Lol Well, it’s confirmed that Watch Dogs 2 is in development so…
XD
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Of course it is its ubisoft hahhaha
Hit Level 30 (max) with my buddy last night, and we’re also DZ level 30+ as well. I haven’t done much “endgame” yet but there’s a brand new vendor who shows up in the Tech wing, and takes Phoenix Credits; so far the only way I know you earn them is by completing daily Mission replays for Credits. The Dark Zone vendors also changed up their stock, and I’m curious to see what the regular vendors will have available after the restock today.
I still have to get to level 30… 
How did you level up so quickly? Mission Grinding?
We did a lot of missions and Encounters, a lot of NPC killing in the Dark Zone too.
We have both fully upgraded all three wings of our base, and have pretty good gear, though since we just hit 30 there’s bound to be a massive amount of upgrades coming our way.
I’m on the fence with this game as well. It sounds like a fun game; an RPG that’s a shooter, or vice versa, and the game looks gorgeous, no question. But here are my concerns, and I’m hoping some of you guys could maybe confirm them or alleviate them with your expertise:
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I’m not much of an online player. I got Titanfall because it looked really fun and barely played it because I had no real desire to play against people online. Would I be insane to buy this game then?
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I’m not much of an online player. Yeah, I said it twice. But that’s because I’m also not big on co-op. Is this a game that you can have any sort of real success with playing solo?
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I like the premise of the game, but if this is really an RPG, as many seem to be touting it as, then I’m assuming the story is pretty decent. Is that true, or is it more of something that just pops up every now and then and that’s about it? Does the story keep you engaged and wanting to find out what happens next?
I have a sneaking suspicion that while it looks like a game I’d want to play, that actually playing it wouldn’t give me the experience I’m looking for. I fell in to that trap with Titanfall, but I avoided it with Battlefront. Should I check this game out or avoid it?
Did you see the teaser for the Season Pass? (Aka Year One Content?)
I’ll try my best to answer these from my perspective.
As far as I can tell, you can play the game entirely without having to fight against another human player. The Dark Zone (where PvP can happen) has special gear and is supposed to be able to help you level up faster, but you don’t ever have to enter it as far as I know. You can reach the endgame playing PvE as well I believe.
You can have success playing solo, as the missions scale as you add players anyway. I do think the main missions (particularly on Hard) are a bit much to do by yourself though. Enemies can be really bullet-spongy, and a lot of the fun of the game actually comes from handling situations strategically with a well-rounded team. I think the Division is probably best enjoyed with a friend or two along for the ride.
Not really. The story is picked up mostly piecemeal (at least at my point in the game), with random collectibles providing the “flavor” of the world. There is a main story, but you spend a lot of time doing side missions, which have their own small mission through-lines, but are pretty forgettable overall. From what I’ve seen so far, no, you wouldn’t pick this game up for the story. The general concept is pretty compelling (and some of the context-providing collectible are really cool), but the game isn’t really plot-driven like an RPG or anything. At least not at my point in the game (16 hours of play, level 12).
Hope that helps 
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It’s pretty good so far, haven’t had much time to play due to midterms and Spring Break. A tad disappointing how bland it feels after a while though.
Hopefully future content really builds on this game.
Thank you so much! That was VERY helpful. The story part is a bit disappointing, especially for a game that has the name of a novelist attached to it, but that can be largely forgiven if the gameplay loop is fun enough and there’s enough little tidbits thrown in here and there.
It’s nice to know that the game doesn’t force you in to PvP. I’d probably stick with a lower level of difficulty, as I’m utterly horrendous at shooters (the last one I was fairly decent at was the first Halo so yeah, it’s been a while since I wasn’t terrible lol).
Still, this looks pretty fun, and the world itself looks really cool. I’m probably still on the fence overall, but I really appreciate the info! It definitely helps, as I was worried the game HAD to be PvP and required buddies to play and I tend to avoid the latter just because I’m so bad that I don’t want to bring my team mates down and also because I only know a few people with XB1’s and none of them have the game (yet).
I will chime in and say I don’t entirely agree with Storm on the story end; I actually have really enjoyed the story as it has unfolded. There are ECHO recordings to find which have not only audio, but frozen light representations of people and objects to tell a miniature story, and it’s interesting to see how the scenery you’re looking at changes when the ECHO is active.
With regards to playing with someone, you can also “matchmake” every mission, which can pair you up with a team of random players, besides just your friends. Outside of the Dark Zone there is no competition; no score, no shared loot to steal, nothing. So if you play with somebody all you need to do to be participating sufficiently is make sure you’re close in level to them and that your gear is up to date.
We played our first evening of high end content last night; three missions per day get tagged as “daily” and give you special bonus currency used at the high end vendor(s); the enemies are higher level, tougher, and there are more of them. One mission per day requires a full team of four, so we used Matchmaking to fill out our two missing slots. The team of four was able to power our way through the mission, but it took a long while (at least an hour, way longer than the typical mission time) and we got some good gear at the end.
We also dipped back into the Dark Zone and got a pretty sizable number of purple, max level item drops quickly. It looks like at max level the drop tables are much more lucrative, and we got some really good armor and weapons, which in turn made us more powerful. I’d also recommend looking for (or rerolling to get) Scavenging stats on your armor items, because it adds a much higher chance for better drops. I have something like 85% from one piece, and 75% from another.
For reference, the item scale in terms of quality is Grey/White -> Green -> Blue -> Purple -> Gold. The gold items have some astounding stuff.
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Nice! The ECHO recordings sound like a cool way to tell parts of the story here and there.
Yeah, I wouldn’t overly mind matchmaking missions, but I’m honestly terrible at shooters and I’d hate to be the one dragging the team down, even if it were a team full of strangers. I watched a little of the GameInformer stream of Reiner and one of the other guys playing and one of them kept going in to that wounded, near-dead state where they had to crawl back to the other guy to get them to bring them back and I was like “yep, that’d be me… all the damn time.” lol
The Dark Zone sounds like a lot of fun. If I actually do wind up going the matchmaking route, it’d definitely be something I’d check out, though I’ve heard some people just camp out and kill you the second you enter. That’s another reason I tend to avoid playing online. Not a fan of people that just want to ruin the good time of others. Do you encounter griefers a lot?
I’m also curious about how varied the areas are in the game. Now that you’ve seemingly seen a decent portion of the game, does the terrain switch up a bit, or is it mostly snowy, debris filled streets, train stations, etc? I mean, I get that it’s New York, but still a bit curious regardless.
I consider myself and my buddy to be really good at shooters; this still happens to us all the time. You have to be careful not to overexpose yourself, especially against the more vicious enemies who can take you down really quickly. So it’s not a bad thing, and it’s expected, really. There are multiple abilities you can trigger to help a downed guy get up, besides just manually reviving him.
I have yet to encounter “griefers” in the DZ - nobody has camped me at a safe house or entrance yet, and the Safe Houses actually have two or three entrances each to cut down on that possibility. I’ve been killed by four-man-teams of Rogues before, who are doing nothing but run around the DZ killing players, but that’s a legitimate strategy, style of play, and way of earning DZ money and items. It all depends on the server you get thrown into when entering the DZ, and who’s in there with you, really.
The game changes up - I mean, there is a lot of running through streets, but there are a ton of buildings and landmarks to explore, and you’ll do a lot of fighting in open parks or in buildings, besides just the streets and subways. One mission has you go into a deserted “civic center” and another puts you in a power plant.
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Wow, I think you may have sold me on the game! I’m sure death is common in shooters, I just hate being the one that’s dragging others down with my mediocre play. It’s not that I mind being the weak link, I just don’t want to ruin anyone else’s experience.
That’s good to know about griefers. I was seeing some articles about it, but wasn’t sure how common it actually was. Glad it’s not a regular occurance. I also wouldn’t mind being gunned down right away if it’s a legitimate strategy as you say.
Just curious though, if I played a ton outside of the dark zone, leveled up a bunch, got some great gear, etc, would I still be cannon fodder because my dark zone level is still one when I first enter it? I’m not entirely sure how that works.
Sorry to keep buggin ya! If you’re too busy to answer, no problem. Like I said, I think you might’ve sold me on the game. Also good to know that thing that the environments change up a little bit. I think the game looks cool, but I might get a bit tired if it was the same thing over and over.
The Dark Zone level really doesn’t mean anything tangible; your normal level is what’s used to determine your stats, what items you can equip, and such. Dark Zone level really only determines what items you can buy from Dark Zone vendors, and you use Dark Zone funds (see the trend?) to buy those, not your regular cash. If you have good gear from the main story, it will likely suffice in the Dark Zone at least long enough for you to get DZ item drops or enough levels/funds to buy DZ gear.
A note about PVP; dying in the Dark Zone (not the normal portion of the game) will cost you some Dark Zone XP, and you can lose DZ levels. You will also drop some cash and some of the DZ contaminated items you’re carrying (not inventory items, but ones which need to be extracted to your stash) when you die, which can be taken by other players, or recovered. This happens whether a player or NPC took you out, so be careful.
The Dark Zone has several tiers, so you might want to stay out of it until you’re close to the next tier if you’re concerned about your PVP capabilities; all of these are in Player Level, not Dark Zone level. I’m uncertain about the specifics of the *** ones.
1-14
14-19
20-24***
25-29***
30
I can answer for ya!
For the most part, DZ Experience and Main Game Experience is separate. It also depends on what level you are outside of the DZ, how hard are the enemies are inside (excluding other players.) So no, you would not be cannon fodder. Just play tactically, be aware of your surroundings, and you will have a great time!
Soon, the Dark Zone will get an Update, as part of the Season Pass. It’s free too!
Awesome.
@xSkeletalx, @TheNinjaOstrich and @STORM179, thanks for taking the time to explain all of this stuff to me! Really appreciate it. Think I might download it tonight or tomorrow and give it a shot! 
DAYYYUUUMMM
I need to get to Level 50 quick! 
Ok I bit the bullet and bought it. Sigh.
Here come some late nights of gaming.
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