I think the weakest feature of The Division are players who prefer to complain over playing The Division like The Division.

In other words:
Ever since launch of the game there have been a few players who weren't really interested in builds, in strategies or tactics, in taking cover, in taking on challenging gameplay or most of the aspects that make The Division The Division – and not Call of Duty. They kept on complaining how hard the game was – because they simply weren't good enough for the hardest difficulties, but yet somehow demanded to be able to complete them with ease. Gear? Too complicated. Loot? Too bad. Enemies? Too strong. Mechanics? Don't care.

Basically all those complaints nearly rendered the cover-feature useless (as the OP described), because the game has become so easy and some builds (especially builds with shields) have become so ridiculously overpowered, that taking cover is not even a necessity on heroic difficulty.

I really miss the times back when only invaded missions offered heroic difficulty and the missions were so [censored] hard that we sometimes had to fall back several rooms to regroup and make new plans. So maybe you could say that currently the weakest feature of The Division is the lack of really challenging content (which imho would go a long way concerning replayability and longtime-motivation for veterans). But since (imho) not The Division is to blame for this lack of challenging content but the group of players crying for an easier game (instead of playing on lower difficulty levels) I decided to pick them as the weakest feature.

(...) "Game is Unbalanced" translates to I am not as good as I think I am and I want the game to be re-adjusted to fit my lack of resilience and consumer entitlement.

So true, so true. And not only for this thread, but for nearly every random rant-thread focussing on how unbalanced and unfair the game is, how overpowered the NPCs are and how ineffective we are/our gear is.

Welcome agent!

The key to this issue is using Optimization and Expertise correctly. And also Recalibration. To start from the beginning (as I suspect you are a rather new agent) you need to know that months and months and years ago we only had Recalibration for making changes to our gear. Later (when everyone including the devs thought the game would have reached the end of its lifecycle) they added Optimization. And finally, when trying to revive the game and add new things to strive for, they added Expertise.

This means that you should also utilize these mechanics in exactly the same order:

1.: farm for better loot
2.: recalibrate your best items
3.: optimize only your very best items that are only 1 or 2 percent away from perfection
4.: upgrade only your favorite and most used items with Expertise


1.: farm for better loot
Farming is always THE way to get your hands on good items. It's the most fun and the most efficient way to get better items. If you for example have a Fenris glove with 12% Weapon Damage, 2% Skill Haste, and 10k Health – just farm for a better one. Use Targeted Loot, play The Summit or Countdown. You'll quickly find a better glove with minor attributes that will fit this glove better than Skill Haste or Health.


2.: recalibrate your best items
Recalibration allows you to change one attribute or talent on any item (except for exotic items and the special attributes/talents of named items). But you need to have the respective attribute or talent in your Recalibration Library. So make sure to always go to the Recalibration Library and safe every talent (of vests, backpacks, and weapons) and every nicely rolled attribute from any item you do not need anymore.

If you have a well filled Recalibration Library (which you can achieve pretty fast since you only need to find items with only one good roll for feeding your library) you can remove a badly rolled attribute or unwanted attribute for your desired attribute. Even already max rolled, if you have already stored the max roll of that attribute inside your library.

So for example – you found a Fenris glove with 12.3% Weapon Damage, 2% CHC, and 12% Skill Haste. You now could either add the 12% Skill Haste to your Recalibration Library, as this is the max roll for this attribute, destroying the glove in this process. Or you could use Recalibration to change the 12% Skill Haste to Critical Hit Damage (to whatever value you have stored inside your library, up to the max roll of 12%).


3.: optimize only your very best items that are only 1 or 2 percent away from perfection
Optimization is expensive by design. It is only meant to allow players to perfect their already very very very very good items when farming for better items would take ridiculously long. Only use it for items that are already close to perfection and will stay in use. Make sure to not waste time and material on items that have mediocre rolls, unwanted attributes, or unwanted talents.

So in our previous example we found a Fenris glove with 12.3% Weapon Damage and 2% CHC and recalibrated it to have 12% CHD. So... 12.3% Weapon Damage is on ok'ish value with you might want to optimize only (!) on items which otherwise have very rare combinations of attributes and talents. But for items without talents or "regular" attribute combinations (here: red core attribute on a Brand that always drops with a red core plus red minor attributes) do not optimize such a value. 2% CHC is a bad roll. Do never optimize a bad roll. This also means: do never roll ANY attribute on an item that has at least one badly rolled attribute.

The solution here is: start back at 1.: – you'll be able to find a Fenris glove with 14.6% Weapon Damage and 5.5% CHC. You can now (step 2.) recalibrate it to again have 12% CHD. You now can optimize this item to have the full 15% Weapon Damage and 6% CHC, as farming for an item with all perfect attributes might take you a bit longer (not saying that it is impossible, not at all).


4.: upgrade only your favorite and most used items with Expertise
Now, Expertise is a bit more complicated as it is the latest addition to the game. It also consists of two main steps. Step 1 would be gaining Proficiency Ranks across all items and skills. All your acquired Proficiency Ranks across the whole board will then add up to define your agent's Expertise Level. Which then will allow you to increase the Grade of any item you are Proficient with (aka Proficiency Rank 10) according to this Expertise Level in Step 2.

As you have stated you'd have to play and use all the stuff you don't like – incorrect. You can donate items as well as materials to also increase Proficiency with items and skills you don't use or don't even have. For example: donating any Grupo item will help to increase your Proficiency with this Brand without having to have a Grupo item equipped. Or you can donate any material instead of an item (very useful for skills and Specializations).

So while gaining Proficiency Ranks and thus leveling up your agent's Expertise Level in step 1 is rather simple, eventually upgrading items is more expensive. So keep in mind here: really only upgrade items via Expertise with which you have gone through the first three steps of this little guide and that you really use a lot (or even in more than one build). This way you can prevent wasting resources and utilize the Expertise system's potential the best.


Final addition:
Always keep in mind that neither Optimization nor Expertise are needed to complete any content or any difficulty in The Division 2. So you don't need to rush things here, do not put yourself under pressure in any way. Just because YouTubers post videos about how fast you'd have to level in their opinion or because you meet agents with fully optimized gear doesn't mean that you'd not be able to enjoy the game to its full extend. Optimized and upgraded gear will not alone carry you, if you otherwise fail to crate a proper build or learn enough about the game's mechanics. So... if you should struggle with a certain activity or difficulty level, the answer is not Optimization or Expertise. The answer is learning how to create builds that utilize core attributes, talents, bonuses, etc. pp. the best... is learning how to deal with enemy factions and archetypes... is learning how to keep the upper hand on the battlefield.

So: enjoy the game, play whatever you like to play – and have an eye on Optimization and Expertise while doing so. But don't let that stuff freak you out.
Have fun, agent. I hope this "all of text" does help you a bit!

(...) The endless grind and farming for resources is not only time consuming and stupid but it's typically something for those who don't have a job or a normal life for that matter. (...)

Oh well... the old "I have a normal life and a job" bogus argument. You need to know a few things about this kind of argument – one for example is that there are a lot of people who do have "normal lives", family, jobs, friends, other hobbies, pet, etc. that nonetheless do have high SHD Levels and do have optimized builds and items at Grade 20 or 21. Disregarding cheaters and glitchers, the legit veterans probably just invest more of their free time into this game or simply are better at farming efficiently for whatever they are looking for (XP, mats, Proficiency Ranks, ...). So... just because you can not invest or don't want to invest more time into the game... or because you're not yet as proficient as other players does not mean that dedicated long-term systems for dedicated long-term players need to be simplified for a your personal needs.

This already is the next thing one needs to know about games like The Division 2 – there will always be people that either are pretty new to the game or still are very much at the beginning of the endgame. And then there are players who already have been playing the game for hundreds and thousands of hours. So of course they will have better gear, higher levels, some very rare items. But as a new or casual player there really is no need to put pressure on yourself because some players naturally are more advanced. Because that's the whole logic behind a looter shooter or any game like this – everyone starts as a noob... and if you want to get better gear and become a better player in order to advance to the highest difficulties you will need to put your back into it.

Also keep in mind that the game offers a variety of difficulties to cater to each kind of player – from casual gamer to long-term veteran. So just choose the difficulty that suits your skill level, that suits your way of having fun. Additionally, neither Optimization nor Expertise are needed for any content or any difficulty in The Division 2. So even in case you completely ignore it, you will not be missing out on any content.

(...) Sometimes I see players in the DZ with a watch level of 15000 + and in Countdown with 55000+. (...)

Yes, that's the ugly truth of such systems. There will always be people cheating and abusing glitches. But this of course is hard to tell from only looking at an SHD Level. While 15k is totally doable the legit way if you know what you're doing, 55k reeks of having abused glitches (for example the infamous floor 10 of The Summit).

(...) here is no way these players can compete against those high level ones. (...)

Speaking only of PVP – this imho is a fundamental error in how PvP is designed in The Division 2. Both Expertise and SHD Levels should be removed / normalized just like gear quality. Of course creating a superior build will always be a huge part of PvP in The Division (apart from skill), but this should only be about the way Brands and Gear Sets, talents and attributes are combined... and not about whether your AR has Grade 21 or not.

(...) They should get banned. Back in my day playing another game, there was a server where people abusing glitches were treated as cheaters (that's what they are anyway), (...)

I couldn't agree more. People knowingly and repeatedly abusing glitches or exploits thus also knowingly and repeatedly violating the Ubisoft Code of Conduct, harming the game as a product and the community should be punished with bans (or roll-backs, if possible).

Although I know that it sounds harsh, but I am so sick of YouTubers and Twitch streamers publishing video guides how to exploit again and again or do speed-leveling streams with using two or more exploits at the same time. This behavior is harmful. Especially because people copy this behavior, claiming they'd only be having "fun". Growing the utterly wrong belief that cheating would be quite alright while they are having their "fun" at other people's (and the game's health's) expense.

(...) Guess devs should add a new "journalist" difficulty that gives the best gear and removes weapons from enemies and make them all be lv1, that way the game truly will be acceptable of all people and no one would ge left behind. After all things such as heroic and legendary are just for bad and mean people who like to trash talk the others, anyone who likes challanges is just a masochist troll who wants others to suffer >:/

Very well spoken.

I still think that different difficulty levels are in a game to pose the right challenge for players with different skills and experiences. Doom's "Nightmare" mode hasn't been made easily accessible for new players just because the game got old. FIFA games never change the difficulty of their "Legendary" difficulty, even when the next installment of the series is available. For casual fun there are casual difficulties like "Amateur" or "Semi-Pro" or Hurt me plenty." – so why is it that seemingly only casual Division players demand to have the hardest difficulties practically removed?

Casual or new or unexperienced players totally should be able to enjoy the game on "Story", "Normal" or "Hard" or nowadays maybe even "Challenging" difficulty. They do have lots of difficulty levels to pick the correct one for their personal way of having fun. Why can't they just accept that higher difficulties should demand more experience, more knowledge, and probably also a bit more skill (and not overpowered gear or more nerfs to the difficulty itself)? Because there are players, a lot of players, having fun with the toughest difficulties. And players that actually want to go the way of slowly progressing and constantly getting better at the game. Don't remove exactly this fun for all those players. Don't remove challenges from the game just because some players can't (yet) tackle them.

I think they're referring to the heroic difficulty (...)

And I think, you're right. Possibly, they have set their global difficulty (and thus the manhunt mission) to "challenging", but felt the mission to be rather "heroic".

Yes, some missions per design are tougher than other missions, although being played at the same difficulty. But that's far away from what the OP describes.

Personally, I have to admit I really have a hard time I responding to people's questions and problems when there are statements like "most people quit because of such BS" or "my clan mates will stop playing if Ubisoft will not...". Sometimes just seeking a vent for frustration is totally fine – but projecting a personal incapability to the entire TD2 players is just something that makes me shake my head. Sorry for OT...

(...) asking for others and new players for rework so they simply enjoy the game (...)

Have you ever thought about the fact that other players, however, have fun with grinding? That they see Expertise for what it is – an optional, long-term engagement and not a torment that you have to finish as quickly as possible?

Hey agents,

are you sure this only happens in The Summit? Have you by chance tested other outskirt missions or maybe Countdown or one of the two raids?

Because currently the Faye Lau Manhunt missions is cursed with a specific exploit, causing a lot of players cheating their way through the Season's Reward Track (to quickly get their hands on the NBMB) in this mission. This heavy traffic is causing server issues for other outskirt activities like The Summit or the other aforementioned missions.

So... if you should face an alike lag in those other activities the issue is most probably caused by exploiters. But iirc the dev team has already mentioned working on closing this exploit to bring back servers to normal.

Hello, Rammbob here. (...)

Hello there, nice of you to finally engage in your favorite's game official forum. I just hope this is not because the hurt dog barks...

(...) Also calling the double EXP thing for Hardcore an exploit is also kinda crazy, (...)

Why wouldn't you say it is an exploit? There is a double XP event that's capped at 15 Levels per design. If it worked as intended you'd only be able to benefit from double XP once for those 15 levels for all of your softcore characters combined and once for those 15 levels for all of your hardcore characters combined.

Instead you intentionally, knowingly by-pass this intended game design to be able to gain double XP for more than 4,000 SHD Levels instead of the intended 15 SHD Levels. This is what exploiting in video games is all about: knowingly and intentionally taking advantage of a flaw in a game mechanic.

This by the way is also covered by the Ubisoft CoC ("Do not cheat! (...) distributing or promoting cheats for our games ruins the experience for all, even you. Do not abuse exploits or glitches to gain an unfair advantage.").

(...) but lets say i'm an evil double exploiter.
How would you be able to play the game and 'not exploit' in my case? Don't play Hardcore at all? Don't log into Softcore and have less double exp? (...)

Some suggestions would be:

• Do not actively showcase the exploit – just play the game regularly and do not talk about the unintended game behavior.
• You even could have considered not playing HC during the manhunt week and instead reported the unintended behavior to Ubisoft.
• Do not encourage other players to also use the exploit.
• Do not distribute a step-by-step instruction how to exploit during your streams.
  • Neither as a command,
  • nor as spoken word.
• Do not use exploiting this mechanic for your own financial benefit.

Would any of these suggestions have negatively impacted your gaming experience? Probably not.

You still haven chosen contrary in every of the above aspects. What was your reason for that?

(...) stop putting the shame on Streamers like me. (...) while people fry the Year 1 Servers with Oxidizer-Farming with infinite Spawning? That is actually hurting the playerbase. (...)

True. The Oxidizer-farming methods are really hurting the playerbase. This began with Floor 10, continued with Anderson, and now we have Lau. So speaking of being bad for the playerbase – ask yourself: Did you as a streamer use and showcase any of these exploits in your streams? What is the role of content creators in spreading exploits?

So that's why I personally consider any streamer's or YouTuber's behavior to be even more harmful to the playerbase if it includes cheating or exploiting. They with such a behavior are the main reason why exploits spread and why exploits can become so harmful to the game and the playerbase. Especially because the content creators' communities repeat after them. If a content creator openly uses exploits, they convey the perception that cheating would be totally ok.

So instead of positively influencing the community they contribute to dividing the community – by creating a mislead community that now beliefs that cheating would a just and maybe even the only way to become good at the game.

(...) Also i'm not exploiting or promoting exploits. (...)

I will not repeat again what I have already written above – but considering exactly this you are only fooling yourself here.
As long as you can't cogently refute what I've written here, you are just that: an exploiter. And a bad role model.

@Ubi-Slipstream

Since the exploit at Camp White Oak can not yet be found on the Known Issues board – are you working on shutting it down? Or can you maybe consider just deactivating the Manhunt for Faye until you have the time to properly fix this issue? This would at least immediately stop the exploiting and reduce or even completely fix the lagging in all outskirt activites.

Hello agent,

concerning your second screenshot: When you say you wanted to "respec" your points – did this screen prior to resetting the tree show all 165 points as being distributed? With all perks showing as orange/activated?

@Ubi-Chiral
Please take a look at the picture @Balthazar340 provided and make sure this information reaches the dev team fast. Several streamers are basically promoting cheating and are cheating live during their streams.

If you need a translation of the instruction this streamer (Rammbob) hands to his community about how to abuse the Manhunts' double XP weeks (and to violate the Ubisoft CoC) please let us know.

(...) I think the talent right now is too busted and makes the game a bit too "free" of challange, i do agree with others that adding a limitation such as cooldown or for only X amount of bodyshots before you need to get another headshot could work, (...)

The talent currently is simply not working as intended. It was never meant to endlessly proc itself over and over again. So we are in no way talking of a nerf, but much rather about a fix. And this talent needs to be fixed.

Get one headshot kill – activate talent – get a free headshot for the next hit – talent deactivated. From then you need to get another headshot kill to again activate the talent. That's perfectly fair imho and combines a little effort with quite a useful reward. If people want to get one one-shot-kill after another there are different ways to achieve this, including pistols or shotguns or MMRs and Headhunter and Sets just like the new Hotshot Gear Set... lots of options. The only difference is that you will need at least a little skill to actually hit heads for dealing Headshot Damage.

Where is the balance?
How is it I can be 2 shot to death by an elite with a shotgun? (...)

I can only agree to what the other agents have stated before - the balance simply is in the fact that we too do deal a whole lot of damage with a dedicated shotgun build when getting close and personal with the enemies.

Also, keep in mind that special enemy archetypes need special ways to be dealt with. This starts with prioritizing targets correctly. Don't let rushers get to close to you, take out medic before they revive each and every enemy, etc. pp. - such knowledge (and using it wisely during each and every combat) is much more important than any stat, more important than Expertise, or Optimization.