Hey everyone,
So, The Division 2 has been announced. The internet is already full of chatter about it - speculating everything from release date to how many hairs will be included on character models heads with the new graphics update Ubisoft has mentioned. I wanted to go a slightly different direction talking about TD2 and that is: How can they make it better than the first?
The first game has several issues. Things like, unbalanced gear, bad equipment set-perks, lack of end-game content... Along with all those issues something I have not heard come to the forefront of the discussion but is a big issue for myself and my squad, is the lack of defined classes.
Typically, when you play a squad or group based game with "dungeons" or "instances" to go through that are meant to be harder, challenging, and test the teams ability to work together, each person has a role. You have a healer to keep everyone alive, you have a tank to protect everyone, you have DPS to kill opposing forces quickly, then you might have a support character that can use things like shields, disease removers, or stat increases to help the other classes do their jobs better.
The first Division had none of that.
This makes it very hard for, really anyone, to find their place in the game. You can't be "the best" DPS player in the game if everyone is doing DPS, you can't be the best healer if everyone can just heal themselves... It's a lack luster group experience with everyone just doing their own thing - dps, healing, etc. And requires no squad communication.
The first thing they need to change is put in the class system! Here are some simple ideas for what the classes can do.
Healing - Heal Bot-Nade: a Grenade that does a small amount of damage and heals teammates for a decent amount of health with a couple second cool down.
Healing Stream Sprinkler: A self supported post that can be placed on the ground and provide area healing to all players inside it's radius (can be destroyed by enemies).
And the healer can only wield pistols. 9M, Magnum, Deagle, etc. (They can still deal damage to help, but it is definitely not their focus)
Tank - Weapon damage causes 2-3x as much "aggro" (the term used for making an enemy want to attack you) as other players - so enemies want to attack the tank.
It would be important for the tank to keep shooting all targets present in the area to keep them from attacking other party members. And give tanks a good deal more armor/health than other players so they can actually take more damage.
Ballistic armor: The player equips ballistic armor with head piece that allows them to take a significant amount of damage (level based) from all enemy sources. Allowing them to actually stand up from cover and shoot what they need to shoot to keep "aggro".
RPG: Player pulls out a high Aggro RPG to fire at enemies and instantly pull gunfire to the player.
*This class can use all weapons except the sniper rifle.*
Damage Per Second class: This class has all the tricks up their sleeves, from tripwires and C4 to Sniper Rifles and a combat knife.
This classes sole purpose is to kill the enemy, so give them what they need!
Hallow Tip Rounds: The player loads a magazine of hallow point bullets into their weapon that do increased damage as well as damage over time. (Time could be increased as the player put level points into that ability?)
Run Speed Increase: There are times when someone that hurts someone else real bad needs to get out of there, this burst of speed would let the DPS players get away from danger.
Maybe a grappling rope to get to perches and take better sniper shots? The DPS player would then need to pay attention to their damage intake and get out of the perch if the heat got to hot.
Lastly, the Support Class: Their goal is supporting the team. They would have things like, the ability to carry more and share ammo/minor healing items, as well increase the teams damage output or effectively decrease the amount of damage the team takes from enemy gunfire.
Portable Shield: A thin wall of plate metal that can be deployed to create cover for all players to keep them away from harmful things - grenades, boss abilities, enemies that are pulled off the tank due to high aggro output.
Headshot Caller: The ability to find and mark the enemies most likely weak spot for all squad members to focus fire on. (note: There could be enemies where this ability is thrown off, so that players need to get creative and shoot other locations on the enemy for maximum damage).
Pack Mule: The ability to drop resources for other players. This could be as simple as ammunition for players who are running low, or as complex as running another ballistic suit to the tank. Drastically changing the way players would have to play the class of "support" and making them feel much more useful.
Vaccine Shot: Players will be exposed to disease, someone needs to keep them in tip-top shape to continue the fight.
That's a short synopsis of what could be done to increase the players individual experience and increase the replay value of the game as a whole, because everyone wants to be able to fill different boots now and then. This class system would allow for that. Also, balancing a game is slightly easier (I believe) with a class system such as this than when everyone is able to get anything they want for the character.
Moving on from characters the player would be playing as, there is a need for more memorable moments in The Division. My proposal is that Ubisoft needs to think more outside the inside of the box.
I understand that Ubisoft has always and will always want a more realistic feel to their games, this is true for most of their big name titles. So with The Division I would like to see them go all the way with this thought. What happens in combat? People get hurt. Okay, so maybe in a dungeon with your squad you come across a door that is hard to open, one player has to go to the door and pry it open - but upon opening it a bomb is triggered and cripples that player. Now they must be carried on the back of another player. Their aiming is harder because of sway, they can no longer wander as they desire... Their teammates must set them down and pick them up when in and out of combat. This would be a simple but very cool twist to a mission that many players would find memorable (especially the first time it happened) and it would be a challenge.
Along the same lines other real life combat situations could be put into dungeons that would greatly increase the experience of doing dungeons with a squad and make the game stand out from all other MMORPGs.
I personally am excited and hopeful for TD2 as I did enjoy the first game - though I still find it lacking quite a bit. Ubisoft, I know you can put out amazing games, but I always feel like you stop just short of mind blowing. Please, don't stop yourself with the Division 2, take the time needed to make this game amazing and memorable and you will create a staple game for years to come.
~Mutepanda
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