The Division 2

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Originally Posted by bdoughty

Even when playing in a dark room last night I was having issues. I played the Hotel mission with the early morning light coming in and navigating a couple areas inside the hotel were near impossible. Have not run into rain and fog so far and not looking forward to it outside of the daytime.

I am excited to start playing with the drones, currently have the turret. Sadly the Sticky Bomb is not in the game. This was the best skill upgrade in the first game. Just walk up to 3 enemies in the street, target area and they are toast. You will be missed Sticky Bomb.

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Yeah, I had some fun in parts of the hotel this morning while completing the mission in the daylight in real life.

That really sucks about the Sticky Bomb. I lived and died by that destructive little fucker in the first game. Like you said, shoot it right in the middle of a group of enemies and bam, they're all dead, especially with my character set up that maximized the sticky bomb range and damage and made it essentially a one shot kill on anyone but the toughest named bosses.

That was my and my group's safety net when we would team up and do missions on challenging difficulty or go into the dark zone. Each time we'd hit a new wave of enemies, I'd fire that thing off and disintegrate half the wave in a mere second. Or in the dark zone, if we would come under attack (or if we were crouched and ready to trap some unsuspecting victim :D) , I'd fire off the sticky bomb and fuck up their world before they even knew what was happening. Then it was just a matter of mopping up the survivors.

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I'm enjoying how they have things set up around the map this time. Instead of nothing but missions and random groups of enemies in between, you have to attack control points and enemy territory to "take over" the district. I've been busy kicking ass around the White House and Downtown East.

Then you have smaller activities like public executions to stop, propaganda broadcasts through hijacked speaker systems to stop. Probably some other stuff I haven't discovered yet. I'm actually enjoying these changes. And the Control Points are worth it with the supply caches you get access to after securing them. Guaranteed 1-2 guns and 1-2 gear every control point, and some of it has been pretty damn good stuff.

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Someone on Reddit found the flashlight!

Spoiler: show

https://i.imgur.com/BTd6OgK.jpg?1

:smh:

Ditto on all the new stuff. One thing I really did not like was the civilians in the original. They just wanted food in return for ugly scarves. In this game they serve a purpose.

Yeah, it's been nice, actually coming across roving patrols of civilians out securing sections of the district or out scavenging food. They've helped in quite a few firefights, whereas I was largely by myself in the first game if there wasn't a JTF patrol nearby, which there usually wasn't.

What I'm wondering, can the enemy factions take the control points back? Like will they eventually attack and try to recapture a control point that I had attacked and taken from them? That'd be kind of sweet, being able to essentially play attack and defend with some different control points to keep a firm grip on the various districts.

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I was looking at the reviews, all mostly positive and I came across a site I had not seen in forever. Cheat Code Central. I used to use that site when cheats were an actual thing. Now I post this to see if you can understand how exactly the final score was tabulated (It say not an average but...WTF?) Also the review is light on review and more on agenda, sadly something we are seeing more and more from gaming media. Actual quotes from the review.

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The Division 2 doubles down on that in a way that makes the whole experience feel like violent right wing survivalist porn.

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I found myself going though mission after mission without finding a single piece of equipment that was exciting to find.

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Loot trickles in at a snail’s pace, and it almost never feels like you’re doing as much damage as you should as you level up.

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https://cheatcc.com/ps4/rev/thedivision2review.html

https://i.imgur.com/sHUNr1I.jpg

:fp:

Yeah, definitely trying to shoehorn an agenda into their review. Who gives a shit about left wing/right wing when it comes to video games? This is about surviving essentially the apocalypse via contagion pandemic. Which, I honestly believe, if the contagion of the Division series was a real thing and cities and countries and civilization really were essentially destroyed like we see in the game, I 100% would expect to see what we see in the game happen in real life. You'll have your military and aid organizations trying to keep order, but you're also going to see your gangs and newly created groups of asshats trying to rule things how they want to and fighting over territory and resources and people.

It might not be so doom and gloom in the tiny farming communities and smaller towns of the Midwest or south or something, but major cities like New York City and Washington, DC would be fucking war zones, no matter how many military or national guard units may be around.

If they're calling this game essentially a right wing circle jerk, I wonder what they think of games like The Last of Us, Far Cry, GTA, Dying Light, etc are. Or movies like the Purge series for instance. I bet those movies really triggers them. :D

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Not only that but the loot comments. Holy cow, I can't walk 20 yards without tripping over something to pick up. Constantly updating my weapons/armor with new items I found. This reviewer did not play the same game I am playing.

Seriously, the first game, loot could be sort of hard to come by, pretty much your best chance of upgrading your weapons and equipment were by completing the various missions and side missions and defeating named bosses. Here, like you said, you can't go 20 feet without running into a loot box. I'd almost go so far as to say that they overdid the loot boxes, lol.

But other than maybe one decent gear piece from the Washington Hotel mission, every weapon and gear piece I'm currently wearing and using have come from random loot boxes I've found around the map or from completing control points. And that includes a couple blue specialized quality gear items.

Plus you get a free loot chest every time you level up, which certainly wasn't the case in the first game. That reviewer either hasn't played the game at all, isn't playing it correctly, is an idiot, or has a vendetta against the game for some reason and just wants to make shit up so they can bash it.

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In the 5 minutes since I made that last post, I've already picked up three new gear pieces and a new weapon from loot boxes simply from running two blocks and exploring two back alleys. Difficult to find loot and new weapons/gear my ass.

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It does almost feel like too much loot. Of course some of the consumables are more abundant due to needing to share them, which is fine by me as it adds another layer to bases, control points, etc.

Darkness is still kicking my ass harder than the AI. Dark buildings are the worst. I have died multiple times from the rushers due to rolling into unseen objects. Not to mention that the players melee is horrible.

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Originally Posted by bdoughty

It does almost feel like too much loot. Of course some of the consumables are more abundant due to needing to share them, which is fine by me as it adds another layer to bases, control points, etc.

Darkness is still kicking my ass harder than the AI. Dark buildings are the worst. I have died multiple times from the rushers due to rolling into unseen objects. Not to mention that the players melee is horrible.

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Yeah, it almost feels like they went the other direction, instead of making loot a bit on the rare side in the first game, they just plastered the map with loot containers. I've maxed out my inventory a couple times already in only 10 hours of gameplay, just because I keep finding so many weapons and gear from supply caches.

And I do like what they did with consumables. I never used water or food or anything in the first game, so it was always full in my inventory and resulting in a lot of stuff unable to be picked up around the map because I had no more space for it. Now I can contribute that stuff towards control points and actually put it to use. I'm still wondering if the enemy factions ever attempt to attack and reclaim control points or if it's permanently in friendly control after I capture it.

I agree about night. There were some sections even last night at 1am I was struggling. I may have to bump the brightness up a notch or two.

Also, I don't know, maybe it's just me, but some of these bosses and enemies are more dangerous this game than the first. The only time I ever worried about dying in the first game was going up against elite named bosses. But so far, I've died a couple times trying to swipe some enemy resupply crates and even once or twice running into a group of four or five enemies in the middle of the street. Trying to kill the rushers, while avoiding the very accurate grenades and hide from the gunfire of the others, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Especially as these fuckers will try and flank you very quickly.

I claimed East Downtown last night, completed the checklist at the safe house and unlocked the district boss, Meatwagon or whatever the hell his name was. Of course he had to spawn right now an enemy event, so I not only am trying to kill this elite named boss, I'm also trying to kill about 7 or 8 other regular enemies, including a purple bar enemy or two. Fuck that was hard. I had to fall back about a block and a half, fire at them, maybe kill one or two, run backwards to new cover, restore my shield, kill one or two more, run backwards some more to keep space between them and me.

This definitely feels like a more difficult game to play solo compared to the first game.

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Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes

I'm still wondering if the enemy factions ever attempt to attack and reclaim control points or if it's permanently in friendly control after I capture it.
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Really good video to explain it and I even learned that those storage rooms restock every 24 hours (outside of the big yellow box). More loot! From everything I have read you do not lose control points during the main game (though even this is conflicting with some things I have read). End game on the other hand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OeIzuQrnNs

The game is far more difficult to me. Primarily due to multiple rushers and of course stupid darkness everywhere. The bosses do seem to be a little more mobile which definitely makes things more difficult when he has a few minions running around. There is a skill that you should consider which can help. Hive Reviver. As long as it is not in cooldown, the Reviver will automatically revive you when you go down. Even when you are in a group. Does not work in the DZ though.

After learning about certain perks a few other things I did not know, I will be restarting my character (was only on lvl 5). Also just purchased the season one pass because the game really does kick ass and I will be playing it for quite some time.

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Originally Posted by bdoughty

Really good video to explain it and I even learned that those storage rooms restock every 24 hours (outside of the big yellow box). More loot! From everything I have read you do not lose control points during the main game (though even this is conflicting with some things I have read). End game on the other hand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OeIzuQrnNs

The game is far more difficult to me. Primarily due to multiple rushers and of course stupid darkness everywhere. The bosses do seem to be a little more mobile which definitely makes things more difficult when he has a few minions running around. There is a skill that you should consider which can help. Hive Reviver. As long as it is not in cooldown, the Reviver will automatically revive you when you go down. Even when you are in a group. Does not work in the DZ though.

After learning about certain perks a few other things I did not know, I will be restarting my character (was only on lvl 5). Also just purchased the season one pass because the game really does kick ass and I will be playing it for quite some time.

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Alright, I'll have to give that a watch when I get a chance. And I'm in good shape then, I have Hive Restorer unlocked right now, so I can heal myself when I start to get overwhelmed in battle, but I'll make Hive Reviver my next unlock when I collect enough SHD Tech.

And yes, the enemies are far more mobile and tougher. Between the rushers, the gunners and grenadiers moving around and trying to flank you instead of just hiding behind cover. Bosses will continue to move to get open shots and angles at you. And instead of just chucking a grenade at you, those one enemies apparently have a noob tube or grenade launcher, so they can shoot those fuckers long distance and accurately too! I have yet to complete a main mission or side mission where I haven't died at least once. Playing together with at least one other person, if not a full team, is definitely recommended for this game.

As for me, I'm currently on level 8. I'm pretty happy with my equipment (and their perks), as well as my perks, so I'm good where I'm at so far. Definitely some stuff that I have learned and will approach a bit differently when I buy the game for Xbox One sometime in the next couple weeks and start with a new character on it.

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Back up to lvl 6 with the new character. As much as I liked the Hive Restore the Reviver is a godsend. Unless you are playing with a group you never actually deploy it since it does not restore but it allows me to play differently. Instead of going through all my armor kits when I drop down to the health bar or the last few armor bars are red, I can try play out the scenario if there are only a couple enemies left (thanks to the auto regen of armor when you beat sections of enemies). If they down me, it revives you back up to the 3 red armor bars and health. Then I quickly use the armor kit, as I roll away from what downed me to begin with. Still have died a few times but that is because of the difficulty and if you get trapped and surrounded, you are screwed no matter what. Such is the life of a solo player.

Finally played in the heavy rain/lightning at night and while it looks really nice, damn near unplayable in certain areas. I just ran into a building and waited it out. Found 160 credits worth of junk, plus materials simply going through it and another building. Almost scary to think how much loot I could acquire if I could see in all those dark areas. What was really annoying is there was a picture (collectable) on a second story that I could not find due to the darkness, as the ladder was blacked out and there is no prompt to climb one.

They give us a flashlight and I will have nothing to complain about.

They are currently making a hotfix to deal with some of the skills not working properly. Have not had any problems with either Hive skill but the Turrett would be hit or miss.

Was going with the AR/Marksman combo but with all the rushers in this game I have a newfound love for the LMG. It mows down the runners, I stick to the ones with a 100 clip size as runners tend to come in groups and while not as accurate or having the range of the AR... that is why I have the Marksman or early on the standard rifle variant since Marksmans were non existent for me early on. I also remove the 12x scope from them and have a perk that allows me to replace it with a red dot sight. Same damage, minus a small crit reduction and no annoying scope in scope out transition.

Yeah, I'm rolling with AR/Marksman combo right now. I really don't have any problems with rushers. My AR that I'm using is so fucking stable, I can just sitting there hold the trigger and it will barely, if even at all, sway or recoil. I can mow down two or three rushers with a 31 round magazine before having to reload. If there are any other rushers after that, I just roll away from them and reload.

I'm still trying to adapt to the enemies in this game. The first game, they would just run for cover, hide, take shots at you, maybe two or three would leave cover and approach, but that was largely it. These fuckers in this game however, they will sprint at you, run all different directions and try to flank you. I've died so many times because I'd be going up against 6 or 7 enemies, I'd be focusing on the rushers and the grenade launchers, and would lose track of one or two guys, only to find them nearby with a wide open angle at me or directly behind me. One time, I literally ended up surrounded. I had enemies on every side of me and behind me as they had managed to flank me. I was dead in seconds.

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Originally Posted by bdoughty

Not only that but the loot comments. Holy cow, I can't walk 20 yards without tripping over something to pick up. Constantly updating my weapons/armor with new items I found. This reviewer did not play the same game I am playing.

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I just started playing this Saturday night and IMO it is so much better than the first and I enjoyed that one.

Completely agree on the loot. I find myself wanting to go off the beaten path to find more items. In D1, I never wanted to roam.

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Originally Posted by cdj

I just started playing this Saturday night and IMO it is so much better than the first and I enjoyed that one.

Completely agree on the loot. I find myself wanting to go off the beaten path to find more items. In D1, I never wanted to roam.

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And there is so much to do in the game. The Division had plenty of stuff to do but this is a crazy amount. Even the side missions are fairly extensive and fun to play.

Forgot to post asking how you and JB were with all that flooding that hit Nebraska. Hope things are well.

More political agenda. Most of the review is less about the game but his disdain of Ubi not jumping heavy into politics and that which was left in catered to the right. Not to mention a lack of enjoying looter shooters. Also another person that did not even delve into the endgame, outside of quips he could have easily found on the internet. At least he saw some loot, although it was apparently an annoyance. :fp:

https://www.theguardian.com/games/20...-2-game-review

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It’s dotted with reaction-baiting nods to hot topics – there’s mention of “walls” and “swamps” – but it’s reluctant to engage with these parallels in depth. There’s a strong sense that the game is ducking such conversations because it is, in fact, a celebration of weaponised inequality. For some, the US is already a place where harsh social divisions are maintained by violence, where straying into the wrong region as a member of the wrong demographic can get you killed.

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2 out of 5