It is an eternal topic in loot shooters, but with The Division 2 it has flared up again after the latest Title Patch 2.0. Should weak gear be buffed or strong items nerfed? This is what players are currently concerned about.
Why is there a discussion about balance? The last major patch brought some nerfs and other balancing changes. Many fans were not entirely happy with this. Instead, they demanded that weaker items simply be buffed.
On the other hand, there is another part of the players who find a balanced balance more important than just making everything stronger.
Nerfs are also necessary to regulate overpowered gear. It is an eternal point of contention surrounding loot-based games.
Buff or nerf? The eternal question
These nerfs are the source of the newly ignited discussion: With Title Update 2.0, two of the most popular weapons, the Mk17 rifle and the Model 700 sniper rifle, were weakened.
They were by far the strongest weapons in their respective categories, so Massive wanted to reduce that gap. They are still strong compared to the rest, but no longer as powerful as before.
This made many players angry. They would have preferred to see the other weapons in their respective categories adjusted. Instead of a nerf, a buff should have been applied.
That’s why this topic has been discussed for a long time: The Division 1 has a special history with the topic of balancing. In 3 years, the game underwent several profound changes that altered the gameplay experience on many levels.
Nerfs and buffs, which were sometimes received positively and sometimes negatively, were commonplace. However, there was significant resistance to nerfs for certain strong weapons and gear sets like the secret striker.
Players enjoyed their powerful builds and didn’t want to lose them. Instead, Massive should have tuned and strengthened the weaker equipment.
New Offshoot, Same Path?
This is what some players are criticizing now: In the subreddit of The Division 2 there are a variety of posts that basically all share the same concern. Developer Massive should refrain from nerfs and instead buff what is weaker.
This is being demanded for various things. For example, User Audenfred is concerned that the talents of high-end equipment could be diminished to make gear sets more valuable. According to many fans they are too weak.
This he derives from some statements by the developers regarding the upcoming patch 2.1 and the changes thereafter.
User AlphaSyncz is also calling for:
Massive, PLEASE PLEASE do not nerf the talents. Rather buff the weaker options to provide more variety and make our current grind feel worthwhile.
Source: Reddit
His post has over 1,400 upvotes (as of April 12, 1:56 PM). In hundreds of comments, many like-minded individuals agree and criticize that nowadays almost only the nerf hammer is swung when certain gear performs well.
Others believe that completely forgoing nerfs would be a mistake. Like user potaten64, who writes:
One must do both, but balancing and buffing every weapon just because one overperforms is not feasible and only leads to constant power creep.
The problem is that they [Massive] are overly cautious with their buffs. The things they have buffed are mostly still not good.
Source: Reddit
However, most agree: Currently, in The Division 2, some buffs should be implemented rather than weakening equipment.
What do you think about this topic? Feel free to write in the comments.
The XscapeArtist writes about this:
The Division is currently showing its best side, but it could become VERY stale and boring very quickly if all the developer studio wants to do is nerf, nerf, nerf (this applies to all studios, not just Massive).
Source: Reddit.com
Some even go so far as to call for nerfs to be completely omitted. What works and is strong should remain as is. Everything else should simply be upgraded.
Others believe that completely forgoing nerfs would be a mistake. Like user potaten64, who writes:
One must do both, but balancing and buffing every weapon just because one overperforms is not feasible and only leads to constant power creep.
The problem is that they [Massive] are overly cautious with their buffs. The things they have buffed are mostly still not good.
Source: Reddit
However, most agree: Currently, in The Division 2, some buffs should be implemented rather than weakening equipment.
What do you think about this topic? Feel free to write in the comments.
