In the MMO shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division, Massive has now revealed more details about equipment and loot in a podcast.
In a podcast, Ubisoft talked about weapons, equipment, stats, and how everything fits together.
60% of the damage comes from the weapon, 40% from the equipment
The Division is a shooter, so one needs a strong weapon. However, it is also an RPG, which means players need equipment that matches the weapon. Both will be important when The Division players want to get the most out of their agent and his abilities.
Depending on the play style, a different item composition is advisable. Those who prefer to carry a pistol might carry a ballistic shield. In this case, they would be in the “face of the opponents,” drawing fire to themselves, so they need additional equipment that enhances this play style: for instance, increases their pistol damage or improves their health.
In the endgame, it is a real puzzle with min-maxing, to get the best out of one’s equipment, the developers promise.
Items have levels and quality tiers
Equipment in The Division will have a level ranging from 1 up to the maximum level (which has not yet been revealed). Additionally, equipment has a quality tier ranging from common (gray) – uncommon (green) – rare (blue) – epic (purple) – legendary (orange): So you want to see it blinking orange.
Depending on how strong an item is (both in level and quality), it grants more “bonuses.” These are intended as percentage increases for effects: like “better hitting, dealing more damage, etc.”
It is “random” what bonuses, for example, a bulletproof vest grants. Two “identical” armors of the same level and quality could grant completely different bonuses. The same applies to the “magnitude of the bonuses.”
Therefore, you might set out to find exactly the same vest you are wearing, with the same bonuses, but with higher “rolls.”
The armor pieces have all “approximately” an idea of what the values depend on, as an example they mentioned:
- The vest has a protective function
- The knee pads are for “survival”
- The backpack enhances skills. Since the abilities are related to the backpack, its appearance also changes depending on which skills you select.
- Other equipment includes boots and gloves.
- In addition to these items, there will also be a “gas mask,” whose strength (level 1-4) determines which contaminated areas you can enter. If the gas mask is too weak, you must remove yourself from the area within 10 seconds.
There will be 6 weapon types in The Division
The various weapon types in The Division will be as follows:
- Sniper rifles,
- Assault rifles,
- Submachine guns,
- Shotguns,
- and pistols
Weapons and equipment do not need to be repaired in The Division.
The higher the player’s level, the better the quality of loot
Players must have reached a certain level in The Division to find gear of a certain quality (meaning a certain color). Once in the endgame, it’s all about being completely orange. Those who are clad in orange have fully geared themselves with legendary items.
The three main attributes: Weapons, Stamina, Electronics
In addition to the various bonuses (percentage increases), equipment also brings higher attributes. There are three:
- Weapons – increases total damage with weapons
- Stamina increases health
- Electronics increases skill power
If you convert this into “classic RPG stats”, then weapons would be strength, stamina would be constitution, and electronics would be intelligence.
For solo play, a relatively balanced distribution of stats is advisable. For group play, someone who is a “tank” might focus entirely on stamina while the others play as “glass-cannons,” only increasing weapon damage.
Weapons have unlockable abilities in The Division
Weapons can have certain “locked” abilities, such as a strong damage bonus or regeneration effects. Some of these abilities include: damage bonus after using a medkit, for instance.
These “abilities” can only activate if you have a sufficiently high value in the attributes. Only if you meet the minimum requirement for weapons, stamina, or electronics can you benefit from the special weapon ability.
Since the attributes come from the equipment, but the abilities lie on the weapon, to benefit from certain weapons, you need equipment parts that are aligned with that.
You can carry two weapons and a pistol at the same time. In the endgame, players will likely want to find 3 weapons that harmonize with the equipment so that all 3 abilities are active. Otherwise, you switch to a weapon and cannot use its ability.
At the beginning, players will not have to deal with this. It will only be slowly introduced when they receive blue items. Gray and green items do not have any of these locked abilities yet.
Yeah, it’s a lot to digest in theory at the moment. But it sounds like nothing that should surprise players of MMOs or even from Destiny. The next beta, as hinted in the podcast, is supposed to come “soon.”
