The Division Update 1.4 Features Big Changes
By Boston Blake 16 September 2016
During a State of the Game livesteam, Massive developers shared a few details about changes coming to the game with the 1.4 update, but will they be enough?
It’s no secret that Tom Clancy’s The Division is currently in dire straights. After a stellar start, the cover-based shooter quickly started hemorrhaging players thanks to a severely broken endgame. Fortunately, Ubisoft Massive is working hard to remedy the situation and is preparing a massive update, set to drop next month, that will overhaul much of The Division’s core features.
Until now, talk of what’s coming with October’s huge 1.4 update have been vague. But thanks to this week’s State of the Game livesteam by Massive, The Division players are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. While the livestream presenters didn’t share everything that’s coming with update 1.4, they hit on a few of the most controversial issues currently plaguing The Division. And so far, the planned updates look good.
Time to Kill
Even the most die hard fans freely admit the enemies in The Division are overpowered bullet-sponges. The time to kill enemies in the endgame are way too long, with enemies running through dozens or hundreds of bullets with nary a mark. On the flip side, players in the endgame die incredibly fast. Sometimes it takes only a single, well-placed shot from an enemy to drop a player for good.
Naturally, the current time to kill, both of players and enemies, isn’t fun, and is a big reason The Division has lost 95 percent of its player base in just six months. What makes this so frustrating is the initial player progression to the max level of 30 is a pleasant experience, but once players hit endgame, the issues become unbearable.
During the livestream, the Massive representatives confirmed they are reworking time to kill in the endgame to better match the experience players had during the leveling process. This change, alone, could be enough to bring players flocking back to The Division. Fortunately, this is only one of many planned updates that should give players a more positive, ongoing experience.
World Level Selection
Another major complaint among The Division players is the abysmal loot system. Loot drops are rare, and when they do happen are so limited by the game’s RNG (random number generator) system that it can take days or weeks for players to find even one loot item they want. For a loot game, this is a serious problem.
Much of the issue with loot revolves around the difficulty system in The Division. The loot players need now is only available in the higher difficulties, but players can’t play those higher difficulties without the loot only available in those difficulties. Players are unable to progress at a consistent rate, so they leave the game.
The World Level selection will aim to correct that. Players will be able to select the difficulty they want for their world, and the activities will match that level. Additionally, players will be able to collect loot in their current level that will help them advance to the next level, ultimately leading them in a smooth progression to the most challenging World Level.
Each of these levels will have its own enemy level. The lowest tier will have level 30 enemies. Tier two will have level 31, tier three will have 32, and tier four will have level 33 bad guys. Massive is completely removing level 34 and 35 enemies.
