That was quite a “State of the Game”! Yesterday, January 15, the 143rd edition of the community stream aired and brought us a lot of new information about upcoming changes. The gear game of The Division 2, as we know it, will no longer exist.
The Division 2 launched strongly after release and provided many players with a lot of fun in looting & leveling. But once you reached max level, the game suddenly became tedious.
Your inventory is overflowing, there’s hardly any good loot left, and it takes forever to finally develop an eye for the good stuff. That should be coming to an end soon.
New Gear Value and Major Overhauls Announced
What was announced? The developers announced massive changes to the gear game of the loot shooter in yesterday’s live stream (January 15) “State of the Game”.
This also means that we are facing a gear reset again, but if the changes come as expected, looting in Division 2 will be significantly better, and thus the entire game.
This gear overhaul, however, is expected to come only after Title Update 7, which is scheduled for February, along with new content and an increase in the maximum gear value.
Which changes are in focus? As announced, the developers discussed the randomness factor of the gear (RNG) and new elements of the user interface (UI) in the stream. The basis was the community’s feedback during the time since the release.
All these issues are now being addressed by the developers, which should resonate with some agents from the gaming community.
Gear Game Turned Completely Upside Down
What does this look like exactly? Fredrik Thylander, responsible for the RPG elements in Division 2, had prepared a large presentation, giving us a lot of new images and information.
The changes consist of two elements. On one hand, the displays will be adjusted to make it clearer much faster what is good and how it works. On the other hand, talents and nearly all equipment items will be completely overhauled and redesigned.
- Good items are too rare
- There should be much less loot, but every loot drop should be interesting.
- The budget system will disappear; gear can then really roll all stats well.
- However, only one recalibration per piece is still possible
- The count of named items should be significantly increased, at least doubled
- Some build relationships are too unclear
- Items will receive core attributes that indicate a specific direction for the equipment item.
- Only the vest and the backpack will have a talent, which will then be much stronger.
- Damage to elite enemies (DTE) will completely disappear.
- The weapon damage system will be completely overhauled.
- The brands will receive new values.
- Gear will only come with one mod slot.
- Mods will only have one value.
- It will be more obvious what is enhanced by a value and how the values stack.
- “Skill Tiers” will be introduced (more on this in the next stream)
- Exotics will be adjusted.
- Gear sets will have their own talents that enhance each other.
- Players spend too much time on inventory management
- The visibility of good items should become clearer, making item management easier.
- Brand sets will no longer have different god rolls.
- God rolls and good items are too hard to recognize
- Direct displays for god rolls and a bar that shows what level the value of an item is at.
- God rolls will have their own marking.
- Named items should come with super god rolls that can be higher than normal god rolls.
- The current gear system hardly rewards specializations; there are too many hybrid builds
- Talents will then enhance stats that are combined with the gear.
- The talents should be powerful enough to determine the direction of the build.
- More talents that strengthen a specific role and make real “damage dealers”, “tanks” or “healers” and other roles possible.
Changes Not Expected with TU7 in February
When is all this expected to come? The responsible parties did not give a specific date. However, it certainly will not come with TU7.
Such large changes want the developers to present with a corresponding content drop. It sounds like The Division 2 will enter year 2 with a bang.
What happens to my old gear during the gear overhaul? Along with all the adjustments of the gear game, an increase in the power cap has also been announced.
Your current gear items will not become completely worthless and will be adapted to the new system. However, new builds and farming will definitely be on the agenda.
If you already have stats on your gear that are close to god rolls, these items will also have strong stats in the new system. As the gear value is increased, however, these pieces will need to be replaced with new loot.
Building Will Be Completely Different Afterwards
How will this change Division 2? The changes are really comprehensive and will turn the gear game upside down. Loot drops will become more important, and along with the loot targeting, the rewards will be much more satisfying.
Some of the presented talents reward cooperation with other agents, making it more worthwhile to create a team or solo build.
Next week, the developers will also talk about the new recalibration and the “skill tier” system. If it continues like this, 2020 could really be great.
What do you think of the planned new gear system? Does it annoy you that there is another gear reset, or are you more excited about the changes?
