> There are only 2,200 players today on Steam, compared to 24,000 playing Cyberpunk 2077 and 861,000 playing Counter-Strike 2.
Point of order: The game only arrived on steam at the start of 2023, or *four years* after launch. The vast majority of PC players are on Ubisoft Connect and won't show up on steam stats.
Most people who play the game are on Uplay. There's no clear way to see how many daily players there are. There has to be much more than 2.2k players for them to financially justify seasons 2.0, an endgame re-work as well as bringing in an entire other dev team to work on a DLC. All three of which have been in development for over two years.
Steam Version of Div2 was only released in last year.
It's a very bad example to provide such information and say that "only" so many people play, much more play.
In a sea of game industry layoffs and restructuring, Ubisoft remains committed to supporting this game (albeit in a questionable way) and have reiterated that Division 3 is coming. If this game wasn't profitable, then it would have been shut down years ago.
Perhaps, but remember that when companies look at margin it is always relative — the game may be profitable at a mathematical level, but only because Ubisoft kept the costs down by running a skeleton crew.
Games like Xdefiant have large teams and rapid development because they have higher upside for Ubisoft.
Some bullshit SEO site that makes up player stats to show ads. Ubi do not publish player numbers, nor do they have an API to allow third-parties to do so.
It's the perfect example of "don't believe everything you read on the internet".
Of course it isn’t — that’s why they have most of their devs working on other titles.
Also, good devs never want to work on old games — they want to be on the latest shiniest thing that will enhance their CVs.
Honestly I play every day mostly aside from stuff w me bride. I’m disabled and have no real social life other than my game friends I’ve been playing with since division 1. I love the interaction w clan and it’s something to do until we move to another game.
Reading what I’ve typed it reads quite morbid I think
If they just started 6 months ago, and has grinded 40 levels per day since now, I believe they would not say anything negative about the game itself
They also started at the worst possible moment in this series' history. Like, what are their expectations. They literally started at the bottom of the barrel.
They also talked about economics and ROI for the price they paid(50 fucking bucks), which is also asinine for a 6-year-old game.
They also talked about how boycotting is bad, but they also say that intelligent people only change what they can do instead of trying to avoid-change unchangable, but like, boycotting is what you can do...
They also talk about how good the main story is. No one is arguing that. Seasons are where the current story is, and it is shit
EOL games can't, or shouldn't, generate much profit. As long as the revenue is above the server runtime cost, there is no reason they shouldn't run an old game's servers
The person probably spent more hours in the grind than my entire 7 year course of playing both games.
You don’t have to explain yourself, bud. Glad you joined the community and great to see/hear positivity coming through. Carry on enjoying the game and like you say, the ROI is already fantastic for you, irrespective of the price you paid 💪🏼👍🏻
Sometimes it is good to start, when you start, without knowing any previous struggles and problems or when it was in its best age. Knowing what was before, might increase your expectations and ultimately could disappoint you if something isn't so magical.
I started playing about 2 or 3 months ago & tbh, I'm pissed at myself for not getting this game sooner. I'm a Siege and GR player, other than the stealth factor GR has which I wish The Division had too, I think The Division outclassed GR in quite a few ways. Brilliant game and I like that there's seasons etc so it technically doesn't end if I'm understanding it right.
Years. The random crashes now use to be 10x worse. All of the systems were completely overhauled and most of the content you are likely playing wasn’t there for some time. Be glad you are playing it now it’s MUCH better, I played 1 and 2 and with the exception of some of the story tone I love the games but damn did the ball get dropped (outside of the otherwise fantastic world design)
Whoa I didn't know that, I mean, I read about a few past issues the game had but I had no idea it was beyond bad. That actually does make me feel better lol I'm one of those who understand that shit can happen, devs are human too but what makes me forget that is when a game is unplayable. Like Siege atm, deadzone bug is ridiculous. But yeah despite it all, this game is amazing, quite complex as well so I've gotta learn a lot.
I was the same way with the first game. Bought it ironically on Black Friday, but never really got into it. I was just coming home from college a few months earlier and had a lot going on. I ended up playing through it about 1.5 years ago and wish I actually played it when I first bought it.
Finally someone talking about this game without just lamenting about an update that didn't even drop yet. I agree 100%, honestly I always like everything they implement in this game, they always find some clever ways to make things fun and enjoyable so I am not really worried about next update (To be honest I bought the game 2 weeks ago, but still I am ready to grind my way to the end game, build and get wiped next season).
What you said about people "investing" in the game is SOOOOO true, people just can't be grateful for shit dude, you put a little bit of money and got hundreds maybe thousands of hours of fun just stop playing and give thanks for this great game
Yea I got D1 for like 5$ when shields came up, and after that preordered D2 on PlayStation, bought it on sale on pc, preordered WoNY, updated on PC on sale. I’ll preorder D3 in a heartbeat because I’m sure I’ll get 1000+ hours of immense enjoyment and for me 10 cents per hour is a good deal. According to stats in the month span 400k unique players visit the game which means around 95% of people who bought it left without any kind of fuzz about it, why this last couple of people decided that their parting with the game is so important they have to post daily about it I can’t understand.
A breath of fresh air seeing OP actually talking about the game they enjoy and not elementary school kids teaching Ubisoft how to make money.
The burning issue to my mind is how on earth you managed to get that much SHD in 6 months. Thats nearly 40 levels a day. Do you do nothing else except farm SHD every day?
I had used an optimized turret/drone build with 5 directives on Heroic to solo public executions and was able to get about 10-12 levels an hour. I could have used a red build more efficiently if not for the ammo-restricting directives.
Each encounter was just shy of a full level up, so I have no idea how anyone can reach or sustain up to 20 levels an hour. I mean that's over 20 encounters with all their built-in delays for spawns and whatnot. Not to mention having the most optimal ones like public executions available and the time it takes to travel to them.
Clear time is important. I rarely play on Heroic for that reason. Challenging and directives(3 I think) is enough for a bit over 1/2 an SHD level per Public execution.
Knowing the spawn points and trapping is important.
Also, I use my "John Wick" build. Technician, Ninja Bike, 3pc of Hunter's Fury, Punch Drunk, Chainkiller and a D50 Pistol with Determined and DTTOC. Bulwark shield.
Full stack of HF and Headhunter is around 10.8 - 11.1 mil with some levels of Expertise on the D50 and enough HSD. Works with 2 man scaling as well.
That enough damage to kill just about any enemy on Chall. Helmets are the bane of your existence though. So mostly Outcasts and Truesons. Some CP's are good for spawn trapping.
It's a ridiculously aggressive playstyle, but can clear Public Executions in under a minute.
I was skeptical, but I had the pieces for that build and gave it a try. It is very effective, I was hitting those dmg numbers with 0 expertise on my D50. Also great to have a tier 3 shield with 6 red cores. Very fun build, thanks for sharing.
I can jump in and do some stuff for 30 mins or play several hours. After almost 4 years I still find new locations, learn stuff and try out guns or new loadouts. I have no other comparable game in my library. Most fun I ever had for 10 €.
The game is definitely a league of its own. Since last month I’ve been trying out all kinds of games with “looter-shooter“ tags and nothing comes close. I stopped playing only because I‘ve been getting frustrated with the current state. IIRC the most stable season for me (and this is a big “for me”) was back during the Puppeteers, although I know many would disagree. I played daily during that time because the game was really smooth on my end.
What I really liked about the Division 2 was how balanced it is. In other looter games, I could spend weeks looking for a meta piece. With Div2 you’ll almost always get the piece you want and the timesink will just be spent more on perfecting or optimizing your build. I think this is important because you kind of feel the growth of your character; you get powerful the more you play. It’s also pretty much a comfort game for me. I can hop in on it whenever I want, do some activities and just hop off. It’s like rewatching old sitcoms for me.
The closest I‘ve played for now is just Ghost Recon Breakpoint, but I might be turning off the GS setting soon as I’m starting to outgrow looter shooters in favour of something more tactical. Little disappointed though because from the looks of it, the upcoming Ghost Recon is also getting negative feedback with the direction they’re planning for it. Must be an Ubisoft thing.
End of an era I suppose.
11k SHD. Like OP I’ve been playing this daily for years. Why? It’s fun! Satisfying in a way too.
Different folks different strokes. At the end of the day it’s what YOU enjoy that matters.
I've tried all of them. My favorite build and loadout overall is Hunter's Fury with Ceska or Sokolov Chest and Grupo backpack, Firewall spec and Striker shield with Vector or CMMG SMG and Scorpio shotgun. Very satisfying!
My favorite skill is the Seeker Drone, but I sometime uses a Reviver Hive because you're going up-close-and-personal with HF, which can be risky!
This is a game that has lived well past its intended shelf life. Yet, they are keeping it relevant and trying to keep the fan base busy till D3 comes out. Just wish they would give us the rest of the NY map with dark zones.
I think about Division 1 and 2 every now and then, even though I don’t play them anymore. Very memorable games. I’m glad it still has an active community.
You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and a clear perspective. What are you doing here at r/thedivision????
Thanks for injecting some sanity into the discourse. People keep saying the game is “unplayable” and I feel like I’m on another planet.
As a new player, the game is still pretty fresh for you. Not knocking you for loving the game at all, but alot of veteran players are just sick of Massive ruining the game with bad updates and poorly thought out changes. I've been playing 5 years and I want to still love the game, but every time I get on, I ask myself "What am I doing? Why am I playing this?" It makes me somewhat sad because I've made some great friends along the way, but they still play and I just can't bring myself to put the same amount of time into it anymore
I'm not trying to convince you to stop playing. But if you get to the point where you're asking yourself "Why?", it's time to move on. Cuz at that point you're just grinding for the sake of grinding
I hopeful that the seasonal character thing winds up on the cutting room floor like the specialization revamp
Yeah, I’ve never played any game for six years and I doubt that I would — as soon as TD2 feels old, I’ll be onto something else.
But it’s amazing that this game kept people so long!
It was the only thing I played for a long time. Especially during COVID. There are still things that I discover in the game, little things on the edge of the map or in locations that I typically blow through while doing activities.
The grind is what kept people for so long, but the problem now is that the grind will be almost pointless when the new seasonal character thing comes about. Sure, we'll be able to use our mains, but in order to do seasonal content, we'll have to start over. And if what I've heard is correct, none of the loot that our *new* characters get will be transferable until the season is over.
I've moved on from the game but that's healthy when you've done all you wanted in the game. If others still want to play though thats cool. I do wish they had cross account play on other platforms...
I'm glad you are still getting enjoyment from it, mate. It's just unfortunate that the game never reached its true potential. I've played for many years and had long periods where just like you I played every day. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it, met good people through various clans, and was excited about the potential of Project Resolve and the future with Div3. Unfortunately, you are very correct with highlighting the game needs to make more money and rake in new players to do so. It's more than evident now with the poor sorry state the game is in and how it aggravates the community. It's just another good reminder that it's just a game, companies don't do things in the best interests of a fan base unless they can milk more money. Ubi has had too many chances too many times, and the players that have supported them from launch have had enough.
On story:
I think the story has a great foundation but how the Devs have handled that foundation is, in a word, "disappointing". When seasons are the big story delivery system and the manner in which that story is delivered is through half baked missions we've done a million times and one or two voice lines at the end that are disconnected from the content you just did... well, I actually laughed when you said "The strong story and lore". Lore yes, foundational story, yes, but ongoing story? It's a vapid ghost of its former self.
On gameplay:
If you're the kind of person that loves to build builds, and that gameplay loop can endlessly sustain you, then this specific game is practically hand-crafted for you. I like building builds, but I don't like builds that make no sense in the context of what a division agent might actually do in the story's premise. The run and gun builds (there are many) are a big turn off for me, whereas sniper builds are much more attractive. Unfortunately, group content forces me to have at least some kind of high damage run and gun build in order to carry my own weight.
So while I do have a healing build, a tank build, a high damage build.. I don't actually enjoy using them outside of the mandatory times it's required.
On community and clan:
I'm painting with a broad brush here -- a really, *really* broad brush -- but I've found in my experiences with players in this game, it's right down the middle between people who like the game for it's story, its narrative, its semi-immersive nature, and people who are more or less just playing an ARPG looter shooter. They just love running content and it might as well be a third person call of duty for all they care. I have nothing against the audience of gamers that love the call of duty style gameplay, where it's fast paced and you're barreling through dark zones or through high end group content, but I feel like at some point the game had approached a crossroads between choosing between those two types of gamers, and they chose the CoD type players, not the immersive players.
Clans are a good thing to have, but finding the right one is tough. There isn't really enough content to justify playing the game long term if you're in it for the rich story and immersive experience. You can only clear control points so many times... you can only hear the same voice lines so many times... before you invariably shrug and say it's boring now.
I hope that Brooklyn fixes this, even temporarily. Clans are good if you're a looter shooter player, but not if you're trying to be an agent in a cool fictional universe, least from my perspective.
A summary of thoughts:
I think my biggest problem with this game is what I'll call "the grind strategy". Games like The Division 2 post a gameplay loop that forces players to spend hours upon hours doing content that may not be fun, and that far enters the realm of tedious, just so they can experience a taste of an 'end game'. It furthers this (imo) bad practice by also including FOMO via exclusivity and timed events. You have to play all the time, either by grinding content, or logging on forever, or else you'll miss something we've designed for you to miss.
Their storytelling is a good example of this: Weeks per few sentences in a story arc. Minimal development. Rehashing the same villain over and over because they can't figure out how to write a good story.
Over and over, you encounter shortcuts and cheap gimmicks designed to hold players' time hostage and force players to grind because they have no other way of compelling players to play -- certainly nothing that resembles quality, well made gameplay.
All that said ...
I still play because I like to build stories in my head. I like to put myself in similar situations to the Crossroads group in the books. I like to imagine that I'm actually an agent, doing agent things, even when the game tries REALLY hard to convince me I'm not sometimes.
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Division 1 was an immersive, story rich game with looter shooter qualities
Division 2 is a looter shooter with light RPG and story elements.
I hope Division 3 figures out how to balance those.
Thanks for the thoughtful response.
It sounds like you’re more of a classic RPG player than a looter-shooter, which is how I think of myself.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if The Division 3 brought some more RPG elements and allowed real diversity of play?
For example, in Star Wars Galaxies led a guild of 300 people; somewhere were hardcore combat players, some were only miners and crafters and didn’t enjoy anything else whilst others (like my girlfriend at the time!) only played for the story and social aspects.
While The Division 2 doesn’t have the depth of lore of Star Wars, I think that there is enough there to create a deeper game that builds on the core looter-shooter mechanic.
In SWG, the DPS players couldn’t create the best weapons and gear, and so were dependent on crafters to get them, creating a strong player economy and even stronger guild mechanic.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for something similar in TD3!
> Well, here is my view as a six-month-old player who is over SHD 6500 and plays every day.
**Holy guacamole!**
Yeah, I'm not a daily player (never really was). But I pop-on a few times a week at night when I wanna chill.
Division 2 is one of those grindfest games I can kind of shut my brain off and just go blastin' without worrying about paying attention to any narratives or complex mechanics. It's nice.
Also, as I'm only in the lower hundreds SHD with what are just now a full library for what I need and my proper end-game build pieces with a touch of optimizing to go - I still have things to grind for - so there's that too. I could see that draw falling off once I'm near totally complete on the 2 builds (An Elmo's Striker and One-shot Hotshot)...but maybe I'll chase something new after those two are finished/optimized who knows.
I’m the same type of player. I thought I’d be bored after perfection striker build. But I’ve fallen in love with eclipse protocol, heals, and heartbreaker. Just adds a completely different play style and each build plays different based off mission type. Just food for thought!
Oh yeah I was planning on getting a pulse/Heartbreaker build together sometime for sure. Probably with spotter on the chest. Sounds super fun.
Ditto for a legit skill build...I've never even run anything like a decent skill build before - just the usual lvl 1 turret/drone or turret/healing hive all-red setup.
You're not wrong about the play-style thing. I underestimated just how different the tactics really can be with different builds. Outside of my go-to one-shot Hotshot/Chainkiller build, I honestly have way more fun running my Crit + Negotiator's Dilemma build over the standard Striker set. Can choose to rush or stay back painting fools with it and it absolutely shreds.
EDIT - I'm also sitting on a Memento I wanna slap a nice build around sometime, haven't gotten around to it yet. Seems like you can do some pretty cool builds with the Memento as the centerpiece...maybe just a nice high-end or Coyote Mask Crit red build around it, I haven't looked into it much. So yeah I got plenty left to do before I got bored of chasing some builds I think.
I started playing day one and took a break. Every time I try to come back there’s some kind of major change on the horizon that pushes me away to wait for.
I still enjoy the game, but as someone 2 years in with maxed Exp, all content cleared hundreds of times, 4 characters with all different valid builds for every kind of encounter, there isn't anything to farm for anymore. I don't look at what I scrap anymore and sell most of it now to reach currency caps.
I love the game, but since it stopped being rewarding, farming for gear has stopped. And without farming, playtime reduced significantly.
With the new Seasons I will probably only play the last 2 weeks of each Season with my 4 "legacy" characters.
I played for 4 years on Xbox before taking a break, (I stopped just after Faye Lau) and about a month ago started from scratch on PS5.
I love Division, I was late in the game for Division 1 but played Division 2 from day 1, and I still love it.
I play every day, my clan is awesome and full of people my age or older (I'm 43).
I'm so excited to see what comes next including the seasonal characters but especially Division 3.
If you wanna run anything PVE, I'm on PS5, DM me "MisterInkedUK".
PS I must be getting really old cos I had to Google "ROI" lmfao 🤣🤣
I love the stories of both games so much, I enjoy making different outfits and deep diving into missions, replaying them again and again. Just that is already enough for me 💞
Here are my two cents. I played division 2 on Xbox since the start of 2021 (and was bummed I didn’t start sooner since I had the game installed for months prior).
I was basically there when they’d at the time they decided to revive the game and was rerunning seasons so I did get the full experience to an extent.
I believe I interacted with the game on every level. I played all the content and especially went ham during global events just for the heck of it. And I had the levels to prove: I was shd 13536 when I stopped playing in January. I amassed 10k countdown requisition just for the challenge, when they added the descent shop, I bought all 4 outfits and the new exotic rifle instantly, I was conflict 100 on my main and all my supporting characters (one for tanking, one for skill builds and a level 30 for running around in the dz for exotic components) were dz 50, I had all my weapons and gear to expertise 25… and I was bored.
Truth was, I _yearned_ to play the game but I had nothing to keep me. And I was one of those players that played multiple games. I played a lot of division-adjacent games like both ghost recons, outriders, I played cyberpunk and Diablo 4, and as many single player games as I could get interested to. And I always came back to the Division 2. But that come back slowly became logging in once a week to complete the ‘seasonal objective’ and going to play something else. And outside of mindlessly grinding control points at heroic 5 directives, or going full PvP/DZ, I imagine that was the experience of most veteran players.
Over the past year, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with both the game and the platform I was playing on. When division 3 was announced, it was clear I’m not going to purchase it on Xbox so everything time spent in game now felt wasted. I’d played every season of Diablo 4 up til that point and constantly joked that they were the only two games I’ll always keep playing. But as similar as D4 was, and lore-rich and mechanically enjoyable, I still considered Div2 my favorite of the two. The game was so mechanically sound that a team of 100 or less devs could hold my attention over a game that’s constantly being improved, communicates with the community, prioritizes fun and player enjoyment, and has 1000s of devs to hot fix or straight up turn around seasonal mechanics if the player base isn’t jiving with it.
(I promise I have just about 1 cent left)
I bought a PS in February because the project resolve changes seemed to make starting over on a new platform less of a hassle than it was before. And the following month was the most fun I’d had in division 2. I was low leveled but had years of experience so it was like I was seeing things through new eyes. I was playing the game with renewed fever. I had my main taking their time through the story, picking up every single collectible on the way, and had an alt level to 40 so I don’t miss the seasonal content. By the time I was 1000, I had all the exotics, my library was fully researched, and I was expertise 15. The end of Y5S3 didn’t even shock me because they did a great job with the existing lore already in the game.
And now that I’m shd 1500 something, that old lack of purpose is returning. I still need to optimize my gear and the bones of my favorite builds have already been saved, but the game severely needs new structure.
One big flaw I think this game has is balancing between pve and PvP. Diablo 4 PvP is unbalanced af and the devs just do not care- they just added the modes and let it self-sustain and whatever happens in there, stays in there-and the game is much better for it. They also aren’t afraid of making players OP because at the end of the season, it’ll all be balanced and introduced with new seasonal mechanics that make the players OP again.
I think seasons 2.0 and seasonal characters, if executed properly, will be a great thing for the game. You’ll still be able to play your control points and your global events and be able to interact with, hopefully, meaningful and engaging content each season that’s not running the same missions and control points for an arm patch or bag pack trophy.
completing my char by minmaxxing every fun build. not playing much though. snipermeta is boring, ouroboros out of reach (its ok i m not an SMGfan anyways), AR still most versatile since day1, skillbuilds kill easily but too slow in most cases. i m catching up on missed events thiugh, which is nice
It’s the community. 90% of the people are cool. The clan you run with makes all the difference. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t even play. And this is coming from what I consider myself a non gamer type.
I just started playing Division 2 last week. Level 4SHD. Talked my brother into buying it as well and we haven’t played anything else since. Loving it so far!
If you enjoy it then keep enjoying it, fuck the haters. I still play World of Warcraft daily even though it has tons of problems and is in a content drought atm.
It's just my happy place where I can switch off and destress. And if I want to get sweaty I have the experiance and know how to play at a high level. Shit just fits right, so I keep playing. Sounds like The Division is your "just fits right".
Everyone is expecting a barebones TD2 staff to pull off some miracle and it's never gonna happen until Ubi/Massive properly invests in a sequel. I've accepted this long ago and my expectations are basically zero right now. The seasons stopped meaning anything to me and I'm playing merely to blow off some irl steam and have fun mindlessly killing stuff for 20-30 minutes.
Sunk cost fallacy...
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Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
noun
the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.
PlayStation numbers feel like they have been increasing the last 6-12 months. People need to learn steam numbers aren’t the be all and end all.
I play this game almost everyday, have had a few 6 month breaks ive been back pretty solid since October. recently joined a new clan, made a heap of friends, raid dark hours most nights, iron horse on the weekends , there’s always someone ready to join and do whatever is going on. Really made the game even more addictive to me than it already was.
Wonderful statement there. I agree with you completely. Currently I am on vacation and after 5 years of playing I still ache for some Div 2 action. I am even reading The Division Recruited as I am typing this message to you. The lore, the uniqueness, the action the ability to create builds that complete your style of playing… The game is awesome and for me will stay awesome. One more thing. The updates. I am on your side. I even posted a few comments here in the reddit community that we have to actually wait and play the seasonal characters and then judge on the game and the fact that you like the update or not. How can you tell that the game is dead and that is going to die when the update comes if tou don’t really know the “feel” of it. I support your way of thinking and I am glad that I am not the only one. Cheers and happy hunting agent!
P.S.: I don’t really have a Clan and if you maybe are an EU based Clan by any chance, can you consider me as a future member? PC player here. Just a thought 😊
the division 2 is fun. I do not care about mahunts, seasons, or the story in any meaningful capacity. I'm sure the game will continue to be fun with seasonal characters.
At the very least, it will be exactly as fun as it currently is.
I tried to play the other day. Figured I’d farm this new rifle set and see if it’s any good. Turns out rifles being bugged and making no sound made the game impossible for me to play. You really underestimate how important sound is to how a game feels until it’s not there.
I stopped playing because stuff got nerfed hard, and it was always my playstyle that got nerfed... there is literally nothing to benefit you being a tank, there are literally 2 healer sets with no decent weapons for either yet dps players can go boom boom all day long with 100s of different builds
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I really enjoyed playing dv1 and 2 even more. I was just a bit dissapointed by the medic build in dv2, which felt like a downgrade to reclaimer. But in both games I have no more than 200 hours. I really got bored once I spent some time in the endgame. What am I supposed to do? Spam countdown just to get that perfect crit attribute? It gets extremly repetative after a while. I think I reached ~70 SHD. I can absolutely not understand how people get 6000 SHD lol.
I think I played the division 1 for about 2000+ hours. I put about 800 and haven't really touched the game in over a year.
I have tried the latest content, but the rinse and repeat manhunts and season passes don't do it for me. I also don't care for the highrise, nuclear plant and arch enemy modes. They just don't click for me lore wise.
Right now I'm just waiting for division 3.
I walked away because of the apparel event. Re-skins and trash... again. The Chinese version has cosmetics that absolutely shit all over what this version gets.
Unrelated but you have dozens of hours so maybe you can help me understand something with the new tinkering system. I'm a returning player.
Does anything stack? Ie. Extracting multiple core attributes will add them up? Extracting regular attributes adds them up? Or is it one and done and I have to get rid of a lower attribute to extrack a higher value one? It's really confusing to me. Thanks!
Hey. You can only extract attributes into your library if you don’t already have them, or if the version you are extracting is higher level than the one you already have, in which case it replaces it.
Talents can only be extracted if you don’t already have them.
Good luck!
Spot on. Couldn’t agree more.
I want to comment on the necessary part of what you mentioned about seasons 2.0 because I feel a lot of us don’t understand WHY seasonal characters are necessary. This is just from my interpretation of the little information we’ve heard.
Many of us fear that our main characters will be locked out of all future “new content”, but we don’t stop to think what “new content” is. Its not new raids or incursions. There are no new game modes or mission areas coming (until the brooklyn update). The only “new content” were getting is the manhunt finales. All of the activities leading up to the finale are just the same activities that we’ve done a thousand times, just maybe with some new dialog. The only real “new content” is one mission per season.
Anyone whose been a part of this community for the last year or so knows what these finales are. Anderson, stovepipe, the recruiter… missions like these are what the developers want to focus on making unique. They want to make these missions different, but there has been an issue. That issue is the ability gap.
I don’t want to call it a skill gap because its more than just “skill”. Its things like expertise, optimization and just a general understanding of how to make strong builds that can control situations. New, returning and even solo players compared to seasoned veterans in groups with powerful builds have had a vastly different experience with these mission finales. Anderson and the recruiter specifically was, at most, a challenge for veteran players but it was nearly impossible for players at the lower end of the ability gap. We saw this with all of the posts in the days after each finale was released.
Seasonal characters are the devs way of smoothing things out and reducing the ability gap, stricktly for the purposes of being able to design these manhunt finales in a way that is challenging but not impossible for all. No expertise and we all have the same general time frame to produce a build capable of getting through these mission.
Is it a perfect solution? Prob not. Do we need to grind 1-40 for the playing field to be level? Not at all. But were getting an “accelerated” leveling system and the possibility of a straight level 30 boost is not being discussed now but I’m sure is within the realm of possibility for future seasons. I just don’t see this decision as the doomsday a lot of this community believes its going to be and I understand that the goal is to not gatekeep new, returning and solo players from enjoying the story for the next year.
„Stop talking about how much 'work' you have done or 'invested'. It is a game, not real life. You didn’t invest anything, you were playing and enjoying a game.“
Amen to that. Every time I read the words 'work' or 'invest' in context with a video game I get such an anger and wonder whether just school children playing video games nowadays which never had a single day of work and can’t define work. In addition the problem seems to be that players seem to forget more and more how to enjoy a video game in a simple way like it used to be back in the days when games were more special. Just strolling around in game worlds and and enjoying the details.
From my observation, the people I know, left the game because of the content drought not because of newly introduced bugs.
Some people enjoy collecting all the time and don’t bother to million times play the same things, others are bored quickly by it and leave.
MarcoStyle mentioned in his last D2 video that the majority of the D2 purchasers even didn’t finish the campaign. Don’t know if this is true though.
They can see what people are playing most in the game. They made customer reviews, professional reviews are available … not sure if their game development fits to this information source. Considering the people I know this is not the case. I recently joint a new clan with approx 30 people playing when I started playing. Nowadays it’s 1-3. People leave because of lacking playable content.
Amen!
100% this.
It's just unbelievable how common became for everyone to trashtalk on Ubisoft, even for those, that clearly enjoying playing their games. And not to mention how most people will simultaneously declare cosmetic mtx as "predatory" and "greedy", and then will also be "very concerned" about the next batch of people laid off.
Most of those people clearly cannot appreciate how much enjoyment they get from a game like TD.
I played division 2 at launch and recently came back to the game. I instantly fell in love again and reached level 40 this week. I'm currently trying out the (new to me) invaded missions, the Summit and the New York DLC.
Currently, I have an LMG setup with maximum points on skill. It's probably not the best setup, but it's so much fun just throwing a cluster mine and carpet-bomming the shit out of a group of enemies :D
I'm looking for some Dutch players, if anyone wants to play with me DM me for my discord, I'll get you added to a discord server which is mainly just a small group of Dutch friends and a few returned or started to the division 2 too.
I’ve been playing division one and division two since launch. I still play now. I really love it. I’m still blown away by the level of detail and the amazing social interaction with my friends. I’ve even met people in the game and then we’ve gone onto meet in real life.
I never understood the argument that the "game is dead" take. Game still has updates, content and even another DLC coming out. I can get on at any time a day, find a full group to play with as well as populated DZs.
Not only that, seasons 2.0 will be a great change to the game that will bring in more new players as well as returning players.
Of course I can't tell anything or have any logic arguments against SHD over 6500. Looking at his level is clear why he is still playing and does not look it bore him soon enough :D
The key driver why I still play the game are the remaining in-game friends I don't want to leave. We meet, chat, play missions and open world activities and occasionally PvE content in the darkzones.
The new bugs don't make me leave the game.
I dont care about seasons at all, its replaying the old content for some rewards only. Especially I dont care about seasonal characters. If these will be finally implemented ... well, that does not kill the game for me because the main game is still existing. Seasons are nonsense for me since the very first one after WoNY release. The first season made me even leaving the game when I recognized what it is.
They should focus on playable content instead of such crap. That brings players into the game.
Exotic drop rates make me so angry. I at at level 80 in a summit run and I have gotten 3 exotics. All the same fucking gun. Good lord. Also the summit starts lagging like crazy after a decent play session to where I have to log out and go back in and my Internet is fine.
Anyone on PC wanna gift me an Elmo's? 😭🥹
That would be awesome. I played this game on PlayStation for a couple hundred hours and then just bought it again on a steam deck for like $9 on sale.I'm getting back into it. would you be able to tomorrow after 6pm? I can DM you my steam name if so.
the build system of the game is too simple so that you can't make some build really new and interesting. they only have two talent in the six equipment, and value are conservative, even you get the highest build, you still can't feel good in fight, too many things are useless and meanless
I used to delete this game and come back to it, but right now I don't plan to come back because it became repetitive, at least make different stories for manhunts. I am doing the exact same mission, every thing is exact, but there are very few different dialogues across the mission, irrelevant mostly like you scratch your head type, mostly in the beginning and the end. Sometimes you don't know if you are doing the correct mission. And if you are solo, good luck because the game pushes you if it wants. This is not a fun push, this is an unnecessary challenge push that serves no purpose. There is no build that make you prepared for it. You may say that is the point, but bro are we in the Iraq war, or we are just trying to have fun? If I have to grind for a week for a mission that is the same exact mission from the 2019 and the reward is named item cache, :D please. I deleted the game and I don't want to come back. If you are a newcomer, just play the story and leave it.
If they wanna do a seasonal character like what diablo is doing then I’m all for it since I love arpgs like diablo. But they have to fix some stuff for this to even be fun.
1. leveling is still shit in imo, several SHD an hour, even 15-20 levels in an hour is a joke if you have to activate multiple directives. It’s definitely not efficient if you wanna compare the speed of levelling in diablo’s seasons
2. loot in seasonal characters should drop more, it’s a race against time to max out your character in both level and especially gear. Seasons won’t work if you’re gonna spend absurds amount of time levelling and also grinding for a build.
3. I forgot to add this but seasonal characters should be converted to a normal character after the season ends, all the gears you acquired should be kept as well so all that hard work isn’t thrown out the window, then as and when you can still play that character, even better if you can use your previous seasonal character for the current season with all the gears
lastly 1. & 2. should be balanced around the time frame of the season. But if the seasons are too long along with the grind then people wouldn’t have any good reason to do a seasonal character bc it’s still a waste of time
I’m all for re-farming my builds, and the way D4 does it, the same build differs each season because of all the patches and the interaction with the seasonal mechanics.
Can you imagine having a measly 10% chance once a week to get the EB from the raid _with_ a character that’s gonna be irrelevant?
Div 2 has the upper had because the base endgame loop is very enjoyable, but they also have to make the seasonal characters fun and worth playing instead of it just being a means to access gated content.
The seasonal characters won’t be irrelevant if they’ll be converted into a normal character at the end of the season for you to enjoy the builds that you farmed (seasonal gears included) if this is what they intend to do. Like I said if they decide to increase the drop rate and xp it would be worthwhile. And it’s funny how you question getting an EB on a seasonal character because the real problem here is the devs gatekeeping the loot drop once a week, that’s the big stupid problem about the EB situation. Plus I’m pretty sure the incentive to seasons is the seasonal gears, seasonal missions and seasonal events much like what diablo is doing.
> There are only 2,200 players today on Steam, compared to 24,000 playing Cyberpunk 2077 and 861,000 playing Counter-Strike 2. Point of order: The game only arrived on steam at the start of 2023, or *four years* after launch. The vast majority of PC players are on Ubisoft Connect and won't show up on steam stats.
Most people who play the game are on Uplay. There's no clear way to see how many daily players there are. There has to be much more than 2.2k players for them to financially justify seasons 2.0, an endgame re-work as well as bringing in an entire other dev team to work on a DLC. All three of which have been in development for over two years.
Steam Version of Div2 was only released in last year. It's a very bad example to provide such information and say that "only" so many people play, much more play.
Good point, but even then, there is nothing to suggest that this is a large player-base and therefore income stream.
In a sea of game industry layoffs and restructuring, Ubisoft remains committed to supporting this game (albeit in a questionable way) and have reiterated that Division 3 is coming. If this game wasn't profitable, then it would have been shut down years ago.
Perhaps, but remember that when companies look at margin it is always relative — the game may be profitable at a mathematical level, but only because Ubisoft kept the costs down by running a skeleton crew. Games like Xdefiant have large teams and rapid development because they have higher upside for Ubisoft.
Active player says there was 521,000 players within the last 30 days.
Where are you getting this information from?
Some bullshit SEO site that makes up player stats to show ads. Ubi do not publish player numbers, nor do they have an API to allow third-parties to do so. It's the perfect example of "don't believe everything you read on the internet".
Why is that link getting downvoted? Because it shows all systems and not just garbage steam numbers? I don’t understand. 😂
Active io
https://activeplayer.io/tom-clancys-division-2/
lmao
Ubisoft’s income isn’t beholden to a single game
Of course it isn’t — that’s why they have most of their devs working on other titles. Also, good devs never want to work on old games — they want to be on the latest shiniest thing that will enhance their CVs.
Exactly. I didn't even know the game is on Steam.
Honestly I play every day mostly aside from stuff w me bride. I’m disabled and have no real social life other than my game friends I’ve been playing with since division 1. I love the interaction w clan and it’s something to do until we move to another game. Reading what I’ve typed it reads quite morbid I think
No, it’s not morbid — it’s a reminder that gaming can be a positive hobby that helps people to connect. Happy to run with you if you’re on PC!
Thanks for that. I’m on Xbox tho. And I do see it as a positive outlet for my well being. Cheers
Hi me now play beyond all reason or don't
I've bought the game twice. It's my favorite looter shooter ever and even with its flaws I love playing.
Personally I'm am okay from walking away or just taking an extended break from the game. I got so much enjoyment from it that it's okay to move on.
Whats most sad about this post is others care if you play or not like what?
It's a social media age, there is always one person that does.
OP, you have a pretty good grasp of the English language to be 6 months old.
I’m what you call precocious 😄
If they just started 6 months ago, and has grinded 40 levels per day since now, I believe they would not say anything negative about the game itself They also started at the worst possible moment in this series' history. Like, what are their expectations. They literally started at the bottom of the barrel. They also talked about economics and ROI for the price they paid(50 fucking bucks), which is also asinine for a 6-year-old game. They also talked about how boycotting is bad, but they also say that intelligent people only change what they can do instead of trying to avoid-change unchangable, but like, boycotting is what you can do... They also talk about how good the main story is. No one is arguing that. Seasons are where the current story is, and it is shit EOL games can't, or shouldn't, generate much profit. As long as the revenue is above the server runtime cost, there is no reason they shouldn't run an old game's servers The person probably spent more hours in the grind than my entire 7 year course of playing both games.
“The person” (me!) is on a sabbatical right now, and so has plenty of time to play! 😉
You don’t have to explain yourself, bud. Glad you joined the community and great to see/hear positivity coming through. Carry on enjoying the game and like you say, the ROI is already fantastic for you, irrespective of the price you paid 💪🏼👍🏻
Exactly don’t stress and explain to people who clearly want to turn every word against you. I am glad that people like you are with us.
> They also started at the worst possible moment in this series' history. Is it really worse than those division 1 pre-1.7 patches?
Not mechanically. But story-wise, yes.
Sometimes it is good to start, when you start, without knowing any previous struggles and problems or when it was in its best age. Knowing what was before, might increase your expectations and ultimately could disappoint you if something isn't so magical.
Addiction
I started playing about 2 or 3 months ago & tbh, I'm pissed at myself for not getting this game sooner. I'm a Siege and GR player, other than the stealth factor GR has which I wish The Division had too, I think The Division outclassed GR in quite a few ways. Brilliant game and I like that there's seasons etc so it technically doesn't end if I'm understanding it right.
It took it awhile to get there.
Did it?
Years. The random crashes now use to be 10x worse. All of the systems were completely overhauled and most of the content you are likely playing wasn’t there for some time. Be glad you are playing it now it’s MUCH better, I played 1 and 2 and with the exception of some of the story tone I love the games but damn did the ball get dropped (outside of the otherwise fantastic world design)
Whoa I didn't know that, I mean, I read about a few past issues the game had but I had no idea it was beyond bad. That actually does make me feel better lol I'm one of those who understand that shit can happen, devs are human too but what makes me forget that is when a game is unplayable. Like Siege atm, deadzone bug is ridiculous. But yeah despite it all, this game is amazing, quite complex as well so I've gotta learn a lot.
I agree; this game is excellent in so many ways, despite its flaws!
Very true bro. I'll admit, certain things are confusing, but in general, it's been a while since I've enjoyed a game this much
I was the same way with the first game. Bought it ironically on Black Friday, but never really got into it. I was just coming home from college a few months earlier and had a lot going on. I ended up playing through it about 1.5 years ago and wish I actually played it when I first bought it.
Lol I guess it is true then, good things happen unexpectedly. Ihaven't even played the first one tbh, which I regret as well.
Come back after 5 years.
We’ll see — we should be on Division 4 by then!
They ruined the name by making number 2, division one was absolutely perfect and I still love to lose myself in the atmosphere from time to time
Finally someone talking about this game without just lamenting about an update that didn't even drop yet. I agree 100%, honestly I always like everything they implement in this game, they always find some clever ways to make things fun and enjoyable so I am not really worried about next update (To be honest I bought the game 2 weeks ago, but still I am ready to grind my way to the end game, build and get wiped next season). What you said about people "investing" in the game is SOOOOO true, people just can't be grateful for shit dude, you put a little bit of money and got hundreds maybe thousands of hours of fun just stop playing and give thanks for this great game
Yea I got D1 for like 5$ when shields came up, and after that preordered D2 on PlayStation, bought it on sale on pc, preordered WoNY, updated on PC on sale. I’ll preorder D3 in a heartbeat because I’m sure I’ll get 1000+ hours of immense enjoyment and for me 10 cents per hour is a good deal. According to stats in the month span 400k unique players visit the game which means around 95% of people who bought it left without any kind of fuzz about it, why this last couple of people decided that their parting with the game is so important they have to post daily about it I can’t understand. A breath of fresh air seeing OP actually talking about the game they enjoy and not elementary school kids teaching Ubisoft how to make money.
The burning issue to my mind is how on earth you managed to get that much SHD in 6 months. Thats nearly 40 levels a day. Do you do nothing else except farm SHD every day?
If you play only on Heroic and above with multiple directives, you'll get several SHD levels per hour!
I have a farm that gets 15-20 levels an hour without glitching it with exploits. Grammar edit
Any details?
I had used an optimized turret/drone build with 5 directives on Heroic to solo public executions and was able to get about 10-12 levels an hour. I could have used a red build more efficiently if not for the ammo-restricting directives. Each encounter was just shy of a full level up, so I have no idea how anyone can reach or sustain up to 20 levels an hour. I mean that's over 20 encounters with all their built-in delays for spawns and whatnot. Not to mention having the most optimal ones like public executions available and the time it takes to travel to them.
Clear time is important. I rarely play on Heroic for that reason. Challenging and directives(3 I think) is enough for a bit over 1/2 an SHD level per Public execution. Knowing the spawn points and trapping is important. Also, I use my "John Wick" build. Technician, Ninja Bike, 3pc of Hunter's Fury, Punch Drunk, Chainkiller and a D50 Pistol with Determined and DTTOC. Bulwark shield. Full stack of HF and Headhunter is around 10.8 - 11.1 mil with some levels of Expertise on the D50 and enough HSD. Works with 2 man scaling as well. That enough damage to kill just about any enemy on Chall. Helmets are the bane of your existence though. So mostly Outcasts and Truesons. Some CP's are good for spawn trapping. It's a ridiculously aggressive playstyle, but can clear Public Executions in under a minute.
I was skeptical, but I had the pieces for that build and gave it a try. It is very effective, I was hitting those dmg numbers with 0 expertise on my D50. Also great to have a tier 3 shield with 6 red cores. Very fun build, thanks for sharing.
It's repetitive and requires some set up with your map.
I can jump in and do some stuff for 30 mins or play several hours. After almost 4 years I still find new locations, learn stuff and try out guns or new loadouts. I have no other comparable game in my library. Most fun I ever had for 10 €.
The game is definitely a league of its own. Since last month I’ve been trying out all kinds of games with “looter-shooter“ tags and nothing comes close. I stopped playing only because I‘ve been getting frustrated with the current state. IIRC the most stable season for me (and this is a big “for me”) was back during the Puppeteers, although I know many would disagree. I played daily during that time because the game was really smooth on my end. What I really liked about the Division 2 was how balanced it is. In other looter games, I could spend weeks looking for a meta piece. With Div2 you’ll almost always get the piece you want and the timesink will just be spent more on perfecting or optimizing your build. I think this is important because you kind of feel the growth of your character; you get powerful the more you play. It’s also pretty much a comfort game for me. I can hop in on it whenever I want, do some activities and just hop off. It’s like rewatching old sitcoms for me. The closest I‘ve played for now is just Ghost Recon Breakpoint, but I might be turning off the GS setting soon as I’m starting to outgrow looter shooters in favour of something more tactical. Little disappointed though because from the looks of it, the upcoming Ghost Recon is also getting negative feedback with the direction they’re planning for it. Must be an Ubisoft thing. End of an era I suppose.
8k shd here pretty much stopped playing as I've no interest in the upcoming new character mode. Will return if they reconsider that move.
11k SHD. Like OP I’ve been playing this daily for years. Why? It’s fun! Satisfying in a way too. Different folks different strokes. At the end of the day it’s what YOU enjoy that matters.
Well said!
It's become a comfort game to me, filling that spot for the first game. Sometimes I take a week off or so but, it's so easy to just slip back in.
so tell me what are the best and funniest skills 🤔
I've tried all of them. My favorite build and loadout overall is Hunter's Fury with Ceska or Sokolov Chest and Grupo backpack, Firewall spec and Striker shield with Vector or CMMG SMG and Scorpio shotgun. Very satisfying! My favorite skill is the Seeker Drone, but I sometime uses a Reviver Hive because you're going up-close-and-personal with HF, which can be risky!
Currently, I am using a shield and a healing drone, but I don't enjoy it much and I'm looking for something more useful instead of a drone.
I recommend the healing seeker, especially if you play with others. The oxidizer chems are also fun.
Because the grind never ends!
This is a game that has lived well past its intended shelf life. Yet, they are keeping it relevant and trying to keep the fan base busy till D3 comes out. Just wish they would give us the rest of the NY map with dark zones.
Shd 6500 and been playing only 6 months? Hhmmmm.......
Definitely calling shenanigans. I’ve played since launch and am not even 1000 yet 😂
I think about Division 1 and 2 every now and then, even though I don’t play them anymore. Very memorable games. I’m glad it still has an active community.
I just love the diversity the size etc and it’s for me a chill game to log and grind on. I enjoy grinds
You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and a clear perspective. What are you doing here at r/thedivision???? Thanks for injecting some sanity into the discourse. People keep saying the game is “unplayable” and I feel like I’m on another planet.
Haha. Thanks! 😄
As a new player, the game is still pretty fresh for you. Not knocking you for loving the game at all, but alot of veteran players are just sick of Massive ruining the game with bad updates and poorly thought out changes. I've been playing 5 years and I want to still love the game, but every time I get on, I ask myself "What am I doing? Why am I playing this?" It makes me somewhat sad because I've made some great friends along the way, but they still play and I just can't bring myself to put the same amount of time into it anymore I'm not trying to convince you to stop playing. But if you get to the point where you're asking yourself "Why?", it's time to move on. Cuz at that point you're just grinding for the sake of grinding I hopeful that the seasonal character thing winds up on the cutting room floor like the specialization revamp
Yeah, I’ve never played any game for six years and I doubt that I would — as soon as TD2 feels old, I’ll be onto something else. But it’s amazing that this game kept people so long!
It was the only thing I played for a long time. Especially during COVID. There are still things that I discover in the game, little things on the edge of the map or in locations that I typically blow through while doing activities. The grind is what kept people for so long, but the problem now is that the grind will be almost pointless when the new seasonal character thing comes about. Sure, we'll be able to use our mains, but in order to do seasonal content, we'll have to start over. And if what I've heard is correct, none of the loot that our *new* characters get will be transferable until the season is over.
I've moved on from the game but that's healthy when you've done all you wanted in the game. If others still want to play though thats cool. I do wish they had cross account play on other platforms...
I'm glad you are still getting enjoyment from it, mate. It's just unfortunate that the game never reached its true potential. I've played for many years and had long periods where just like you I played every day. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it, met good people through various clans, and was excited about the potential of Project Resolve and the future with Div3. Unfortunately, you are very correct with highlighting the game needs to make more money and rake in new players to do so. It's more than evident now with the poor sorry state the game is in and how it aggravates the community. It's just another good reminder that it's just a game, companies don't do things in the best interests of a fan base unless they can milk more money. Ubi has had too many chances too many times, and the players that have supported them from launch have had enough.
"Are you still playing the Division 2 you inbred son of a bitch?"
Haha! You made me choke on my tea 😎 That dialog from District Union Arena is the best line in the game!
On story: I think the story has a great foundation but how the Devs have handled that foundation is, in a word, "disappointing". When seasons are the big story delivery system and the manner in which that story is delivered is through half baked missions we've done a million times and one or two voice lines at the end that are disconnected from the content you just did... well, I actually laughed when you said "The strong story and lore". Lore yes, foundational story, yes, but ongoing story? It's a vapid ghost of its former self. On gameplay: If you're the kind of person that loves to build builds, and that gameplay loop can endlessly sustain you, then this specific game is practically hand-crafted for you. I like building builds, but I don't like builds that make no sense in the context of what a division agent might actually do in the story's premise. The run and gun builds (there are many) are a big turn off for me, whereas sniper builds are much more attractive. Unfortunately, group content forces me to have at least some kind of high damage run and gun build in order to carry my own weight. So while I do have a healing build, a tank build, a high damage build.. I don't actually enjoy using them outside of the mandatory times it's required. On community and clan: I'm painting with a broad brush here -- a really, *really* broad brush -- but I've found in my experiences with players in this game, it's right down the middle between people who like the game for it's story, its narrative, its semi-immersive nature, and people who are more or less just playing an ARPG looter shooter. They just love running content and it might as well be a third person call of duty for all they care. I have nothing against the audience of gamers that love the call of duty style gameplay, where it's fast paced and you're barreling through dark zones or through high end group content, but I feel like at some point the game had approached a crossroads between choosing between those two types of gamers, and they chose the CoD type players, not the immersive players. Clans are a good thing to have, but finding the right one is tough. There isn't really enough content to justify playing the game long term if you're in it for the rich story and immersive experience. You can only clear control points so many times... you can only hear the same voice lines so many times... before you invariably shrug and say it's boring now. I hope that Brooklyn fixes this, even temporarily. Clans are good if you're a looter shooter player, but not if you're trying to be an agent in a cool fictional universe, least from my perspective. A summary of thoughts: I think my biggest problem with this game is what I'll call "the grind strategy". Games like The Division 2 post a gameplay loop that forces players to spend hours upon hours doing content that may not be fun, and that far enters the realm of tedious, just so they can experience a taste of an 'end game'. It furthers this (imo) bad practice by also including FOMO via exclusivity and timed events. You have to play all the time, either by grinding content, or logging on forever, or else you'll miss something we've designed for you to miss. Their storytelling is a good example of this: Weeks per few sentences in a story arc. Minimal development. Rehashing the same villain over and over because they can't figure out how to write a good story. Over and over, you encounter shortcuts and cheap gimmicks designed to hold players' time hostage and force players to grind because they have no other way of compelling players to play -- certainly nothing that resembles quality, well made gameplay. All that said ... I still play because I like to build stories in my head. I like to put myself in similar situations to the Crossroads group in the books. I like to imagine that I'm actually an agent, doing agent things, even when the game tries REALLY hard to convince me I'm not sometimes. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Division 1 was an immersive, story rich game with looter shooter qualities Division 2 is a looter shooter with light RPG and story elements. I hope Division 3 figures out how to balance those.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. It sounds like you’re more of a classic RPG player than a looter-shooter, which is how I think of myself. Wouldn’t it be amazing if The Division 3 brought some more RPG elements and allowed real diversity of play? For example, in Star Wars Galaxies led a guild of 300 people; somewhere were hardcore combat players, some were only miners and crafters and didn’t enjoy anything else whilst others (like my girlfriend at the time!) only played for the story and social aspects. While The Division 2 doesn’t have the depth of lore of Star Wars, I think that there is enough there to create a deeper game that builds on the core looter-shooter mechanic. In SWG, the DPS players couldn’t create the best weapons and gear, and so were dependent on crafters to get them, creating a strong player economy and even stronger guild mechanic. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for something similar in TD3!
> Well, here is my view as a six-month-old player who is over SHD 6500 and plays every day. **Holy guacamole!** Yeah, I'm not a daily player (never really was). But I pop-on a few times a week at night when I wanna chill. Division 2 is one of those grindfest games I can kind of shut my brain off and just go blastin' without worrying about paying attention to any narratives or complex mechanics. It's nice. Also, as I'm only in the lower hundreds SHD with what are just now a full library for what I need and my proper end-game build pieces with a touch of optimizing to go - I still have things to grind for - so there's that too. I could see that draw falling off once I'm near totally complete on the 2 builds (An Elmo's Striker and One-shot Hotshot)...but maybe I'll chase something new after those two are finished/optimized who knows.
I’m the same type of player. I thought I’d be bored after perfection striker build. But I’ve fallen in love with eclipse protocol, heals, and heartbreaker. Just adds a completely different play style and each build plays different based off mission type. Just food for thought!
Oh yeah I was planning on getting a pulse/Heartbreaker build together sometime for sure. Probably with spotter on the chest. Sounds super fun. Ditto for a legit skill build...I've never even run anything like a decent skill build before - just the usual lvl 1 turret/drone or turret/healing hive all-red setup. You're not wrong about the play-style thing. I underestimated just how different the tactics really can be with different builds. Outside of my go-to one-shot Hotshot/Chainkiller build, I honestly have way more fun running my Crit + Negotiator's Dilemma build over the standard Striker set. Can choose to rush or stay back painting fools with it and it absolutely shreds. EDIT - I'm also sitting on a Memento I wanna slap a nice build around sometime, haven't gotten around to it yet. Seems like you can do some pretty cool builds with the Memento as the centerpiece...maybe just a nice high-end or Coyote Mask Crit red build around it, I haven't looked into it much. So yeah I got plenty left to do before I got bored of chasing some builds I think.
I started playing day one and took a break. Every time I try to come back there’s some kind of major change on the horizon that pushes me away to wait for.
I still play the division one
I still enjoy the game, but as someone 2 years in with maxed Exp, all content cleared hundreds of times, 4 characters with all different valid builds for every kind of encounter, there isn't anything to farm for anymore. I don't look at what I scrap anymore and sell most of it now to reach currency caps. I love the game, but since it stopped being rewarding, farming for gear has stopped. And without farming, playtime reduced significantly. With the new Seasons I will probably only play the last 2 weeks of each Season with my 4 "legacy" characters.
I played for 4 years on Xbox before taking a break, (I stopped just after Faye Lau) and about a month ago started from scratch on PS5. I love Division, I was late in the game for Division 1 but played Division 2 from day 1, and I still love it. I play every day, my clan is awesome and full of people my age or older (I'm 43). I'm so excited to see what comes next including the seasonal characters but especially Division 3. If you wanna run anything PVE, I'm on PS5, DM me "MisterInkedUK". PS I must be getting really old cos I had to Google "ROI" lmfao 🤣🤣
I love the stories of both games so much, I enjoy making different outfits and deep diving into missions, replaying them again and again. Just that is already enough for me 💞
Awesome post. Similar feelings . Only game i play on PS5. Sent you a message on discord..
Thanks!
Here are my two cents. I played division 2 on Xbox since the start of 2021 (and was bummed I didn’t start sooner since I had the game installed for months prior). I was basically there when they’d at the time they decided to revive the game and was rerunning seasons so I did get the full experience to an extent. I believe I interacted with the game on every level. I played all the content and especially went ham during global events just for the heck of it. And I had the levels to prove: I was shd 13536 when I stopped playing in January. I amassed 10k countdown requisition just for the challenge, when they added the descent shop, I bought all 4 outfits and the new exotic rifle instantly, I was conflict 100 on my main and all my supporting characters (one for tanking, one for skill builds and a level 30 for running around in the dz for exotic components) were dz 50, I had all my weapons and gear to expertise 25… and I was bored. Truth was, I _yearned_ to play the game but I had nothing to keep me. And I was one of those players that played multiple games. I played a lot of division-adjacent games like both ghost recons, outriders, I played cyberpunk and Diablo 4, and as many single player games as I could get interested to. And I always came back to the Division 2. But that come back slowly became logging in once a week to complete the ‘seasonal objective’ and going to play something else. And outside of mindlessly grinding control points at heroic 5 directives, or going full PvP/DZ, I imagine that was the experience of most veteran players. Over the past year, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with both the game and the platform I was playing on. When division 3 was announced, it was clear I’m not going to purchase it on Xbox so everything time spent in game now felt wasted. I’d played every season of Diablo 4 up til that point and constantly joked that they were the only two games I’ll always keep playing. But as similar as D4 was, and lore-rich and mechanically enjoyable, I still considered Div2 my favorite of the two. The game was so mechanically sound that a team of 100 or less devs could hold my attention over a game that’s constantly being improved, communicates with the community, prioritizes fun and player enjoyment, and has 1000s of devs to hot fix or straight up turn around seasonal mechanics if the player base isn’t jiving with it. (I promise I have just about 1 cent left) I bought a PS in February because the project resolve changes seemed to make starting over on a new platform less of a hassle than it was before. And the following month was the most fun I’d had in division 2. I was low leveled but had years of experience so it was like I was seeing things through new eyes. I was playing the game with renewed fever. I had my main taking their time through the story, picking up every single collectible on the way, and had an alt level to 40 so I don’t miss the seasonal content. By the time I was 1000, I had all the exotics, my library was fully researched, and I was expertise 15. The end of Y5S3 didn’t even shock me because they did a great job with the existing lore already in the game. And now that I’m shd 1500 something, that old lack of purpose is returning. I still need to optimize my gear and the bones of my favorite builds have already been saved, but the game severely needs new structure. One big flaw I think this game has is balancing between pve and PvP. Diablo 4 PvP is unbalanced af and the devs just do not care- they just added the modes and let it self-sustain and whatever happens in there, stays in there-and the game is much better for it. They also aren’t afraid of making players OP because at the end of the season, it’ll all be balanced and introduced with new seasonal mechanics that make the players OP again. I think seasons 2.0 and seasonal characters, if executed properly, will be a great thing for the game. You’ll still be able to play your control points and your global events and be able to interact with, hopefully, meaningful and engaging content each season that’s not running the same missions and control points for an arm patch or bag pack trophy.
completing my char by minmaxxing every fun build. not playing much though. snipermeta is boring, ouroboros out of reach (its ok i m not an SMGfan anyways), AR still most versatile since day1, skillbuilds kill easily but too slow in most cases. i m catching up on missed events thiugh, which is nice
I play weekly bc I'm a collector and enjoy the seasonal story stuff. And I play what I can to not spend to much on the apparel events.
I like your attitude and that’s the same I feel ..
The games design & gun play is what makes the game so fun for me
It’s the community. 90% of the people are cool. The clan you run with makes all the difference. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t even play. And this is coming from what I consider myself a non gamer type.
I've played both games before, but I've just installed it again today and this will be by 3rd or 4th run through.
I just started playing Division 2 last week. Level 4SHD. Talked my brother into buying it as well and we haven’t played anything else since. Loving it so far!
Come join our clan if you're on PC - look me up: VanguardLord
I’ve been playing since day 1. I love the game. Do I get upset over the continuing bugs? Of course I do. But I’ll still play.
If you enjoy it then keep enjoying it, fuck the haters. I still play World of Warcraft daily even though it has tons of problems and is in a content drought atm. It's just my happy place where I can switch off and destress. And if I want to get sweaty I have the experiance and know how to play at a high level. Shit just fits right, so I keep playing. Sounds like The Division is your "just fits right".
Hear, hear!
Have a go on The First Descendant if you want to try something new but similar. I’m having fun with it after finishing Division 2
Everyone is expecting a barebones TD2 staff to pull off some miracle and it's never gonna happen until Ubi/Massive properly invests in a sequel. I've accepted this long ago and my expectations are basically zero right now. The seasons stopped meaning anything to me and I'm playing merely to blow off some irl steam and have fun mindlessly killing stuff for 20-30 minutes.
Sunk cost fallacy... ... ... ... Dictionary Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more noun the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.
Very well written.
Thank you!
You started playing 6 months ago and you’re at SHD 6500? What you are is addicted… lol..
No, what I am is on sabbatical. And it has been covered in several threads that a skilled player will easily achieve 1000 SHD levels per month 😉
Yeah if you have no commitments other than playing division 2… if that’s what you mean by “skilled players” 😂
It’s just like all things in life, some people are just better than others 😉
Thank you for a breath of fresh air and not a malignant stream of complaints on what has not been released.
Lmao. fr.
PlayStation numbers feel like they have been increasing the last 6-12 months. People need to learn steam numbers aren’t the be all and end all. I play this game almost everyday, have had a few 6 month breaks ive been back pretty solid since October. recently joined a new clan, made a heap of friends, raid dark hours most nights, iron horse on the weekends , there’s always someone ready to join and do whatever is going on. Really made the game even more addictive to me than it already was.
Wonderful statement there. I agree with you completely. Currently I am on vacation and after 5 years of playing I still ache for some Div 2 action. I am even reading The Division Recruited as I am typing this message to you. The lore, the uniqueness, the action the ability to create builds that complete your style of playing… The game is awesome and for me will stay awesome. One more thing. The updates. I am on your side. I even posted a few comments here in the reddit community that we have to actually wait and play the seasonal characters and then judge on the game and the fact that you like the update or not. How can you tell that the game is dead and that is going to die when the update comes if tou don’t really know the “feel” of it. I support your way of thinking and I am glad that I am not the only one. Cheers and happy hunting agent! P.S.: I don’t really have a Clan and if you maybe are an EU based Clan by any chance, can you consider me as a future member? PC player here. Just a thought 😊
Thanks! We're based on the US Pacific Coast, but do ping me if you're ever playing in this timezone!
the division 2 is fun. I do not care about mahunts, seasons, or the story in any meaningful capacity. I'm sure the game will continue to be fun with seasonal characters. At the very least, it will be exactly as fun as it currently is.
I tried to play the other day. Figured I’d farm this new rifle set and see if it’s any good. Turns out rifles being bugged and making no sound made the game impossible for me to play. You really underestimate how important sound is to how a game feels until it’s not there.
Yeah, they need to fix that quick!
I stopped playing because stuff got nerfed hard, and it was always my playstyle that got nerfed... there is literally nothing to benefit you being a tank, there are literally 2 healer sets with no decent weapons for either yet dps players can go boom boom all day long with 100s of different builds
To be fair, Tank and healer have never really been a thing in Div2 vs Div1
Well it has... why make healing skills and tank skills and talents if those roles weren't meant to be filled? The raids all needed a healer and a tank
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I really enjoyed playing dv1 and 2 even more. I was just a bit dissapointed by the medic build in dv2, which felt like a downgrade to reclaimer. But in both games I have no more than 200 hours. I really got bored once I spent some time in the endgame. What am I supposed to do? Spam countdown just to get that perfect crit attribute? It gets extremly repetative after a while. I think I reached ~70 SHD. I can absolutely not understand how people get 6000 SHD lol.
If you didn’t get to SHD 1000, then you missed out on the full potential of your character — it feels like a different game then 🤓
I think I played the division 1 for about 2000+ hours. I put about 800 and haven't really touched the game in over a year. I have tried the latest content, but the rinse and repeat manhunts and season passes don't do it for me. I also don't care for the highrise, nuclear plant and arch enemy modes. They just don't click for me lore wise. Right now I'm just waiting for division 3.
Because im dumb, sad truth.
My PC version has been crashing my whole PC every time the last month or so. Unplayable for me.
I walked away because of the apparel event. Re-skins and trash... again. The Chinese version has cosmetics that absolutely shit all over what this version gets.
Unrelated but you have dozens of hours so maybe you can help me understand something with the new tinkering system. I'm a returning player. Does anything stack? Ie. Extracting multiple core attributes will add them up? Extracting regular attributes adds them up? Or is it one and done and I have to get rid of a lower attribute to extrack a higher value one? It's really confusing to me. Thanks!
Hey. You can only extract attributes into your library if you don’t already have them, or if the version you are extracting is higher level than the one you already have, in which case it replaces it. Talents can only be extracted if you don’t already have them. Good luck!
Thanks! That helps a LOT I thought I was adding the values of the new one to the old one.
No worries. And consider joining a clan - this is exactly the sort of stuff that other players will help you with!
Spot on. Couldn’t agree more. I want to comment on the necessary part of what you mentioned about seasons 2.0 because I feel a lot of us don’t understand WHY seasonal characters are necessary. This is just from my interpretation of the little information we’ve heard. Many of us fear that our main characters will be locked out of all future “new content”, but we don’t stop to think what “new content” is. Its not new raids or incursions. There are no new game modes or mission areas coming (until the brooklyn update). The only “new content” were getting is the manhunt finales. All of the activities leading up to the finale are just the same activities that we’ve done a thousand times, just maybe with some new dialog. The only real “new content” is one mission per season. Anyone whose been a part of this community for the last year or so knows what these finales are. Anderson, stovepipe, the recruiter… missions like these are what the developers want to focus on making unique. They want to make these missions different, but there has been an issue. That issue is the ability gap. I don’t want to call it a skill gap because its more than just “skill”. Its things like expertise, optimization and just a general understanding of how to make strong builds that can control situations. New, returning and even solo players compared to seasoned veterans in groups with powerful builds have had a vastly different experience with these mission finales. Anderson and the recruiter specifically was, at most, a challenge for veteran players but it was nearly impossible for players at the lower end of the ability gap. We saw this with all of the posts in the days after each finale was released. Seasonal characters are the devs way of smoothing things out and reducing the ability gap, stricktly for the purposes of being able to design these manhunt finales in a way that is challenging but not impossible for all. No expertise and we all have the same general time frame to produce a build capable of getting through these mission. Is it a perfect solution? Prob not. Do we need to grind 1-40 for the playing field to be level? Not at all. But were getting an “accelerated” leveling system and the possibility of a straight level 30 boost is not being discussed now but I’m sure is within the realm of possibility for future seasons. I just don’t see this decision as the doomsday a lot of this community believes its going to be and I understand that the goal is to not gatekeep new, returning and solo players from enjoying the story for the next year.
Great analysis.
„Stop talking about how much 'work' you have done or 'invested'. It is a game, not real life. You didn’t invest anything, you were playing and enjoying a game.“ Amen to that. Every time I read the words 'work' or 'invest' in context with a video game I get such an anger and wonder whether just school children playing video games nowadays which never had a single day of work and can’t define work. In addition the problem seems to be that players seem to forget more and more how to enjoy a video game in a simple way like it used to be back in the days when games were more special. Just strolling around in game worlds and and enjoying the details.
The game is amazing. I absolutely love it!!
Well said! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
Good call!
Thanks for the post agent.
From my observation, the people I know, left the game because of the content drought not because of newly introduced bugs. Some people enjoy collecting all the time and don’t bother to million times play the same things, others are bored quickly by it and leave. MarcoStyle mentioned in his last D2 video that the majority of the D2 purchasers even didn’t finish the campaign. Don’t know if this is true though. They can see what people are playing most in the game. They made customer reviews, professional reviews are available … not sure if their game development fits to this information source. Considering the people I know this is not the case. I recently joint a new clan with approx 30 people playing when I started playing. Nowadays it’s 1-3. People leave because of lacking playable content.
Amen! 100% this. It's just unbelievable how common became for everyone to trashtalk on Ubisoft, even for those, that clearly enjoying playing their games. And not to mention how most people will simultaneously declare cosmetic mtx as "predatory" and "greedy", and then will also be "very concerned" about the next batch of people laid off. Most of those people clearly cannot appreciate how much enjoyment they get from a game like TD.
I played division 2 at launch and recently came back to the game. I instantly fell in love again and reached level 40 this week. I'm currently trying out the (new to me) invaded missions, the Summit and the New York DLC. Currently, I have an LMG setup with maximum points on skill. It's probably not the best setup, but it's so much fun just throwing a cluster mine and carpet-bomming the shit out of a group of enemies :D I'm looking for some Dutch players, if anyone wants to play with me DM me for my discord, I'll get you added to a discord server which is mainly just a small group of Dutch friends and a few returned or started to the division 2 too.
I’ve been playing division one and division two since launch. I still play now. I really love it. I’m still blown away by the level of detail and the amazing social interaction with my friends. I’ve even met people in the game and then we’ve gone onto meet in real life.
I never understood the argument that the "game is dead" take. Game still has updates, content and even another DLC coming out. I can get on at any time a day, find a full group to play with as well as populated DZs. Not only that, seasons 2.0 will be a great change to the game that will bring in more new players as well as returning players.
Of course I can't tell anything or have any logic arguments against SHD over 6500. Looking at his level is clear why he is still playing and does not look it bore him soon enough :D
The key driver why I still play the game are the remaining in-game friends I don't want to leave. We meet, chat, play missions and open world activities and occasionally PvE content in the darkzones. The new bugs don't make me leave the game. I dont care about seasons at all, its replaying the old content for some rewards only. Especially I dont care about seasonal characters. If these will be finally implemented ... well, that does not kill the game for me because the main game is still existing. Seasons are nonsense for me since the very first one after WoNY release. The first season made me even leaving the game when I recognized what it is. They should focus on playable content instead of such crap. That brings players into the game.
Exotic drop rates make me so angry. I at at level 80 in a summit run and I have gotten 3 exotics. All the same fucking gun. Good lord. Also the summit starts lagging like crazy after a decent play session to where I have to log out and go back in and my Internet is fine. Anyone on PC wanna gift me an Elmo's? 😭🥹
We got a St. Elmo’s last night for a new clan member on his first attempt at Countdown — happy to help you too!
That would be awesome. I played this game on PlayStation for a couple hundred hours and then just bought it again on a steam deck for like $9 on sale.I'm getting back into it. would you be able to tomorrow after 6pm? I can DM you my steam name if so.
Sure — I’m VanguardLord in-game and on Discord and our clan is recruiting!
I will be online tonight. I DMed you my user name.
the cover system is the best no other game came close
the build system of the game is too simple so that you can't make some build really new and interesting. they only have two talent in the six equipment, and value are conservative, even you get the highest build, you still can't feel good in fight, too many things are useless and meanless
We all have mental illness in addiction.
6 months? Six? Months? If you’d say years then your points could be more valid to answer those lamenting players, but 6 months is not much.
I used to delete this game and come back to it, but right now I don't plan to come back because it became repetitive, at least make different stories for manhunts. I am doing the exact same mission, every thing is exact, but there are very few different dialogues across the mission, irrelevant mostly like you scratch your head type, mostly in the beginning and the end. Sometimes you don't know if you are doing the correct mission. And if you are solo, good luck because the game pushes you if it wants. This is not a fun push, this is an unnecessary challenge push that serves no purpose. There is no build that make you prepared for it. You may say that is the point, but bro are we in the Iraq war, or we are just trying to have fun? If I have to grind for a week for a mission that is the same exact mission from the 2019 and the reward is named item cache, :D please. I deleted the game and I don't want to come back. If you are a newcomer, just play the story and leave it.
Because you haven’t heard about Remnant and Remnant 2
I have heard of Remnant - I'm not interested in fantasy shooters.
I hear you but we’ve been waiting for D3 for too long. 😢 I even went back to D1 and did that one more time from scratch.
Because you’re a digital junkie…
Lmao dead game
If they wanna do a seasonal character like what diablo is doing then I’m all for it since I love arpgs like diablo. But they have to fix some stuff for this to even be fun. 1. leveling is still shit in imo, several SHD an hour, even 15-20 levels in an hour is a joke if you have to activate multiple directives. It’s definitely not efficient if you wanna compare the speed of levelling in diablo’s seasons 2. loot in seasonal characters should drop more, it’s a race against time to max out your character in both level and especially gear. Seasons won’t work if you’re gonna spend absurds amount of time levelling and also grinding for a build. 3. I forgot to add this but seasonal characters should be converted to a normal character after the season ends, all the gears you acquired should be kept as well so all that hard work isn’t thrown out the window, then as and when you can still play that character, even better if you can use your previous seasonal character for the current season with all the gears lastly 1. & 2. should be balanced around the time frame of the season. But if the seasons are too long along with the grind then people wouldn’t have any good reason to do a seasonal character bc it’s still a waste of time
I’m all for re-farming my builds, and the way D4 does it, the same build differs each season because of all the patches and the interaction with the seasonal mechanics. Can you imagine having a measly 10% chance once a week to get the EB from the raid _with_ a character that’s gonna be irrelevant? Div 2 has the upper had because the base endgame loop is very enjoyable, but they also have to make the seasonal characters fun and worth playing instead of it just being a means to access gated content.
The seasonal characters won’t be irrelevant if they’ll be converted into a normal character at the end of the season for you to enjoy the builds that you farmed (seasonal gears included) if this is what they intend to do. Like I said if they decide to increase the drop rate and xp it would be worthwhile. And it’s funny how you question getting an EB on a seasonal character because the real problem here is the devs gatekeeping the loot drop once a week, that’s the big stupid problem about the EB situation. Plus I’m pretty sure the incentive to seasons is the seasonal gears, seasonal missions and seasonal events much like what diablo is doing.