Tom Clancy’s The Division will be deploying update 1.1 in a few days. This is very exciting for all of us as it will be the first major content update since the release of the game. With it, Ubisoft will implement new End-Game activities and a new layer of character progression with gear score 204 (equivalent level 32) items and Gear Sets items.
However, as this new layer of character equipment is added to the game, Ubisoft says “We also wanted to seize this opportunity to address something that will change your end game experience significantly: the importance of crafting versus item drops”.
State of Crafting
The Division is primarily an RPG. As such, gearing up your character is one of the main aspects and incentives to keep playing the game once the story missions are completed and max level is reached.
As part of the End-Game loop, players are expected to obtain their equipment by trying to beat challenging activities, and be rewarded for it. As each player develops and perfects their build, he or she will be looking for very specific items that will contribute to that build. Looking for one specific item can be quite tedious, but it should also feel extremely satisfying when the item is finally acquired.
The way the crafting feature is designed is to offer an alternative for players to temporarily complete their gear, by crafting missing pieces of their level. For End-Game Ubisoft wants crafting and different in-game economies to provide reliable but slower source of gear compared to loot dropped from named enemies. If after many attempts you could not find said item, you should have acquired enough materials to try to craft something similar instead. It will not replace the item, but you will still be rewarded for your persistence.
However, at the moment, loot drops are just too rare and disappointing, putting too much of an emphasis on crafting: you are looking for crafting materials and may sometimes end up dropping an interesting item in the process.
This is clearly illustrated in the following graph.
Here you can see how many Item level 31 High-End items were acquired through crafting compared to items acquired as loot drops.
As many of players pointed out in the past weeks, the end result does not provide the level of fun that Ubisoft had hoped for.
To address the situation, and simply make End-Game more satisfying and more focused towards improving your build one piece at a time, Ubisoft will be implementing a series of changes with update 1.1, some of which have already been communicated in the Patch Notes, and others that Ubisoft is about to reveal now.
More High-End Items
From now on killing a named NPC will grant you a guaranteed High-End drop! That’s right, you will now always get a High-End item from killing a named NPC of level 30+.
The gear score of said High-End will be determined by the level of the NPC. For example, a level 30 named will guarantee a gear score 163 High-End. With so much more High-End drops, you’ll quickly notice that crafting High-End items, while more expensive, will not necessarily be much more complicated. To make sure that crafting remains a viable alternative, Ubisoft will also increase drop rates of Division Tech materials to 40% on level 32 named enemies in the Dark Zone.
New drop tables have been designed to grant you just enough control to focus your efforts on specific NPCs, depending on your need. Each named NPC will now have more chances to grant a specific type of High-End item. By discovering the specificities of each named NPC, you will quickly learn which ones you should focus on in order to obtain specific items.
Crafting as an alternative
You have already seen the changes that will be brought to crafting, but let’s go through them in more details here. Increased costs for converting crafting materials and crafting High-End items:
10 Standard (Green) materials instead of 5 to craft 1 Specialized (Blue) material
15 Specialized (Blue) materials instead of 5 to craft 1 High-End (Gold) material
10 High-End (Gold) materials instead of 8 to craft 1 lvl 31 High-End (Gold) item
Changed deconstruction yield of Standard (Green) and High-End (Gold) items:
Deconstructing a Standard (Green) item yields 1 Standard material instead of 2
Deconstructing a High-End (Gold) item yields 1 High-End material instead of 2
By changing the conversion rates, Ubisoft will encourage players to use their low level materials while they are leveling up, instead of saving them until they reach level 30. It will also bring more decision making between selling and deconstructing low quality items. Most High-End materials should come from deconstructing High-End items, and not deconstructing lower quality items to then convert these materials into High-End ones. Similarly, lowering yields when deconstructing items will also lower the efficiency of items farming.
Once again, Ubisoft wants you to consider deconstructing and material converting as an alternative when you get an item that doesn’t contribute to your build, and not the main mean to develop your build as a whole.
To sum up the list of changes brought with update 1.1 in regards to item drops and crafting:
- Increase drop rates of High-End items on named NPCs (100% drop rate, actually)
- Increase drop rates of Division Tech, to make it less of a bottleneck than it currently is
- Modify loot tables for each named NPC, to make the hunt for loot more controlled
- Increase conversion costs of lower quality materials to high quality ones, making it harder to convert low quality materials into high quality ones
- Decrease construction yields, making it less interesting to farm lower quality items in order to obtain crafting materials, and because you’ll get more High-End items as a whole
- Increase cost of crafting High-End items, because High-End materials will be much easier to come by
These changes will not only make crafting and dropping more coherent towards each other, but will also make it feel much more fun and rewarding.
Ubisoft says, “balancing an online game is no easy task, and while we believe that these changes are a step in the right direction for the future of the game, we will keep monitoring the situation and address what needs to be modified. But more than that, we will have an eye on all aspects of your experience, and balance things when needed. Sometimes it means making hard decisions that might not be appreciated, and when this happens we will make sure to give you the visibility you need to understand why these decisions are made.”
Here are the complete Update 1.1 Patch Notes:
NEW FEATURES
Falcon Lost
- Falcon Lost is a new incursion available in the Stuyvesant area
- You must be level 30 and have completed the mission “General Assembly” to access this mission
- The encounter is balanced for 4 players with high level gear
Gear Sets
- Gear set equipment can be found by completing the most challenging activities in Manhattan
- Collecting and wearing gear sets grant powerful stat bonuses and talents
- Gear sets of varying gear scores can be found for many playstyles. Find the set that best suits yours
- “Tactician’s Authority” – enhances electronics and support capabilities
- “Striker’s Battlegear” – provide bonuses for assault capabilities
- “Sentry’s Call” – enhances marksman capabilities
- “Path of the Nomad” – provides bonuses for lone wanderers
Trading
- Gear set equipment can be found by completing the most challenging activities in Manhattan
- Collecting and wearing gear sets grant powerful stat bonuses and talents
- Gear sets of varying gear scores can be found for many playstyles. Find the set that best suits yours
- “Tactician’s Authority” – enhances electronics and support capabilities
- “Striker’s Battlegear” – provide bonuses for assault capabilities
- “Sentry’s Call” – enhances marksman capabilities
- “Path of the Nomad” – provides bonuses for lone wanderers
Assignments
- Assignments are automatically obtained when you log in and can be tracked from the map via the menu called “Mission Overview”
- Assignments are available for a limited time (24h for Daily Assignments and 7 days for Weekly Assignments), after which, they will be replaced by different assignments.
- Assignments come in different categories: Combat, Dark Zone, Crafting. Most assignments can be completed while playing alone but some will require enlisting other agent’s assistance to complete.
Dark Zone Supply Drops
- Dark Zone Supply Drops are a global event where the Strategic Homeland Defense agency airdrops multiple supply caches to assist Division agents
- Supply drops will occur multiple times over the course the day
- The supply drops will contain non-contaminated gear of all types that will be ready to use without the need for extraction
- These supply drops will be heavily sought after by other agents and enemy factions that roam the Dark Zone, so be ready for resistance
Gear Score
- Every non-vanity gear piece that can be found when your agent is level 30 has a Gear Score value. The higher an item’s Gear Score, the stronger the item
- The overall Gear Score of your agent can be seen in your main menu next to your player level. Gear Score indicates the advancement of an agent
- Other agents’ Gear Scores are displayed next to their health bars
- Improving your gear and increasing your overall Gear Score will grant your agent access to the most dangerous high-end challenges
Group Spectator Camera
- The Group Spectator Cam lets players spectate members of their group while waiting to be revived or the entire group to be down
- Players can use RB/LB, R1/L1 or Q/E keys to switch between group members
New High-End Named Weapons
- Warlord: Assault Rifle
- Valkyria: Submachine gun
- (Historian: Marksman Rifle) Please note that while the Historian will be implemented in the game with this update, it will not be acquirable in-game until update 1.2
GAME CHANGES
Gameplay
- Turret skill can no longer suppress enemy NPCs, as this allowed named NPCs to be defeated too easily
- Recalibrating High-End items will now cost normal Credits instead of Phoenix Credits
- Phoenix Credits drop have been increased on lvl 31 and 32 named enemies:
- Level 30: 1-3 Phoenix Credits
- Level 31: 2-4 Phoenix Credits
- Level 32: 3-5 Phoenix Credits
Dark Zone
- The vendor in the Church Safe House will now sell items in Dark Zone Funds instead of Phoenix Credits
- Ranks requirements for Superior and High-End quality items at the Dark Zone Vendors have been adjusted:
- Superior (Purple) items: Rank 15 instead of 30
- High-End (Gold) level 30 (Gear Score 163): Rank 25 instead of 50
- High-End (Gold) level 31 (Gear Score 182): Rank 40 instead of 50
- Added a new Dark Zone bracket for characters with Gear Score 160+
Crafting
- Increased costs for converting crafting materials and crafting High-End items:
- 10 Standard (Green) materials instead of 5 to craft 1 Specialized (Blue) material
- 15 Specialized (Blue) materials instead of 5 to craft 1 High-End (Gold) material
- 10 High-End (Gold) materials instead of 8 to craft 1 lvl 31 High-End (Gold) item
- Changed deconstruction yield of Standard (Green) and High-End (Gold) items:
- Deconstructing a Standard (Green) item yields 1 Standard material instead of 2
- Deconstructing a High-End (Gold) item yields 1 High-End material instead of 2
- Added new level 31 and 32 High-End items Blueprints to Vendors
- Removed Division Tech requirements from some level 31 High-End Blueprints
User Interface: Added gamepad deadzone calibration in settings menu (all platforms)
BUG FIXES
- Fixed a bug where sometimes the weapon talents would not activate if the player has the exact stat requirements
- Fixed a bug where players could exit the Dark Zone on East 43rd street
- Reloading stripper clips is now correctly interrupted by firing the weapon (marksman rifles and shotguns)
- Fixed an issue where buying a weapon with a pre-attached scope using the buy and equip feature sometimes caused the scope to un-equip
- Fixed an exploit where players could shoot through corners of covers
- Fixed a number of locations where NPCs could shoot through walls
- Fixed an exploit where players could ignore the fire rate of certain weapons
- Fixed some locations where players would get stuck in Queen Tunnel Camp mission
- Fixed various prop collisions so that players no longer become stuck
- Fixed a bug where the final cut scenes would unlock before the final missions were completed
- Fixed a bug where the Water Supply side mission would not activate
- Fixed an issue where the Morphine Supply side mission sometimes would not complete
- Players no longer receive too much XP for completing the Morphine Supply side mission
- The buff from Smart Cover no longer stacks if multiple teammates are using it on the same piece of cover
- Fixed some bugs where deployable skills would not activate under certain circumstances
- Fixed a bug where voice chat volume indicators would overlap in the group UI frame
- Fixed a bug where receiving a group invite via Matchmaking would sometimes not show up on the screen
- Fixed a bug where the dead teammate icon would turn into a blue dot instead of a red cross if the players were too far away from each other
- Fixed an issue where a player would be unable to inspect the appearance of his/her character while changing outfits
- Fixed some UI elements for mission overview frame and adjusted some of the misaligned icons
- Corrected the colors for the appearance items in the Mission rewards list
- NPC’s will no longer ignore the player while they are attempting to interact with props (arming/disarming bombs)
- Fixed a bug where a NPC would sometimes not leave its spawn area during the Morphine Supply side mission
- Fixed a bug where NPC’s would sometimes not respawn at one of the landmarks in the Dark Zone
- Several clipping issues have been fixed with various appearance items
- Some tooltips have been updated with more clear information
- And many more
PC specific
- Added new resolution scaling and lighting options
- Added support for reporting players on PC. Players can now type in chat /report
- Improvements to resolution detection and switching between display modes
- Fixed some issues with camera movement while using Tobii Eye Tracker
- Fixed screen look for minimap when using Tobii Eye Tracker
- Fixed several issues with Logitech peripherals
- Fixed several graphic issues due to dual monitor display
- Fixed an issue where players could move UI elements out of the visible screen area
Included in the new features are Assignments. Dive deeper into the world of The Division with weekly assignments, new rewards and more with the all new series of Operation ISAC. New Operation ISAC missions posted every Tuesday at 9:00 A.M. PST. Get your weekly assignment and help take back New York.
Watch the teaser trailer here: