In The Division, the NinjaBike Backpack is getting a revamp. It was useless before, but now it will be really interesting.
For over half a year, the “NinjaBike Messenger Bag” has been considered the worst Exotic in The Division. The reason: Unlike other Exotics that provide strong damage boosts, its talent is very specific – and really bad:
- If you die in the Dark Zone, you lose less loot (1 public item less) and 20% less Dark Zone XP.
With the update 1.6, this talent got even worse: the patch introduced the change that you no longer lose Dark Zone experience and currency when you are killed in the DZ and are not rogue. In other words, the effect of losing 20% less DZ XP becomes completely pointless.
With update 1.6.1 (or a subsequent hotfix), the NinjaBike Backpack was removed from the loot pool to prevent agents from experiencing significant disappointments when the item drops.
However, Massive already recommended back then: Do not dismantle your NinjaBike Backpacks! This Exotic will be reworked and the rework is supposed to be retroactive.
We now know what Massive intends to do with the backpack.
This is how the NinjaBike Backpack will be reworked
In the last “State of the Game” livestream, the developers briefly mentioned NinjaBike. This Exotic is going to become a kind of “wildcard” for gear set pieces.
This means that NinjaBike will gain the talent to function as an additional gear set piece for all equipped gear sets.
Two examples:
- If you have two pieces from the FireCrest set, three pieces from the Tactician set, and the NinjaBike backpack equipped, you will receive the 3-piece bonus from the FireCrest set and the 4-piece bonus or talent from the Tactician set.
- Or: if you have armor pieces from 5 different sets equipped and now add the NinjaBike backpack, you will receive the 2-piece bonus from each of these five sets.
Thus, extremely many combinations are conceivable that were not possible before. NinjaBike is supposed to ensure an extreme build variety, that is the goal.
Isn’t that totally overpowered?
In the reddit forum, the first worries are already spreading: Will the NinjaBike Backpack not be completely overpowered?
The developers have stated that they will thoroughly test this Exotic and examine it closely before releasing it. “Overpowered” combinations should not be possible.
How the NinjaBike backpack will ultimately fit into the meta remains to be seen. Because the gear sets will be completely revised with update 1.7 – bugs will be fixed, balance adjustments will be made, and classified gear sets will be introduced.
All info on Classified Gear in 1.7 can be found here.
