The Division 2: Update buffs 40 standard weapons – What does that mean for you?

The Division 2 receives a comprehensive weapon balancing with Title Update 6. Find out which weapons benefit the most and what the developers have to say in this overview.

What does the next Title Update 6 bring? The release of the next major update has been confirmed by Massive for mid-October and coincides with the release of the content expansion “Episode 2”. The largest update so far for The Division 2 not only brings fresh content but also a lot of balancing changes and revisions.

More than 50 weapons will be revised

The next update is seen by the developers as a “rebuild update.” The mechanics of “Passive Talents” will be revised and many beloved builds will be turned upside down.

However, the weapons will also receive a major overhaul and around 40 buffs for standard weapons can already be found in the preliminary patch notes.

How the weapons will actually look at the launch of Title Update 6 remains to be seen.

40 weapons will be strengthened

Which weapons are getting the strongest buff? Hardly any weapon class is left out in this big weapon balancing. But the strongest buffs per class are going to the following examples:

• Submachine guns: MPX + 38%
• Rifles: M16 +68%
• Snipers: M44 Special +19%
• Assault rifles: M4 +10%
• LMGs: MG5 +9%

The rifle M16 receives an incredible buff of +68% to its base weapon damage, showing how much some weapons need this strengthening.

Why are the weapons being changed so drastically now? This is somewhat related to the changes to armor talents. The upcoming update wants the developers to create more variety and rewarding options in the build creation of The Division 2.

In order to rarely need to make such large build interventions, Massive is trying to kill as many birds with one stone as possible so that agents don’t have to rely on entirely new builds with the next update.

Moreover, only a few weapons are currently being effectively played. The weapon team at Massive wants to give all firearms the chance to become part of a specialized build.

Massive is striving for more viable weapons

How are the developers tackling the problem? Massive interacts a lot with players on social media and communicates changes during the weekly livestream “State of the Game” or in the Ubisoft forum. In doing so, the developers share a lot about their thoughts and approaches to the upcoming balancing.

As a first orientation, they use the raw numbers and facts from the game. Which weapons are being played and why? At the moment, these questions are quite easy to answer:

• P416 – Assault rifle with high fire rate
• M60 – LMG with plenty of ammunition

With the help of these benchmarks, the responsible developers are now trying to raise the other weapons to a similar level without excessively weakening the meta weapons.

Your feedback is requested

In addition to the bare facts, Massive also values player feedback very highly. Until today, October 1st, a test server (PTS) is running for PC players with many TU6 changes, where testers are also encouraged to participate in regular surveys.

To meet the community’s wishes and their own guidelines, the developers implement the weapon balancing in two steps.

1. Align the weapons within the weapon classes
2. Align the weak weapon classes with the strong classes (assault rifle/LMG)

Will my weapon become useless? Strong weapons are meant to remain strong. The P146 will be slightly nerfed (-5% damage) but should remain competitive as it will still benefit from certain talents more than other assault rifles due to its above-average fire rate.

To illustrate the alignment within the weapon classes, Massive showed some graphics in the “State of the Game” from September 25th. They show how the damage output is distributed over a certain period – before and after Title Update 6.

And what happens with the individual weapon classes? In addition to the colorful graphics, the developers have also put into words their current opinion on the individual classes. We also show the current state of the damage adjustments from the preliminary patch notes.

Assault Rifles

• This is the most used weapon class
• Meta weapons have been slightly nerfed, but many have been strengthened
• Change is usually around + 5-8% weapon damage
• FAMAS gets an extendable magazine
• The basic damage of assault rifles changes as follows:
  • ACR: +3%
  • AUG: +3%
  • Carbine 7: +8%
  • F2000: +5%
  • FAL: +3%
  • G36: +3%
  • M4: +10%
  • P416: -5%
  • TAR-21: +8%

LMG

• Each weapon should be able to keep up
• The following changes are made to the base LMG damage:
  • MG5: +9%
  • KAG: +5%
  • M249: -4%
  • M60: -10%
  • RPK: +5%
  • L86: +6%

Submachine Guns

• SMGs are currently not effective enough, the raw damage output is too low
• All SMGs will be buffed and should now be competitive
• The changes to base MP damage are as follows:
  • AUG: +15%
  • MP5: +13%
  • MP7: +7%
  • MPX: +38%
  • P90: +25%
  • SMG9: +6%
  • T821: -8%
  • Thompson: +12%
  • Tommy Gun: +6%
  • UMP45: +14%
  • Vector SBR – Tactical: +21%
  • Vector SBR 9: +17%
  • Vector .45 ACP: +25%

Sniper Rifles

• The balancing here is complicated because many targets are one-shots
• The M700 serves as a benchmark to which the other snipers should catch up
• The changes to base sniper damage are as follows:
  • M700 Tactical: +19%
  • M700 Carbon: +19%
  • Classic M44 Carbine: +14%
  • Hunting M44: +8%
  • Custom M44: +19%
  • SRS: +11%

Rifles

• They have high damage per shot, but weaknesses against strong elite enemies and for sustained damage
• Most will be significantly strengthened, with only a few being weakened
• The changes to base rifle damage are as follows:
  • ACR SS: +19%
  • M16: +68%
  • Classic M1A: +39%
  • SOCOM M1A: +30%
  • M1A CQB: +30%
  • Lightweight M4: +11%
  • LVOA-C: +12%
  • SIG 716: -7%
  • 1886: +20%
  • MDR: +16%
  • MK17: +17%

Shotguns

The shotguns are getting a completely new property. Previously, all shotguns provided agents with an improved melee attack. However, this has led to pump guns being too weak against strong elite enemies in the endgame.

Now the shotguns have the property “damage against armor” and will be much more effective against the annoying shields of intrusive NPCs.

Exotics in the Spotlight

What about the exotics? For the exotics, talents should play a larger role. Just like with standard weapons, exotics have been limited for many players to a few worthwhile pieces. For some agents, the exotic talents in holstered state are better than the active weapon itself.

You can check out potential changes announced in the preliminary patch notes here.

In summary, the developers say that while exotic weapons have some influence on builds, they should be chosen for their talents – not just for their raw damage.

What else does Massive want to change with the new update? Many things have already been announced, and the test server shows some contents that haven’t even been discussed yet. Here are a few new features that have already been confirmed:

• New PvP mode
• Loot targeting
• Crafting & recalibration

What do you think, which weapons will be particularly strong after the update?

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von Maik Schneider