In the shared-world shooter The Division, we take a look at a particular bug that has a major impact on the game.
Ubisoft’s The Division has a plethora of bugs. This was already the case at release in March, and it is still the case now in early August. Many errors have been fixed over the months, but with various updates, new ones have continuously emerged. An additional page was created in the Ubi forum listing the known issues.
A major bug significantly affects the game, which the YouTuber Skill Up refers to as the “most important bug in The Division”. This pertains to the skill “Ballistic Shield”. However, it is not a game-breaking error like the backpack bug or the map bug. Instead, it greatly influences how we all play in endgame PvE.
The ‘Ballistic Shield’ Bug
The Ballistic Shield is basically one huge bug. This skill is simply unusable because one cannot rely on it. Every agent currently relying on it is, so to speak, asking for trouble. Sometimes the shield suddenly disappears, or it prevents you from shooting, reloading your weapon, or using consumables. Occasionally, the shield cannot even be drawn out. It is simply a nightmare to play with.
As a result, it seems not to exist at all in discussions about certain builds. Only on reddit does the Ballistic Shield occasionally come up, always accompanied by demands to finally fix it.
No Ballistic Shield, No Tank
Because a functional shield would greatly benefit The Division, as Skill Up notes. It would be a useful ability, with which one could create a strong tank.
Currently, there are no real tanks who can control the enemies, act as a shield in front of allies, and fight in the front line. There are at most agents with toughness beyond 700k, who are not specialized tanks but simply agents with extreme armor values.
Consequently, all fights proceed in the same manner. One increases their toughness to at least 400k, crouches behind cover with healing skills and fortifications, and shoots at the enemies. When rushers charge at you, you can only hope that your firepower is sufficient to stop them in time. You can buy some time with flashbang grenades, but a tank with a shield in hand would certainly have better odds.
Skill Up concludes that the buggy Ballistic Shield prevents numerous combat variants and does not allow for a pronounced tank class. It ensures that all fights are almost identical because since no tanks are possible, the other builds and specializations are also affected.
When Specializations Are Not Specializations
No matter which build one currently looks at, toughness plays an extremely significant role in The Division’s endgame. Builds under 400k toughness simply do not work, as you have no chance against the NPCs – at least not with the playstyle allowed by the game currently.
But if you had a tank in the squad who draws the enemies to him at the front line equipped with the shield and controls the situation, the other agents would have much more room to skill themselves. When you do not have to live in constant fear that the next rusher will storm around the corner, you do not need overly high toughness values. The tank handles that. You do not have to bring toughness up to about 400k before you can finally focus on other attributes.
Then one can fully focus on the firearms and become a powerful damage dealer. The risk as such is higher, as one can quickly go down if the bullets stray in one’s direction, but this effective playstyle will at least become an option again.
Therefore, Skill Up concludes: By fixing the Ballistic Shield, Massive would allow for entirely new player experiences. Specializations and more tactical options would become possible. But currently, this omnipresent bug heavily influences how the fights are conducted, how one skills, and how one plays.
What do you think? Do you disagree? Or do you say, “Yeah, the man is right.”
