The Division 2 recently released Season 9 and introduced a new mechanic to the game after more than 2 years: Expertise. With some effort, equipment pieces can be further improved – through XP or material donations. However, there was a glitch and now a “feature rollback” is coming.
The Division 2 has a dedicated fanbase that still invests a lot of time into the loot shooter even 2 years after the last major DLC. For these loyal fans, the game continues. Recently, there was even a significant update with Season 9.
A new mode called Countdown has been introduced, along with fresh bosses for the manhunts and a level mechanic for equipment – Expertise.
And this Expertise mechanic is causing stress now. The developers explain that players have already reached a much too high expertise level. Now there will be a partial “feature rollback” – progress will be recalculated and players will receive material compensations as a balance.
Once you have leveled up an equipment piece to proficiency, you can upgrade it with materials. Each level then provides you, for example, with +1% armor on armor pieces.
A piece that is at proficiency level 10 can only be upgraded to the extent that your expertise level is reached. The more proficiency you have, the higher your expertise level and the more pieces can be upgraded.
Kill XP was too strong with the new mechanic
What was the problem? The developers explained that there was a glitch in the calculation of kill XP. In comparison to players who leveled up a lot through material donations, those who progressed through kill XP have come much further.
On Twitter, there is the following developer post:
In short: Essentially, the expertise level should only go up to level 20 in Season 9. But due to the XP glitch, some agents have already leveled up to 30 or even higher.
This could damage the balance in the game in the long run. Therefore, the progress will be recalculated.
This “feature rollback” particularly affects the items that are already above level 20. Because they will be reset to the max level 20.
We recently talked about Division in our podcast:
To compensate players, the developers are distributing SHD boxes, or loot boxes. These are supposed to provide materials that ensure a certain balance for the effort.
However, the collected player data does not allow for everyone to receive exactly the resources they used.
However, the small glitch is unlikely to affect hardcore fans too much. The fact that Division 2 continues and even receives new content is already a very positive thing for many.
Because the loot shooter is still worth it: “Still one of the best games for me” – Why shooter fans should catch up on The Division 2
