The Division has finally had quite a few details revealed after a long period of relative silence. The game will feature an online world where you and three buddies will be able to fight against the factions trying to take over the dying city. It will be up to you, a sleeper agent of The Division, to eliminate them and reestablish society. There are dark zones meant for some PvP action, and safe zones where you can hang out with other players. If some of these elements sound a bit familiar, it’s because The Division shares a few similarities with 2014’s Destiny.
Both have that MMO-like feel while keeping things on a slightly simple level. Of course, they have their differences, ensuring that they each stand out in a crowd. But with everyone pointing out the similarities between the two, there are a few things that The Division should consider borrowing from its acclaimed sister-game.
Hidden Missions Within Missions
With the release of Destiny: The Taken King, Bungie knew that it had to do more than just add a new area to explore and a boss to defeat. The developers decided to add brand new missions that can only be triggered at certain times and by completing specific tasks. These “side-quests” have lead to powerful exotic rewards for surviving the difficult challenges they pose. This is something that The Division should definitely implement into their game, especially since the world has shrunk after recent announcements.
It’s already known that players will be able to jump back into completed missions on higher difficulties in order to obtain better loot, so why not hide a few extra objectives where they can obtain something truly worthwhile? Maybe a specially customized handgun that shoots ricocheting bullets can be discovered in a secret room within the post office. The Division could add tons of replayability and challenge by implementing these sorts of details.
Challenges
Another feature later introduced in Destiny: The Taken King was the boss challenge. Every week, one of the bosses within the King’s Fall raid would have a challenge tied to it that would net players awards they couldn’t get anywhere else. The challenges made the fight more difficult and required much more teamwork and coordination to pull off. With The Division having such an emphasis on tactical team play, it is the perfect set up for optional challenges during encounters.
Picture coming back to a particularly difficult firefight in a mall lobby only to have the added challenge of only using specific guns and explosives. The limitations will force players to think on their toes and work more closely as a team as bullets constantly fly towards them. Challenges will definitely add some bragging rights to those teams looking for glory.
Raids With More Than Your Team of Three
The Division is not a supernatural game, nor does it take place while you hop from planet to planet. You are in Midtown Manhattan after a virus aimed at wiping out society was released on Black Friday. But that doesn’t mean there is no room for raids. There are plenty of factions residing in the area you’ll be exploring, and each one will have different types of soldiers, some being extraordinarily dangerous. A raid can definitely happen, but it should up the count of your team from the standard three.
Three players is fine for going on missions or just some simple exploration. Most challenges will undoubtedly be completely manageable with 1-3 agents. But, having an activity that takes six or more individuals working strategically to take out a huge threat would be very impressive. It may even be more impressive than Destiny’s raids considering the more grounded reality and no magic to fall back on.
Characters Worth Listening To
In a game that has you completing numerous quests for people other than yourself, there needs to be some effort to make you care about the characters. Whether its humor, attitude, or sympathy, you need to have something to hold onto, something that defines these NPCs. To be honest, Destiny fumbled with this for pretty much the entire first year. There was some story, yes, but most didn’t bother paying attention because there was nothing really worth caring about. You were sent on missions that anyone else could’ve done, and then you came back and were granted less than stellar rewards.
With the arrival of The Taken King, we got to see Cayde-6 and Eris Morn go back and forth, and it was more enjoyable than any character interactions that came before. Your ears became filled with more chatter during missions that both aided and entertained. No longer was your time filled with only dull advice from your friendly ghost. The universe felt more alive.
The Division will need some of that life if it hopes to keep players interested. Make us laugh, make us cry, it doesn’t matter, as long as it gives us a reason to listen.
Dances and Other Opportunities for Fun
The Division is a serious game, and we hope it remains that way. A New York City that has been left empty after a biological attack. Sleeper agents using military equipment and tactics to take out warring faction is definitely fitting for the realistic looking world that’s been created. This is no place for fun and games… but maybe it could be?
Some of the best things to come out of Destiny are the amazing dance videos that players work tirelessly to choreograph. They are lighthearted and fun, and as simple as they may be, players just eat them up. Of course, it doesn’t necessitate they charge for these; they could be unlockables and rewards for some of the many activities in the game.
On top of the dances, some cool clothing would definitely work too, especially when you consider the fact that New York City is one of the fashion capitols of the world.
Listen
This is more from a developer quality than a game feature. Destiny was a very different game when it was first released, and a lot of that has to do with Bungie listening to player feedback and taking it seriously. When it comes to online games, they live and die on their fanbases’ backs. From simple issues such as weapon balancing to more major things like changing the loot system and quest structure, Bungie listened and it changed the game for the better.
With The Division having an upcoming Beta and focusing on online play, there will be a lot of feedback reaching Ubisoft. The dev team needs to be ready to sift through it and adjust the game to help make it the immersive experience they want it to be. A lot of games wait for the next iteration to make improvements to the formula, but Destiny’s constant adjustments since launch show a lot of dedication goes a long way to maintain relevancy. If The Division developers are only going to borrow one thing, let it be that.
The Division has a lot to prove when it launches on PC, Xbox One and PS4 Mar. 8, but it’s had ample time to learn from everything Destiny has seen and done. If they make use of these elements while maintaining the direction that was shown off three years ago, players will be in for a real treat.
More The Division
- The Division’s Live Action Film is Streaming on Prime Video
- Can The Division Avoid Destiny’s Year One Mistakes?
- The Division’s Multiplayer Completely Changes at Level Cap; “Near Infinite” Build Options
- The Division Will Have Its Closed Beta Soon
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