In The Division we take a closer look at the sniper rifle Historian. With 1.6, it becomes an explosive Exotic.
The Historian was introduced in The Division with Update 1.2. It is based on the M1A sniper rifles, but was never among the top weapons – because the first-wave version of the M1A was significantly stronger due to better talents.
With Update 1.6, this named weapon becomes an Exotic, thus gaining a unique talent. What is the Historian capable of now?
Explosive projectiles are in the Historian
The Historian has a magazine size of 10 and a decent fire rate of 300. However, the base damage is a bit lower:
Two talents of the Historian are random, while the unique talent is fixed and always active:
- History Repeats: Each bullet stays lodged in the enemy and explodes one second later. The explosion deals 700% of your weapon value.
On the PTS for 1.6, this talent initially relied on skill power, later it was changed to weapon power. Important: It’s not the DPS value, but the weapon value that matters.
This means: For example, if you have a weapon value of 7000, the explosion deals 49,000 damage (so 7 times). It doesn’t matter if you shoot them in the body or in the head – this damage value remains the same. This explosive damage works in addition to the “normal” damage when you hit the enemy.
In short: If you boost your weapon value, the Historian deals large amounts of damage. The explosion can stagger enemies, giving you additional advantages.
Until the launch of 1.6 and Last Stand, Massive will tweak a few dials, and the final patch notes are not yet known – so we will have to wait and see how the Historian ultimately performs. The talent is certainly interesting.
If you want to have the exotic Historian in your hands right at the release of 1.6, you can now purchase it from the specialized equipment vendor in the Terminal for Phoenix Credits.
What can the Midas do in 1.6? Find out here.
