The Division. Are we interested?
- Thread starter FloppyPoppy
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You'll probably want to rethink that once you've tried a few Challenges or been in the DZ for a length of time. Health seems to have very little tangible benefit - I stacked HP and Armour to the point where my hp was over 90k -- still die just as quick as folk with 40k hp with the exception that my damage was terrible by comparison
Because of the way the game works, you'll find things like Shotguns are entirely useless for high end play - since you have to be close to them to do any damage, but they melt you far too quickly for you to get close. Likewise with HP, they do so much damage that you die in 2-3 hits regardless of what you stack - so it's actually better to go for damage to kill them quicker so you're in combat for less time. The best defence is certainly a good offence in this case.
I'm not sure how, or if, they're going to go about fixing this. A lot of the mechanics in game become entirely pointless on the toughest enemies.
Examples:
Turrets are almost entirely useless as they die in 1-2 hits, do virtually zero damage, and unless you use the shock turret they have no support value.
Shotguns, as mentioned above, don't do enough damage to kill the uber bullet sponges (level 32 elites) in any practicable time - leaving you vulnerable and guaranteed to be dead.
Explosives do ZERO damage, makes grenades useless aside from for status effects -- they're more of a supporting role than damage dealing. This also makes all of the seeker mine and sticky bombs useless, again with the exception of status inducing mods.
Mobile cover (and presumably shield, though I've not tested that) goes down so quickly it's virtually pointless.
This leaves you with the Medical list of skills, and Smart Cover in the Security list. I would HIGHLY recommend someone in your group have smart cover, the dps increase and damage resistance is a huge benefit for everyone.
As for player "Roles" - Tanks are entirely useless, due to the things mentioned above. Damage evasion on 32 elites is the only option (by that I mean making sure the bullets don't hit you) - there's no real way to mitigate their insane damage.
Sniper *can* be useful - but they essentially have to do the same as everyone else and just empty clip after clip into people's heads.
Shotgunners - As mentioned above, shotguns don't work high level.
Tech guys - Again, I've covered most of this above but essentially your tech will never do enough damage to be considered useful, even if your turret doesn't immediately die.
Medic is a REQUIREMENT! There's no way around it.
Assault - AR, SMG, LMG, Marksman Rifle -- whatever weapon you pick. Just stay behind cover and let the rounds go.
Maybe PVP will change the realm of what's useful if/when they fix DZ to make PVP a viable choice (or bring in something entirely different). Who knows.
I've found the flame turrets helpful against certain enemies, maybe not the LMB cos they just hack them against you. But vs cleaners/rikers they're got for keeping them CC'd whilst you pop them down.
Shotguns do tend to work at high level, providing you've got a good shotgun that has armor penetration.
Seeker mines w/ the gas(?) release are also great for keeping enemies CC'd. Same goes for the sticky bomb w/ flashbang.
I think I've got every colour bobble hat now, and slouchy's!
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every 24 hours iirc but then sometimes you will get the same skins and clothing for the next day. You just need to check. Today has been updated and is snakeskin - brown.
My character doesn't have any XP boosts, I don't help civilians, I avoid random encounters and I sell as much junk as I find instead of deconstructing so I have enough funds.
Yeah perhaps Howling, although can't say we have had any issues at all in the dz or on missions on hard so far and this is with 2/3 players about 4+ levels below me although with me being 30 now, that may change...
Likewise, I find shotguns useless, good if you want to sneak up on an agent and just blast him but meh for everything else.
I find the turrets to be really good tbh, you need to place them properly though and not just in the open in front of like 4+ yellow elites. Fire/electric one is best I find and is great for stopping pushes and stopping enemies especially on the likes of the police academy mission where you have shotguns rushers, without it, the guys about 4+ ranks below me just got insta killed by them
I vary my skills constantly as with lower rank guys, I need to be more medic + cover for them but with higher rank players, I will take something like the turret + pulse scan extra damage.
Don't like the shield skill at all.
I always have SMG/AR and a sniper rifle as my weapons, not really fussed on LMGs.
Can't remember what my talents are, iirc, the incendiary damage/spread + medic overheal + some other heal.
My 3rd/master skill is going to be either the tech or security one, will vary it up depending on what we are doing.
Who?
I have TOO many clothes now
Likewise, I find shotguns useless, good if you want to sneak up on an agent and just blast him but meh for everything else.
I find the turrets to be really good tbh, you need to place them properly though and not just in the open in front of like 4+ yellow elites. Fire/electric one is best I find and is great for stopping pushes and stopping enemies especially on the likes of the police academy mission where you have shotguns rushers, without it, the guys about 4+ ranks below me just got insta killed by them
I vary my skills constantly as with lower rank guys, I need to be more medic + cover for them but with higher rank players, I will take something like the turret + pulse scan extra damage.
Don't like the shield skill at all.
I always have SMG/AR and a sniper rifle as my weapons, not really fussed on LMGs.
Can't remember what my talents are, iirc, the incendiary damage/spread + medic overheal + some other heal.
My 3rd/master skill is going to be either the tech or security one, will vary it up depending on what we are doing.
Who?
I have TOO many clothes now
i've found a machine gun is best to use as it has 100 bullet clip, (leveling up so I may find some better weaps) but it can do so much damage if you control the spray and get crits/headshots compared to something doing slightly more damage but having <30 shots.
It seems to be a game of keep covered and put as many rounds into the enemy as possible. I can see it getting quite boring with EVERYONE having to have the same play style, would be nice if there was a bit more variation or use for other roles.
I always hide turrets behind cover, but positioned so it can sneakily get enemies when they run through etc. Saves them getting blown up in 2 hits instantly.
It seems to be a game of keep covered and put as many rounds into the enemy as possible. I can see it getting quite boring with EVERYONE having to have the same play style, would be nice if there was a bit more variation or use for other roles.
I always hide turrets behind cover, but positioned so it can sneakily get enemies when they run through etc. Saves them getting blown up in 2 hits instantly.
Yup, mentioned that about using the skills for their utility - but there are better options, ie Gas grenades, shock grenades, incendiary -- all without taking up a valuable skill slot.
And where have you been testing the shotgun exactly? O.o It works on the 30/31 in DZ, and if you're very brave there's a few enemies in the 32 area you can get "some" use out of it. I've got a yellow M870 with a damage figure of 80K and it takes at least 3, often 4 point blank headshots to take down a level 32. It's just not viable when there's more than 1 enemy (which is almost always) or against elites. If I'm missing something, I don't know what it is =(
Yeah, that'll change when you start doing the missions on Challenge difficulty, and exploring past DZ03
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Disagree with all of that, so didn't read what else you wrote.
Shotguns are good for melting rushers in challenge mode. However talents with higher smg damage and crit damage I find more preferable.
Turrets with shock or flamethrowers again are not useless as they can provide a good distraction and using the 40% damage buff can provide a sigh of relief when your team is being stormed in challenge mode.
Everything depends on what you play, style of play and team's capability. For challenge mode stacking cover perks works best for us but calling everything useless is far fetched as it all depends on the situation and how you want to approach it.
So your disagreements are that you agree with me? Wut? Makes no sense.
I definitely say that shock turrets are useful - but they die in 1-2 hits so become not useful.
Shotguns *sort of* work against the rushers - but SMGs work much better. Granted I didn't say that specifically - but hey you didn't even read the post so how are you to know what I said or didn't say
Maybe "useless" was the incorrect term to use. Perhaps, not viable, would be more appropriate? I mean heck, a Pistol as a main weapon wouldn't be useless -- but it wouldn't be viable. As with everything I mention in the post -- so yeah, change "useless" to "not viable".
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Taken from Reddit might be useful to some of you guys here:
Notice
There are primary talents that most builds SHOULD use because they are optimal. But some builds have variety that will depend on your play style.
Top Perks Overall:
Combat Medic: Group heal / 40% increased solo heal is insanely good. Most builds can take this as a filler and succeed.
One is None: 50% chance to not use a bullet amps you DPS exponentially the more it proc's per clip. Even though your character page won't show an increase, this perk is amazing.
Strike Back: If you spam skills like heals / sticky bomb, this perk reduces your cooldowns by 20% whenever you go low hp.
Battle Buddy: Reduced damage by 50% for both people (EVERY REVIVE). There is no cool down, so spamming revives can tank a load of damage, allowing you to retreat inch by in in panic situations.
Movement Abilities: Tactical Advance ( DPS builds) Evasive Action (Tank/Healer) - These abilities give great bonuses when used properly, and can be effective in many builds
Medic / Healer
Main Talents:
Combat Medic: Group heal, 40% increased self heal - self explainatory
Battle Buddy: 50% reduced incoming damage on revives - Allows you to clutch revive, and can be done at a distance with your skills.
Filler / Play style:
Strike Back: 20% CD reduction on low HP - you will be roaming around supporting your team. You will take damage, this will proc.
Critical Save: 40% reduced incoming damage on low hp medkit use - synergy with strike back / surviving
Evasive Action - 30% reduced incoming damage when cover to cover - be a sneaky tanky healer and make enemies cry
Flanker / Rusher:
Main Talents:
Tactical Advance: +2% damage per meter cover to cover. MASSIVE dps boost
On the move: +30% damage reduction after killing a target while moving. You are a flanker... you will be moving
One is None - Flanked enemies sometimes don't react / move quickly allowing you to zone in and land head shots - this will sky rocket your dps
Filler / Play style:
Evasive Action - 30% reduced incoming damage when cover to cover - synergy with tactical advance / allows you to survive flanks
Combat medic - all around amazing talent
Electronics / Skill Build
This relies on doing burst damage / having your abilities available
Main Perks:
Strike Back - +20% Cool downs on low health - get me
CHAIN REACTION - 40% more explosion damage when hitting multiple hostiles - seriously? Why wouldn't you get this - Effects turret mastery explosion, grenades, and sticky bomb
Demolition Expert - 40% explosion damage for 15 seconds after KILLING AND ENEMY WITH AN EXPLOSION - Highly recommend weakening opponents first, getting a grenade kill, THEN using your skills to optimize burst damage.
Filler:
Police Up: 25% chance to regain ammo after a skill kill. Great for long farming runs.
Combat medic - See a trend here?
Solo Player
This build needs balance in many areas. This one is very much up in the air, but here are a few solid talents that work for most people:
Main Perks:
Combat Medic - Increased heal, more effective med kits, more survivability
One is None - 50% chance to not use bullets on headshots - great for sniping at a distance, but this is always a good perk for saving ammo
On the move - Flanking enemies will force you out of cover. Killing them for the damage reduction and moving to a new area will keep you alive longer
Notice
There are primary talents that most builds SHOULD use because they are optimal. But some builds have variety that will depend on your play style.
Top Perks Overall:
Combat Medic: Group heal / 40% increased solo heal is insanely good. Most builds can take this as a filler and succeed.
One is None: 50% chance to not use a bullet amps you DPS exponentially the more it proc's per clip. Even though your character page won't show an increase, this perk is amazing.
Strike Back: If you spam skills like heals / sticky bomb, this perk reduces your cooldowns by 20% whenever you go low hp.
Battle Buddy: Reduced damage by 50% for both people (EVERY REVIVE). There is no cool down, so spamming revives can tank a load of damage, allowing you to retreat inch by in in panic situations.
Movement Abilities: Tactical Advance ( DPS builds) Evasive Action (Tank/Healer) - These abilities give great bonuses when used properly, and can be effective in many builds
Medic / Healer
Main Talents:
Combat Medic: Group heal, 40% increased self heal - self explainatory
Battle Buddy: 50% reduced incoming damage on revives - Allows you to clutch revive, and can be done at a distance with your skills.
Filler / Play style:
Strike Back: 20% CD reduction on low HP - you will be roaming around supporting your team. You will take damage, this will proc.
Critical Save: 40% reduced incoming damage on low hp medkit use - synergy with strike back / surviving
Evasive Action - 30% reduced incoming damage when cover to cover - be a sneaky tanky healer and make enemies cry
Flanker / Rusher:
Main Talents:
Tactical Advance: +2% damage per meter cover to cover. MASSIVE dps boost
On the move: +30% damage reduction after killing a target while moving. You are a flanker... you will be moving
One is None - Flanked enemies sometimes don't react / move quickly allowing you to zone in and land head shots - this will sky rocket your dps
Filler / Play style:
Evasive Action - 30% reduced incoming damage when cover to cover - synergy with tactical advance / allows you to survive flanks
Combat medic - all around amazing talent
Electronics / Skill Build
This relies on doing burst damage / having your abilities available
Main Perks:
Strike Back - +20% Cool downs on low health - get me
CHAIN REACTION - 40% more explosion damage when hitting multiple hostiles - seriously? Why wouldn't you get this - Effects turret mastery explosion, grenades, and sticky bomb
Demolition Expert - 40% explosion damage for 15 seconds after KILLING AND ENEMY WITH AN EXPLOSION - Highly recommend weakening opponents first, getting a grenade kill, THEN using your skills to optimize burst damage.
Filler:
Police Up: 25% chance to regain ammo after a skill kill. Great for long farming runs.
Combat medic - See a trend here?
Solo Player
This build needs balance in many areas. This one is very much up in the air, but here are a few solid talents that work for most people:
Main Perks:
Combat Medic - Increased heal, more effective med kits, more survivability
One is None - 50% chance to not use bullets on headshots - great for sniping at a distance, but this is always a good perk for saving ammo
On the move - Flanking enemies will force you out of cover. Killing them for the damage reduction and moving to a new area will keep you alive longer
random rolls
a top tier roll out of a lower quality item can be better than a bottom roll of a higher quality one.
Key thing to understand is that nothing in this game has fixed stats. They're all randomly generated and unless you bought a gun from the vendor, its very unlikely many will have the exact same weapon roll as you.
Soldato
- Joined
- 10 Nov 2006
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- 8,578
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- Lincolnshire
My lovely lady is currently sporting these nice tight skinny jeans, shows off her ass, the lads don't go any easier in the DZ though
Just to correct this. It only procs on the KILLING shot - not every headshot. We definitely tested that, as it would be OP as f*ck
It works on the dolls in the firing range (I assume it counts every hit there as a killing blow) -- but not on live opponents.
Also decent starting guide for people who just hit 30.
I got to 30, what now?
Run the following with a group: Use matchmaking. I would recommend groups of 4 but they can be done with 3 or even 2 but it is more difficult.
General Assembly on Hard
Two Named Enemies has chances to drop High Ends
You can get 8+ Purples per run. (2 per boss, 4 from the last boss)
Dailies(on Hard) for Phoenix Credits
Complete the two daily missions available per day on Hard for more purples and PC
Lex Event Center OR Lincoln Tunnel(Challenging - AFTER YOU HAVE FULL PURPLES)
This is an easy mission on Challenging difficulty and it awards a High End piece of GEAR for completing it
Run it multiple times to get High Ends and PC
Build
I suggest using this build to clear the above mentioned missions. It is very user friendly and definitely softens up the learning curve when transitioning from Normal to Hard to Challenging.
Skills
Support Station with Ammo Cache Mod. Gives Faster Skill Recovery and Ammo.
Smart Cover with Recharger Mod. This gives damage reduction and increased damage on the area of cover you use it on. THESE STACK, meaning, if multiple people in the group use it on the same area of cover, the damage reduction and increased damage for each mod on the cover.
Survivor Link. This is recommended because it just makes it easier to survive those tough moments in Challenging runs.
Talents:
Tech Support. Makes your abilities last longer when you kill enemies.
One is None. 50% chance on a headshot to not consume the bullet.
The last two are player preference but I use Precision and Critical Save.
Stats:
Priority: Firearms, Electronics, Stamina - To complete challenging, I recommend 1900+ Firearms, 1700+ Electronics, and 1600+ Stamina. Use those mod slots to finesse your stats the way you need.
For this setup to work you will need a rather high electronics score to maintain 100% uptime on your two skills. With all the damage reduction you will get from your skills and signature ability, you won't need as much stamina. My stats in game are 2031 Firearms, 1946 Electronics, and 1684 Stamina.
That being said, DO NOT IGNORE STAMINA, you will still get one shot if you have 20k health.
Weapons:
I recommend using Cadecus if you are lucky enough to get one to drop. It has an OP talent the synergizes with this build.
You can use Liberator, which is off the special gear vendor as a blueprint if you can't get a Cadecus.
Use the Vector as your Secondary.
High End Extended Magazine for everything.
DPS
Misleading
DPS is not a concrete stat as it weighs things like accuracy.
Damage per bullet
This is what you want to look at the most, followed by the rate of fire.
Mods:
Make sure when comparing weapons you consider mods. Either detach them from both weapons or equip the same mods and compare that way. Play to the strengths of each weapon.
Highly Recommend High End Extended Magazine off the Blueprint Special Vendor.
Phoenix Credit Priority:
Everything you see here can be bought off the Special Gear Vendor in your Tech wing at BoO. Up the stairs and to the left next to the recalibration station.
Vector 45 ACP (See if you can get one that rolls with the "Destructive" Talent and any other 2 dps talents)
Liberator (If you don't have a Cadecus)
High End Extended Magazine Mod
Whatever High End slot you are missing a piece of gear from
High End Mods
Possible Gear Talents and Variations - Listed in no particular order
Chest:
Rapid (Healing skills cooldown decreased)
Robust (Armor while in cover)
Vigorous(Depending if the Med Station ticks can overheal, which I doubt they can. Destroying the med station early causes an overheal for everyone in range already)
Mask:
Refreshed (Healing skills increased by 30% while in last segment of hp)
Tenacious (Using a Medkit increases your damage done)
Rehabilitated (When under a status affect, health regenerated 2% per second)
Knee Pads:
Perceptive (Item and Credit find bonus)
Prosperous (Critical Headshots give credits)
Pack:
Specialized (Adds 13% of Firearms and Stamina to skillpower)
Inventive (Skillpower is increased by 13% while at full hp)
Gloves:
Astute (First 3 bullets have a % chance higher to crit)
Holster:
Nimble (Heal 2% per meter you run in a cover to cover move)
Steadfast (While in cover, health regeneration kicks in twice as fast)
Sturdy (Your armor is increased by % when you stay more than x amount of seconds in the same cover)
As a side note: This guide does not consider Dark Zone Blueprints as they require level 50 Dark zone level to purchase.
I got to 30, what now?
Run the following with a group: Use matchmaking. I would recommend groups of 4 but they can be done with 3 or even 2 but it is more difficult.
General Assembly on Hard
Two Named Enemies has chances to drop High Ends
You can get 8+ Purples per run. (2 per boss, 4 from the last boss)
Dailies(on Hard) for Phoenix Credits
Complete the two daily missions available per day on Hard for more purples and PC
Lex Event Center OR Lincoln Tunnel(Challenging - AFTER YOU HAVE FULL PURPLES)
This is an easy mission on Challenging difficulty and it awards a High End piece of GEAR for completing it
Run it multiple times to get High Ends and PC
Build
I suggest using this build to clear the above mentioned missions. It is very user friendly and definitely softens up the learning curve when transitioning from Normal to Hard to Challenging.
Skills
Support Station with Ammo Cache Mod. Gives Faster Skill Recovery and Ammo.
Smart Cover with Recharger Mod. This gives damage reduction and increased damage on the area of cover you use it on. THESE STACK, meaning, if multiple people in the group use it on the same area of cover, the damage reduction and increased damage for each mod on the cover.
Survivor Link. This is recommended because it just makes it easier to survive those tough moments in Challenging runs.
Talents:
Tech Support. Makes your abilities last longer when you kill enemies.
One is None. 50% chance on a headshot to not consume the bullet.
The last two are player preference but I use Precision and Critical Save.
Stats:
Priority: Firearms, Electronics, Stamina - To complete challenging, I recommend 1900+ Firearms, 1700+ Electronics, and 1600+ Stamina. Use those mod slots to finesse your stats the way you need.
For this setup to work you will need a rather high electronics score to maintain 100% uptime on your two skills. With all the damage reduction you will get from your skills and signature ability, you won't need as much stamina. My stats in game are 2031 Firearms, 1946 Electronics, and 1684 Stamina.
That being said, DO NOT IGNORE STAMINA, you will still get one shot if you have 20k health.
Weapons:
I recommend using Cadecus if you are lucky enough to get one to drop. It has an OP talent the synergizes with this build.
You can use Liberator, which is off the special gear vendor as a blueprint if you can't get a Cadecus.
Use the Vector as your Secondary.
High End Extended Magazine for everything.
DPS
Misleading
DPS is not a concrete stat as it weighs things like accuracy.
Damage per bullet
This is what you want to look at the most, followed by the rate of fire.
Mods:
Make sure when comparing weapons you consider mods. Either detach them from both weapons or equip the same mods and compare that way. Play to the strengths of each weapon.
Highly Recommend High End Extended Magazine off the Blueprint Special Vendor.
Phoenix Credit Priority:
Everything you see here can be bought off the Special Gear Vendor in your Tech wing at BoO. Up the stairs and to the left next to the recalibration station.
Vector 45 ACP (See if you can get one that rolls with the "Destructive" Talent and any other 2 dps talents)
Liberator (If you don't have a Cadecus)
High End Extended Magazine Mod
Whatever High End slot you are missing a piece of gear from
High End Mods
Possible Gear Talents and Variations - Listed in no particular order
Chest:
Rapid (Healing skills cooldown decreased)
Robust (Armor while in cover)
Vigorous(Depending if the Med Station ticks can overheal, which I doubt they can. Destroying the med station early causes an overheal for everyone in range already)
Mask:
Refreshed (Healing skills increased by 30% while in last segment of hp)
Tenacious (Using a Medkit increases your damage done)
Rehabilitated (When under a status affect, health regenerated 2% per second)
Knee Pads:
Perceptive (Item and Credit find bonus)
Prosperous (Critical Headshots give credits)
Pack:
Specialized (Adds 13% of Firearms and Stamina to skillpower)
Inventive (Skillpower is increased by 13% while at full hp)
Gloves:
Astute (First 3 bullets have a % chance higher to crit)
Holster:
Nimble (Heal 2% per meter you run in a cover to cover move)
Steadfast (While in cover, health regeneration kicks in twice as fast)
Sturdy (Your armor is increased by % when you stay more than x amount of seconds in the same cover)
As a side note: This guide does not consider Dark Zone Blueprints as they require level 50 Dark zone level to purchase.
Associate
- Joined
- 23 Sep 2008
- Posts
- 169
The PC Gamer review is poor. There are end game raids planned plus additional daily missions to keep things fresh. I think the graphics are stunning and I like the range of support for ultra widescreen monitors (moving HUD elements to the edges for example) and the built in multi-monitor and voice comms.
As someone else has said it is the first game in ages that I am actually itching to get back on when I am not playing it. And that's before I get into the co-op and PVP elements...
As someone else has said it is the first game in ages that I am actually itching to get back on when I am not playing it. And that's before I get into the co-op and PVP elements...
Completely agree with this.
A decent Shotgun w/ armour penetration works wonders against rushers and the big tanky ones. Team mate burns his armour, rest of the team spray him down.
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- 15 May 2006
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- London
Any level 30s looking to get their DZ rank to 50 this weekend?
How are you getting close enough to do that with a shotgun? Are SMG/AR not safer and equally, if not more, effective?
I'm not saying you guys are wrong at all btw, I'm saying in my experience the shotgun is hugely ineffective due to the fact you're largely dead by the time you're in range to use it, and the payoff for getting close enough isn't worth the risk. If I'm missing some super obvious facts, then I'm more than happy to be enlightened ;D
I'm not saying you guys are wrong at all btw, I'm saying in my experience the shotgun is hugely ineffective due to the fact you're largely dead by the time you're in range to use it, and the payoff for getting close enough isn't worth the risk. If I'm missing some super obvious facts, then I'm more than happy to be enlightened ;D
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