends from KX, MDC, TRN, and all of the old rogue clans - they have all left for Siege, COD, Destiny, or BF1 for competitive PvP.

The game is steadily dying. I run solo most times these days and you can't effectively in the DZ so I run Last Stand for PvP. I don't care about gear that much because I craft most of my own with the billions of items from boxes I get out of last stand. Hell - I tried farming in the DZ for Classifieds for like a month to get my lonestar holster and it never came. So I'm just stuck waiting for it to hopefully drop one day.

But it's not the reason I still play like the MODs and Devs want us to believe that classifieds are the end game. Even if I got that holster I would still play. I have a reclaimer/final measure for solid team play. Then for solo play I have my SASG lonestar build, my Deadeye, my all gold DPS, and sometimes my final measure.

The DZ is dying because the vast majority of players left because of bugs.

Heal bug, latency/rubber banding/lag issues, and exploits which honestly seem fixed on console. I think there might be a bug out there for dmg - but after running a fully optimized DPS build with a teammate running a 400k skill power pulse - I think it's just teams of optimized players working together.

I wouldn't be surprised however ir players found a way to stack 10k/10k/10k for stats. Just I haven't seen any proof (nor have I looked for it) that it does exist. I just hop on, kill a bunch of people, and hop off again. It is what it is. The game has slowly been dying, but as long as I can find games for PvP - I will be happy.

I'm looking forward to 4v4 to see if I can get a team setup going and be competitive in that. I just really hope the rewards are worth it and it is actually fun. As well - I'm hoping the 4v4 servers have WAAAAAAAY better latency than the current ones. Like - if they try and run multiple games on 1 server it will be hell. I almost want to lease my bitcoin farming machines to Massive in order to help make the servers run smoother.

[alibby53]

The reason I don't engage with the DZ is

• There is no suspense in the DZ like their used to be
• The teleporting NPCs and heal delays
• Loot I can get outside the DZ in scripted/voiced missions
• The DZ leveling is pointless. I wish this had a purpose.
• I don't enjoy the PvP in the Division. Not from a lack of trying.
• Most people seemed to be running the same build

The 3 things I love about the DZ is

• 24 player Interaction. I really hope the Division implements +8+12+24 player PvE public events in the future.
• Contaminated events. I just like the idea behind them. Cleaners eradicating the virus wherever it flares up.
• The environmental design. To bad it's limited in the DZ

I like: the Environment, Land marks, Supply Drops, Contamination (great concept, tough solo especially with Rogues), Caches spread around the map, patrols made of Purples and Yellows, Roaming bosses, frequent respawns...

I hate: Rogues

[MrFuddyDuddy]

If the LZ had landmarks similar to the DZ, besides the need to extract, do you think there'd be an underlining difference in how you play?

In what? Compared to the DZ? Not having to worry about watching my back and getting ganked while trying to clear a landmark would be nice, outside of that I don't play any differently in the DZ as I do the LZ minus the occasional spotting someone and taking cover until they move on as not to deal with any player interaction. Otherwise if I'm say at a Land Mark and spot other players their I actually try and help them, was in DZ7/8 clearing land marks yesterday and was actively shooting off heals at another random agent who was their so he wouldn't die(was getting burned down by some Elites with like half a segment of health left when I fired a defib off at him which brought him back to full HP). Went our separate ways after that and I don't think I encountered him again while I was running Land Marks.

Was nice to not be immediately shot in the back by another player for once lol

If they did add Land Marks to the PvE zone I would hope they also allow like 12 or 16 players to be in a single instance of the LZ, so you would still have to compete for Land marks and stuff but it would help bring the world to life. Killing one another in the DZ for loot goes against the lore which is the primary reason I don't like the DZ, which is only compounded by the toxicity of the area. Now if you could side with the LMB, and the DZ was like a faction war zone then hell yeah, because their is a story reason to why we are killing each other and their would be clearly drawn lines on who is the enemy.

[alibby53]

On consoles the DZ is shrinking because the best players have left to play other games. It's no longer a super competitive area. I mean COD, Destiny, and several other games have stolen the population. You need a solid team of 4 to run in the DZ if you want to be super successful.

Literally - everyone in the DZ is a rogue hunter and nobody goes rogue anymore from what I can tell.

Me, Pimpson, and Lioness were playing last night in the DZ where like 3 groups of 4 were afraid to go rogue. So - I would snipe someone down with my 1 tap all gold build and we would fight the entire server. As soon as there was an accidental - the ENTIRE group would focus those 4 players down.

The DZ is no longer a "everyone is trying to go rogue and fight" but is merely a everyone sits and waits for someone to go rogue to multi-group against them. Now I'm fine with that, but the rogues have left the game for the most part on console. The solid teams that could fight for 30+ minutes without wiping have left. Out of all of my friends from KX, MDC, TRN, and all of the old rogue clans - they have all left for Siege, COD, Destiny, or BF1 for competitive PvP.

The game is steadily dying. I run solo most times these days and you can't effectively in the DZ so I run Last Stand for PvP. I don't care about gear that much because I craft most of my own with the billions of items from boxes I get out of last stand. Hell - I tried farming in the DZ for Classifieds for like a month to get my lonestar holster and it never came. So I'm just stuck waiting for it to hopefully drop one day.

But it's not the reason I still play like the MODs and Devs want us to believe that classifieds are the end game. Even if I got that holster I would still play. I have a reclaimer/final measure for solid team play. Then for solo play I have my SASG lonestar build, my Deadeye, my all gold DPS, and sometimes my final measure.

The DZ is dying because the vast majority of players left because of bugs.

Heal bug, latency/rubber banding/lag issues, and exploits which honestly seem fixed on console. I think there might be a bug out there for dmg - but after running a fully optimized DPS build with a teammate running a 400k skill power pulse - I think it's just teams of optimized players working together.

I wouldn't be surprised however ir players found a way to stack 10k/10k/10k for stats. Just I haven't seen any proof (nor have I looked for it) that it does exist. I just hop on, kill a bunch of people, and hop off again. It is what it is. The game has slowly been dying, but as long as I can find games for PvP - I will be happy.

I'm looking forward to 4v4 to see if I can get a team setup going and be competitive in that. I just really hope the rewards are worth it and it is actually fun. As well - I'm hoping the 4v4 servers have WAAAAAAAY better latency than the current ones. Like - if they try and run multiple games on 1 server it will be hell. I almost want to lease my bitcoin farming machines to Massive in order to help make the servers run smoother.

I disagree on the no one wants to go Rogue, I see teams go rogue on me playing solo frequently. I see people going rogue on the map (I try to avoid, unless in a team and one member is feisty).

I'mean on X1 which could be the difference. But ahreed in general the game is dying, it needs the developer to put life into it, hopefully 1.8 is a start

Yes, if I could just focus on Landmarks, or Contamination event, and not looking for a team of players to roll up on me and wipe me out. Hell i'd be fine if the LZ required extracting, if there were no rogues.

I can solo Landmarks and Supply Drops, but it can be challenging, especially if i'm not patient. I don't bother with contamination events, when i'm solo.

It's not just how i play the game, it's how i enjoy playing. I get frustrated farming gear for them to take. Doing an activity and getting wiped by players trying to go Rogue or Manhunt. As a PVE player you're being lured into the DZ by gear and activities, so that you can be victimized by greifers, who get rewarded for ganging up on solo players and blindsiding them while they are geared for PVE.

Merphee if they had LZ landmarks I don't think I'd ever venture into the Dark Zone unless it was the only source of some item that I needed, and even then I'd probably weigh the pros and cons of going into the DZ for that one piece of gear and just move on from trying to get that one item.

See, it's this:

What I'm seeing is that PVE players are only "food" in the DZ, because even if the LZ had landmarks, it's not really gonna hurt PVE players who go into the DZ to PVE. They are going to avoid PVP all together. So now, you'd have this limbo of maybe PVP only players? Or maybe a mix? It damn sure will affect those with the intentions to go rogue, because they now don't have any easy targets. So, who is really being supported in the DZ?

eckLub, I agree with having some sources behind the walls of the DZ. Others might not like this, and I understand, but if we were to get Landmarks in the LZ, DZ only things kind of have to be a thing.

[alibby53]

In what? Compared to the DZ? Not having to worry about watching my back and getting ganked while trying to clear a landmark would be nice, outside of that I don't play any differently in the DZ as I do the LZ minus the occasional spotting someone and taking cover until they move on as not to deal with any player interaction. Otherwise if I'm say at a Land Mark and spot other players their I actually try and help them, was in DZ7/8 clearing land marks yesterday and was actively shooting off heals at another random agent who was their so he wouldn't die(was getting burned down by some Elites with like half a segment of health left when I fired a defib off at him which brought him back to full HP). Went our separate ways after that and I don't think I encountered him again while I was running Land Marks.

Was nice to not be immediately shot in the back by another player for once lol

If they did add Land Marks to the PvE zone I would hope they also allow like 12 or 16 players to be in a single instance of the LZ, so you would still have to compete for Land marks and stuff but it would help bring the world to life. Killing one another in the DZ for loot goes against the lore which is the primary reason I don't like the DZ, which is only compounded by the toxicity of the area. Now if you could side with the LMB, and the DZ was like a faction war zone then hell yeah, because their is a story reason to why we are killing each other and their would be clearly drawn lines on who is the enemy.

Those moments are cool, few and far between, but like you said we are there to work together and save the city, not shoot eachother in the back overy a mask we'really just going to sell.

Faction war in the DZ, and joining a faction is a cool idea.

[alibby53]

See, it's this:

What I'm seeing is that PVE players are only "food" in the DZ, because even if the LZ had landmarks, it's not really gonna hurt PVE players who go into the DZ to PVE. They are going to avoid PVP all together. So now, you'd have this limbo of maybe PVP only players? Or maybe a mix? It damn sure will affect those with the intentions to go rogue, because they now don't have any easy targets. So, who is really being supported in the DZ?

eckLub, I agree with having some sources behind the walls of the DZ. Others might not like this, and I understand, but if we were to get Landmarks in the LZ, DZ only things kind of have to be a thing.

Yes, we are largely prey. Okay, what's wrong with a PVP optional area being populated by players who want to PVP? Going rogue is a bad thing, you should be nervous doing it.

[PostCarnage]

I disagree on the no one wants to go Rogue, I see teams go rogue on me playing solo frequently. I see people going rogue on the map (I try to avoid, unless in a team and one member is feisty).

I'mean on X1 which could be the difference. But ahreed in general the game is dying, it needs the developer to put life into it, hopefully 1.8 is a start

Oh I'm not saying I don't see that. There are times where you see this. I see a TON of people practicing for the 4v4 in the DZ right now. People are on E 42nd in an open area practicing for it when it drops. As well I see rogue teams all over the DZ. But I can say I see less teams going rogue and more circle jerks of the ENTIRE server waiting for someone to go rogue.

I just see less rogue teams I guess is what I'm saying. But that may just be me. I've honestly not played that much in the DZ in recent times. I've been focusing on playing last stand and optimizing gear sets there. Plus I've moved more into solo play as of late instead of 4v the server.

[Slug72]

[QUOTE=Merphee;13145062]Yeah, you kinda have to walk into the DZ with a META PVP build, just to protect yourself, even if you're going in there to PVE. It sucks but it's the truth.[/QUOTE

No always. My AR Striker needed 50 LMB kills for the Weekly Assignment so I dropped to World Tier 3 to make soloing a bit easier. While exploring DZ7 I stumbled onto a group clearing The Palace. With nothing to lose I just waded in with some fire support (looking for a few more kills) and was rewarded with an invite. I didn't accept as I was only there to ***** kills, but a few minutes later one of the group cleared my six (unexpectedly) as I was fighting my way to the gate. Whoever you were, I will gladly do the same for you. Your support was much appreciated.

I also successfully extracted a Golden Rhino (OCD,,, need it for the collection., honest!) thanks to a duo who helped clear out mooks so that they could also utilise the extraction. That's why I love the DZ.... you never know what you're going to encounter.