At The Division, there is some information about Update 1.4 and the future of The Division.
Just now, the “State of the Game”, the weekly status report from Massive, took place. The developers spoke about three main goals that will be pursued with Update 1.4 and provided information about the PTS, the public test servers.
Additionally, a “Special Report” will be announced for next Tuesday, at approximately 7 PM, in which Massive will thoroughly discuss Update 1.4.
NPCs, loot, and difficulty levels will be adjusted with the next patch
Three goals are mentioned that will be the focus of Update 1.4:
1. NPCs are too strong
This issue has the highest priority. Enemies in the endgame are too strong, they deal too much damage and can withstand too much damage themselves. According to Massive, the balance has been lost here.
An important aspect is the strength of the agents. The difference between “normal” agents and those who are extremely skilled is too large. This significant gap must be reduced before NPCs can be adjusted accordingly.
Overall, this should lead to the game being more enjoyable again, that players feel powerful as agents. The “time to kill” should be reduced. If players skill strongly, they can still become more powerful than other agents, but not to the unhealthy extent that is currently the case. The YouTuber MarcoStyle is currently in Sweden and was able to talk with the developers about this yesterday. Here you can find his solution proposal on how he would address the issue of overpowered NPCs.
2. Difficulty levels need to be revised
There is an extreme jump between “hard” and “challenging”. This gap should be reduced, and all difficulty levels should be revised. Each level will provide appropriate rewards that you can use to improve and prepare for the next level. Currently, this sensible progression is not guaranteed.
3. Loot must be worthwhile
This brings us directly to the main goal with the third priority. Loot needs to improve. It should be worthwhile again. All endgame items will be available everywhere, allowing you to play what you want in the endgame, although some activities provide better sources for certain items than others. Players can still establish farming methods. Further information on these points will follow in Tuesday’s stream.
Additionally, numerous other things will be fixed with 1.4 that are not addressed here. However, it should be noted that the focus will not be on PvP. Many changes will affect PvP as well, but that is not the current focus.
PTS go live in mid-September
The public test servers will be available only for PC players who possess a PC version of The Division in mid-September. This is because the developers are more flexible on PC. However, if these PTS are successful, a solution for console agents will be sought for future PTS.
On Thursday next week, on September 15th, the servers will be opened for a limited number of players. Only the PC agents who applied for the elite task force will participate in this “technical test”. They will check whether everything works as planned.
On the following Monday, on September 19th, all PC players who own The Division will be able to access the PTS – provided everything goes smoothly. You will download the special version and start the test area. All your character data from the main game will be available on the PTS. You can read more information about the PTS in The Division, where Update 1.4 will be tested, here.
By the way: Currently, 14 community representatives are in Sweden as part of the “Elite Task Force”.
