PTS 1.4 Week 3 Patch Notes

[DeadSockPuppet]

 Overall not getting the crasy DPS figures anymore (apart from the Scar-H).

Lols, my highest DPS on my toons for 1.3 is like 180-190k.  Granted, that build is stamina, firearms, electronics.  My alt toon is stamina, electronics, firearms.  

 

[RimBlock]

Another couple of changes in 1.4;

• Underground XP to rank up has been drastically reduced (presumably just for testing).  Moving from rank 34 to rank 35 underground on PTS is around 9k XP IIRC (certainly 3 digits).
  
• Gearset and gold items sell pricing seems to have gone from just upder 90k per item (GS229) to just under 55k each for the most part.  Weapons have reversed that and are now around the 90k mark for a decent 229 one.  As you tend to get more gear than weapons, I guess it is done to stop the mass buying of loot caches as you can have so much money very quickly with the Wk2 cash balancing.
  

A cautionary note:  if you accept an invite to team up with someone, after you join them, check out the WT you are on.  I joined some random, checked their GS, which were around 229, and the mission which was a two phase challenging with all directives only to find at the end that all the loot was GS 163 items as they were running it in WT1 :31_neutral_face: .

Finally also got my PC lock sorted out by putting a fan balanced on the video card pointing at the ram.  No lockups so far...

@DeadSockPuppet: Yep the calculation has changed but with my build being fairly even across the board with firearms getting the least love (also looks like a perf mod has dropped off my backpack again), the DPS is fairly high but the reality is not matching expectations based on that figure.  The Scar is good with 44k damage, 275 rpm and 20 rounds in the mag but stability is not so hot.

 

[quinch1199]

Unfortunately I have some PC issues with the new ram I bought.  I suspect overheating but it is causing the machine to lockup usually in the heat of multiplayer missions (hasn't done it when going solo) which is very irritating for me and the rest of the team, I'm sure.  I will be looking at better cooling or changing to a better case.  The fans in the Corsair Carbide 540 I am using are not pushing that much air through.

Mine was doing that, since some patches and GFX card updates its not done it for at least a month. I was getting it at least once per gaming session, hard lock...I had to force a restart (holding power button down) each time. 

Touching wood...as I said, more recently its not occured but I had the same thoughts as you - over heating or memory leak.

 

[RimBlock]

Saw your thread in the other forum on this  :10_wink: .

Was quite surprised that moving it back to 1333MHz (from 2400MHz) made no difference but the extra fan seems to have done it (fingers also crossed).

 

[RimBlock]

Ok, so as some may have seen, SkillUp posted a video about Wk3 being far too easy.  From the video this did seem to be the case.  The video had him going solo in the Underground on Challenging mode with a new character.  He never dies, does not really take more than 1.5 bars of damage and kills a boss with 22 bullets from his weapon.

This is not my experience so I decided to test it out.

I rolled a new character (I am now a strong black woman... well my Agent is... you know what I mean  :12_slight_smile:  ).

On the PTS, purely for testing I am sure, you get 36 caches, your gear is all gold and you have one of each type of weapon (sometimes more than 1).  You also get 4+ mill credits and 800 odd PXC.

After a lot of cache opening I ended up with a 4 piece Strikers, a Tact backpack and the bomb catching ones chest piece.  I had a M60 with ok mods and I actually got a LVOA-C :1_grinning: .  A bit of playing around and I had around 200k Toughness, 120k Skill and 200 - 250K DPS.  My armour is probably around 40% at a guess and I spec'd where possible with Crit chance, Crit Damage and Armour Damage.  For skills I was using smart cover and pulse which I quickly changed to smart cover and overheal after dying a few times.  My sig talent was the extra damage one to try it out so no auto revive.  I decided to run without a Marksman rifle (usually my main or well used secondary weapon).

I decided to go straight for the supply drop and it was not too difficult.  Some roaming AI attacked the AI defending the drop which helped.  The defenders were all grenadiers.  The M60 was not too shabby and the LVOA-C really hammered them fast.

I then moved on to Lincoln Tunnel solo on Challenging.  Two deaths later I made it to the toll booth area.  Another death later I got in to the tunnel and then it got rough...

Doing that mission on solo means when you kill the guys setting the bomb, the NPSs are already in the tunnel by the time you get back to the entrance and there were maybe 7 rushers with baseball bats charging me.  I think I cleared the tunnel on the 3rd attempt (with none of that woosie waiting out the timer leaving one NPC alive) and went on to meet Paul Rodes.

Bang the doors blow and in rush 3 bad guys with 5 machine gunners (not heavies) all shooting in through the hole.  3 tries later (can you see a pattern here) I got to take on the Sniper playmate.  I got him on the 2nd try, died the first time being a bit cocky, and the whole thing was tough, tactical and fun.  To me it was not too easy, it was just right.

Remember, although a new character, she started off with 229 stuff and a wide range of it.  With a bit of tuning she will be better and not die so much but she is a new Agent with different weapons and equipment for what I usually use.

The problem SkillUp mentions is more to do with the size of the jumps in quality due to the limited GS tiers.  As previously suggested, the improvement in gear and weapons should be in small plentiful steps not in big jumps with small tweaks.

Note, I do tend to agree with SkillUp that the Underground on Challenging is fairly easy.  Maybe just a bit harder than Hard in 1.3.  That probably needs a tweak but not the missions IMO.

 

[quinch1199]

As previously suggested, the improvement in gear and weapons should be in small plentiful steps not in big jumps with small tweaks.

Excellent testing work done Rim! I have to agree with this idea, "gearing up" in more established MMORPG's is a very incremental thing. By being able to very gradually improve stats means that crafting items has its own place to fill the gaps between major gear set item lifts. I don't feel Massive have quite exploited this mechanism yet as it still seem's they're trying to find their feet in MMORPG building but they have all the pieces in there what with all the Mods that "could" be craftable, I just think the method they currently have for implementing isn't sufficient unless they make more radical changes elsewhere. 

I'll just say that those radical changes elsewhere aren't needed to make a Gear Item > Crafting Enhancements > Next Gear Item gradation system work but I'm not convinced that they actually want to make Crafting a "thing" in the game. 

The game has always seemed ENTIRELY Random Drop orientated. Granted most other MMORPG's use random drops as the MAIN focus and method of skill progression ... but ... crafting is always the buffer to allow a very gradual improvement in stats and The Division lacks that entirely since 1.2

Remember when you could convert crafting materials in 1.1? They changed it as they "didn't want crafting to be the method to progress characters" .... I really think they missed the point of why and how crafting works within other games of similar genre. 

(Like, seriously Massive... can't you get a consultant from Diablo or World of Warcraft or Guild Wars or even ArcheAge to help out!?!?) 

 

[supercat]

Trying to see what's up with the updates, it seems from you guys' comments it just being flipped back again and still not getting the middle spot, yeah?

 

[quinch1199]

Trying to see what's up with the updates, it seems from you guys' comments it just being flipped back again and still not getting the middle spot, yeah?

Sort of. 

I think they're not entirely sure what and how to fix things, now the way things are moving back and forth may be an indication of a great many things from restrictions within the game engine itself through to internal issues between departments of Massive itself pushing against each other or just a lack of any real clear direction as to what they think will improve the game. 

In this and in previous patches they seem to get non-core gameplay things pretty much spot on, but when it comes to core gameplay they seem to keep pushing perimeters too far one way and have to keep repatching to pull them right back again to pretty much the starting position and I'm a little confused as to exactly why this is. 

There's certainly a reason for it, good or bad, and I wish I knew what it was.  

Maybe its just a matter of knowing exactly what they want to do but not having the MMORPG experience or skills to actually do it. Kind of like me wanting to paint a portrait...I know how I want it to look like and turn out but I may have zero idea how to use oil paints on canvas, or indeed how to draw.

 

[supercat]

I honestly think they should look up to Borderlands 1 as a Multiplayer Shooter Action RPG reference.

Yes, Borderlands ONE, not 2 nor Pre-Sequel. Borderlands 1 was when the game was pretty balanced. Raid boss and stage bosses were the only one had sponge-health. Other than that, enemies were fairly easy to die as much as you do, as long as your level and gears are up to date.

Other than that, the loot drop was rich. But that doesn't mean you get Gold gear everytime. And while you don't get Gold or Purple gears everytime, that also doesn't mean White and Blue classes are completely obsolete. They're still useful, but just slightly has lower damage, with less stability / less accurate / slower reload speed, etc.

Variation can also be done and gives effects according to your setup. There's the best setup, but between the best setup and your casual setup do not give a drastic different.

Ahhh.... How fun that was. And then people started to complain and wanted this that and there goes Bordelands 2 with ridiculous bulletsponge, enemy health recovery, your fancy paper armor, and no-slag-no-go system, thanks to masochists.

 

[RimBlock]

Ok, so here is the base character for Wk 3 new build.

Notable details;

• +20% Dam to Elites.
  
• +53% Enemy Armour Damage.
  
• 37% Armour.
  
• 121K Health.
  
• +15.5% Crit Chance.
  
• +50% Crit Dam.
  
• +75% Headshot.
  
• +906 Assault Rifle Dam.
  
• LVOA-C DPS is 208k and works very well
  
• M60 DPS is 178k and is too slow for me for solo play.
  
• The SCAR-H I found has a DPS of 254k and is really unstable after the first shot.
  

Warrengate tonight solo, couldn't get through the front doors.  My PC then crashed twice as well playing with a random group doing it.  Missed the boss battle  :37_disappointed: .

Hardest weekly HVT was ok but then got a delta error near the last wave  :37_disappointed: .

Tonight is not a Division night for me it seems.

 

[quinch1199]

Gotta love LVOA-C's ... I guess errors, random disconnects etc are to be expected on a test server, but damn...annoying!

 

[supercat]

20% damage to Elite enemy, but how much is the Elite's health now btw?

 

[Oh. daesu]

20% damage to Elite enemy, but how much is the Elite's health now btw?

Not sure there is a number for health or armour. Most of the numbers are relative between the pts week patches not back to 1.3, that I can see. They certainly have nerfed the elites, though. Bear in mind, the weapon bonuses were mostly nerfed (tho base damage buffed), and despite that the elites still seem nerfed. All the talk you are reading is more about "how much" they were nerfed.

I think it is the bosses which have been nerfed the most.

 

[RimBlock]

So have played a bit more and tuned the character a little more.  Am now using the LVOA-C and either the MP7 or Minimi.  The fire rate of the MP7 is just brutal close up.

I also switched to the live game servers for a bit of fun today.  Did Lexington for challenge mode daily with a random group.  Bugged start twice before I could start.  Completed and got 182s, from challenging.  They will be knocked down IIRC when 1.4 hits to GS 163s.  I also did Heroic and got a bugged start again (all joining others missions).  That gave GS204s...  No point running those on the live server for me at the moment.  Perf mods, weapon mods and maybe even gear mods are probably worth running for but they have Lvl 33 versions in 1.4.

Also, keep your stashes and inv loaded if you can.  Sell the trash in 1.4 as you get a lot more credits for them if they keep those numbers the same.  PTS WK2, gear was better to sell but Wk 3 PTS they swapped it so weapons sold fo the most (229 @ 85k or so).  Not sure about Wk 4 but keep your gear and sell when you get 1.4 on the live servers would be my suggestion.

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

Completed and got 182s, from challenging.  They will be knocked down IIRC when 1.4 hits to GS 163s.  I also did Heroic and got a bugged start again (all joining others missions).  That gave GS204s...  No point running those on the live server for me at the moment.  Perf mods, weapon mods and maybe even gear mods are probably worth running for but they have Lvl 33 versions in 1.4.

Yeah, posted about this in the #justdivisionthings thread.  Last week and the week before I did the CM and HM dailies and only got 182s (someone in my group got one or more 204).  Because of that, I've switched to running UG to try and get as close to lvl 40 before 1.4 drops.  

I don't run DZ, because I don't have patience for trolls and griefers, so UG is one of the few useful things I can do.  I can get 229/268 4x/month from the supply drops for my two toons, I can get 268 from the hardest weekly HVT and I can get 229/268 from the UG level caches.  I've yet to find a group that can beat CM UG missions (mainly running matchmaking and people don't communicate) and just hit 20 to open 2-phase missions, so I'm not really getting decent gear from UG missions alone (aside from the occasional 240 piece).  

 

[ChowYunFats]

For those who are interested in the PTS 1.4 changes.

http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/1502900-PTS-Week-3-Patch-Notes?s=1bd7af933c618e5cae7ea89bac3047e7&p=11980102#post11980102

• Elites - time to kill. They scaled back the damage and armor of elites. So, Week 1 - real easy, week 2 - people felt it was too hard. Week 3 they are hoping for Goldilocks.
  
• Search and Destroy.  Less elites will be encountered. Back to veterans.
  
• Skills will have different threat levels. e.g. Ballistic Shield - high threat, Smart Cover low threat.
  
• Vendor purchases are scalable to your agent gs#. Blue prints not scalable.
  
• Check the vendors for Named Weapons, and open world. More scalable depending on the context. There is meant to be more exploration in knowing where to them.
  
• Diminishing returns on electronics and skills has been decreased.
  
• No purple drops killing mid-level bosses. Though fixed with underground caches.
  
• MG5 was a mistake. Goneski.
  
• Division Tech removed as a crafting requirement. It will be irrelevant in 1.4, though at a later date they shall find a use for it once again.
  
• Banshee (formally know as Blind). Speed bonus is removed, was causing issues with low spec machines. I can't see it in the patch notes, however they were talking about a gear talent to preserve your DZ credits on death.
  
• Mod lv 33, will make a return. Though with limitations. Bear in mind these were originally an impact on the gap between min-maxes and casual players.
  

Incursion Weighting. Sets are rng'ed. Gear pieces are weighted.

• Falcon Lost: Masks and gloves
  
• Clear Sky:    Vests and Holsters
  
• Dragon's Nest: Backpacks and Knee pads
  

EDIT:

This week is a reset. You shall be porting your 1.3 toons over again.

Is this from the Public Text Server rite not to sound like a idiot 

 

[Oh. daesu]

Is this from the Public Text Server rite not to sound like a idiot 

Yep, just the PTS. They haven't committed to a release date as yet. They had originally said in October, and there's not much of October left. Maybe.. maybe... next week. I doubt they'll suddenly say it'll be released this week. Though people would probably welcome it.

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

I'm still thinking 11/1 or 11/8 before 1.4 drops.  They have to finish reviewing PTS 1.4, make the final changes and then get the final patch approved by MS & Sony.