Good news to The Division 2 players who have actually started their endgame raid builds. As of last Wednesday, it looks like Ubisoft and Massive have decided to backtrack on their previous statements to increase Gear Score cap to 515, 15 points higher than the launch score of 500. This is due to some player backlash, which is warranted in this case since most high-level players have already optimized for the upcoming raid this May and most, if not all, have already readied their gear close to or at the actual 500 cap.
Ubisoft addressed this in the latest developer update of the game, which states that the company is listening to community feedback and decided that it would be unwise to introduce something which can be game-breaking a few weeks before the release of The Division 2’s first raid.
"With the plethora of PvE and PvP changes in TU3 we want to improve the Dark Zone experience, making it more fun and rewarding," the update reads. "Taking those changes into account, we decided that it is too early to introduce higher Gear Score items. We want to make sure the next Gear Score increase feels completely natural and comes at a time that is right for the game."
The main reason The Division 2 developers have provided for this change of heart is that items with a gear score of 500 would be outdated almost immediately, making them useless for players who like to min/max. The farming that went into these items would have also been wasted, and players who already min/max would have likely wasted more before going to raid, which could take days given the drop rates.
Ubisoft has also stated that Operation Dark Hours, or the eight-player raid coming in Title Update 3, will provide Gear Score 500 rewards. This makes a lot of sense, in order to stop the power creep and allow players to enjoy their builds and playstyles a little longer, instead of just introducing another cap straightaway.
Check out the full developer update here to learn more about what’s coming in Title Update 3, and how Ubisoft and Massive plans to deal with the same issues of outdated gear and wasted builds moving forward.
The Division 2 is now available to play on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
