The Division hasn’t exactly been in great shape since its initial launch earlier this year. However, Massive has just released a very lengthy set of patch notes and details talking about what we can expect from patch 1.4. While these details are still subject to change before the actual drop, the changes here do look like positive ones, and they just might be what the game needs to get players to come back to it again. The Public Test Server will also be going live on PC next week, meaning that PC players will get to check out these changes for themselves.
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Here are the highlights:
Weapon changes
- We want to return The Division to feel more like a shooter, similar to the experience during the 1-30 game.
- New DPS formula on weapons has been introduced, but is a work in progress and will change over the course of the PTS.
- The damage and roles of certain weapons have been changed. Some weapons have seen a damage increase; others have had their damage lowered.
- Named weapons will not be changed in this update.
- Weapon mods will now come with one major bonus and an amount of smaller bonuses, depending on the quality of the mod.
- Damage bonuses are now additive instead of multiplicative, reducing the current spikes in damage which made the game hard to balance.
- The Firearms stat will become a much more significant source of damage output, leading to more decision making when building your character.
- Weapon talents have been rebalanced; some have been buffed, others have seen their numbers reduced.
- The identity of your gear will remain the same, even if the scale of stats and bonuses might change.
Gear and armor changes
- Stamina will be the main source of toughness.
- Armor value will have different results of damage mitigation depending on the World Tier you are in.
- The four-piece bonuses of Gear Sets have been rebalanced.
- Two-piece bonuses will focus more on utility instead of stat bonuses.
- Five-piece bonuses have been removed from the game.
- Reclaimer and BLIND have their four-piece bonuses inactive on the initial PTS version while they are being worked on.
Skill changes
- Electronics will be the main source of Skill Power.
- Skill Power will not scale linearly anymore, instead it will follow a curve of diminishing returns.
- Certain skills are currently much more popular than others. Some skills are overpowered, others underpowered or bugged.
- Skills have been rebalanced to fit the new game balance or to bring them up to par, in the hopes of creating a more varied meta.
- First Aid no longer allows for multiple heals, since those happened due to a bug. First Aid’s healing has been increased to make up for this fix. It will now heal instantly.
- Smart Cover and Pulse have been reworked. Smart Cover is now more defensive and Pulse’s high damage boost has been lowered to make it balanced with the new enemy health.
- Ballistic Shield and Support Station have been given more health. Support Station’s healing has been increased.
- Many bugs associated with skills have been fixed.
The Division is now available on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
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