In The Division 2, the expeditions caused some trouble with the last major Title Update 5. Now the PvE game mode is returning with a bit of delay for Title Update 6 and brings a new reward system. However, the mode will still not be available at all times.
What is going on with the expeditions? The PvE mode was only announced prominently for Title Update 5 and disappeared from the game after a few weeks. In the community stream “State of the Game” last Wednesday, October 2nd, the developers talked about the return of the expeditions on October 15th.
The expeditions are longer PvE missions that revolve around a storyline about a missing convoy. The setting is the “Kenly College”, a former university in The Division 2. The university consists of three sections, each with its own tasks and challenges.
In these missions, puzzles, timers, and elements are included that are supposed to present players with extraordinary tasks during the mission. Secret rooms can also be found in the winding corridors of the educational institution.
Mastery system not ready for TU5 launch
Why did the expeditions disappear again? The plan was for the “Kenly College” to be regularly available and to change the missions slightly from time to time. The “Mastery System” should reward exceptional performances.
Unfortunately, this “Mastery System” did not work at the launch of Title Update 5. The developers decided to let the expeditions run for a while and then remove them from the game until the reward system works properly.
And what exactly is the Mastery System? With the new reward program “Mastery System”, the replayability of the expeditions should be increased.
The three mission strands will be equipped with new difficulty levels and will distribute rewards, depending on how quickly the missions are completed.
This is how the Mastery System works
- New Mastery difficulty levels will be introduced.
- Normal, Hard, Challenging
- Mastery difficulty missions will run with modifiers.
- Example Modifier “Dead Drop” – When enemies are defeated, they drop a live grenade.
- Time-bound completion with three reward levels
- Gold, Silver, and Bronze for each of the three mission strands
- To receive all Mastery rewards, the three expedition missions must be completed on all Mastery difficulty levels within the specified Gold time.
- For each medal, there is a payout while the event is running
To receive all rewards from the “Mastery System”, at least nine mission runs are required.
In addition to the “Mastery” rewards, agents will also receive the Exotic rifle “Diamondback” upon completion of the entire “Kenly College”. The rifle can be obtained every time the expedition becomes available again after an update.
The expeditions will not always be available
Here’s the catch: The expeditions are seen by the developers as a rotating activity. Massive wants to ensure that the missions are played from time to time. More expeditions may come to the cycle over time.
The first TU6 expedition will be available from October 15th for two weeks and will then enter a rotation. The university campus will be unavailable for two weeks, then back online for one week with new rewards and modifiers. After that, there will be another two-week break.
For some students, that sounds quite normal. How the new rotation will be received by the agents remains to be seen.
What else can I expect with the new update? The developers are restructuring several mechanics with the upcoming update and are bringing new content. The release is in mid-October – Whether Title Update 6 and the expeditions will be released together has not been explicitly stated.
However, the update will be released together with the free content DLC “Episode 2” and will be described by Massive as the largest expansion of the game so far. In the community stream “State of the Game” next week, on October 9th, the developers want to reveal more details about the content of the upcoming DLC.
There has already been much discussion about balancing and new talent features. Check here if you want to know what has already been tested on the test server.
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