Tom Clancy's The Division (Xbox One)

[100xp]

Holy crap.

Fire Crest is awesome...

Honestly even if there wasn't a boost to damage the 50% increase to range is great. I dropped a turret on to back trunk of a car, it pointed up and flamed a sniper trying to shoot me from a 2nd story scaffolding platform.

Heavies will kick it over sure but they make a b line for it so while they're eating full front flames, you can burst them down w/no worry of them switching targets to you...not a heavy boss? place it so it tickles them and they continue to get CC'd and burned whiled you throw shots from another angle. 3 FC/3 TA is my new build...I lost some toughness but "waaah wah! wahhhhhh" makes up for it.

Going to try Survival tonight. in theory...

 

[gogomo]

Pahkan (out of the box) 230ish k DPS on paper. Feels like more tbh vs. elites.

I finally got enough AlphaBridge pieces with decent stats to try out the 4 piece bonus and I noticed this, too -- that the Pahkan seems to do more damage than the stats indicate. So my favorite LMG has been the M60 (for whatever reason, I do really well with it). On paper, my M60 does more damage per bullet (I'm looking at the DMG stat, not DPS ...). In action though, I notice the armor and health bars melting much, much faster when using the Pakhan. Not sure what is going on.

Holy crap.

Fire Crest is awesome...

Honestly even if there wasn't a boost to damage the 50% increase to range is great. I dropped a turret on to back trunk of a car, it pointed up and flamed a sniper trying to shoot me from a 2nd story scaffolding platform.

Yup! When 1.5 first dropped, I only had 3 pieces of FireCrest and it was already enough to impress me. I've tried using 4 piece FC, but I'm not sure that's worth it. Might go back to 3FC/3 Banshee (for the extra damage to enemies out of cover).

 

[100xp]

PSA - after the restock from the special weapons vendor in the BoO, the updated Pahkan is actually a lot better than the previously rolled one. More damage for out of cover targets and more base damage...get it while it's hot.

Finally got to test out the D3-FNC? BS gear set (haha) on Lex challenge mode w/randoms. I could face tank the entire room that comes out when Larae spawns...including the heavies. It's like sweet sweet retribution from all the times I got mowed down clutching my guts.

6 runs, no chest piece but I more or less upgraded every other piece of gear set gear and loaded up on PxC's, credits, and even leveled a couple times for that field prof cache. It seemed like the game looked into my stash and said you don't have enough AB pieces...so here's every piece you'll need.

Looted a Godroll gold holster with all stats in the high 1200's...though I kinda need my GS holster to make my kit work so that's tucked away under layers of other under utilized GS pieces from farming.

Hopefully today I can get a quiet moment to try Survival, or just keep farming Lexington because after 6 times in the new patch, it's not annoying yet.

 

[100xp]

re: the Pahkan on paper vs. other LMG's, unless your other LMG's has Ferocious on it too I don't think we factor in or see the extra 10% on the stat sheet. I mean, if we have high enemy armor damage it in turn is a form of DPS...and when you can shred armor like wolverine..sniggiety snikt snikt snikt /// represent'in.

I think I have a full set of Dead Eye now and a Tenebrae and a First Wave M1A with the talent that gives 0.10% sig resources for ever crit. That might be fun in a group. Tact link every encounter in theory.

 

[100xp]

Survival - 1st trek out into the snowy wasteland of NYC met with a quick end to some cleaners.

2nd trek out was much better. Decided making winter clothes was the thing to do because I wanted to see more of the map than the avg bear. Lucked out and found an blue M1A...and then a fallen agent who left Survival so no medkit revive for that one, or the next...or the next. (shrugs). I felt like I was doing laundry. I had so much green and blue fabric I just kept making upgrades to winter clothes until the cold didn't seem to affect me at all...that and my Pulse.

My virus timer was about 33 mins when I finally decided to hit the DZ. I crafted an M60 LMG and my virus filter...then I finally realized where I had to go. DZ6. Top of the map. All the videos I watched never really touched upon where you're supposed to go to get your vaccine. Died to LMB on the way. Damnit. Then low and behold, someone came to revive me. Salute, a wave and then we're off in different directions.

Got caught up w/LMB again...wasted more time because of being sammich'd. Looted some more gear but not guns. Made it to safe house, made the adv filter and some mods and the First Aid skill, couple of medkits and we're off.

Grabbed the vaccine, ninja'd behind all the LMB golds that were patrolling the extraction point on the roof of that tall building in normal DZ mode. Zip line down the elevator before they knew what was up...high tailed it to the 2nd closest extraction point. (after making a flare gun and more medkits).

Pop.

Hunter spawns...then started the rain of grenades (which I found out is limited to 6), couldn't burst him down fast enough. He finally got the best of me after juking him for probably 6 minutes. Stun bolas what it looked like, axe to the head. Damnit. So nerve wrecking w/Septic shock and the music and screen fragmenting.

Watching the timer wind down I saw...another agent. I'm like, he's not going to make it, I have minute and change left and I don't even see him on the map. I only see the hunter. 42 seconds, he's reviving me. WOW...he had a mic, I plugged in and thanked him. Called in the extraction. He asked for anything I could spare, I gave him an energy bar cause it was all I had that he needed.

1 hr 29 min survival run solo. PVE

 

[gogomo]

Nice job on that survival run!  Looks like you ran into a bunch of friendly players, which is nice.  I usually revive everyone I see in the hopes that someone would do the same for me someday.

The antivirals spawn at different locations whenever you enter the DZ.  Sometimes they are easy to get to; sometimes not so much.  That rooftop one you got -- I assume the antiviral was up against a wall?  That's the easy one to sneak in, grab, and hightail it out before they notice you.  On that same rooftop, sometimes the antiviral spawns right in the middle of all the adds.  There is no way to stealthily grab that.  I usually just skip it (you can technically extract without the antiviral).

In the light zone and the DZ, I usually avoid NPCs when I can.  I take the term "survival" very seriously.  Lol.  I've only recently gotten comfortable with tackling the landmarks.

 

[100xp]

Thanks. The 2 ppl that revived me at different points seemed to have an agenda, aside from coming to my recuse...my guess is they wanted to be the last agent to extract. I extracted at 1 h 29 m, I had maybe 3-4 minutes left on my viral timer. Septic shock sucks.

I haven't come across a downed player who could be revived yet but I'm pretty sure I would, even if I only had 1 medkit left.

Yeah, top of the roof against a wall. W/LMB elites near by...easy to stealth by. Granted it was easy to get in and out...it was more that I had to spend all that time jogging to the top of the DZ and then a few blocks down to extract when I could have been exploring a subway station or something.

How do you extract w/out the anti viral? Do you just extract w/out it and not get the bonus for securing that asset? I noticed that it was one of the things you get points for on the stat screen.

Definitely want to try this w/a another player or even a squad. I understand resources become scarce because you're almost competing w/each other but once you get some gear you don't all have the take the same skills. Pulse & First Aid almost felt like BiS for solo, I would have preferred maybe healing station and a turret or B_shield.

We'll see what tonight brings...though I'll probably just run another 1/2 dozen farm fresh lex's.

 

[gogomo]

How do you extract w/out the anti viral? Do you just extract w/out it and not get the bonus for securing that asset? I noticed that it was one of the things you get points for on the stat screen.

Yup, you just don't get the bonus points for the antiviral if you extract without it. You still get all the cache rewards. If my timer is low, I'm short on meds, and the antiviral is far, I sometimes don't even bother and just run around grabbing gear caches then extract.

In terms of skills, I've recently found that the turret is super helpful. It aggros and distracts the NPCs (and kills the weak/lower leveled ones). If you can't tell where the last lingering add is, the turret will auto target him once he pops out of cover. Works for the hunter as well, to keep him suppressed so you can flank. And if you stumble upon a group of adds, find yourself outnumbered and need to escape, just drop the turret and sprint. The NPCs will focus on the turret long enough for you to make it out of their gun range.

 

[100xp]

Word.

Kinda silly you can extract w/the anti viral...but I suppose you as an agent are also a valuable asset, even though you're dying from an infection which could possibly kill you before you reach HQ via the chopper. Good to know there's more options and/or ways to beat Survival.

If I can get into a group or something I'll definitely go for the Turret, always like that thing...hoping they have another GS that improves on the turret that pings.

Going to play around w/different builds again tonight. D3-FNCE is fun but because the 3 other players in lexington farm runs shouldn't have it so easy all the time right? haha.

 

[100xp]

Playing around w/different builds...found out that (3) Firecrest/Defense w/a 93R pistol is a lot of fun for lex running.

You tank, you hold aggro, your flame turret CC's everything...then I got a decent rolled PP 19 to drop.

Went back to 4 piece Defense with a 100+ round clip. Sooo satisfying.

If Barret's chest doesn't drop at some point between now and farm round number 50, I think I'm going to retire until Last Stand.

 

[100xp]

Lex run: 35 (no chest drop or showstopper)

Tried a glass cannon build with some pretty decent results.

4 piece Tactician w/Reckless chest...47% armor and 107k hps vs. 53.9% and 181k hps + ballistic shield w/the other build.

...but, the sticky bombs and seeker mines roll out like Optimus. Roughly a 9 second CD on the mines w/more if I get head shots w/all the blow up bad guy talents I can usually trigger the buffs. I'm starting to see 700-800k on sticky bombs w/all buffs active and pretty much perma bleed on everything.

Since the 3 other players are usually running AB, Defense, and FC it's really easy to just hang back, snipe and click one skill. boom...other skill...click boom.

I'm not really a fan of being so squishy but it breaks up the tedious nature of shield, smg to the face...sprint.

 

[100xp]

Lex run: 40 (nada) I did get a 5% Ballistic Shield damage resistance mod.

Watched a bunch of videos using the Reclaimer set (mainly Macrostyle & Upper Echelon) and was pretty impressed with the results.

Vigorous Chest & Specialized Bp, (4) Reclaimers.

- 2 - first aid, self 6%/5%

- 1 - first aid heal, ally 6%

- 1 - Heal station range, 7.50%

LVOAC 21% shred, (Responsive, Brutal^^/Unforgiving) /Police MK22.

- Booster Shot, Ammo Box, Recovery Link.

HPs: 191k

Armor: 51% ish

So while we're running Lex...first I find out we're being streamed. So everyone stopped, waved and then continued playing. It was hilarious. 2 guys were running AB, one guy I think FC.

Someone noticed that they were always hydrated (water) and said "yo, who running Reclaimers?" Process of elimination, the only guy who didn't replay, w/out a mic was me.

"Yo, i herd Reclaimers sucks...what you DPS and toughness at?"

I wanted to say, did I revive you 4 times already?

Well, I wasn't about to plug in a mic since it was...all the way over there but w/no buffs or conditions met (i.e. responsive, unforgiving, consumables, pulse from head shot talent, etc) it was a cool 300k...and that was w/minimal accuracy. The Toughness (See above). Every other encounter I was popping Recovery link because someone got downed and why not, it refreshes. Admittedly, when one of the AB players was next to me I saw the elite armor/health bar just melt like butter but they got a bit over zealous due to the constant stream of healing and first aid I was shooting their way.

It's definitely a fun build, always something to do, always someone to help, and after a few runs w/it, it's definitely more engaging that any of the previous builds I tried out.

Naturally Barrett's chest piece would be the 1st improvement I could make for this...then maybe one or 2 more 6% more first aid mods...then maybe the same AR but with higher armor shredding, though 21% is pretty decent. I have a reclaimer holster w/a perfect Electronics roll, so I let it be.