General tips are deconstruct vs sell lower level weapons and gear when you scavenge better ones, and convert the resources they yield to higher grade ones. It's very fast ranking up your Dark Zone level. Even just killing rioters and sneaking cover to cover to loot Div Tech nets you fast XP. If playing solo, the gas seeker mines followed by high placement of the sensor turret can be quite effective at taking landmarks and supply drops while you take cover and snipe, or use a powerful/stable LMG like the L86 LSW.
I started with mostly side missions, but focus on the green, blue, and gold side and story missions because they reward you with resources that upgrade home base, which yield useful skills and talents. When you finally get to level 30, the West Side Piers will start consistently yielding High-end weapon drops from enemies, but you may need to go cover to cover after tackling the initial waves challenge. WSP automatically shows mission objectives onscreen that are incorrect. It will call it Unauthorized Access, but in reality it's putting up Neutralize Enemies and Destroy the SHD Jammer objectives.
I would try maybe going in from a different location than Camp Clinton and see if you can select only Neutralize Lieutenants or Destroy the SHD Jammer, but it may not be possible when you first go there. I found the second time I tried those two missions it was WAY easier to manage. It also wasn't that I'd leveled up because once you pick a higher World Tier, the enemies level too. It was mostly because I could then select only one mission at a time, and because of it, there weren't groups of enemies constantly spawning everywhere in front of and behind me.
Finding better weapons and gear is far more annoying now that they don't have Global Events anymore though. After I reached about 250 gear rating my loot pickups became consistently worse than what I already had, often times only 1/2 to 1/3 the rating. IMO it was in poor taste and very deceiving for Ubi to offer the free trial of TD1 after TD2 came out, and at the same time planning to drop Global Events without telling anyone.
The main thing I did after beating the campaign on Normal mission difficulty is play daily challenge missions. It will offer Hard and Challenging modes, Challenging requires World Tier 2. I've been able to beat all of them and may start trying them on Challenging at World Tier 3. I tried Russian Consulate Challenging on World Tier 4 though and started running out of ammo due to one of the final 3 that spawned in at the first part of the mission healing the other two while hiding behind cover. For these kind of situations you need a maxed gear set and very good weapons, which I'm not willing to spend resources upgrading to when they pulled Global Events, which yields higher stuff that doesn't have to be upgraded as much.
If Ubi would do the right thing and keep supporting the game as designed after patch 1.7, I could see playing it, but lately I'm playing other games because TD1 has become an annoying and repetitious grind. My only consolation was I only paid $12 for TD1 Standard Edition and Survival DLC. I knew going in it was questionable whether I would like the game design. I love their Assassin's Creed RPG features, especially Origins, but too much of it in The Division is senseless, confusing crap. That's why there are lots of people that have been playing it since it launched that STILL don't fully know how to play it.
The game, being 3 years old now, has plenty of videos with tips and tricks as well as write-ups.
Here's a few quick ones off the top of my head:
1. Save Survival until you are more comfortable with the mechanics of the game, cover strategy, etc. Also, get comfortable with crafting layout as well. Survival is, in essence, timed. As such, time wasted trying to figure out the crafting aspect will slow you down. It seems like it requires level 30 anyway.
2. If you take the missions / areas as the game presents them, it should keep you pretty much on course with your level. If you feel the enemies are too tough, stop and do some more side missions to level up some. I'd focus on completing the medical wing component upgrades first.
3. If you don't like PvP, I'd just avoid the Dark Zone. You'll perhaps have a few head to head, 1v1 PvP encounters there, but usually it is 4v1 and usually when you are engaged with the enemy already, this is more true after you have hit level 30 so if you do want to level up your DZ rank, you may want to do that without leveling up your characters LZ rank (as it changes which bracket you go in).
4. Weapon talents. Pay more attention to weapon talents than just DPS. Also, don't overlook healing talents on weapons and gear. I am a huge fan of Predatory which gives healing over time.
5. Only purchase at the vendors items that are well below your level. Especially early on, you'll level up so quickly there is no point in spending the money to level your gear. You'll find most of what you need but you might notice an item or two here or there that just won't drop and is way behind. Just buy those. I'd sell gear from levels 1 - 10 or so then if you have enough money, then start breaking them down for materials. If possible, I wouldn't convert those materials to the next higher form. Here's why, once you hit level 30, you'll start getting Daily Tasks. I always do the daily combat and daily crafting on all eligible characters and often the crafting requires converting one form to another but once you hit 30, you'll get a lot less lower level stuff.
6. Once you hit level 30, you'll start with the World Tiers. They go from 0 - 5. I recommend not wasting time at each level then needed to get the gear. Go up to the next tier as soon as your gear score is high enough to do so. You can always change the gear score back down at any time if you find a task too difficult. By doing this, you'll start getting the next higher gear quicker. Once you are at WT5, then you can start actually working towards getting gear sets.
7. Check out the Commendations for the game. There are a lot of commendations that if you know they exist, you can slightly alter your playing and get commendations. Once you hit level 30, check out the SHIELD commendations. They give rewards for TD2, but even without that, you get 2000 Phoenix credits and 500 Div Tech for each SHIELD you complete. Some are quite easy to get. Save your Div Tech for the perfectly rolled weapon, or use only on Classified Gear Sets.
8. If you happen to get the Ninja Bike Messenger backpack, USE IT! This is one of the best things you can get early in your end game. This one item 'slots in' with any other gear set (even multiples at the same time). Think of it like a 'wild card' when playing cards.
9. Have fun! Some people get so hung up on the gear focus of the games loot and forget that we gain nothing outside the game from 'virtual loot'.
10. Once at the end game WT5 and ready to gear up, these are the best ways in MY opinion: Global Events are by far the best time to gear up. It has now been 2+ months so I don't know if that means they are done or just using all their resources on TD2. Next easy way to gear up, even if under geared currently is to do LZ boss runs. There are maps available online. They are on a 4 hour reset per character. Resistance might actually be quicker than LZ boss run, but the way it works if you don't get to the caches at wave ~10-12 then you'll get nothing for the attempt. I wouldn't suggest doing Legendary missions to get the caches. You'll either have to be carried by the group, or be damned good.
Originally Posted by Frag_Maniac Go to original post
Frag, you are pointing out yourself what I have been trying to say. At 250 gear score, you are almost ready for WT5. The reason you are getting lower level stuff is because you are playing the game at the lower WT level. Yes, you'll get a random drop above the average, but in order to get the best loot, you'll have to play the higher content. Instead of WT2 on challenging, play WT4 on normal or hard and once you get level 256, play it on WT5.
Well you see, that makes zero sense to me, like most things in this crazy game. How they can justify going up to WTs only to drop back two tiers in difficulty yielding better drops is really weird. Common sense would tell most going two steps forward and two steps back, equals same results, but hey, it's Ubi we're talking here.Originally Posted by Bambihunter1971 Go to original post
Plus I have to be very skeptical what you're claiming because as I told you before, I DID actually try Grand Central Station on WT5 Legendary, and even though I only got through a dozen or so enemies before the game demonstrated it's infamous enemy jumps over the escalator railing no-clipping and getting stuck inside a wall bug, which broke mission progression, I DID see enough drops to get an idea of how they compared to what I had, and I don't recall keeping any of them, except maybe one gear piece. Getting better weapons seems to be a rare occurrence after you get to 250 gear rating, even when playing on high WT and difficulty.
So what IS WT4 like on Normal or Hard? All I know is, even WT4 on Challenging in Russian Consulate created an impassible bullet sponge effect where they'd send a medic in that kept healing their guys. I literally ran out of ammo and tried to keep going using just turret, seeker mines, and pistol, but it was futile.
Also, what's the lowest modes you can play on with resistance and still expect decent drops? The only vids I've seen of guys whom claim it's great for farming drops are battling nothing but high level yellow elites with tons of armor bars. There's no way I'd survive that with my current gear and weapons. I'm thinking I'd have to go in at maybe WT2 and Hard at most, or WT3 and Normal.
Think of it like a sports analogy. WT0 is pre-school, WT1 grade school, WT2 junior high, WT3 high school, WT4 college, WT5 pros. You'll get more fame, money, girls, etc (loot) the higher level.
In WT5, the regular street mobs will drop purple stuff yes. But, they do also drop higher level stuff too. Bosses in WT5 always drop WT5 level stuff with a chance at classifieds/exotics. The "Field Proficiency caches" you get also can contain them as well. The regular (red) enemies in WT5 or easier than WT4 veteran (purple) for the most part. Think of WT's as levels which they effectively are. If you look at the enemy level, WT0 are 30 IIRC. WT5 are level 34 IIRC. Some of the 'bullet sponginess" of enemies can be real bad and are annoying. Wait until you encounter Legendary Hunters... The point I have made often is while your odds of a drop might be higher from Legendary missions, due to the time it takes to complete them vs running certain other content, makes it not the best for gearing up. Plus, can be extremely frustrating for under-geared players. I don't think I have ever mentioned running Legendary missions as a good way to gear up; for good reason...
For example, check out my stat page on my new account. It is telling the content I play on this new character, yet remember how much stuff I have gotten during that time and completed all the RNG SHIELD commendations:
https://td1.divisiontracker.com/prof...gn=recentgames
30 challenging missions. 39 hard missions. 0 DZ rank. 7 day 14 hours played (at the moment of this post). 13, 800 kills.
Compare that to my main account where I am geared up well and like a better challenge:
https://td1.divisiontracker.com/prof...gn=recentgames
nearly 500 challenging missions (almost all on WT5) but less than 350 on hard - many of them were due to daily's when I used to run them. 229k kills.
You mentioned nothing of actual mission difficulty level pertaining to what you prior suggested (dropping from Challenging to Hard or Normal).
This makes it look like the effect on drops is mainly determined by WT vs difficulty level. I also wasn't using a try at Legendary to assume I could make it all the way through either, or a good way to farm drops as you imply. I clearly stated it was just a look see. I only wanted to go in far enough to preview several drops, which I did. Logic dictates if the credit reward goes from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands from Challenging to Legendary, the drop difference should also reflect that level of change, but it doesn't, far from it. These kind of things are why I feel the game is very confusing and nonsensical in design.
It would be a ton easier to discuss if you weren't intent on hearing only what you say. You may have far more time and knowledge in the game, but I have some relevant things to say too, and I feel you're not grasping that. I really hate games that are designed very confusingly, especially ones that make you feel you're taking two steps forward, while taking two steps back.
My biggest concerns about trying to progress further are...
1. What gear set to build. I know Nomad is fairly popular, but it seems to be primarily health oriented, which may leave me lacking in weapon and skill power. I don't want to waste time looking for inadequate sets. I value all 3 pillars of stats, and am hoping Classified is just a higher level of boosting all 3.
2. I would rather be able to save progress before committing to spending any resources, Div Tech, Credits, etc, on upgrading gear and weapons. With such confusing and vague optimizing and calibrating systems, I would no doubt make some mistakes that probably can't be undone without losing those said resources, etc.
3. Rolling Talents would be just as confusing, really don't know best way to go there, and would no doubt again lose resources, etc making mistakes.
I'll give a pretty good example of better design. As much as Dead Space 3 was ridiculed, it had a very good weapon crafting, upgrading and testing system. You could step into the Weapon Crafting Arena, and basically try any weapon craft or upgrade, then revert to the prior checkpoint without having spent ANY resources or changing your existing weapon arsenal. This is the way any game with complex and confusing upgrade systems should be designed, especially ones that have little to no tutorials to guide you.
Most claimed they hated Dead Space 3 for being faster paced with more swarms. Classic Mode was an option, where you only had access to DS1 weapons, but it made it a ton harder that DS1 with the faster, bigger swarms. So a lot of it came down to how well you could craft weapons, and for some, it was confusing. It was for me too until I figured it out. It took knowing where key weapon parts were you could scavenge, but the whole process was far more intuitive and sensible than anything in TD1.