The Division 2 announced its next major update for upcoming Tuesday, April 21. Title Update 9 brings new momentum to the Exo economy. We explain the most important change.
Since the launch of the major expansion “Warlords of New York“, the creators of The Division 2 have been adjusting their new gear system. With TU9, the Exotics are now on the to-do list.
When will the update come? If everything goes smoothly, we will receive the next major update during the weekly maintenance on Tuesday, April 21 between 8 and 9 AM.
In the “State of the Game” from April 15, the developers already spoke extensively about the upcoming changes but mentioned that the current crisis situation and related work from home could still lead to delays. The patch notes are likely to be released on the Monday before the update.
Title Update 9 brings an “Exotic Workshop”
What is the most important innovation? As already announced, Division 2 with TU9 brings a new feature for the Exotics – a kind of Exotic workbench.
Here we can bring our old pre-Warlord Exos to the new max level 40 and make them interesting again for our current builds. But the new workbench can do even more. Exos with poor stats can be completely recreated and we can hope for a better roll.
How does the new Exo workbench work? Nikki Kuppens, Senior Game Designer at Division 2 and responsible for weapons among other things, explained the function of the new workbench in the “SotG” in detail. It comes with 2 basic functions:
- Pre-Warlords-Exotics can be brought to level 40.
- Level-40 Exos can be rolled again.
To upgrade or re-roll the Exotics, you each need an “Exotic Component,” which you receive when dismantling Exotics. However, with TU9, the amount of Exo components we receive when dismantling Exotics decreases – from 2 to 1.
The Exo workbench will be introduced as part of the crafting workbench and works with Exo blueprints. The blueprints can be found right next to the workbench in Washington – Inaya sells them for a few credits.
Important questions about the new Exo workbench
Can I improve Exos below level 30? The level of your Exos does not matter when upgrading. You can rummage through all the old Exos from your stash and see what you want to upgrade now.
Can I re-roll the Exos more often? Yes, each Exo can be rolled again as often as you want – as long as you can gather the required materials.
Can I upgrade these crazy editions Exotics? With the launch of Division 2, several special Exos were introduced that are only available for preorders or with special editions of the game:
- Lullaby – Shotgun
- Reckless – Rifle
Since release, there has been confusion about how to upgrade these pieces and what they even provide. Both weapons are likely excluded from the upgrade system, but you can loot the Exo weapons at level 40.
Can I lose God-Rolls through re-rolls? If you already have an attribute on an Exo as a God-Roll, but are not fully satisfied with it and decide on a re-roll, then the God-Roll that was previously on it will disappear as well.
When you chase an Exotic through the re-roll workbench, you are technically receiving a completely new item. With a bit of luck, you may have the God-Roll again, but basically, all the values of the item will be re-rolled.
General changes to the Exos
How strong will the found or crafted Exos be? The armor and weapons will receive a significant roll boost with TU9. Nikki Kuppens explained it as follows: Depending on the difficulty of the activities in which you earn loot, the values that are on the equipment fall within a certain range.
They have a strength classification, and the higher the strength level of the items, the higher the minimum values of the attributes on the items. This applies to all items and difficulty levels.
With TU9, this changes for the Exos. They will always belong to the highest strength level. Every time you find, craft, or re-roll an Exo, they will come with at least the highest minimum values for their attributes. The values can be better but never worse than the minimum value of the highest “loot tier” – no matter on which difficulty level you find them. Whether this is also the level at which the Exos come from the “Exo chests” was not mentioned.
What are the chances of getting a really strong Exo? According to Nikki Kuppens, just as high as for a “bad” one. There are no hidden mechanics that make the attributes of the Exos dependent on each other or higher probabilities for a low value.
Should I react somehow now? Dismantle all Exos that you have duplicates of. The “Exotic Components” will have a more important role with TU9, but you will also get less. Before TU9 you get 2 components for dismantling, afterwards only 1. If you have duplicate Exos – scrap them and collect Exo components.
Until TU9, you should also not deliberately hunt for Exos, as these typically have better chances of a decent roll with the title update.
TU9 Highlight: Exo workshop – Along with many balance adjustments
What else does TU9 bring? We do not yet know exactly what is all included in the new update. The patch notes will probably come on Monday, one day before the update. We have known for a while that Division 2 is planning two updates for April and also roughly what is included. No changes are planned for the Dark Zone for TU 9, but the developers emphasize that they are working on further improvements.
There are still many balance changes and fixes coming into the game, but the most important point is the Exo workbench, which allows us to reuse beloved pieces from the first year. We will likely have to reassess our favorite items from year 2 after TU9. While we will get a few strong Exo buffs and reworks with the update, a few of the strongest items will probably be nerfed.
