Episode 2 for The Division 2 is schedule for release this October, and with it comes a trunk-load of improvements to gear and loot.
An online action rpg, The Division 2 released earlier this year to a primarily pleased fanbase. Already starting from a far stronger footing than the first game, the dev team has worked diligently to smooth out any balance issues and look into enemy AI and sound bugs.
The Division 2’s Update 4 brought new specializations, skill updates, and more. Senior Game Designer Nikki Kuppens went over the improvements coming with Episode 2, Title Update 6 and it’s looking to rebalance the game.
First, branded gear sets will now be completed with only four items, though they may not be as powerful as when players have the full set. Players will no longer have to guess at which slots are available for a particular piece. This will add new flexibility for players and their builds while still keeping current builds viable.
Raid gear sets in The Division 2 will become more widely available, though the backpack and chest pieces will only be available in the raid. In line with this, backpacks and chest pieces will be getting more powerful with a new high-end talent that will be added to the game. Just like the way playstyles became more diverse with skill changes during The Division 2’s Episode 1 release, loot is becoming far more flexible in build arrangements. In addition to backpacks and chest pieces, named items are getting a bit of love to make them more powerful and give players more of a thrill when one drops.
The developers are thinking of adding 35 new named items to the game, adding special visuals, and increasing the power of the items with talents specifically for the named items. These talents will be more powerful versions of existing talents, but likely unusable with other items other than the matching named item.
All of the new items in The Division 2 will also be easier to acquire with the new loot rotation system. Players will have the ability to target a particular piece in the random loot rotation. This will show the player which zones and in what missions the loot has a chance to drop from. To help players know if they’ve picked up the loot they’re hunting for, a new UI element will be added as well to notify on looting the item.
The update also includes a number of quality-of-life changes including a return to letting players share items across all their Agents, more materials dropped from NPCs, and increased opportunities for gathering materials. The Division 2’s new episodes connect to the campaign and extend the story and life of the game. With big updates such as this released with the episodes, the devs are doing all they can to ensure players will have a long future playing The Division 2.
The Division 2 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Ubisoft
