Hey there Ubi Devs!

I have finally beaten the new Deep State DLC as well as played through with the new immersive mode settings (I also tried a bunch of custom options).

TL;DR: You guys have really outdone yourselves on this one. This DLC and the Immersive mode update have by far been the best game update I have seen/ played all year. Amazing work all around - lots of challenging new ways to play, a nostalgic revisit to Sam Fisher, callbacks to Wildlands - the whole works is just AWESOME!

Some of my favorite things:

1) Immersive mode required me to think more tactically and strategically. It challenged me to be more cautious with my decisions whether I was in stealth or in a firefight. Crafting on the go was a nice feature to add too, it really saved me in a lot of situations.

2) The subleties of the new DLC! So many nostalgic callbacks! The background music, the subtitles with the pictures, the missions requiring non-detection, and MIDAS are a few of the things that stick out to me still and really resonate. As someone that deeply appreciated Splinter Cell series - thank you! The echelon outfit and class was also a nice touch!

3) Immersive mode encourages exploration. This was probably a genius way to get players to experience more of Aurora. Limiting the player in the BIVOUAC to only weapon blueprints that they own encourages us to go out and locate the weapon or weapon attachment. Combine this with the unguided mode and it makes for a very challenging exploration experience which encourages more use of the tacmap.

4) I noticed there is now a little more delay in detection when travelling in ground vehicles. Additionally, immersive mode combined with the BIVOUAC restrictions requires players to search for a vehicle and use ground vehicles more often.

5) BASE JUMPING! I base jumped all the time in wildlands. I am glad that feature is more usable now. I am literally base jumping wherever I can lol.

Overall, the Deep State DLC is an awesome revival of Breakpoint. It brings Sam Fisher back in style and further develops the Breakpoint story in a more interesting way.

*Spoilers*
Especially considering the fact that a US senator is involved with funding CLAW and showing more of project DEUS and what harm it can do really shows us why other characters in the game are so apprehensive.

The ending fight scene was awesome but very difficult as a solo player. Lucky I had my mk3 L86 LMG on me. I am very excited for the next part of the Breakpoint story and I am hoping Aurora is finally invaded lol.

Constructive Criticisms and Suggestions:

1) Enemies should experience staggering or injuries similar to the player.

-- This seems to be a popular suggestion and I agree. It somewhat removes the immersion when I shoot an enemy 3 or 4 times and they experience no staggering or injury - whereas, I as the player, experience loss of primary weapon use, limping, and also staggering. Consider a similar system.

2) I am aware this is being worked on, but I thought I may add again that it is still a missed opportunity for AI companions. Especially for the new Deep state missions - it would have been awesome to have a compotent squad and sneaking around in our echelon suits.

3) Drop rate for Assault Rifle, Dmr, LMG parts and components to craft gadgets like sync shot drone should be a little higher. I recall going to several murmur patrol points and killing the drones for parts. However, I was always short on a specific part. This also goes for weapons for upgrades. If this was intentional, that is fine - perhaps, it could be a little higher?

4) Now that immersive mode exists - there should be an no gear score raid. Perhaps you can add a requirement of 1 or 2 mark 3 weapons for entry or level 20-30 as a requirement.

5) Weather should impact the character in PvE (a suggestion I made in another post). For example, player enters an area of heavy rainfall - rainfall reduces visibility which gives a small debuff to player accuracy. Additionally, the rain makes it harder to control movement on hills thus player becomes more prone to sliding. Another example, player is not wearing proper clothing in a snowy area. The cold gives a small debuff to movement speed, health regen, and and stamina without proper clothing.

Wishlist (smaller things I wish could be in the game):

1) Ability to switch Nomad's hat forward or backward. I KNOW. Sometimes, I want to have some nostalgia.

2) When AI companions release, Id like to see the ability to pick Midas and Holt as 2 of your 3 squadmates. Just because when I saw Midas, Holt, and Nomad reunite without Weaver I had the feels :'(

3) The ability to holster your weapon. Which can result in slightly faster movement speed, climbing speed, and sliding control. Plus, it makes no sense to try and carry your weapon uphill with no enemies around lol.

4) Compotent Faction AI - it feels as if they dont do much or arent very good. I'd like to see them in firefights with sentinel from time to time.

5) More NPC movement on the roads. I understand Aurora is under martial law, and homesteaders need to hide as well as outcasts - but what about the others that live on the island? A great part of wildlands was that the world presented a risk with civilians always nearby. Some non-homesteader, non-outcast, civilians driving around or even walking around would be a nice touch and it goes a long way!

6) More non-knife assassinations! I just discovered these existed. I'd even like to select to not use a knife.

Example: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AtVMbFhjGsm2gtdWNvDZX2h4_ZLnUQ

7) Easily accessible TACMAP of the local area/ province in-game without having to open the menu. As well as a GPS route when using ground vehicles (when minimap is on). I feel that loading the tacmap takes a couple seconds sometimes. It would be cool if we had a local map that our character could use without loading any menus. This would really drive the immersive experience forward.

Thanks for a great addition to breakpoint Ubi. I can definitely tell a lot of effort was put into this. I hope the road ahead for breakpoint stays abundant and game changing as this DLC made it.

Thanks for reading,
-Davii