"The Three major Problems Crippling The Division"

maskedweasel

Below is an article posted on forbes yesterday about some of the issues of the division.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/04/03/three-major-problems-are-currently-crippling-the-division/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix#4c46e1bf1f4e

The "problems" are listed as follows for those that don't want to click the link and read.

#1: PC Cheating/Hacking

#2: Daily Matchmaking

#3: Stat Bugs


I wanted to post it to bring this to the communities attention in a few ways here.  The primary one is, how different the versions of The Division are.

#1    Console versions of the game don't have an issue with #1.  This is definitely a gamebreaker for me... and this is the main reason why I didn't buy the game on PC.  It's clear that in any PC game that gives you the opportunity to aim -- aim bots are always a threat.  On top of that, Ubisofts client side stat gaff is a huge issue that everyone should be exploiting in all honesty -- if for no other reason just to make it apples vs apples on PC. 

#2    Console versions have no issues with daily matchmaking.  I've never had an issue where I zone in.. and the mission didn't start.  Only once was I not able to complete a mission due to an elevator but,  but that was actually due to unexpected server downtime.  The problem with getting kicked at the end of challenging missions -- that IS a problem when you play with randoms.  To combat this, I just run my own parties.  They fill up fast for dailies, and you can't get kicked because you're the party leader.  Problem Solved. 

#3   This is an issue -- not being able to understand your stats due to stat bugs.  Sometimes just having your cursor over an appearance item will show your DPS goes up... but the appearance items have no stats.  The stats from gold items you can buy such as mods don't display properly.  Sometimes you'll equip something new that says it will increase your DPS only to find that it decreased it.  This is extremely detrimental when you're leveling up and you want to buy something for a lot of credits, but find out that your money was wasted.  -- This is an issue across all versions of the game. 


What versions are you all playing on? Are these the gamebreaking problems?

Solar_Prophet

1. Cheating and hacking sucks, but I don't participate in PvP, and most likely never will. So while I believe that Ubisoft needs to fix it ASAP, it doesn't really affect me at the current time. As an aside, what the hell were they smoking when they decided to leave important information client-side? The PC version was supposedly natively developed, not ported, but I'm beginning to doubt that. 

2. I've no experience with matchmaking, so I can't comment. I'm playing the game on my own at a very casual pace since without the DZ, there's really no reason to rush through the content. 

3. This is should be priority #1, just slightly ahead of the hacking. So far the discrepancies aren't huge, but that shouldn't matter. The game does a poor job of explaining how stats work in the first place (though it's easy to figure out IMO), but throwing display errors on top of that is / has only increased the confusion for some people, and is extremely irritating when it comes to buying items. With drop items it's not so bad, since you can just unequip them if they drop your stats. 

All these issues need fixing, and quickly. It's been almost a month, yet the same problems persist despite also existing in the open beta. People are still in the 'honeymoon' phase with the game, but once that starts wearing off people are going to really start taking notice of the game's problems, and leaving when they see that Ubisoft apparently doesn't give a shit about fixing them. 

They may have made a killing on box and season pass sales to keep them rolling in cash for the first year, but if this stuff isn't fixed year two's pass and DLC sales are going to be quite a rude awakening. 

Scottgun

Yep. #1 and #2 are non-issues for me on the PS4. #3 I've run afoul of and now rely on trial and error when loading out. Doesn't irritate me, but ought to be remedied. 

GrumpyHobbit

For me, even though I have not got to max level....I am already struggling to any reason to play above finishing the story. Better PvP games out there that do not pretend to be anything but PvP games. 

ElRenmazuo

I just want them to utilize the PvE map more at end game.  It would be great at end game if the PvE map becomes a shared map like DZ without PvP and have public missions and events.  The update does seem to indicate it will have public events similar to destiny but not sure. 

syntax42

maskedweasel said:

#1    Console versions of the game don't have an issue with #1.  
#2    Console versions have no issues with daily matchmaking.  I've never had an issue where I zone in.. and the mission didn't start.  

Consoles do have an issue with cheating, if you consider exploits cheating.  Consoles get to exploit bugs longer if they require a client-side patch to fix because the patching process for consoles takes longer due to Microsoft's and Sony's processes to get a patch published on consoles.

https://www.reddit.com/r/thedivision/comments/4d0gin/the_dark_zone_exploits_are_real_players_are/

PC versions have no issues with daily matchmaking.  There is a bug where the mission won't start if someone other than the group leader goes in first.  It affects all platforms.  However, it is easy to avoid by hosting the mission yourself and walking in to "start" the mission, then opening the group up to the public.

maskedweasel

syntax42 said:

maskedweasel said:

#1    Console versions of the game don't have an issue with #1.  
#2    Console versions have no issues with daily matchmaking.  I've never had an issue where I zone in.. and the mission didn't start.  

Consoles do have an issue with cheating, if you consider exploits cheating.  Consoles get to exploit bugs longer if they require a client-side patch to fix because the patching process for consoles takes longer due to Microsoft's and Sony's processes to get a patch published on consoles.

https://www.reddit.com/r/thedivision/comments/4d0gin/the_dark_zone_exploits_are_real_players_are/

PC versions have no issues with daily matchmaking.  There is a bug where the mission won't start if someone other than the group leader goes in first.  It affects all platforms.  However, it is easy to avoid by hosting the mission yourself and walking in to "start" the mission, then opening the group up to the public.

I consider the explots as exploits... not really hacking...

Like Bullet King and the Hard/Challenging mission boss farms,  they were definitely exploits.  But they've been patched.  No doubt others will show up.

There are devices you can use on consoles to cheat.. but they aren't nearly as game breaking as with the client side hacks available on PC.

CrazKanuk

Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the author as an authoritative expert on the subject of gaming and I really wish Forbes would stop allowing him to do his pieces. While his articles appear to be well-written, I find it's actually relatively shallow, speaking about his work in general, and filled with embellishments, see the title of the article for example. 

There are no real crippling issues at the moment. There could be annoyances. If I were to point at any one item currently wrong with the game it would be RNG. I mean, at the moment, it's loot cave mentality because the drop rates are so horrible. I think that's a much more difficult problem to fix, too. Not individual loot caves but the core problem of balancing respawn.

Again, I just find he's very focused on superficial issues. So, what? We're going to write a weekly article on what's "Crippling" the game? Because that's about how quickly these types of things are going to end up being resolved. 

heerobya

No problems with #1 on XB1.

#2 happens all the time. Usually have to leave party, fast travel somewhere, find another/join new party and it is fixed.

#3 is kind of "meh" to me. I think people get blinded by the DPS stat and just freak out over anything and everything related to moving that number up or down.

I, for example, use a High-End Black Market AK-47 most of the time. It's got good damage roll and pretty great perks. I purposefully dropped my DPS a little (like 4-5k) in order to get more stability and it makes the gun so much easier to use in PvE getting chains of head shots at moderate distances.

So point is, don't just look at the raw numbers, handling characteristics and the perks themselves matter a WHOLE lot more than a few thousand DPS or whatever.

rojoArcueid

I think #3 is natively a problem even without bugs. Designing games around min/maxing stats is an old and tired practice. We need more fresh ideas to replace the focus on getting the best stats on items.

As for the actual problems state in the OP, i dont have the game but whatever problems the game has should be fixed quickly. Like someone else said above, Ubi made a lot of money from sales so they should be fixing all that stuff.

SlothnChunk

The biggest problem with The Division is the fact it's extremely repetitive.  Going from instanced encounter to instanced encounter engaging bullet sponge enemies got old after 20 mins.  Plus, the interactions with other players is limited and disappointing in PvE combat areas.  Being online only for PvE sounded neat on paper, but in reality is pretty worthless.

Other than that, great game!

barasawa

maskedweasel said:

...
#1: PC Cheating/Hacking

#2: Daily Matchmaking

#3: Stat Bugs
...

#1 Any intentional use of an exploit, bot, trainer, or hack is cheating. The PC users usually get access to those first, but the exploits are often crushed on PCs first as well. Yes, all those do exist for the consoles, but it takes longer for the makers of them to put them out, and many times you need a modded console to use them in the first place. It still doesn't make it any less frustrating. 
My brother is big into Destiny at the moment, and he's now encountered several people shooting through solid objects. Apparently it takes a modded console to do it. He even captured video of it for proof. 

#2 Being the leader of your own group isn't a fix, it's a temporary workaround of limited use. Sure your group fills up now, but how about when this workaround catches on? Still, that's a decent tip for now.
Besides, douches dumping you after you've done a buttload of the work is B.S. in any circumstances. Even if someones DPS is lower than you think is ideal, it may be your fault. An example I have from WoW is a wizard who gets their big DPS from AoE DoT spells nailing lots of foes. Those take time to cast, and time to do damage, and it can't be retargeted. What do you think happens when a moronic pogotank starts dragging the mobs all over the battlefield? Yep, he completely screws up the spell casters, especially the wizards DPS.
So even if you think someone isn't holding up their end, they may not be the problem in the game, whatever game it is. A good rule of thumb and etiquette is unless they are sabotaging the group or linkdead, don't kick, just don't take them on a second run. And also, if you think you know everything that's occurring in the party, you are delusional.

#3 Wow! Talk about annoying! Triply so with cash items! They should at least institute a refund system as long as that affects cash shop items. As a programmer this bug makes me very curious as to why it's occurring. It has to be pulling stats from somewhere. Oh well, nothing I can do about this one, and though I don't know the devs, this might be pushed back because it doesn't break the game or allow cheating.
I know people feel ripped off when they buy stuff that's not what it showed, but not all teams will take into account how that will hurt the game overall.

Scottgun

We are getting into that dull territory where arguments are in either category of "interesting but untrue" or "true but uninteresting". The larger point is that many PC users are justly ready to walk away in disgust due to the hacks. Most console players by contrast acknowledge that glitches and exploits need fixing but are opting for patience rather than wishing a fiery meteor lands on Ubi's office. Perhaps Bungie has it right.