What you need to know
- Project Resolve is the huge quality of life upgrade that Ubisoft is making to The Division 2, detailed today by the game's developer, Massive.
- As part of the upgrades, there will be a number of buffs to weapons and gear sets.
- Loot crates in the open world will also, finally, be worth getting as they're going to scale with your world difficulty.
- Changes are also coming to mods, so players will no longer have an inventory full of different rolls of the same ones.
- For the first time, attributes can be reconfigured on exotic weapons, and recalibration can be done anywhere in the game.
Ubisoft has detailed the first information on its huge Project Resolve health upgrade for The Division 2, and it's a big one. It's so big that all the development team is currently focused on it, with the unfortunate side effect of delaying the next story DLC into 2025.
But, on a more positive note, lots of what has been discussed sounds good. Really good. The Division 2 is clearly hanging around for the long haul with a full Year 6 plan already outlined, but with the changes being touted to weapons, gear, and mods, for both PvE and PvP environments, this update is no joke.
You get a buff, and YOU get a buff
There are buffs coming to weapons. Potentially a lot of buffs. If you're a regular player right now, you'll be painfully aware that there are a handful of must-have weapons that a lot of the player base uses. St Elmo's Engine, anyone?
Everything is being considered, though.
The general buff balance pass aims to enhance the appeal of less popular weapons and make them more engaging for all Agents. The changes made to standard weapons may have an impact on Named and Exotic weapons that are derived from them. However, to avoid unintentionally over-buffing Exotic and Named weapons, certain buffs may not carry over. While most weapons are expected to inherit the base weapon buffs, some may remain unchanged to maintain balance. Additionally, all Exotic Weapons' third attribute will be reconfigurable.
Ubisoft
Dropped in at the end, there is a major update to exotic weapons. For the first time, we're going to be able to reconfigure the bottom attribute on exotic weapons. During the stream, they joked that it will need to be carefully considered as to what can be applied, since everyone will automatically lean towards adding DMG to targets out of cover. They're right, though.
As an additional bonus, changes are being made to the way we upgrade these weapons. The angels really are singing for this one, because as the chart above details, upgrading weapons with the Expertise system isn't going to be as painful going forward. It's still going to need a grind, but players can all probably agree the current economy for this feature is a little excessive.
Recalibration is also going to be possible from anywhere in the game world. No longer will you need to fast travel back to base and use the bench, it'll be part of the new "Tinkering" menu, allowing you to recalibrate and optimize your weapons on the fly. Nice.
Open world loot, mods and gear sets aren't forgotten
It isn't just weapons that are getting a buff, either. To try and improve the options available to players, there's going to be a special emphasis placed on gear set bonuses to make using two and three pieces more appealing.
Of course, this will also tie in nicely with the NinjaBike backpack (pictured above) that allows you to get bonuses by using fewer pieces of gear.
Our objective is to enhance the strength of the 2- and 3-piece Brand Set bonuses in order to reward players for committing to a specific Brand Set. We want to make the 3-piece bonus more enticing, while also making less utilized mechanics more relevant.
Ubisoft
Part of the attraction to The Division 2 is making builds using different pieces of gear from different brand sets, but in several cases the bonuses applied for using multiple pieces just doesn't provide enough to warrant unlocking it over just mixing brands to get better overall stats. It'll be interesting to see how much of a buff these bonuses get.
Mods will also be transformed, particularly from an inventory management perspective. Each mod will be a unique item going forward, and as you acquire a better roll of a mod, it will automatically overwrite the one you currently have.
Open world loot crates will also, finally, scale with your world difficulty. If you're roaming on Heroic and you find a crate, the loot inside will be of Heroic quality. No more terrible purple loot for you.
These are just some of the raft of changes Project Resolve brings, covering virtually all aspects of the game. Yes, that includes PvP, as well. Check out the full blog post detailing Project Resolve and digest it at your leisure.
