At The Division, there is information about how the endgame is being redesigned with Update 1.4.
Just now, the State of the Game took place, which lasted three times longer than usual today. The community developers spoke with game designer Drew Rechner about some changes that Update 1.4 will bring.
First, the discussion was about “Time to Kill” and “Time to be killed,” which are currently not enjoyable in the endgame. These are to be adjusted so that not only hardcore players but all agents can enjoy the game again.
It became interesting towards the end of the stream. Here, it was presented how the progression and rewards in the endgame will change.
Set your enemies with “World Brackets”
A major goal for 1.4 is to improve loot; the rewards should be more relevant. It should become easier – and more logical – to progress from one tier to the next. Currently, for example, you need loot from the Challenge Mode to even be able to play the Challenge Mode. Additionally, the solo player experience is to be enhanced.
The measure that the developers are now taking is world levels or “World Brackets” in the endgame, which allows you to determine the level of your enemies and your loot.
This works as follows: Once your character reaches level 30, a notification will appear in the game that you can now set the entire world to level 30. This affects the NPCs in missions, in the underground, in the Dark Zone, in incursions – and even in the open world.
This means that the open world will be valuable again! In other words, you can farm Bullet King again. Named NPCs will have an increased chance to drop the best loot of the respective world level. But that’s not all:
Because all enemies can drop the best loot with Update 1.4. Even “normal” NPCs can drop loot, albeit with a low probability. This is particularly interesting for solo agents, as you can run through the open world, take down enemies, and there is a chance you will receive good items.
Exception: In incursions, only bosses can still drop loot.
Important notes on World Level
In the stream, four different world levels were shown, referred to as “Tiers”. There are Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4.
Update:
Tier 1: Loot up to score 163 – Enemy level 30
Tier 2: Loot up to score 182 – Enemy level 31
Tier 3: Loot up to score 204 – Enemy level 32
Tier 4: Loot up to score 229 – Enemy level 33
By the way: There are no enemies at level 34 or 35 anymore. Level 33 is the maximum.
Additionally: The gear sets now have the same stats as high-end items with Update 1.4. Consequently, 229 is the new maximum for all items.
Info about loot: You will receive the best loot of the respective world tier at all difficulty levels! Even if you play on “Normal”. If you play on “Hard” or “Challenging,” the chances of getting more of the best loot will simply increase. In short: At higher difficulty levels, you do not get better loot, just more frequent good loot.
The challenge mode is available from Tier 2 and the heroic mode is only selectable in Tier 4. Additionally, “Heroic” can only be selected in incursions.
Overall, this makes progression clearer and more structured. You fight your way through the endgame from one tier to the next. In doing so, you can determine the difficulty each time. If you have the skills in The Division, you can choose a higher difficulty and progress faster.
Additionally: If a buddy is in a higher tier, you can still join him. You will then also receive the better loot. There are no restrictions regarding playing together with friends.
You can also downgrade the world tiers anytime. However, you must first advance in a tier to unlock the next one.
What do you think of this?
