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  1. #11

    i refuse to play D2

    I WILL NOT play D2 until easy mode is in the game play
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  2. #12
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    Well, I'm up to level 15 now playing The Division solo. I've had to respawn on some missions, but overall usually not. I like that they give you things like the portable turret as an option against some of the more aggressive enemy rushes. I had a strange encounter against a sniper boss in one mission that took place in a big warehouse size building with buses in it. It was down to just him and one of his guards, so I went up on a catwalk and peeked around a door. I could see him better in 3rd person view than scope view with my sniper rifle. The strange thing though is 3rd person view became like a hack because if I peeked around just enough to shoot at him that way, he could not see me and just stood there taking hits. Granted my rifle had a suppressor, but his guard closer to where I was did far more to try to get into position to shoot me than he did to take cover. That's just bad AI programming if you ask me, especially in one of their big AAA titles where most of it involves AI enemies.

    It's not all bad, some of the level design is quite immersive. It tends to feel very samey though with mostly Cleaner Heavies for bosses (please no spoilers if it gets better). The crafting of high-end gear is quite the grind though, especially the acquiring of high-end resources by scavenging, deconstructing, and converting materials. When this becomes as time consuming as the events, encounters, side missions, and missions, it makes it feel like a check the boxes game with a lot of filler activities.

    Still seeing the same number of players in the safehouses and Home Base. Only one time did it look fairly well populated, so given that many are new players that don't know much about the game, it can likely take a while to hook up with players of your level if you're leveled up a ways. I also tried clicking on the Survival terminal and then saw the PVE option, but it sat there taking it's time just trying to locate one of those servers, let alone PVP. I exited out because it was late and I was about to go to bed, but I may try giving it more time just to see if it's possible to play below the level 30 it says is required, which I'm wondering is only for PVP.
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  3. #13
    Bambihunter1971's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by Frag_Maniac Go to original post
    Can you tell me if Survival was patched to a level 30 requirement to play it? I went to the terminal at level 8 and it says you have to be level 30 to complete survival missions.

    I could see if that's the case and all other players and NPCs are level 30 or more, it could be very tough unless you know how to get or craft high-end gear quickly.

    I'd also like to know why you see other agents when playing Survival PVE? Reason I ask is Total Biscuit thought he was being revived by one, until he saw the circle going red instead of green, and the player killed him apparently. Is this even possible in Survival PVE, and if so, why? PVE is supposed to be for players looking for a vs Environment scenario, not vs Players.

    You can (and do) see other players in PvE Survival. You compete directly for the resources available such as clothes, medicine, etc.
    They in no way can kill you directly by shooting at you or melee. However, I have seen some interesting ways people have tried to get me killed so they could loot me. I've had them 'kite' elites to my back while I was engaged in the front. I've had people blow up barrels and stuff that I was near. The game mode does emphasize they are however completely free to decide if they want to use a medkit to revive you or to let you lay there the full 5 minutes until you die. IIRC, when the game mode was first launched, you could do a 'finishing move' to finish someone off to get around that 5 minute timer but it hasn't been like that the whole time I have played that mode.
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  4. #14
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    Originally Posted by Bambihunter1971 Go to original post
    ...when the game mode was first launched, you could do a 'finishing move' to finish someone off to get around that 5 minute timer but it hasn't been like that the whole time I have played that mode.
    That explains why a Total Biscuit video I saw had him dying quickly when some arse killed instead of revived him. Still think it's bad game design for other players to be able to affect your outcome in any way in a PVE mode, be it exploiting "kiting" of Elites, or hoarding resources. All resources should be available to everyone. I don't mind the Elite exploit so much, as that involves at least some risk to pull off and is not part of game design.

    Well, at least I got it for next to nothing. I paid $12 for the main game and Survival. After what you said about resources it makes me wonder if there's only one flare gun for how many players there are on the server.
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  5. #15
    Bambihunter1971's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by Frag_Maniac Go to original post
    Well, at least I got it for next to nothing. I paid $12 for the main game and Survival. After what you said about resources it makes me wonder if there's only one flare gun for how many players there are on the server.
    You actually craft your own flare gun once inside the DZ. It takes a piece of Div Tech which you can ALWAYS find when you pick up your antiviral (it is per user). All other Div tech drops are global to all players on that Survival instance. You actually don't even need to craft a flare gun to extract if someone else has called their extraction already. Be aware that if you crash someone else's extraction that you WILL spawn your own hunter. If you are nice you will warn the person you are about to join on their extraction so they don't get axed when your hunter spawns.
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  6. #16
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    Yeah I forgot he crafted it, my bad.

    I'm at level 22 now and I worry I have not learned enough about crafting, modding, loadout builds, etc to prepare for the end game. I think I'm going to break down and look for a good video guide on crafting, modding, building. You happen to know of any that cover it all well? Better yet, is there an extensive tutorial somewhere in the game I missed that suffices?

    I don't usually play shooter type RPGs. I enjoyed Mass Effect series, but it was nowhere near this over cluttered with crap. I've always hated games that constantly tempt you with scavenged items that have some great stats, yet some really bad ones that make keeping them questionable. Like some have great weapon and skill boost, but lower health stats quite a bit. Some add an incredible amount of XP to each kill for leveling, yet are mediocre in most other ways.

    I also noticed some weapons I scavenge (usually Specialized ones) have bonuses on them, with little icons on the mod window denoting them. Is there a way to mod bonuses into weapons? This is a game that really needs an extensive tutorial built in on modding, crafting, etc. One of my biggest nit picks on weapons though is most are way too unstable, even with parts that add stability, it's hard to shoot with tight groupings on a lot of them. Maybe it's because I've avoided sub machine guns like the plague due to preferring a long range option playing solo. They don't seem to accept high power scopes.

    I have another 50 Reward points now and I'm tossed whether to spend it on another Ubi Club Pro Go Bag, or another Master or Pro Crafting Kit. There's also the option of going with a Phoenix Credit Pack, Division Tech, or Dark Zone Keys. I want to get whatever yields the most toward getting better weapons.

    One last thing, despite their stats often being lower than Standard weapons, Specialized weapons always seem to be more effective. They often feel more powerful and stable. Why is this? It makes me feel like you can't rely on stats alone on what weapons to keep. It's just one more thing that makes this already cluster F*%k designed game even more confusing.
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  7. #17
    Bambihunter1971's Avatar Senior Member
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    Let's see if I can get all these. Some of the questions in your last post will yield very subjective answers. I will try to generalize, but I am sure the biases acquired during my 2200+ hours of game play will show through.

    Weapons: Early on in the game, probably through completion of my first character, I pretty much only paid attention to the DPS. That is not the best way to handle the end-game. IMHO, the weapont talents can nearly make or break a weapon. Opinions will vary wildly, but for my up close and personal 'assault' playstyle when using Nomad, D3, Striker, etc I always use Destructive and Predatory. The other talent will vary depending on content, group composition, etc. I am a huge fan of Predatory because it gives massive health over time vs a short quick boost from Self-preserved or Sustained. The other talent is usually Deadly or Ferocious (if I have enough electronics for it to work).
    However, when playing as a sniper, I often have blind, bleed, or other status effect on the weapon. If playing as support/skill based, then I always run 'coolheaded' for quicker skill cooldowns.
    There is one SMG that does allow a full sized scope. I am 99% sure it is one of the 3 MP5 variants. When I ran/run it, I put a 18.5% VX-12 scope on it for headshot damage. They are generally stable enough I don't need anything on them and because they already have high crit chance built-in, I run crit everything except magazine.

    As far as AR stability that is an issue. I initially had stability for my muzzle, and often underbarrel and in the case of the LMG's, I'd even put the 8x scope on it. I then decided to start building some crit builds and they are a fair amount stronger. But, like you say, that reduces my longer range accuracy. So, for AR's, I usually have 2 of those 3 positions for Crit and the 3rd for stability. I will say that as you level up, the mods get better and the guns don't seem to recoil as much. There are also variances from one gun to the next. Most people prefer the Lightweight M4 as it seems to recoil less than most. I personally stay away from the LVOA-C as I can't hit anything with it.

    As you approach the end game you'll get where you'll have more talents available and some of those help with recoil, at least for a time. Once you start getting the darker green named gearset pieces some of those also benefit from built in stability; most notably Striker. I'd do some quick research as you do, or about to hit level 30 to see which gear sets you might be interested in. You said you like to play long range. The sniper builds are Hunters Faith, Sentry, and Deadeye. Assault builds are (the first few in order of popularity)Striker, Nomad, D3-FNC (my fav), Lone Star. Skill builds are Tactician, Reclaimer and Alpha Bridge and Final Measure are a little bit of a hybrid build between Skill and Assault.
    Just read what the different ones offer and how they work. Things like Deadeye is effective, but for it to work, after a kill you have to stay in scope view which is a major pain. I generally use Hunters Faith when sniping because I'd rather shoot slower with devastating effects. Whenever I run any content where I don't want to be downed, I almost always grab my D3 loadout. This is especially true solo. A lot of people watch videos like the popular MarcoStyle ones and duplicate the tactics and build but then these same people complain there is no loadout diversity. I'd suggest playing some after you hit end game and start to get some of the gear sets. Then, watch a few just to get a few ideas but adapt it to your playstyle and content (PvE builds are massively different from PvP builds in TD1).

    Crafting: I wouldn't really do a ton of crafting on your way leveling up. You acquire blueprints as you play and the ones through the playthru aren't that great. Even once you hit the end game, it takes a while to get the more desirable blueprints (check in the terminal BluePrint vendor as well as Camp Clinton over by the West Side Pier). There used to be a great site that they updated every week with all the best items at the vendors but with the release of TD2, they have ceased updating for TD1 so now it is more of a pain to search for those items you want. Once you are at max level any time at all you will get plenty of drops so it generally don't take long to get equipped well.

    As far as spending your credits, personally I would hang on to them for now. If I were to use them, I'd be for Div Tech which you'll later use to 'level up' your gear. This means stuff that is at the highest World Tier 5 (WT5) level, but isn't min/maxed. Because Div Tech is somewhat hard to come across unless you are into PvP/DZ, I only optimize the very best with exactly the rolls I am after. Speaking of Div Tech, you get some from doing daily taks which will be offered once you hit end game. Just for doing crafting and combat which doesn't take long at all, you'll get 50. That is enough for one roll/upgrade. I may have said it already, but when the Global Events (GE's) roll around, clear your calendar because they are the best way to gear up; quite fun too. Speaking of WT5, the way the world tiers works is they are entirely gear score based. You can raise or lower them at will any time. If you are gaming with someone on their WT5 game, if they drop you some WT5 junk (whatever drops), then you can skip straight to WT5 and then continue what you were doing. The reason I suggest that even though we've already talked about power leveling is there is ZERO user experience difference so you might as well get started grinding your end-game gear instead of the gear you will use for just a few hours. Don't spend any Div Tech to upgrade anything below the WT5 level (if the game even lets you).

    Once you get fully geared up, you might check out the SHIELD commendations under Dossier. They give rewards in TD2 if you ever get it, but even if you don't, you get 2000 Phoenix credits and 500 Div Tech. Some are not that hard at all. Some (like the RNG-based Marshal and especially Talon).
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  8. #18
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    The thing is, people keep saying the build names, but I don't know how to access those parts, or how to build sets with the parts needed. I guess I need to be at least level 30 for world tier access maybe? I tried to go to Camp Clinton safehouse to do some Resistance, as a guide I watched said it's a good way to find great cache weapons like The House, but since I couldn't get in I sufficed with going into the DZ, which he mentioned is also good for such things. In one med length session I went from DZ 1 to 14. I did a lot of sneaking and scavenging. I now have 29 gr, 12 bl, and 505 gold Div Tech (500 is from a rew claim). I also managed to take out several weapons in one extraction, but I only kept the G36 C, which has about 30,300 DPS after modding. It's just got Focused though. I decided not to spend anything to roll talents on weapons yet. One way I have found to add stability to weaps is to quickly tap the fire button vs doing bursts. It gives you constant fire but is more accurate like using bursts. You'd think it would be tiring, but if you do it like Angus Young of AC/DC says he plays guitar, with a light touch, it's very doable. That's right, that hammering guitar sound of his is actually very light fingered stuff. I also managed a couple Landmarks and a lot of random kills in DZ, but have yet to pull off a supply drop.

    I'm also up to level 26 in LZ, so have 3 skills active. The main reason I prefer longer scopes on ARs though is for the versatility. I find an enemy group is very hard to keep from knowing your location, even with high lowered threat mods. Thus playing solo you need weapons that are good for range and up close. Once they get near I often lure elites like Trapper Mike's 2nd Lieutenant and Mike himself around something long like a diesel truck or bus. There I'll use the no scope view. I was playing quite a bit last night with a 4x ACOG on my G36 though, and was getting used to it. I'll start out with my SRS from a distance, then pop a turret up high, and finish off the stragglers with the G36. My Standard Green SRS is only 17,000 DPS. I also have a near 30,000 DPS Specialized M44 I picked up or was awarded somewhere, but I really don't like single bolt action 5 mag rifles for a game that won't let you maintain stealth most of the time.

    I now have all my gear modded with mods scavenged. I added mostly more turret damage and health, with a few minimal player attributes. One thing I hate about the turrets though is often times tossing them up high can be finicky as hell. I've numerous times sat there 5 sec or so trying to get the trajectory arc to show the turret where I want to place it. Sometimes when I toss it quick it will land on a slanted part of a vehicle roof and is near useless because of it. If you manage to land them high and they're buffed though, they can be devastating when you shoot those trying to destroy them. Sometimes I even hear the headshot sound when they kill an enemy, then I laugh and say "Oh now you're just showing off".

    Yeah haven't done any crafting still, and your comments on PVE builds is in line with what I'd heard. The guide I watched said Ferocious, Destructive, Self Preserved, and Predatory are best for PVE. I may try Deadly too, but in an online only game there is no way to try via setting aside a save like in sp. It's buy and live with it or spend more to Recal again. As far as Global Events, I have read in a wiki that "Participating in Global Events will reward players with GE tokens that are used to buy Encrypted Caches and unique vanity items from the Global Event Vendor in the GE area". Cosmetic stuff is never my thing, or do they include more than that now with patch 1.8?. One last thing, his guide showed a Crafting, Recalibration, and Optimization station all together on the upper floor of The Tech dept. There's already a crafting station on the main floor, and so far only Recal in the Tech dept. Will these stations appear once I finish upgrading the tech dept? So far I'm at 80% Sec and Med, and 60% Tech.
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  9. #19
    Bambihunter1971's Avatar Senior Member
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    No, GE's caches are not vanity items. You can get vanity items from the cache rewards, and after the GE is over, it will tell you which Tier you finished at. Then, go to the rewards vendor and get a cache from him. They usually have one gear reward, and sometimes a 2nd cache which often has vanity items. During the GE's, you can also earn patches or mask as well by doing certain activities. Each GE has a few gear set items associate with it. During the GE, you can only get from the GE vendor whatever is currently being offered but if you have time to play it a lot, you can often finish up multiple classified gear sets during the time it is on. You will get greatly reduced GE credits if you are not at level 30. I don't remember if you can actually buy GE caches below level 30. I hope a GE will start once you hit level 30. Besides being extremely fun, you'll get geared up quickly if you hit it hard.
    I don't remember if I mentioned it or not but Classified gear set items have a small file folder icon on them. The give some great boosts. One is instead of 1272 being the max base stat, it is 1401. 2nd, you can re-roll two stats instead of it locking after just one. Lastly, it will allow you to use the 5 and 6 piece bonuses on that set if all the items are classified in that set.
    I am 99% sure the optimization station will only appear after you hit level 30 and it may even be after WT5.
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  10. #20
    Frag_Maniac's Avatar Banned
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    Well I played FAR too long a session last night and was up until 10 AM. So here I am on just 4 hours sleep wondering if I should have even bought this game. Why? Because last night wasn't just about leveling to 30 (which I did). That wasn't the problem at all and it was rather fun and manageable. It was about merely trying to so much as get ONE what appears to be side mission done after I was interrupted at leveling to 30 insisting I go to Camp Clinton.

    First off, the start was bad enough because the GPS wanted me to go through Piers South, which was full of various waves of enemies spawning in, preventing me from getting anywhere NEAR the Unauthorized Access objective markers. I was getting a lot of Gold weapon pickups though, so I'd stray as far as I could, then retreat back to the Camp Clinton barricades with the JFT, where the enemies won't go. I kept seeing prompts onscreen showing my wave stats and commendations, so I thought it was par for the course, weird, but hey, it IS a Ubi game after all.

    At some point the waves stopped spawning and I was finally able to head to the north along the east side of Piers South. I died a couple times doing so, but I finally got far enough to spawn at a safehouse that allowed an easy sprint most of the time to the first of the 3 lieutenants, the sniper chick. She's easy enough to take out, as well as the group that spawns near that area as soon as you jump off the scaffolding. I learned I was far better off jumping right back onto it and keeping the high ground, which was also an excellent spot to place the turret on the sandbags.

    Here's where the trouble begins. I don't mind having to carefully sneak past or take on groups of tough enemies. I've done it numerous times in leveling up and gotten fairly good at it. However the combination of the very linear path they put you on to get to the objectives, combined with groups of enemies spawning in right in front of you and right behind if you try to retreat to a safe distance before engaging them, makes for a cheap trap style AI coding that seems to require solo players to assemble a tank build. It all felt like a gauntlet run n gun affair.

    So far I haven't gotten past the intersection where you have a group of tough enemies on one side, and a group of easier gang type enemies on the other. If not for that I might be able to take one group out or even sneak past going cover to cover. I was so infuriated by this I searched YT for a solo guide on this mission. All I found was a person leveled to like 65 that was just sprinting away from enemies taking numerous shots in the back, and when they got to the main objective terminal, there was tons of various kinds of enemies they were dealing with by strafing and shooting, nearly invincible to the damage taken. So it seems this is far from a game you can play any style you want. Sure, leading up to level 30 you can, but I don't see how anyone can play this mission without tanking it run n gun style with super high stats.

    A lot of people have bashed Ghost Recon Wildlands for it's quirks and super human AI if you play on Tier One mode, but at least they give you enough gadgets and skills to maintain stealth no matter what difficulty you play on. The Division is clearly a game where they took enemy spawning to ridiculous levels. There's a store of some kind with escalators a group usually spawns in just before that intersection I mentioned. First time I cleared it I killed two that rushed out, then hung out at the door using the turret and my SCAR. There was one left on the upper floor whom I took out as I took cover at the bottom of escalator as he rushed down. I went up to the upper floors to look for loot. I came down and as soon as I headed for the door from the bottom of the escalators, another group spawned in on the upper floor aware of my presence, rushing down to kill me. I survived but realized at that point Ubi have no system of enemy placement in this game, it's anything goes at this point of the game. I actually thought it must have been a bug at first, and am still not sure.

    The bottom line is, up to this point, despite a few annoyances, the game has been pretty immersive for me. Now it has done a complete 180 and turned into what has the feel of a very silly, linear, arcade, run n gun style game. It just doesn't remotely fit the theme of any of Clancy's writings. I'd go as far to say this is the only time I've played a Clancy themed game that feels like a blatant disservice to his name. I don't see any other way to access any of the objectives in this mission other than this narrow gauntlet corridor with erratically spawning enemies. This is more of a Sci Fi than near future Clancy style game, especially with Ubi's crap AI scripting to deal with.
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