In The Division, we present a NinjaBike build in 1.8, which represents an alternative to the Classified sets.
With patch 1.7, secret gear sets were introduced in The Division. These grant you strong bonuses when you have equipped 5 or 6 pieces of the respective set. Additionally, they have higher primary attributes than the other armor pieces. They are therefore powerful – and rare.
If you are unlucky, it can take months before you have a specific set complete, as there are 14 secret sets included in the loot pool, and the chances of obtaining these items are extremely low. This can frustrate many agents until you finally get the Classified item that you are still missing.
However, there is a powerful alternative.
The NinjaBike Backpack, an exotic piece of gear, offers an interesting way to create powerful builds. In combination with the right pieces, such a mix build can provide a competitive alternative to the Classified sets.
What can the NinjaBike Backpack do?
Once regarded as one of the worst exotics, the NinjaBike Backpack was revised in 1.7 and received a special talent from Massive:
- Now NinjaBike acts as a “wildcard” for other gear set pieces. In other words, the backpack counts as an additional equipped gear set piece that can unlock another gear set bonus. It can unlock bonuses from multiple sets simultaneously. However, it cannot unlock secret gear set bonuses.
If you want to combine multiple sets with the backpack, you must weigh which bonuses you want to unlock. You can determine the number of set pieces, giving you many combinations available, as the backpack guarantees additional bonuses to unlock.
Note: This does not work with the 5 and 6 bonuses of the secret sets.
A strong DPS build for PvP with NinjaBike
YouTuber NothingButSkillz presents a mix of the Banshee and Predator set that you can use in Last Stand, Skirmish, and in the Dark Zone. This build is designed for group play but can also be used solo with talent adjustments. With this, you can deal high damage while still being able to take hits.
These gear pieces do you need for the build:
- NinjaBike Backpack with health points and disorient resistance
- Barrett’s Bulletproof Vest with health points, exotic damage reduction, and ammunition capacity
- Predator Mask with crit chance and burn resistance
- Banshee Kneepads with crit damage, bleeding wound resistance, and shock resistance
- Predator Gloves with SMG damage, crit chance, and crit damage
- Banshee Holster with crit chance
As mods, use 3 weapon mods with crit chance, 2 stamina mods with crit chance, and 4 utility mods with first aid self-healing.
Due to the NinjaBike Backpack, these set bonuses are now active:
- Set bonus 2 and 3 of the Predator set: +10% reload speed, 8% assault rifle damage / 8% SMG damage
- Set bonus 2 and 3 of the Banshee set: +20% looted DZ currency, +10% damage to targets out of cover
While the +20% Dark Zone currency is not relevant, the other bonuses provide significant extra damage and are the reason why this build is so strong. Against targets out of cover, you deal significant damage, which is the case in PvP most of the time. You take your opponents on at short ranges and try to deal as much damage as possible.
All in all, NothingButSkillz achieves 7074 firearms, 5854 stamina, and 2927 electronics with this set. However, he uses Classified set pieces, as they have higher primary attributes. For you, this is only a factor if you have them. Otherwise, just use the normal gear set pieces.
The weapons of the build
As the Predator set boosts the damage of assault rifles and submachine guns, you should correspondingly use those. It depends on your preferences. NothingButSkillz uses the exotic submachine guns for his variant:
- The House with Deadly (crit damage +15%) and Responsive (Damage +10% within 10 meters)
- The House with Deadly and Vicious (Damage increases based on missing health)
- Both have the exotic talent Card Counter (One-half of the magazine deals 20% more damage. The half with the increased damage switches after 15 seconds or when the magazine is empty)
Most PvP fights take place at short distances, so The House is considered one of the strongest weapons in 1.8 especially well. If you don’t have a House yet: The M4 is considered one of the optimal PvP weapons alongside the exotic SMG and excels at longer distances. Your playstyle should be aggressive, pushing to the forefront to deal as much damage as possible.
To further increase damage, you should use mods with crit damage on both SMGs.
The skills
The skills:
- First Aid with Adrenaline Syringe
- Support Station with Immunizer
- Recovery Link
The character talents:
- Triage: Heal an ally with a skill to reduce the cooldown by 15%
- Emergency Medicine: Use a First Aid kit at low health to increase damage resistance by 20% for 10 seconds
- Field Medic: Use a First Aid kit near allies to heal group members and helpers within 20 meters by 40%
- Counter: Reach negative health points to reduce the active cooldown time for skills by 20%
These talents are designed for group play. If you are playing solo, you can replace Triage and Field Medic with talents like On the Move and Adrenaline to survive better. This is just one of many ways to combine sets with the NinjaBike Backpack.
Do you play NinjaBike builds? What combinations do you prefer?
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