Tom Clancy's The Division 2

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:26 pm

Hum, couldn't find a thread open already on this, but sorry if there is one. Anyway the private beta for this game starts tonight and downloading is available. If you pre-ordered the game (which I didn't) you're automatically in the beta, otherwise, like me, you just have to have a Uplay account, have a bunch of their games and registered ahead of time for the beta. I guess you could try signing up now...

Impressions in the next few days. I bought the first game a couple of weeks ago and put in a dozen hours so far so I can at least compare it in that respect.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:32 pm

Great minds think alike...

Ubisoft's Division 2 Youtube playlist:

Here's the Twitch livestream from yesterday. The first hour or so is general chatter about the beta and the game in general. Live beta gameplay footage starts at about 1:09 into the video.

The beta pre-load (~42G) is available today, and it will be live from 0400EST 7 Feb until 0400EST 11 Feb.

On a completely unrelated note, is there a way to delete a thread that was redundant by the time it was posted? Asking for a friend...

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:40 pm

Max Peck wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:32 pm On a completely unrelated note, is there a way to delete a thread that was redundant by the time it was posted? Asking for a friend...

No need too, the title is pretty awesome

I watched one of those "10 things new from the previous game" videos and was pleasantly pleased to hear that the enemies aren't going to be the bullet sponges they were before. Also I like the look of the big open spaces. Manhattan got kind of boring after a dozen hours. And the way weapon upgrades are going to work sounds a lot better too. This might be a first day purchase for me if nothing else because it will still be a month before the end of tax season and my wife is working six days a week, leaving me with plenty of free gaming time.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:50 pm

I'm in on this. I pre-ordered and am looking forward to the game. I really enjoyed The Division as a solo player and what little my son would play with me.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:03 pm

You can apparently still sign up for the beta through the AMD website.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:51 pm

Got an email welcoming me to the private beta Feb 7 - 11 and follow the instructions but it wants me to pre order. Supposedly when you sign up through Uplay you can try the beta without the pre order. I can even invite friends it says. Maybe I can invite my other email address. Not sure whats up with it. Im supposed to be able to download it now and be ready for the beta to open.

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 5:03 pm

I got into the beta just by registering for it, so I'll add impressions over the weekend as well.

I also have a spare invite, if anyone would like it. Invites are managed through the Uplay friends list, though, so post here and add Asharak_006 and I can send one along.

- Ash

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:19 pm

I have two invites to share.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:33 pm

I can share as well if needed.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:51 pm

How are you guys pre loading it without pre ordering it?

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 9:20 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:51 pm How are you guys pre loading it without pre ordering it?

It showed up in my Uplay account after I was accepted into the "beta" like any other game I own there, with a typical "Pre-load" button.

- Ash

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:13 pm

Not in mine. Guess Im SOL. Its ok. Im too sad anyways .Cant make myself do anything but cry. F it.

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:14 pm

I'll take an invite if there are still some available - I"m Exodor72 on uPlay

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 12:35 am

I'm getting in on this one as well. I got The Division through Humble Monthly and have been having a pretty good time with it. Also read the Gamespot article about how the developers are addressing the end game issues that plagued the first one, so I have pretty high confidence it will be a better game all around.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:18 am

Exodor wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:14 pm I'll take an invite if there are still some available - I"m Exodor72 on uPlay

I *think* I sent a request your way. Let me know if you got it. I sent one to my son as well, but he never got an email as far as I can find.

I only had about 20 minutes to play this morning but I got a couple of things done. It feels a lot like The Division oddly enough. The open areas are a nice change of pace, but I could really use a sniper rifle.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 11:04 am

If anyone has an invite, I'd appreciate it. I'm IceBear1313

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 11:09 am

IceBear wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 11:04 am If anyone has an invite, I'd appreciate it. I'm IceBear1313

Sent you a Friend request... once you accept it, I will try to send you an invite.

- Ash

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 11:16 am

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:18 am
Exodor wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:14 pm I'll take an invite if there are still some available - I"m Exodor72 on uPlay
I *think* I sent a request your way. Let me know if you got it. I sent one to my son as well, but he never got an email as far as I can find.

I don't see anything in uPlay indicating I have access or any messages - but I rarely use it so it might be there and I just don't know how to find it.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 11:17 am

Thanks everyone

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 12:06 pm

Exodor wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 11:16 am
coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:18 am
Exodor wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 11:14 pm I'll take an invite if there are still some available - I"m Exodor72 on uPlay
I *think* I sent a request your way. Let me know if you got it. I sent one to my son as well, but he never got an email as far as I can find.

I don't see anything in uPlay indicating I have access or any messages - but I rarely use it so it might be there and I just don't know how to find it.

My friend received an email a few hours after getting the friend beta referral, so it may just take a bit of time for your email to show up.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 12:29 pm

I spent a bit of time in the beta this morning. It definitely feels like a stress test -- my first session ended with the client crashing to desktop and the other three ended with server disconnects.

The actual gameplay seems solid, though. If you played and enjoyed the first game, you will probably feel right at home in DC.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:11 pm

I got in almost three hours on the beta this morning. Had two disconnects but was able to get back on withing a minute. I had a lot of fun, but it definitely helped that I just bought the first game a couple of weeks ago so I was familiar with a lot of the concepts. I had no problems running the game and the graphics looked nice. I'm still confused about some of the new concepts but I'm sure I'll pick them up when the full game comes out.

It does seem that all those weapon mods you were picking up right and left from the first game have gone away. Now you get material and do certain actions to unlock blueprints, which then require more resources to fulfill. Getting that vertical grip for your gun is going to take a lot more time.

I died only twice in the time I played, once being dumb but once because the damn enemies started showing up all around me. I'm not going to be thrilled about that in the full game, but I can adjust. At least the enemies don't feel like bullet sponges this time.

I think this will be a day one pickup for me, since there will be another month of tax season and I'll have a lot of free time.

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:51 pm

wonderpug wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 12:06 pm My friend received an email a few hours after getting the friend beta referral, so it may just take a bit of time for your email to show up.

Just got the email - thanks!

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:56 pm

I spent about two hours playing this morning, all solo. No technical problems until a server disconnect right as I needed to quit anyway. The beta appears to consist of the game's introduction and first area, up to level 7 (I hit level 3 in my two hours). No cap on how much time you can play but several of your character's skill trees are locked out, so you can only play with a limited range of abilities.

First impression is that it is very much More Of The Division. It feels very, very similar. The regular enemies seem a bit less bullet-spongy (bosses can still take a lot of punishment), which is nice, but otherwise the UI and controls, etc., are familiar.

My character has been completely silent in all the cutscenes so far. I don't remember if that was the case in first game but it seemed... odd. It makes you very much a passive spectator in the narrative moments.

I got several notices of other players requesting assistance. I don't remember those in the first game, either... I ignored all of them (I'm a terrible agent, I know) and I did notice an option to turn off that feature, which I may well use later. It was a bit jarring to be mid-plot mission and have the game suggest I should drop what I was doing to go help some rando elsewhere on the map.

There are civilian "settlement" areas now, which act as mini quest hubs and can change cosmetically if you take the time to complete the side missions and help them, which I liked. The changes don't seem to really relate to what you're doing (I rescued a leader's daughter and the upgrade for her settlement included a new roof and a barbeque) but I still appreciated the small sense of having a positive impact on the otherwise ruined city.

Oh, most importantly: you can still close car doors by walking close to them. That's absolutely critical, I know.

- Ash

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:58 pm

Asharak wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:56 pm My character has been completely silent in all the cutscenes so far. I don't remember if that was the case in first game but it seemed... odd. It makes you very much a passive spectator in the narrative moments.

That is consistent with the first game. Lots of people talking at you.

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:59 pm

coopasonic wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:58 pm That is consistent with the first game. Lots of people talking at you.

Fair enough. The voice work for those other people has been decent enough that it's disappointing they didn't want to stretch to letting my character actually say anything.

- Ash

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 3:23 pm

Asharak wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:56 pm I got several notices of other players requesting assistance. I don't remember those in the first game, either... I ignored all of them (I'm a terrible agent, I know) and I did notice an option to turn off that feature, which I may well use later. It was a bit jarring to be mid-plot mission and have the game suggest I should drop what I was doing to go help some rando elsewhere on the map.

Where is that option? Those calls are starting to annoy me

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 3:44 pm

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 3:23 pm Where is that option? Those calls are starting to annoy me

Open your map and find the sub-screen that shows the location of the calls for help. I think there are key commands listed on that screen for how to disable your "on call" status or whatever.

The UI is... not as clear as it could be. Let's just say that.

- Ash

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 7:53 pm

Well, this sucks. I played a couple more hours of D2 this afternoon and now I have no interest in going back and playing the original game

Yup, it was fun. I even tried multiplayer, which is unusual for me. I did a call asking for backup and that somehow morphed into me becoming part of a two person team. The other person was there to play and even though we have no comms (what, no chat window?) I followed her (I'm assuming it was a her because I like it, don't judge me) and we took down a bunch of places.

Later on I got into a four person group but two of them kept splitting off, but with the one remaining teammate I went over some places I had captured before. I guess my teammate was there for the first time. It was fun and I might have to do this with the full game when it arrives in five weeks (sheesh!).

Some concepts are just over my head. I liberated a control point and now the guy in charge wants me to supply him resources. I did that but no more than fifteen minutes later I'm by there again and he's almost out. What's the downside of not giving him anything? Does the control point flip? The problem with that is there are multiple control points and there's no way I can keep them all supplied. I really hope someone released a decent guide for the game.

It's weird, there are no more weapon mod drops but I'm picking up new weapons left and right. I keep forgetting to dump everything in the stash. Oh, also there is now a third option if you don't want to keep something, besides selling or decomposing it. You can also donate it to a project. That will unlock those blueprints for weapons mods. It looks like I'll have to really keep track of what I need to hold onto. By the way, this means no early suppressor (silencer) which sucks because I have been able to sneak up on some bad guys.

The enemy aren't bullet sponges as much as before but do need to take some damage. I've ditched my full auto assault rifle for a semi-auto Mk-17 and turns out that's my sweet spot for taking down bad guys. I've been carrying an SMG as secondary, but I've just now switched to a sniper rifle, but it's bolt action and r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w. Even though I'm level five I'm still carrying my original pistol since I haven't come across a new one.

I like the new mechanic of having mini-bosses that are heavily armored rather than just overpowering. It gives me the possibility of de-armoring them shot by shot.

I miss my scanner from D1. I've walked right into an enemy base a couple of times. On the other hand I love my turret gun and seeker grenade.

Really, really like the map. Plenty of open spaces, with convenient scattered objects to duck behind

, and plenty of cool statues, ponds, all sorts of things to see. And colorful to boot. Just one wish, I wish I knew how to make time advance so I'm not outside in the dark, I'm getting my ass kicked out there at night.

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Thu Feb 07, 2019 11:46 pm

Played for about 90 minutes and had a blast. Got through to the end of the first big mission

Spoiler:

And just after killing the boss the game crashed.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:35 am

I played another couple of hours, mostly in a four person squad which was fun. Did several missions. I wonder if the missions are scaled for the number of players? I know I couldn't have beaten most of them on my own. About a half hours ago I started getting some real slowdown in a mission. It went away but returned a few minutes ago, so I gave up for the evening.

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:42 am

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:35 amI wonder if the missions are scaled for the number of players? I know I couldn't have beaten most of them on my own.

They very definitely were in the first game, so I would assume so here as well, but I've only soloed in this beta so far, so I could be wrong.

- Ash

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 10:30 am

I had two disconnects during the same mission... second one just as the mission ended so at least I didn't need to start over from the start a third time. I can't be bothered to deal with that crap so I exited the game. I've pre-ordered so I'll be playing it on release and hopefully they learn a thing or two from the beta so my release experience sucks less.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 11:16 am

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:11 pm It does seem that all those weapon mods you were picking up right and left from the first game have gone away. Now you get material and do certain actions to unlock blueprints, which then require more resources to fulfill. Getting that vertical grip for your gun is going to take a lot more time.

Today I learned that weapon mods are not individual items. Once you unlock a particular weapon mod, it becomes available for modding any weapon that can use it. You can purchase a number of basic weapon mods using SHD tech rather than crafting them, and it also appears that if you acquire a weapon that comes with a mod (e.g. a sniper rifle with a scope) then that will unlock that mod.

Also, there was a patch this morning that should hopefully deal with at least some of the disconnect issues.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:16 pm

I saw an email this afternoon saying that the endgame is now available to play in the demo. I don't really care about seeing this, one because I will probably not get to the endgame anyway and two, if I do, I don't want to spoil any surprises. Actually I'm not sure if I want to play any more of the demo. I had several very good hours of play when it released and I don't want to wear myself out playing missions I'm going to have to play again on the full release. Plus maybe they will fix a few of the UI issues I've had, not problems, but just things that took me a bit of poking around to find.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:28 pm

Yeah, if you finish the second main mission in the demo, it unlocks the ability to try out 3 end-game builds (i.e. level 30 with high-end weapons and gear) -- one with what looks like a sniper rifle, one with the crossbow and one with the grenade launcher.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:29 pm

Only played a few hours so far, but seems like a solid upgrade of Division 1 all around.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 10:36 pm

I think I finally got it downloaded and installed . Not tried it. Hope to but dont know if I can....may try tonight...may not..meh. Still not played even when I think I would like to ....anything. Sad still.

Got through the first mission. its is super choppy a lot for me..on a 2011 system. it 2600k 16 gigs ripjaws gtx 950.

Also between seeing the cpr in this game and on a tv I almost was sick. I saw it done to my wife. Its nothing like this and its horrible. Sigh.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Feb 09, 2019 1:33 pm

Ran the 2nd mission. The one you get from the rooftop settlement. To save the little girl. If Donna was here I would enjoy it and have fun. As is I feel like Im just pushing buttons and such. I got put down and had given up when another player showed up and saved me and we finished the mission. Had a little fun then. Its nice to have help.

I just don't know when Ill ever be back to gaming..or life. But the game seems like it will be ok. Too choppy on my rig...but Ive not tweaked it either.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 4:33 pm

Popped in for a bit just to make sure there are no tutorials that needed to be completed prior to playing with friends.

The interface seems unnecessarily clunky. For example, in some sections of the menu, using the WASD keys to navigate works fine but in others you can only use the arrow keys. When setting keybindings you can't simply click on the item you wish to change but rather have to scroll to it using the keyboard (be aware, if you have the mouse pointer on screen it will highlight whatever it's pointing at which might NOT be the keybinding you wish to change. I spent at least fifteen minutes unable to strafe to the right since I had somehow set that to mousewheel down.)
Also, since I have a controller plugged in the interface refused to let me navigate the menus forcing me to use the controller to do so until I could find the section to disable the controller and only then would it let me use the keyboard.

Actually, now that I think about it, my issue noted before about using the arrow keys instead of WASD was probably related to my having accidentally remapped the D (Strafe Right) to the mousewheel.

Mostly it seems like more Division which is fine. I'll be playing some coop tonight so hopefully will have more impressions afterwards.