In The Division, the upcoming Update 1.4 reduces the Gearscore for equipment sets from 268 to the new maximum of 229. But why are the developers doing this? Are our beautiful sets now worthless?
With Update 1.4 of The Division, our Gear-Sets will suddenly be downgraded from the hefty Gearscore of 268 to a pitiful 229 points! Scandalous! Or is it not? What’s the reasoning behind this number nerf?
268 is now 229, otherwise nothing changes!
The downgrade of the number has no impact on the actual power of the item. In plain language: A set with a Gearscore of 229 is still as strong as it was when it had a score of 268. The YouTuber SkillUp has verified this closely on the test server. We have embedded his video here.
But why is Massive doing this? The answer is surprisingly simple: With the previously highest Gearscore of 268, gear set items were the pinnacle for most Division players. This came at the expense of high-end items, which had a maximum value of only 229 or 204. However, in terms of significant attributes, the high-end items are hardly worse than the gear set pieces.
A heart for high-end gear
But because 268 looks more impressive than 204, most players didn’t care, and nearly everyone only took gear set items with them. To put an end to this and to encourage players to use more high-end items again, the developers plan to uniformly set the Gearscore to the new max level of 229.
Since the gear set items will not become weaker, some players are currently speculating whether the high-end items will be made slightly stronger to ensure more balance.
Here you can see how your items will change in score after 1.4. The respective stats on the items remain unchanged.
Here you see a graphic from Skill-Up, showing which gear score items you can expect in which world tiers.
The Gearscore squeeze is not the only new feature in Patch 1.4. Read our article on the upcoming World Level. Update 1.4 is set to be released sometime in October, though a specific date is unfortunately still unknown.
