[Megathread] The Division 2

[SirCowdog]

what timer/exploit bug? I thought having to week to get enough cumulative points was intended? to the point where in first leagues, when people lost their prior week's progress, they specifically addressed it as a bug, and patched it out.

I thought being at the top of leaderboards was just for e-peen, same as clan leaderboards, etc?

People getting below 5 minute times on the timed league missions. When it's not even possible to run through those levels with no enemies that fast. It has something to do with rogues showing up, and a few people have said that the timer resets if you disconnect then reconnect.

And yeah, it's only for bragging rights. But for people who want competition that isn't direct PVP, it's a valuable thing to have in the game. And when it's based on faulty design like this, it might as well just not have had dev time wasted on it in the first place. :/

[Witchblade77]

People getting below 5 minute times on the timed league missions. When it's not even possible to run through those levels with no enemies that fast. It has something to do with rogues showing up, and a few people have said that the timer resets if you disconnect then reconnect.

And yeah, it's only for bragging rights. But for people who want competition that isn't direct PVP, it's a valuable thing to have in the game. And when it's based on faulty design like this, it might as well just not have had dev time wasted on it in the first place. :/

ooooh, gotcha. i don't know why its not fixed, but i also have no idea how people are even doing that. but I do see how this sort of cheating, just renders any legitimate effort pointless :/

[SirCowdog]

ooooh, gotcha. i don't know why its not fixed, but i also have no idea how people are even doing that. but I do see how this sort of cheating, just renders any legitimate effort pointless :/

Because it takes away a reason to push for faster times. Maybe that's not important to everyone. But it's important to many. And when you can't even tell which times are legit and which aren't, the entire leaderboard becomes pointless.

You don't really need to understand fully, tbh. You just need to know that it could have been important to some players, and it's been ruined.

[Witchblade77]

Because it takes away a reason to push for faster times. Maybe that's not important to everyone. But it's important to many. And when you can't even tell which times are legit and which aren't, the entire leaderboard becomes pointless.

You don't really need to understand fully, tbh. You just need to know that it could have been important to some players, and it's been ruined.

I.. thought that's what i said? trust me I get it. just because i'm personaly not interested in pushing leaderboards, doesn't mean i don't get it.

very few things are as disenhearting as making a ton of effort to accomplish something... only to see someone cheat their way through and get better results than you did. I get it. i get why it sucks and it absolutely needs to be patched.

it still NOT being patched is the part that i'm slightly confused about, they really should make it a priority vs nerfing fun :/ I guess they cannot pinpoint what's causing the bug or something, especially while working from home? its the only reason i can see why this bug is still there. (and I have no idea how the bug is even triggered. SO and i just run stuff normally. the one time we got rogues on timed run, got overconfident and wiped... our timer didn't reset. it never reset when we'd just die either. basically i don't know or understand how this cheat is being triggered)

[SirCowdog]

I.. thought that's what i said?

Sorry, people in other threads pushing my buttons. I misread what you wrote. :/

[Coldkil]

I keep seeing YT videos where some guy comes out with this new super fancy effective build, then it's either a variation of meta with Eagle Bearer (which is as OP as it was before - so get braced for everyone runs it like it was before the xpack) or some sort of "hey these two talents work very well together" hipstery build that then proceeds to play in group heroic missions with no directives on.

I mean, what's the point. They're not effective builds. They work, they have synergies, but then no one is going to use them because the usual full red does everything much better and faster than that.

[SirCowdog]

I keep seeing YT videos where some guy comes out with this new super fancy effective build, then it's either a variation of meta with Eagle Bearer (which is as OP as it was before - so get braced for everyone runs it like it was before the xpack) or some sort of "hey these two talents work very well together" hipstery build that then proceeds to play in group heroic missions with no directives on.

I mean, what's the point. They're not effective builds. They work, they have synergies, but then no one is going to use them because the usual full red does everything much better and faster than that.

I noticed that as well. Mostly I chalk it up to content creators struggling to find material. And to be fair, I watch A LOT of build videos an pull a little bit of useful information from most. But you're right that most of them are just weird combinations of two talents that work together, or just a bunch of red cored thrown together with an exotic or M1A, and not really a "build".

I've thought about throwing together a list of actual builds, but it sort of seems pointless under the current dynamic. There are only a handful of actual effective builds, and everything else is just fluff that only works because anything below heroic is a cakewalk where literally anything works.

[Coldkil]

I noticed that as well. Mostly I chalk it up to content creators struggling to find material. And to be fair, I watch A LOT of build videos an pull a little bit of useful information from most. But you're right that most of them are just weird combinations of two talents that work together, or just a bunch of red cored thrown together with an exotic or M1A, and not really a "build".

I've thought about throwing together a list of actual builds, but it sort of seems pointless under the current dynamic. There are only a handful of actual effective builds, and everything else is just fluff that only works because anything below heroic is a cakewalk where literally anything works.

Exactly. I am (or was since now everythign crashed and i keep getting the UNIFORM-01 error) doing the bleeding/elite cleaners steps for the league, playing heroic no directives with full red pestilence and i just mow down everything. The game looks really so much easier - but not only because i removed obvious challenges, the enemies seem to just have less hp? Oh well not a problem. I can play like this and farm less SHD (or more? if i die less, xp/hour should be better).

I could play another build - i found a pretty cool combo between reds and yellows with turret and weapon of choice (hoping on an Eagle, that thing is just so good for Vigilance/Glass Cannon since the immunity buff), but while it's fun, i can just do the same but faster going full red.

EDIT: i am saving those ideas though. I would play shotgun, i would play oxidizer, but right now it has no sense doing that. Let's see in june how it goes.

[SirCowdog]

Exactly. I am (or was since now everythign crashed and i keep getting the UNIFORM-01 error) doing the bleeding/elite cleaners steps for the league, playing heroic no directives with full red pestilence and i just mow down everything. The game looks really so much easier - but not only because i removed obvious challenges, the enemies seem to just have less hp? Oh well not a problem. I can play like this and farm less SHD (or more? if i die less, xp/hour should be better).

You're saying heroic no directives feels easier than before? Is that because you switched from the M1A to pestilence?

I could play another build - i found a pretty cool combo between reds and yellows with turret and weapon of choice (hoping on an Eagle, that thing is just so good for Vigilance/Glass Cannon since the immunity buff), but while it's fun, i can just do the same but faster going full red.

EDIT: i am saving those ideas though. I would play shotgun, i would play oxidizer, but right now it has no sense doing that. Let's see in june how it goes.

I really enjoyed my mixed red/yellow speed run build using striker drone. But it seems like they wrecked the AI on it. Before it seemed to just pick its own targets and constantly attack. Now it mostly just hangs out by your head unless you specifically order it to attack. Very annoying in the chaos of a speed run.

I still feel like there's a build missing. I haven't played one yet that just clicked with me. For lack of a better description, there's a flow of combat that's missing. The shield builds(both crusader and bulwark) come pretty close, but are a little too slow. And not using a shield means spending an unacceptable amount of time cowering behind cover.

I don't know. Maybe what I'm looking for doesn't exist with current talents and gear.

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@Coldkil

How do you handle the directive of special ammo? Just equip a lot of hazard protection? Especially against Black Tusk, it appears that even a single bullet striking me or my shield will shock.

Have we ever looked into the possibility of magnitude when it comes to status effects? Or is it binary? On or off, with only damage and duration being the variables.

I just can seem to figure out why some special ammo hits don't do anything, but some do. Shock seems to always take effect. But flame bullets from outcasts or bleed bullets from True Sons don't always. And I haven't been able to figure out why other than it has something to do with the shield.

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Also, this is random. But someone on the official forums claims that having a shotgun with "damage to armor" equipped and out, will apply that damage to armor through your skills.

[Witchblade77]

doing abandoned tanker. actualy doing decently. not a perfect timed run, but decent enough. middle of killing last boss - made her come down and everything she already healed once, all her adds are gone, we are like 30 seconds away from taking her down..... power goes out. sigh.....

[Coldkil]

How do you handle the directive of special ammo? Just equip a lot of hazard protection? Especially against Black Tusk, it appears that even a single bullet striking me or my shield will shock.

I don't handle it at all. Same full red build. If you get hit you die. And yes, bleed/fire ammo don't affect you if they hit the shield, confusion/shock do.

Armor dmg affect any dmg, even status. If you put a bleed with one weapon, then swap you'll see the dot doing more dmg even if it was already applied. Dmg out of cover doesn't though. But status builds are bad in pve as statuses don't have stacks, so once it's applied you have to wait till it goes away. Makes no sense. Pestilence is how statuses should work, but that's not a status (also you cannot apply itto robots but if it jumps from someone to a robot it does dmg wtf)

[KrayZ33]

Pestilence is how statuses should work, but that's not a status (also you cannot apply itto robots but if it jumps from someone to a robot it does dmg wtf)

Imagine the Pestilence buff as a stackable status effect. Woaaaaaaaaaaaah, I'd totally love that.

I remember getting the bleed and fire debuff with the bullwark shield though?


Btw. the devs of Remnant made bleeds and burn stack 3 times and in their most recent update, they balanced things around that.
Just saying, to bash Massive a little again.

[Coldkil]

Imagine the Pestilence buff as a stackable status effect. Woaaaaaaaaaaaah, I'd totally love that.

I remember getting the bleed and fire debuff with the bullwark shield though?


Btw. the devs of Remnant made bleeds and burn stack 3 times and in their most recent update, they balanced things around that.
Just saying, to bash Massive a little again.

well, it is. its a debuff for 100% wd over x seconds and stacks up to 50 times, plus it jumps to a random enemy in a 25m range when you kill it.

just it doesn't scale with the status effect stat. statuses are weird in d2, and i assume it's only due to pvp. they dont stack nor get refreshed if reapplied. they scale with weapon damage, but not the shot damage itself. you can make a build full red cores and status dmg, but it just sucks as bleeds do just a little more compared to a classic full red build. even the talents are shit, only two worth are sadist/pyro because they increase wd. even using dots as a secondary dmg source, either you'spreading them manually otherwise its crap, and requires a proper setup/weapon swapping.

[KrayZ33]

well, it is. its a debuff for 100% wd over x seconds and stacks up to 50 times, plus it jumps to a random enemy in a 25m range when you kill it.

Because it's not a status effect, it's a debuff - that's what I meant.

If it were a status efffect, it would be awsome.
You could go status effect, weapon damage and another stat you prefer and do really decent with the pestilence damage wise. That thing jumps to and kills target behind cover before they even peek once already.

And I actually thought that a fire build with status damage could do some respectable damage while also doing some nice CC work. (Tech based though). Because both skill damage and status damage supposedly stack up the burn damage, or the skill itself (can't quite remember)

I mean, without any +status effect (just tech and skill damage), that firestarter thingy for the chem launcher already deals roughly 6m from the dot alone when I use the +50% thingy on my weapon. I always thought you could push it alot higher. Considering that I did try that out
without a chest piece that buffs skill damage (if there is a talent for that)

[SirCowdog]

I don't handle it at all. Same full red build. If you get hit you die. And yes, bleed/fire ammo don't affect you if they hit the shield, confusion/shock do.

Armor dmg affect any dmg, even status. If you put a bleed with one weapon, then swap you'll see the dot doing more dmg even if it was already applied. Dmg out of cover doesn't though. But status builds are bad in pve as statuses don't have stacks, so once it's applied you have to wait till it goes away. Makes no sense. Pestilence is how statuses should work, but that's not a status (also you cannot apply itto robots but if it jumps from someone to a robot it does dmg wtf)

I admit I'd be interested to know how you do heroics without getting hit.

But yeah, the damage to armor is bizarro. I was reading an explosive/skill build guide, and I guess damage to armor also applies to things like the mortar turret! Which means if you have a shotgun out, and contractor's gloves....your mortar REALLY hits like a truck!


It's so sad though. The more I learn about how WONY works, the worse it gets. You can tell they didn't do their homework at all. Didn't research problems that other games have solved years ago. Didn't think armor through. There's all kinds of strange overlaps that don't make ANY sense, like having a shotgun in your hands making your mortar do more damage to armor. WTF is that? Amateur hour!

Sigh....what a waste of what could have been an amazing game.

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Btw. the devs of Remnant made bleeds and burn stack 3 times and in their most recent update, they balanced things around that.
Just saying, to bash Massive a little again.

Guildwars 2 has been doing stacks of debuffs, with both intensity and duration since 2012. So...yeah.

[KrayZ33]

Guildwars 2 has been doing stacks of debuffs, with both intensity and duration since 2012. So...yeah.

Yes, of course, but Remnant is gameplaywise so close to The Division, that you'd think they could learn from each other. But we all know it's just Massive who could learn from others :P

[SirCowdog]

Yes, of course, but Remnant is gameplaywise so close to The Division, that you'd think they could learn from each other. But we all know it's just Massive who could learn from others :P

I actually do really think it's a couple of devs, in positions of power or authority, that have some weird-assed vision of what The Division is supposed to be, and refuse to change that vision no matter what feedback they get.

The whole "climb the mountain" thing in the state of the game comes to mind.

The idea that the game is supposed ot be a cover-shooter, but you're constantly bombarded by things to push you out of cover.

Being a looter-shooter where the loot is always crap.

Agents are supposedly these crazy badass operatives with the best gear, yet literally everyone we fight has better stuff.

Nonsensically splitting development between making the game a PVE shooter, a PVP team-based shooter, an open world PVPVE free-for-all, and a raid-based RPG shooter. I mean...christ...it's so schizophrenic.

[Coldkil]

-snip-

I'd REALLY like to see shock trap actually work. anyway i managed to make a "john fucking madden inferno build" - i need some specific pieces still but basically i found how to use Acosta reliably and it's awesome. I'll be probably running all skill dmg and status.

Pestilence is great.

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-snip-

Its not a completely no hit run, but in the end if you can destroy people from afar before they can harm you too much, status are not an issue. Directives are frustrating but they reward nice xp, so i think they're good. Though i stopped using them, i'll probably gradually get back to no heal and no map since they don't impact difficulty a lot.

The reduced ammo one is bugged right now - it gives you 1/4 of the total instead of 1/2, so stay away from that (when before kt was basically free exp)

[SirCowdog]

Its not a completely no hit run, but in the end if you can destroy people from afar before they can harm you too much, status are not an issue. Directives are frustrating but they reward nice xp, so i think they're good. Though i stopped using them, i'll probably gradually get back to no heal and no map since they don't impact difficulty a lot.

The reduced ammo one is bugged right now - it gives you 1/4 of the total instead of 1/2, so stay away from that (when before kt was basically free exp)

I wondered why ammo was so low with that directive. Although boomerang helps quite a lot with that.

Are you using acostas go bag and mad bomber? There was. Status build I saw once that suggested it with survivalist, since ir makes the fire grenade radius stupid huge, and as long as you kill a burning enemy from the nade it counts as a kill and refunds the nade supposedly.

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Something I've noticed while running 5 directives on normal:

I use the Spotter talent along with the technician laser pointer weapon mod, and so every room I enter I scan all the enemies before opening fire. I prioritize killing anything with specialized ammo first, but sometimes other enemies will just randomly get specialized ammo. I mean, guys who I've already looked at and I KNOW they didn't have it. They'll jump behind cover, and the icon for special ammo will just pop up above their head. I've even literally been shooting at an NPC that didn't have it, when the icon just appears over their head.

How does this even happen? Is it like Rikers, where there's a leader that hands it out? Is it some weird mechanic where one enemy in the pack ALWAYS has it, and so it jumps from one to another?

[Coldkil]

I wondered why ammo was so low with that directive. Although boomerang helps quite a lot with that.

Are you using acostas go bag and mad bomber? There was. Status build I saw once that suggested it with survivalist, since ir makes the fire grenade radius stupid huge, and as long as you kill a burning enemy from the nade it counts as a kill and refunds the nade supposedly.

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Something I've noticed while running 5 directives on normal:

I use the Spotter talent along with the technician laser pointer weapon mod, and so every room I enter I scan all the enemies before opening fire. I prioritize killing anything with specialized ammo first, but sometimes other enemies will just randomly get specialized ammo. I mean, guys who I've already looked at and I KNOW they didn't have it. They'll jump behind cover, and the icon for special ammo will just pop up above their head. I've even literally been shooting at an NPC that didn't have it, when the icon just appears over their head.

How does this even happen? Is it like Rikers, where there's a leader that hands it out? Is it some weird mechanic where one enemy in the pack ALWAYS has it, and so it jumps from one to another?

if its outcasts, their support places a box of special ammo and they go there to get them.

not the others.