Another week has passed for The Division 2, and with it another State of the Game recap, where the developers talk about some of the biggest news and updates that came with the game in the last week.
For this week’s recap, we’re looking into some changes that probably went under the radar for players, many of whom are still under the effects of an E3 hangover. It was a pretty major one this week, with a massive overall or outright rework of all skills on the public test server on PC, which was done in conjunction with skill mods to make them more viable and powerful. The livestream also covered several new changes that will come with the upcoming Title Update 5, as well as a release date for said update on the PTS.
Check out the State of the Game full stream below for the whole thing, followed by a quick recap after the jump. Also, be sure to check out our previous State of the Game recap here, where TU4 on the PTS was discussed in depth, as well as the newest specialization now available for The Division 2, the Gunner Specialization.
Maintenance today (June 27)
- Fix for the issue where the talent from the Dodge City Gunslinger holster could be recalibrated to another item. If you’re one of the players who’ve done this, the item you've recalibrated the talent to will reset to its original state. The deconstructed holster will stay deconstructed and will have to be acquired again. If you haven't recalibrated, nothing changes.
- Fix for the issue where Signature Ammo perk from BOO quartermaster caused the Gunner specialization to get 75 ammo, instead of the supposed 50 on drop.
- Fix for the issue with the Basilisk's armor during the Special Field Research mission chain.
Current issues being looked at
- Signature Weapons – Washington Airport 150 ammunition bug.
- Long loading times and players getting Error Codes when logging in.
- If you're getting OSCAR-03 errors, a workaround can be to download the patch on another Internet connection. That's only a temporary solution and a real fix is being worked on.
- FOXTROT errors are being worked on and seem to be related to problematic servers on the West Coast US.
- Players can become stuck when dying while locked in place, e.g. when locked down by riot foam.
- Reports of increased difficulty are being looked into.
- Killing wildlife to get Specialization ammo is a bug and will be fixed. Stop being monsters.
Twitch Prime
- The first Twitch Prime Apparel Bundle is now available.
- If you have Twitch Prime you can link your accounts and receive a free Apparel Bundle.
- First theme is Baseball.
- More to come in the following weeks and they will all be sports themed.
Loot
- The development team has been listening to player feedback regarding loot drops and agree that they are not as satisfying as they should be.
- The current gear system isn't in a good place and is being worked on so that there are satisfying ways to get gear, and that the gear itself is satisfying.
- As an example, the development team is currently looking at the Gear Brands and plan to make sure that they have all six gear pieces instead of the current three, which will come in a future Title Update.
- Making gear acquisition satisfying is the highest priority right now and will be introduced over time, with the first step being the skill rework in Episode 1. Stay tuned for more updates.
Public Test Server
- Title Update 5 – Episode 1 PTS starts on Monday, July 1 for PC only.
- TU5 will have a different approach to the PTS testing. Content from Episode 1 will be unlocked and locked according to a set schedule so that specific content can be tested.
Skill Reworks on PTS
- All skills are being reworked on the PTS in conjunction with skill mods to make them more viable and powerful overall.
- Many builds prioritize weapon damage, skills reworks are meant to make skill focused builds just as viable.
- For example, skill mods that buffed turret damage by 25-30% will now buff turret damage, but up to 150%. skills will now do a lot more damage.
- Skill Cooldown Reduction has been changed to Skill Haste and the value of it on gear has been buffed by 33%. Now, Skill Haste scales with Skill Power. If you have high Skill Power, and a high percentage of Skill Haste, you can now plug in Skill Haste mods and reduce your Skill Cooldowns by up to 200%.
Crafting, Exotics, and New Weapons
- All blueprints will now be shared across all sources, meaning you will be able to grind Control Point Alert Level 3 and 4 to get all Blueprints. Inaya will also have these blueprints on sale at the BOO.
- Heroic bosses will now drop exotics. The ones that come from crafting quests (like Nemesis), must be first acquired before they will drop from bosses. This is another way to get to max gear score exotics.
- Exotics that are brought to the gear score max are all max rolls. Meaning if you bring an exotic up to 500 gear score, it will be a max roll.
- Cassie will now sell better loot, including exotics and named items
- Flashlight attachments for pistols will be added in TU5.
- Two new weapons coming in TU5–Carbine 7 assault rifle and Stoner LMG–both will have new talents.
- The exotic BTSU Gloves will allow you to make hybrid skill builds. For example, you can combine skills like throwing a remote pulse and having it behave as a pulse and a grenade.
To check for the full list of topics discussed, plus a full VOD of the livestream itself, check it out here.
The Division 2 is now available to play on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
