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  1. #1

    Thoughts and Impressions of this Game

    This was going to part of a reply to this post: https://forums.ubi.com/showthread.ph...the-excitement

    But I decided to split off into a new thread. The point of this thread is to explain my build and play style, and my thoughts on the game from my perspective. If Ubisoft/Massive want input from a fairly seasoned gamer (like 40+ years), here it is. This is what I play and what I think.

    Build

    I play the sharpshooter spec and use an M700 MMR as primary and G36C AR as secondary. I use the three pieces from Arialdi so that I get maximum impact from my headshots and MMR. My M700 puts out about 120K base damage, and my G36 has a rare fire rate of 800 and a clip size of 40. Since finding that G36, I used to have a much tougher time fighting at close/medium range with the AR, but with a fire rate of 800 and clip size 40, things are a lot easier.

    I have DTE stacked to numerous pieces.... I forget to be honest, but one piece is a Gila Guard mask which has 43% DTE alone, and I have 15% DTE to a few others pieces. I used to run D&H on two of the gear slots that have no Airaldi, but since have decided to try the Ongoing Directive in two of those slots -- and both those pieces are maxed at 515 after re calibration. Overall gear score is like 507 if I recall, and has probably changed by 1% in a week. I equip the fixer drone and assault turret.

    With this build, using the MMR I can one shot all red enemies, most purple, and some yellows. Just to give some perspective, that hammer guy can be taken down with about 4 or 5 head shots with the MMR. My AR can drop reds in about 5 bullets while purples take about a half clip and yellows take an entire clip. Obviously, it takes less bullets if I hot a weak point or head. Named yellows take about 8 to 10 MMR head shots, or 2-3 clips from the AR... even if you hit the head.

    Open World

    With that, I can roam the open word doing random mobs, events, and checkpoints (up to CP3) without dying for hours. I can do missions (for projects) and bounties up to "hard" with ease. When I say with ease, that means without dying, and very little usage of the fixer drone and turret. I think I've done a few missions on "challenging" but don't recall. I am probably ready for that now.

    I would love to do CP4, but my experience has been that CP4 uses cheapness to achieve the difficulty more than enemy quality. What I mean by that, is you can be doing very well and then it spawns 10 enemies right on top of you -- literally. And they come from all directions continually and spamming rushers. I think this is where the complaints of "spawn on top just behind me" come from.

    It makes no sense for enemies to spawn at close range just behind, when the player just completed a sweep of that entire area -- including all activities. That is what drove the CP to 4! My reward should be that my six is relatively secured. But no, the game just creates them out of thin air without any consideration for the work I just did.

    Since I like to take CPs from a distance with the MMR, the games CP4 spawn logic is worse for me because they spawn at very close range.... and usually from where I am camped. And they drop and immediately surround and overtake me. There is no time to move and no point in fighting. Thus my mode has become to drive them up to CP3 and no higher.

    I would love to play CP4 if the difficulty came from having better skilled enemies, and/or moire numbers from the start. And by more difficult I mean smarter, and quicker..... not just more spongy. That is why I say CP4 achieves its higher difficulty cheaply -- because it comes from spawning high numbers at super close range and making the enemies spongier.

    Before I stop talking about CP's, I have to mention that yes, I have seen a lot of glitches. For example, "allies not available". Or teleporting enemies, or CP simply stuck -- you finish the assault phase, your reinforcements are there, but the "defend the CP" phase won't trigger because the reinforcements think they are still in combat.... with invisible enemies. So between the bugs and the cheapness at CP4, the CP's don't offer a very rich experience to keep an end gamer busy and happy.

    Missions & Bounties

    As I said, I can do missions and bounties up to "Hard" with ease. Don't recall doing any "challenging" missions, but have done some challenging bounties. The invaded missions are good, but limiting to just 3 a week is disappointing. It made no sense to me, but now it does since I can see the exotic Nemesis is locked behind invaded missions and rotations.... which aren't rotations after all. Yeah, that doesn't sit well with me at all. I want to do content when I want to do it.

    Play Style RE: Pve/PvP

    I play solo 99% PvE in the LZ, and 1% PvPvE in the DZ, and 0% pure PvP. Since Ubisoft/Massive are still making significant changes and nerfing things, I am certainly not going to invest any time in PvP.

    Glitches

    I already talked about CP glitches.

    You don't have to play very long in the end game without hitting some glitches, and the frequency with which they present really builds frustration. A lot of problems with basic movement in Foggy Bottom... still -- even after the patch that fixed the staircase with the imaginary wall at the CP. Player just can't move for no good reason. For example, couldn't hop over a guard rail, and there was no reason for it and you have no way of knowing until you try... and yes when standing next to it you get the indication that it is an object you can climb over.

    In another spot, there was an imaginary wall impeding moving off a ledge that was about 2-3 feet tall. It was like a grassy knoll coming down to a road, but elevated by a few feet. There is no reason for not being able to walk/run off that ledge. But trying you get the imaginary wall animation. You can find a spot where that imaginary wall ends and then you can walk down. And no, there was no yellow tarp on the spot you could navigate, and no barbed wire on the rest. .... no indicator at all that might explain why the ledge could not be navigated.

    Just two examples I noted last night. This stuff happens was to frequently and is covered in level design 101. The player should be able to tell from sight and from past experiences in the game, if an object can be climbed or traversed. It should never happen where the player can't tell visually if the path they are taking will work.

    Good level design should aim to produce a level that is fun to navigate. Far too often in TD2, navigation is far from fun and is a chore -- literally like banging up against a wall. If you disagree, go to the construction site CP, and after you capture it just walk around and pay attention. Ledges that visually look like you should be able to navigate... can you? The answer is in many cases "no". Are their any instances where you can navigate an object in one case and not navigate the same? The answer i s"yes". Are there places you can get stuck? Again, "yes".

    Then there is rubber banding enemies. I see this a lot lately where enemies get a magical boost of acceleration. No, their legs don't move any faster, but they are just swooping across the screen a little faster... and this magically happens when you have a weapon on them and fire.... that magical burst is enough to alter their path to be just ahead of your shot.

    Then there are teleporting or disappearing enemies. Yep, I've seen both frequently and as recent as last night. An enemy in your scope just disappears. Or in the blink of an eye moves 6 feet back.

    Then there are gunfire glitches. Yeah, sometimes when you pull the trigger, the weapon doesn't fire that instant, but it fires about a half to full second later.

    There is a lot of great stuff done well in this game, but really grates on your nerves as you wander the end game doing this mission for the 10th time in hopes of getting the dice roll you need at the end.

    To be fair, there is a lot this game does right. Of all the games I have where the game is centered on shooting weapons, this one by far presents the best experience. And I am not talking about just Ubisoft games -- which I own many.
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  2. #2
    My number 1 problem is: IM SO BORED - lack of content
    Game is great - They just need to up their game
    Lots of players are quitting as we speak
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  3. #3
    Yeah I really haven't experienced any of that stuff.

    Sounds like you might have a lag problem.

    As for you taking on a CP 4....that's funny.

    I've been running heroics since I was 495 and half my gear isn't even modded.
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  4. #4
    Well, I have to say, I think your assessment of the game experience is pretty much spot on.
    I have three characters leveled, each with a different skill set.
    I left last week, not in a huff, but just burned out.... I have almost 350 hours into the game.
    You say you have other games. Now might be a great time to jump into one or even buy a new one.
    I bought Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Talk about a Hard and Challenging game. These guys did all the Dark Souls Games. Its an adventure like no other.
    Just sayin, maybe its time to just put Div 2 on the backburner for awhile and broaden your gaming scope.
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