I found several keys but when I went to the chests I couldn't open any of them, tried four different ones.
I think I'll be picking this game up as I put ten hours into the beta and had a good time, although I spent a long time just traveling
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The Division Open Beta Thread: Is it out yet?
- Thread starter Smash88
- Start date
- Status
I think I'll be picking this game up as I put ten hours into the beta and had a good time, although I spent a long time just traveling
StriKeVillain
Banned
I had around 30+ DZ keys at one point. Hunting rogues is one of the best ways to get them.
Pjsprojects
Member
This game will use up 80% of my time.
There's a lot less Xbox peep on GAF it seems.
Yeah, I feel it's the only game I'm going to play until this summer lol.
Dhruv_hanom
Member
I like it but not enough to pre-order it. I'll wait and see how gaf reacts to the game and then make a decision.
Ted
Member
I played a lot more of the open beta than the closed and I think it has sold me on keeping my pre-order. I'm way more an action kind of guy than an RPG kind of guy I'd say in the third person shooter space, particularly with regards to multiplayer, but I think I can get into this. How much I don't know but enough I think to justify taking a risk and purchasing day one against my usual habits for all but a small number of favourite franchises.
I quite liked the PvE, solo and co-op. The slower cover based approach fits the less than entirely convincing gunplay and character control. The AI is reasonably interesting, it's not smart but at least it is creative and isn't either stuck in either a predefined position or have wholly predictable path finding. The bullet sponge thing is different to me as a non-RPG player but I don't find it overly frustrating or distracting from the concept. Whether this will remain true after x number of hours, I don't know!
The scaling for groups, particularly in the hard version of the first mission, offered a reasonable challenge. The RPG aspect of the game with the myriad of stat altering weapon and gear giving me the opportunity to change the amount of challenge at a fairly granular level is also pretty cool and will add significant replayability for me.
The only RPG based question I still ask myself is just how much will I care about getting the best gear/stats? This question is only pertinent really though due to the way the DZ plays out in the beta where gear trumps level and even skill by a significant margin. I don't really understand why the PvP area is zoned based on PvE level? It seems a little contrary. I can deal with it for now as the difference between 5000 DPS/5000 effective health and 3000 DPS/3000 effective health is something that can be overcome but I'm curious, having never played a PvP game that is by design unbalanced, just how substantial this difference could be in the final "level [presumably PvE] 30" darkzone?
Personally I love the dark zone conceptually. One or two items I extracted genuinely felt like they had a story behind them in the manner touted at the original Destiny reveal. I picked up a bobble hat in a drop in a fight with some level nine AI bads in the open multi-storey building with the indoor climbing wall type thing inside. The fight itself was enough of a challenge but when I left I was set upon by a group of four already rogue agents, I dodged, I weaved, I took down one but I was ultimately always going to lose. Respawning I thought "I am getting that damn bobble hat back" and went hunting. After some tailing I eventually took it back with a sneak attack at an extraction point where they'd just hit a competent twosome, taken a bunch of damage and were rushing to extract their stolen dark zone shizzle. Have it. No-one fucks with a hat of mine.
The core get loot, don't get double crossed, try to extract, don't get double crossed/ambushed gameplay loop is pretty satisfying but I personally think it would be more satisfying in a gear levelled environment. I want it to test my skill and planning not the amount of hours I've got the good fortune to spend grinding.
All of that said, I don't think the beta is a fair test of the dark zone mechanics full stop as the area is so limited in size and thus densely placked with players/bereft of already harvested AI. Lump that in with the "there is nothing to lose" attitude inherent in a time limited beta and it all becomes a little more hectic than I suspect the final game will be.
The naturally faster more complex dynamics of the kind of PvP fights that I was getting involved in also highlighted that not all TPS games [running at 30fps on consoles] can feel as good to move around and fight in as something like Max Payne 3. For me that is a shame for the PvP side, given the potential importance it holds, despite the different focus in the PvE/single player game.
I look forward to giving it a more extended play in March and hope it lives up to at least some of the potential it has.
I quite liked the PvE, solo and co-op. The slower cover based approach fits the less than entirely convincing gunplay and character control. The AI is reasonably interesting, it's not smart but at least it is creative and isn't either stuck in either a predefined position or have wholly predictable path finding. The bullet sponge thing is different to me as a non-RPG player but I don't find it overly frustrating or distracting from the concept. Whether this will remain true after x number of hours, I don't know!
The scaling for groups, particularly in the hard version of the first mission, offered a reasonable challenge. The RPG aspect of the game with the myriad of stat altering weapon and gear giving me the opportunity to change the amount of challenge at a fairly granular level is also pretty cool and will add significant replayability for me.
The only RPG based question I still ask myself is just how much will I care about getting the best gear/stats? This question is only pertinent really though due to the way the DZ plays out in the beta where gear trumps level and even skill by a significant margin. I don't really understand why the PvP area is zoned based on PvE level? It seems a little contrary. I can deal with it for now as the difference between 5000 DPS/5000 effective health and 3000 DPS/3000 effective health is something that can be overcome but I'm curious, having never played a PvP game that is by design unbalanced, just how substantial this difference could be in the final "level [presumably PvE] 30" darkzone?
Personally I love the dark zone conceptually. One or two items I extracted genuinely felt like they had a story behind them in the manner touted at the original Destiny reveal. I picked up a bobble hat in a drop in a fight with some level nine AI bads in the open multi-storey building with the indoor climbing wall type thing inside. The fight itself was enough of a challenge but when I left I was set upon by a group of four already rogue agents, I dodged, I weaved, I took down one but I was ultimately always going to lose. Respawning I thought "I am getting that damn bobble hat back" and went hunting. After some tailing I eventually took it back with a sneak attack at an extraction point where they'd just hit a competent twosome, taken a bunch of damage and were rushing to extract their stolen dark zone shizzle. Have it. No-one fucks with a hat of mine.
The core get loot, don't get double crossed, try to extract, don't get double crossed/ambushed gameplay loop is pretty satisfying but I personally think it would be more satisfying in a gear levelled environment. I want it to test my skill and planning not the amount of hours I've got the good fortune to spend grinding.
All of that said, I don't think the beta is a fair test of the dark zone mechanics full stop as the area is so limited in size and thus densely placked with players/bereft of already harvested AI. Lump that in with the "there is nothing to lose" attitude inherent in a time limited beta and it all becomes a little more hectic than I suspect the final game will be.
The naturally faster more complex dynamics of the kind of PvP fights that I was getting involved in also highlighted that not all TPS games [running at 30fps on consoles] can feel as good to move around and fight in as something like Max Payne 3. For me that is a shame for the PvP side, given the potential importance it holds, despite the different focus in the PvE/single player game.
I look forward to giving it a more extended play in March and hope it lives up to at least some of the potential it has.
Pjsprojects
Member
Maybe a poll for what platform gaffers own would be interesting? Does seem very PS4 heavy.
berserk_ftw
Member
Can you please share, how you did get so much of everything? I need to know!
MaximusPayne
Member
The game really needs to know the difference between an accidental shot and a point blank ads shot. Too many times a random would run out in gunfire and rogue my ass!
Hugh Swank
Member
Oh yeah, I loved the game, could care less about the free clothing for playing the beta, especially with how it looks. I already bought the "Gold" edition of the game, can't wait till March 8th!
yeah. They already scaled things down a bit (or everyone walks / runs really fast, hehe), but it already takes you a +- 8 to 10 minutes (havent timed it) to traverse from east to west.
TheCanisDirus
Member
Yeah this mechanic and baiting really results in some shit-fests in the DZ. Esp. when you're extracting and there are multiple groups and NPC enemies attack... usually at least one group ends up accidentally going rogue and then all hell breaks loose as everyone turns on them as the NPC's are still shooting everyone and random turrets are going nuts on everything as well turning another group or two rogue.
Needs major, major work.
Hugh Swank
Member
Umm...no...I'm an Xbox player and I played the Hell out of the Alpha, Closed Beta, and Open Beta. Just about my entire friends list was playing it as well.
Definitely a lot more PS Gaffers ATM.
I think data from Ubisoft would be a lot more balanced as far as players per platform. A Gaf poll is going to be PS4 heavy every time.
That's what I said though, dude - it looks small on paper, but once you're actually on the ground, walking the city, you look at that map and are sort of like "Yeah, that's big enough".
For instance, the Beta area alone was nearly big enough for me. It took a long time to traverse, it was intricate, and it was packed with detail. There was a lot of content in there - enterable buildings, scalable rooftops, randomised enemy placement, side missions, Skill Tree missions, Containment Zones...
I totted up the area in the game's full map and it looks like it's about 4-5 times bigger.
4-5 times bigger than what's in the Beta makes me very excited. The Beta along probably contained about 60% of what Destiny had in its full release. That would mean the full Division release will have at least twice as much as Destiny. And we know they're better at story content than Destiny from the Beta, too.
MaximusPayne
Member
Don't get me wrong the game is fantastic but there almost needs to be a lock on type mechanic that shows or recognizes who you've been shooting at. Chasing a rogue and shooting at him for minutes only to have a split second miffed by a random.
For people talking about the map size, this is a fun video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhptIfeZ0ys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhptIfeZ0ys
Darryl M R
Member
For people that are complaining about extraction, if the lobby sizes will be the same in the full game as the beta, there will be more extraction locations only shared by 24 people. I hope they will be able to increase the player size, hell make it 60 people.
TheCanisDirus
Member
That's not a bad idea. up on the d-pad to switch fire-modes
SJRB
Gold Member
But that map image was only like 400 px wide, looks pretty small to me.
Pre-order canceled.
MaximusPayne
Member
Yes. Simple solution.
Launched the beta up for the 1st time (PC), tweaked the gfx a bit. Saw my friend was online too in the beta. Grouped up....played for 5 hours straight having a lot of fun.
My take away is the game is solid, lot of destiny vibe...but a ALOT more better and fun.
This is the question i am asking myself:
So I should pre-order the game? with season pass? or I already have too many damn games to play!
Help?
My take away is the game is solid, lot of destiny vibe...but a ALOT more better and fun.
This is the question i am asking myself:
So I should pre-order the game? with season pass? or I already have too many damn games to play!
Help?
I actually think this is a great idea
MaximusPayne
Member
If you're not interested in extra skins wait for season pass. I think it's $40.
Very well said.
Would solve the whole issue. People will only go rogue when they want to, this way.
I also think it might be good to have a 'give yourself up' button for a Rogue player, in case somebody does it by accident - but that's negated by a 'FF off' button TBH.
TheCanisDirus
Member
Maybe even highlight players who turn on friendly fire with some sort of mildly threatening orange icon etc. above their heads... could lead to some tense situations where you see each member of an approaching team switch on as they approach your evacuation.
Do it Ubi!
To be honest, I prefer not to have anything like that to keep everyone guessing but the friendly fire toggle needs to happen.
Hello? This is Hailun!
Member
Things I liked:
Cover system is pretty bad ass.
Graphics are good. Dunno what that other guy was complaining about. Game ran relatively well on my system and looked pretty dang good.
Dynamic day/night/weather system in the Dark Zone
Weapon variety
Policing: Best way to solo the DZ is to stake out drop zones, let parties know you're friendly and there to pop anyone who goes rogue at the drop zone for that sweet XP/DZ cash. Most people were very receptive to this concept and I was informally allowed to group with some folks after a while.
Soloing the DZ in general is pretty fun. Obviously you can't take on a group of 12 mobs alone, so it is more about stealth and mining the crates/loot/getting in with other groups.
Weapon modding stuff: So so so many conversations about how to best mod weapons, min/maxing characters, etc
The DPS/Health/Tech balance system was very nice as well. Nothing was rarely just a 100% straight upgrade.
Things that need work:
I hate how three groups can come together, one goes rogue, the other two groups work to take them out, and.... oooops, I accidentally shot one guy on the other good team and now my team is rogue. So far the only way out of this situation is to scream in general chat "IT WAS A MISTAKE IM SORRY!" while running away.
Turrets will shoot friendlies and make you go rogue and that's lame.
DZ in general felt a little small/empty. Yeah the specific locations were cool but it felt like there needed to be more nooks and crannies.
Weapons sounded kinda bland. Tac tac tac tac. No big sound effects.
Outside of this one particular shotgun I got right at the end of the beta, most shotguns felt underpowered and needless. At least in the DZ against humans. In the story missions where the AI will just run up to you and stand there they were handy, especially when I modded the one good one to fire as quickly as I could pull the trigger.
Sniping seemed useless. Most guys I saw using sniper rifles used them as high damage low DPS weapons and rarely scoped them. Never seemed to be good places to perch up and snipe either. Game needed a bit more verticality but that would also potentially cause issues in the DZ for some.
There was a drop zone that had a scalable building next to it where people would try and snipe from. That was cool. The scramble to find his location, get cover, and then kill the bastard.
What's the pre order bonus? What's the difference between the three versions on offer? Other than the collectors having physical stuff?
Cover system is pretty bad ass.
Graphics are good. Dunno what that other guy was complaining about. Game ran relatively well on my system and looked pretty dang good.
Dynamic day/night/weather system in the Dark Zone
Weapon variety
Policing: Best way to solo the DZ is to stake out drop zones, let parties know you're friendly and there to pop anyone who goes rogue at the drop zone for that sweet XP/DZ cash. Most people were very receptive to this concept and I was informally allowed to group with some folks after a while.
Soloing the DZ in general is pretty fun. Obviously you can't take on a group of 12 mobs alone, so it is more about stealth and mining the crates/loot/getting in with other groups.
Weapon modding stuff: So so so many conversations about how to best mod weapons, min/maxing characters, etc
The DPS/Health/Tech balance system was very nice as well. Nothing was rarely just a 100% straight upgrade.
Things that need work:
I hate how three groups can come together, one goes rogue, the other two groups work to take them out, and.... oooops, I accidentally shot one guy on the other good team and now my team is rogue. So far the only way out of this situation is to scream in general chat "IT WAS A MISTAKE IM SORRY!" while running away.
Turrets will shoot friendlies and make you go rogue and that's lame.
DZ in general felt a little small/empty. Yeah the specific locations were cool but it felt like there needed to be more nooks and crannies.
Weapons sounded kinda bland. Tac tac tac tac. No big sound effects.
Outside of this one particular shotgun I got right at the end of the beta, most shotguns felt underpowered and needless. At least in the DZ against humans. In the story missions where the AI will just run up to you and stand there they were handy, especially when I modded the one good one to fire as quickly as I could pull the trigger.
Sniping seemed useless. Most guys I saw using sniper rifles used them as high damage low DPS weapons and rarely scoped them. Never seemed to be good places to perch up and snipe either. Game needed a bit more verticality but that would also potentially cause issues in the DZ for some.
There was a drop zone that had a scalable building next to it where people would try and snipe from. That was cool. The scramble to find his location, get cover, and then kill the bastard.
What's the pre order bonus? What's the difference between the three versions on offer? Other than the collectors having physical stuff?
Haha, after a 5 kill extraction zone betrayl, get this comment:
"NICE ONE GJ TO DESTROY THE GAME AFTER FEW ACTION LIKE I THIS I CANCEL PREORDER GL WITH OUT ME"
gl without me, lmao
Game has some glaring issues but it'll be worth price of admission for the story missions and at least a weekends worth of tooling around in the DZ. Anything after that and I'll be pleasantly surprised if they fix the balancing/rogue issues.
"NICE ONE GJ TO DESTROY THE GAME AFTER FEW ACTION LIKE I THIS I CANCEL PREORDER GL WITH OUT ME"
gl without me, lmao
Game has some glaring issues but it'll be worth price of admission for the story missions and at least a weekends worth of tooling around in the DZ. Anything after that and I'll be pleasantly surprised if they fix the balancing/rogue issues.
EL CUCO
Member
No thanks. Just watch who you shoot when you're shooting. If it's crowded, take a different angle.
They do have to figure out something about those turrets tho. They shouldn't be firing on non-hostile agents.
Yeah, while the people running in front of you is annoying to the point of being furious sometimes, its part of the tension to have FF on.
Part of the zone you know.
GOD i hate it sometimes.
Idiots who run in front of a gun are the same people that run over a pedxing with a truck heading full speed towards it
Idiots who run in front of a gun are the same people that run over a pedxing with a truck heading full speed towards it
TheCanisDirus
Member
Oh i completely understand... just something i think might be cool because you could switch it on in a split second so you could "play nice" and then within .5 seconds flip the switch and everyone goes... "fuck!!!" before you even fire... you could bait that way too! lol i'd have fun with it.
I like this.
Hello? This is Hailun!
Member
Also, people suggesting some type of revenge option for people killed by suddenly rogue players at extraction sites is a good idea.
TheCanisDirus
Member
Makes sense but it's super easy to force someone to go Rogue... too easy. You can simply roll in front of some or run into their grenade AOE and force them Rogue without them being able to do anything.
That's my main problem. People forcing you Rogue when you and your team are busy with AI enemies in a firefight. They can come from nowhere and run straight into your bullets/grenades.
MaximusPayne
Member
Ummm... to keep the turrets you would almost need the ff toggle. The turret doesn't know to quit shooting when a random player gets in the way of an NPC or rogue. FF would get rid of this.
I still think it has the potential to be big and I played enough to know I will enjoy the hell out of it for the most part, but I have tempered my expectations some after seeing more. My main concern is how the DZ will play out once we have the full map to play in. As long as it does not completely break down into a giant free for all, entrance and extraction point camping death match where you can't do shit, then I know I'll have fun with it. But that is sadly what I experienced last night.
Yeah, it would open up some interesting gameplay-related avenues.
The thing is that 'watching where you are shooting' isnt always an option. Other people could run into your line of fire and trigger rogue status. Not being able to control how you want to play the game seems weird for something that is an RPG. It's like Deus Ex: HR suddenly forcing you to engage in combat while you play a stealth/hack build.
If there is a friendly fire on/off switch you could still reward players that want to play 'risky' by multiplying XP or something.
Xamtheking
Member
There are 24 players in each DZ instance, across all zones in a single shard
MaximusPayne
Member
I think a lot of reasons for the shenanigans last night was it was the last night of the beta. People didnt care about their rank at that point. You lose a shit ton when you die. People knew this and didn't care as progress wasn't going to transfer.
That is walking, though, at least
Doesn't it take like 8 minutes at a run?
I'm still happy with the size of the map. Mainly because it's so detailed. It seems just as detailed as MGSV: Ground Zeroes' Camp Omega, but it's like 30x the size.
However, I think I have to exercise caution with The Division. I felt the same confidence in Destiny before release, and that turned out to be a complete disaster.
Still... The Division was actually fun to play almost every instant for my 7-8 hours with it. Destiny was a nice adventure but the gameplay, even in the Beta, never really grabbed me - it was the promise of adventure that was compelling about Destiny for me. It never fulfilled that.
The Division also scratches my Rainbow Six/Splinter Cell itch perfectly. So I think I'll stick with it.
---------------------
Does anyone else get the vibe that Ubisoft are sort of breaking the Tom Clancy/Ubi brands down?
Ghost Recon Wildlands is like Ghost Recon + Far Cry + Splinter Cell
The Division is like Rainbow Six + Splinter Cell
- Status