These people make nonsense with the hate they spit towards you...as if you are the guy telling massive what to do...some of these people need to get a life...yes massive have nerfed a bunch of shit ...yes the NPCs are too strong in many peoples opinion...but stating the reasons/problems with this game in an opinion based video shouldn't be a problem to people...especially when it's really a fact lol...but weather I agreed or didn't I still wouldn't be giving a guy shit for it...the major fail here for me is the end-game in general and after multiple DLCs people want to feel like they are progressing, getting more and more badass, getting better and cooler weapons, not having to resort to the same OP shit that has been in the game since day 1... That can get pretty damn stale rather quickly I would say...everyone wants to feel as though there division agent is more powerful than one random ass street thug..and not be forced to use the same tactics to have any success ...and that's why balancing this game is so utterly important....I mean come on now people don't shoot the messenger...he's not the one who made the game the way it is...so why get pissy at him for explaining the flaws and trying to make the game a more enjoyable experience...the people doing this are getting pretty stale pretty quickly as well...
+MP USMC SRT I was referring to being associated with them so there will b some bias towards them he said sell out I state fact he wouldn't so much shit when it is needed bc he would loose his money from them
For all of you guys rallying behind DPS builds: Skill Up isn't telling everyone to forget firearms. I would say the average player tries to get about 3k firearms so if you're entire team is already dealing damage maybe you should try MATCHMAKING with a build to complement them. And to those with great hybrid builds of 250k+ dps, 400k+ toughness, and 25k+ sp... Guess what? Your stats are pretty optimized and this video isn't for you. But for those that need to know how to complement a group of randoms who are most likely going for damage, damage, and more DAMAGE you might benefit from this a lot. Especially cause you are probably matching making with someone who is focusing on that 2800 firearms for their weapon talents. As a skill power build you can ignore weapon talents cause what you bring to the table eclipses a small increase to armor damage, critical hit damage, etc.
I don't think PvE is too difficult, I think what will make the game seem difficult are the people within your group, whether you matchmake or have a frequent group you play with it. You can be the best player in the group, but if someone isn't playing very well, despite gear, you will eventually get overwhelmed. Not because of NPC health, not because of NPC DPS, but because of careless players who want to go out and do things on their own, especially with Underground. Team composition is super important, I think, in this game.
so so so true. the premise of the game was around working as a team; and i find that the PvE content is perfect at where it is, working well as a team, it is so easy to work through everything. - only reason why people can't play, is because they either don't know how to play or can't be fucked finding friends and working on making a frequent team
Agreed. This is the most common situation. This is what can make it so difficult for solo players. Finding a "good group". And finding a good group willing to help you farm specific incursions multiple times in one day. That said, this game isn't difficult nor Challenging. As I'll keep sharing: in gaming there's a difference between Challenging and Punishing. Massive has made this game Punishing in several ways. Because of reasons Skill Up stated in this video. Namely, unbalanced as well as breaking its own rules.
I don't think fun group play should come at the expense of solo players or casual groups, especially since pre-30 misleads you into the belief you can solo any of the content if you play smart/careful enough. I don't find games with margins of error so narrow the one underperforming teammate can screw everything up fun. It's the exact same thing that killed Evolve in its first iteration.
True exactly what I've been saying all this time.. I'm lucky to have 3 different team with abilities that complement each other games style using diferent builds and skills and talent.
I don't agree with leandro's criticism. In my estimation, you have a very good perspective on The Division. You evaluate the game as it currently is tuned, suggest ways to optimize builds, and give your suggestions as to how the game might be improved. Your explanations and suggestions are thought out, reasonable, and usually spot on from my point of view. Your demeanor is one of the best on UA-cam. Can't say enough about that. You have your opinion, but you're never heavy-handed and are always cordial. There will always be people who don't agree with you because there will always be numerous ways to approach and appreciate these types of games. All you're doing is giving you're take on things. And leandro is certainly entitled to disagree. To his credit, it is a reasonable argument. You do have influence within Massive, as do others. So there's definitely some community politics at play within the developer/UA-cam arena. I for one have bemoaned the fact that The Division seems to be getting tuned to accommodate the hard core gamers and UA-camrs, of which I am neither. But that's just the way things are in today's industry. Skill Up, you are extremely helpful and very respected within the community. Thanks for putting so much work into your craft and handling criticism with grace, clarification, and humility. I know I sound like a suck-up, but I just wanted to offer a counter to some of the criticism. Kudos for all of your hard work! Stay the course!
+Skill Up I'm going to build my second character just like this. If it works out for me. Probably how I'll run from now on. I don't go to the DZ, so PvE is my goal.
I was skeptical when I first saw this but it's amazing the difference it made just rolling a couple of pieces for electronics instead of firearms. I had never used smart cover but the combo of that and pulse is just brutal. Thx a million for this vid.
Short version: The Division's main problem is ... it's too random for it's own good. Long version: Content is not necessarily badly balanced in The Division, however, the overall system itself is exceptionally poor at making the content manageable, much less enjoyable for the player without a pre-made group. Endgame content is now balanced on having a team with an effective balance of skills with an appropriate level of skillpower for those requisite skills. However, since: a) Gearsets and their stats are a strong determining factor b) Gearset choices and their stats are random and based solely on what a player was lucky enough to get c) Getting those gearsets is mostly dependant on playing the very content players are struggling with... d) Matchmaking provides absolutely no system of matching players based on gearset or skills mix... The game actually has no effective manner of providing matchmade players with a team that is capable of handling said content. Massive/Ubisoft needs to take a page out of Wildstar or other MMOs where matchmaking for raids ensures that even a team of randoms has a good mix of 'classes' which can handle the content the way it was intended to be played. Right now, like everything else in the game, it's just Too. Damned. Random.
I hope the devs listen to this... the thing u said about the survivability dependent on smartcover is why the game is broken. We must have other ways to survive besides smartcover.
While I do agree with this to a certain extent, I like how they're pushing the game towards leaning on cover-based tactical shooting, which is the main aspect of this game's gunplay. I think the problem is that 1. there aren't many other abilities to use that promote cover-based tactics compared to all the other skills that promote other styles of playing. Example: the way SMGs were the best weapons to use but required close quarters combat 2. The game lacks game modes that reward the use of cover based tactics like this, as well as game modes that promote using other styles. For instance the DZ just doesn't reward cover based team tactics all that much because it's too frantic, yet it's the main end-game content, and currently the only form of competitive/PVP gameplay. Imagine if they created a mode where you compete with another team to finish a mission the fastest; then that would urge players to build for fast kills instead of the slow/tactical burn that smart cover + ammo station provides.
I almost feel as though an arena style pvp mode would be perfect to promote this as a cover based shooter especially for the pvp mode...almost set up like laser tag or something where you can't really gank...just all out cover based like capture the flag or something like that ...where you could only cross the mid point of the map under certain conditions....remove all skills and of course create unique maps and I think you have a very viable pvp mode and even a way people could also check specific builds for effectiveness ....Somebody get this to massive! Lol
I love some of the comment below regarding the trash talking. I personally think that this is a great video. To back this up, I ran the same misson twice. Same gear set, built for massive dpc and stamina/toughness versus a build very similar to Skillup's above. It's a no brainer. Thank you Skillup. Top bloke.
Thanks for taking the time to post this, very much appreciated. It does change a lot via the way I play, but what you presented makes sense; hard to argue with facts,-and this method makes a lot of sense, thanks again.
Just so you know, I am glad you are saying everything that you are saying about the state of balance in The Division. After playing 30 minutes of playing 1.3, I quickly realized all the things you are currently talking about. It is great to hear it for that I feel validated and that my voice is spoken. Thank you.
Hey man, good vid. To all the dislikers, he´s talking about what YOU can do to get the stuff done. And he is completely right, normally you can do every heroic content with high skillpower players, but without it is nearly impossible to do it. So if you take your own performance a little bit back and buff your group, you as a team do much better. If there is an other high skill power player in your team, you can switch to your DPS-Build. But what you definitely need is at least one high skill power player, he is the difference between a wipe and success. Whether you do 1.1m dmg or 1.0m is not important. My favorite set up, - Reclaimer with maxed cover - Sentrician with high skillpower - 2 DPS completely free
They've made this game way too hard even for hardcore players we dont want to get ganked by any npcs, a game is supposed to be enjoyable (yes can be a challenge) but if we are not enjoying it its not worth playing. If I want to play an insanely difficult game ill go play Dark Souls, i dont i want to play The Division because the core gameplay is fun (minus the bugs).
I agree. You need to run certain builds and really have a good group all built a certain way in this game. With all the gear sets and talents and perks and weapons you'd think there would be more room for flexibility. As it stands half the stuff they give you doesn't get used because it's ineffective against the mobs they throw at you. It's a damn shame. Reminds me of a bucket of legos but you are only allowed to build things out of one color.
Thanks to that kind of thought everyone is making games for casual players than making them for real gamers. Games should always be challenging, not watered down just for casual player
probably the single greatest YT channel. seriously dude I never watched UA-cam at all till you started doing these. thank you sincerely for all the effort :)
IMHO this is probably one of the most helpful vids you have put out on this topic. Thank you. I switched my firearms to electronics and stamina around 400k keeping just enough firearms on to retain weapon talents and the difference was unreal, so much better IMHO.
My friends and I had just about given up on this game due to the difficulty of much of the end game content. Completely changed my build to this style and it's made a huge difference for us. Thank you for making this game fun again. Having said that, massive, please balance this game out so we have more diverse ways to enjoy end game. We don't need more content. Just balance what we already have
Great video. This helps a lot since I'm a casual games trying to figure out the best way to get through these harder challenges. I enjoy your videos so keep up the good work.
I always appreciate how you explain things in your videos. I am a casual XB1 player and your insight has helped me go from a 190 to 235GS. I know that doesnt mean too much but watching how you play and how you stat re-calibrate is so helpful. Thanks from Las Vegas.
Great video man. It's weird how accurately you have described my mindset with this game, and I am glad there's SOME way to counter the heroic difficulties in this game. I'm gonna go try it right now. Thanks man!
I think you hit it right on the head man. Only thing I would argue with is you don't even REALLY need to stack electronics that much. 4 piece Tac at a base 30k skill power when fully buffed will max out Smart Cover and pulse. That's what I run in our group and have a little firearms. It works really well. Love the vids. Keep them coming!
Great Topic and thanks for sharing. I used to rely on DPS/Toughness and completely ignored skill power. Then I began to notice that when I did a match make for missions it was so much easier when we had a person with high skill power in the group. I have recently changed my build and I am at 180,000 DPS/385,000 Toughness/43,000 skill power. This has made my game play so much more enjoyable. I could never go without high skill power now.
I appreciate all the work you into this. I have to twist arms to get my friends to join me too.. and although balance is needed... I'm still having fun in this game and when I come from other games and see the graphics again... I'm always floored. Thank you Skill Up!
what i love about this game , that there are too many ways to play it , its the best console game that have ever been made , i love it so much and im so addicted to it . gl guys :P
Hey SkillUp I totally agree with your thesis. Yesterday I had a couple of hours to waste and I did Lincoln tunnel in heroic mode (using match make). Being a PS4 player and a casual player lately, I don't have new or very high gear so I improvised and tried something different. I put on 4 pieces of LS and 2 pieces of Striker's. With this set my LMG had 180k DPS and my agent 360K toughness and 25K of skill power. I've used smart cover the one with the extra damage (can't recall the name) and boy I found the difference in damage to be higher even with my skill power less than the 45K you suggest. Finally the game is going to the right direction. Tactics, preparation, coordination and less blunt shooting around. Please people stop mentioning WoW as a comparison. You only sound ignorant. I've been playing WoW since 2005 and it has a special place in my hart but Division simply is not WoW. The comparison is unfair on both sides. I wish and hope this game will grow and mature and be the MMO of the consoles - as WoW is for computers - but only time will tell.
This is a totally fair comparison when you look at it from just a video game perspective...there are other MMOs besides just wow that have made there way to console and they were beautifully designed and developed...think about how long ago wow came out...all he is saying is that video games should progress and get better as time goes on...and this is a prime example of why so many games are failing...anyone could compile a list of games that are far better put together in terms of just about any aspect...to ask for a better product and overall balance in a game and then refer to one that met those standards makes total sense...and if you wanna hit the console point look at final fantasy 11 released in 2002 and totally destroys this game in overall balance content etc etc. until we demand this type of thing from our game developers things will get worse before they ever improve.( this game techniqually classifies as an MMO even if poorly done...open world meant for hardest content to be done by teams, everything not scaled for solo play...even certain Massive MMOs that could have parties of 18 players have catered more to solo players as they go down the road...while still bringing challenging multi-player content as well...for a Triple A title game that was in development for this long I think we all should expect a better overall product....
Right from the start of this video I've agreed with you for the most part. I first played this game like mad when it was released, but soon after reaching 30 I left for a couple months, but after hearing about the underground dlc I came back. Right away I noticed a huge difference in the balance of the game, especially in PvE (I find PvP pointless) and struggled to raise my Firearms and Stamina to a comfortable level to survive in the new content. But now that I've seen this video, you've basically confirmed what I've been suspecting from the release of 1.3. It's also just a side note but seeing as I play on ps4 I'm currently missing out on reclaimer which I also agree is the best set out there for PvE. Thanks for the informative videos man and keep up the great work, the community really appreciates the hard work you put into your content, despite what many of the comments say on this and other videos.
I have great success with 250k/350k/25k range all the time because I know how to use cover, cover to cover, hit vulnerable points, can aim well at moving targets and usually hit them in the head etc. A Good player > any build you can dream up. I would gladly take a 200GS good player over a 255 GS crappy player anyday. My 30s (All completed all Heroic Incursions, UG 3 phase/4directive): 1> 265k/320k/22k Assault/Shotgun/3xFM/3xFirecrest (smoke mine/overdose) 2> 200k/275k/41k SMG/LMG/2xReclaimer/4xtacts (Rez Station/smart cover) 3> 225k/380k/18k Shot/Marks/3xLonestar/3xFirecrest (smoke mine/overdose) 4> leveling to 30 (thinking LMG/Shot/4x Lonestar/Savage/Revitalize With a group of good players I know 1 & 3 dominate well, with a PUG #2 has better luck because I can compensate for poorer players and does make the point of this video. Survivability: 2,1,3 in order. The auto rez station makes #2 survive more but #1 doesn't go down as much thans to 90% Exotic Resilience. Now I do want to make one comment: You say there is no time penalty but Clear Sky is brutal the longer you let it last as mobs just keep spawning, for everything else you are correct.
Great vid! I've been playing since release and always struggled getting better gear, modding or what-have-you, but I now have a decent main and two mediocre alts at the moment and like going into your vids with an open mind to learn something new and/or try. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Awesome video. My game experience has changed so much since I started focusing on skill power and toughness. Groups love me, I don't die every three seconds and when having a bit of a coordinated group we walk through challenging (just started UG, so can't play heroic yet) UG missions with ease.
I paused just a few seconds in after your disclaimer and liked it and subscribed. Just because you put yourself out there. Besides, you're crazy pro mate.
I always enjoy playing the "cc mage" role but didn't think it was super viable in the Division...Glad to hear a perspective that highlights the benefits of taking that route and the proper method of execution. Thanks for the info!
+Skill Up Thank you a lot for this great video!!! Been working on having my 4th Reclaimer's gear set. I'm running basically what you have for 2 weeks now: 500K toughness, 30k sp (working on having more), smart cover, pulse or station. I see the difference in difficulty of pve content and was trying to explain that to friends without any luck... Thanks again for this clear and informative video, I can now show it for them to understand! ;)
Just stopping by Skill Up to tell everyone I was wondering if my plans to be a support were viable, and that this video was helpful in directing me on where to put my attention. It so happens I had a lot of great stuff already, and now have 80/460/50 build. I am absolutely able to carry any group through Heroic 3 directive undergrounds over and over. My skills are ready before I need them, which means I can kill smart cover and move it if I need to without waiting for cool down. I totally agree this isn't the only way to play - I will eventually enjoy having a true tank front-line build where I'm constantly moving and trying to peel mobs off my team members, but until the close range and overall enemy DPS is reduced, and threat is actually a functional mechanic, this is the perfect build for my desire to play a support build in PVE. All of that said - this isn't the build for everyone - and if you don't like having to play this way you'll just want to go for 5 piece sentry + savage gloves. BUT even if you don't want to play this way where you hide and just try to stay alive in PVE, as Skill Up said - that's just not a viable option at this point.
Absolutely 100% correct. When i run my tac set with smart pulse. 99% success in underground heroics. When i run any of my DPS sets 30% success or less.
fantastic work as per usual - buffs over dps proves itself in PVE again. I am playing on PS4 and at this point the Sentry’s Call build is fun - looking forward to reclaimer. Thanks again - the work is appreciated.
Great content as usual. I made some minor tweaks after watching this, changing fire-arms stats to electronics and bumped skill power up to just 30k. if I matchmake with a group that is running pulse I use smart cover or vice versa. With simply changing mods and two re-rolls on backpack and holster, I have become ten times more effective. I melt enemies faster, never run out of ammo in underground and find myself able to be a healer. However, convincing others of this is a tough proposition. I still get ridiculed by players who think DPS is god and investing stats in anything else is garbage. Stay out of the box skillz. A month from now everyone will follow suit. Thanks for the videos. This is where I go for the best in theory.
Another great video dude, I do like your tips and completely agree about firearms/skill. Sharing this with a friend, 90% of the time we're the 2 of us are matchmaking and hopefully this will make out runs more effective
Hey skill, I've been watching and liking your videos since the beginning. I've always appreciated your content, and took your advice in the game. I used to be a solo player but not I've made a few friends through matchmaking and we play together sometimes. I always recommend your videos, I know we would be friends in real life. I want this game to succeed just like you do, and I know it will someday. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate the videos you make and I try to watch every single one. Thank you, man. ☺️
I still think firearms is VERY important I use sentrys with a Black market SASG, brutal, responsive, fierce, 5 sentry and 1 savage is a must for a free 14% crit chance to most targets, meaning I only need to bring weapons to 15-20% crit chance and savage brings it above 30 then any pulse from soneone with 25k or more skillpower maxes out crit chance while all attachments buff crit hit damage.(appart from my scopes which are always crit chance and headshot since you cannot get damage and range is not worth it) I really find sentry essential for example I can kill those big flamers solo in under 20 seconds simply by applying 3 marks with a shotgun them immediately shooting their left tank which explodes immediately which alone almost kills the flamers since it does 50% more damage, then you can quickly headshot them or shoot their second tank. My build right now can have 250kDPS 418T and 30k skillpower enough for 50% smart cover and 40% damage buff which I mainly use in PVP since you can hop in and out very quickly and keep that 50% resistance for a few seconds giving you double toughness of course if just 1 team member has that 45k you can get quad toughness meaning you'll have over 1m T most of the time since they bring 75% resistance. I am basically agreeing with skillup here but you only really need a 26-30k skillpower pulse and its only worth going to 45k skillpower for smartcover. Ive always said 3 DPS guys and 1 skillpower player to buff them, im generally a DPS player but still bring a 32% crit chance pulse, obviously the higher base DPS you apply that 50% smartcover to the faster you'll melt enemies. IMO 26-30k is that magic number with skillpower because its free, 6k on mask, 7k on backpack, armor on all other items other than knee pads which you take exotic on and also attempt to get it on your vest and although its not final measure with 400T 24% exotic is generally enough to save you from a sticky if you're surprised while farming, then all mods you use skillpower on =, for example mine range from 147-160 stamina and 1300-1500 skillpower, of course you could always add 3% exotic or even armor if you're gear isnt properly rolled but skillpower is always better, but I wouldnt recommend going to 45k if you want to kill anything for me I need enough DPS to deal with a shotgunner quickly or even 2 of them quickly.
I've been running a skill power build since day one (even before the gear sets) and I completely agree that it is the best build for the game. I have also been running Tacticians Authority since 1.1 and it's hard to switch to anything else. When playing with my friends they always enjoy having me in the group because my max pulse or max smart cover just makes the entire team better. I usually always play a support role in most games so I'm use to it, but it also feels nice to feel needed haha
Also to +Skill Up, thank you for not telling everyone they need to run this only, or make it seem like the meta, and for making it a lot better than what it could've been. really the stats in general (FA, S, EL) are trash. I have high SP and low Electronics, and about 3k S with 400k toughness. building into those stats alone doesn't help really, it all depends on what attributes you also have on your peices of gear you obtain.
My group and I have been having this very conversation among ourselves. Just this morning I was looking over the list of what drops where to start getting the gear for a more skill power focused build for myself. The funny part of all of it was that they all agreed with me, and then when I pointed out that I used to run a skill power build back in the day but stopped because they refused to take cover, in a cover based shooter, they just shrugged. One of us has a great Reclaimer set already so that really opens me up to possibilities. Thinking maybe 2x tactition plus Lonestar or FireCrest, but we will see what I end up with.
You tell it how it is and are totally right. The dragons nest incursion with having to use the immuniser station and Smart Cover in order in order to survive proves it.
Really great video I think everything you said is quite relevant and makes a ton of sense in PVE which is what I primarily play due to the unpredictability of the darkzone and lvl 99 griefers.
Very well put together. he gives general tips based on the game's current mechanics. I checked between pulse and smart cover. In pve I agree with SU. The gains are better from smart cover, both defense and offense. Very good job (video) in my opinion.
Really loved this content skill up. I tend to drop into my tactician build when we matchmake and we start struggling. The difference that support provides is crucial
Tried the high electronic build with 4 reclaimer and 2 tactican build. Works like a charm! With 47k electronics you pretty much do not have cool down with pulse and smart cover. Combine that with explosive bullets it is awesome. I use it all the time now for heroic farming and works majority of the time. As long as you got decent teammates you are good to go. Not very good for solo but with a team it is perfect! Thanks for the video!!
great video. absolutely love the concept. never been able to being good firearms into groups so i gave that up a long time. its amazing how many people will welcome you into a group when you say i have 47k skill power and my pulse or smart cover is rechaeged by the time it goes away. always having max damage increase or resistance is also a great thing
Thanks Skillup, I am building my third character using your advice, it's working very well. I am really enjoying going back and playing from the beginning. I still get excited even when the standard green drops for my character.
Thanks for the tips SkillUp!! It helped me out overall! I think differently regarding my builds now and it made a great difference in my experience in the division because now I know I have to build differently depending on what I plan on doing. Thanks a lot man!!
After your video, I put together a quick build 2 sent, 2 tact, 2 fm. (40k skill 400k tough) Could not even activate weapon talents. Gave it a shot though, matchmake for falcon lost heroic........ Finished it, finally-- first time. I am stoked. No weapon talents active and I was dealing more damage than with 220k dps on the same weapons before. My team loved me, and it was only me with smartcover and pulse. With their heals and immune we passed it with only a couple snags. Thanks so much, I was skeptical but you were on the money with this one. Just wish I would have saved some of the 229 weapons that I had with great base talents. Oh well... still stoked. btw.... sasg worked great!!!!
Good video, I will try this out. I personally like the difficulty with the division, it makes for a more rewarding experience when you get the drop you're looking for.
I run a 46k electronic reclaimer build and it's awesome! I pushed someone's dps up to around 500k in my Smart Cover which has 100% up time! It is unfortunately the way to go for heroic content. Good work skill up!
+Skill Up Matchmake a lot, always a gamble. Watched it, slapped on some tacticians, switched from FA to electronics. I now spend my time throwing little devices on walls, no more wipe-outs thusfar, great info!
Hey man. I tried this setup shortly after you posted and it's amazing. The reclaimer gear set does help carry the team through those challenging underground but it's not a walk in the park. Still got loads of questions to ask but yeah share your work more!
Brilliant video. Tried this last night with two of us running tacticians, one with Smart Cover one with pulse and a reclaimer using explosives. Instant easy mode!! Thanks for the info.
the hvt's are timed, 10 minutes to kill 6 heavies with beam flamethrower so, 1 wave of mooks, 1 wave of gas grenades, and another wave of 3 flame heavies. that pushes quite a bit. I understand your points and I agree with some of them. smart cover is great if you have cover and if your team mates use it.
another great video which emphasises the balance issues with certain skills. you're right that a properly balanced group makes things easy comparatively. I'd really like to see skills adding 5-10% difference in dps/mitigation and having more variety in how people can play as you've previously suggested. Sub optimal should be viable ( if that makes sense) but sub optimal, not unachievable!
Changed up my alt char to this and as much as I hate to say it PVE heroic is so much easier than my firearms build. Before I wouldn't even consider trying challenging or heroic incursions, now I'm farming the four horseman no problems. Thanks for the tips mate!
I saw an early video from the game where they show the Brooklyn bridge and some npcs patrolling it, they could give us the bridge in one of this patches like an incursion. We could have to battle through the bridge going to Brooklyn and on the other side of it have to battle 2 named bosses that work together, something like a smart guy with a shield that actually uses it to protect himself and his friendly named boss that could be one that is very agile that rolls, runs and tries to use cover from his shield buddy. Also have some big box of loot waiting for us and only allow us to keep the loot if we can make it back to Manhattan(some drones flying around the bridge would make a nice addition to variety). One thing that is cool for me when I'm playing is the unexpected. That's why the first time you play any game it is so cool, having enemies coming out not in the same line up every time could help with this. If you think some of this ideas are decent please voice it. Thanks SU.
Thanks for the info skill up. I appreciate the time you put into your vids. I got fed up with the game after 1.3, after playing since launch. Plus as a solo player, the developers have made it clear they could care less about us. I can appreciate that it's meant to be played with a team, but after they've chased both groups I used to have, away from the game with their updates. I finally give up too
Great vid. Enjoy your content. Been slowly moving to electronics anyway. Time to get stuck in. Glad the stash got bigger so I can retain some of my hard earned gear while exploring your suggestions. Thanks and keep up the good work..
thx for this video skill-up iv been using smart cover/ammo cache constantly on all my characters (even the non tacticians) as they just make life so much easier, the amount of times iv ran heroics and seen 240+ and 250+ gear scores going down while im safe in my 210-220 gear is beyond a joke, hopefully more will watch this video and realise that gearscore is not everything
probably your best video ever. I run forearms arms and toughness only with 1200 skill power. and although my pulse helps, the DZ is off limits even with 255 gear score. I don't run smart cover as I have first aid. to change to 25000 skill power I will lose brutal on both my weapons and drop to about 218 gear score. but, based on this video I will set up my gear with electronics and see how it goes. thank you.
I took your advice and build a four piece reclaimer and two piece technician it worked 40000 skill 380000 toughness and 175000 DPS. Pulse and smart cover. I carried the group through heroic underground with ease thanks for the advice skill up.
Thanks for the video. I will try this type of build. I gotta do something because I am well above the tired level of the crap changes that are being made. I loved this game and now I am close to calling it. last night I played heroic in Falcon Lost and Challenging on Clear Sky for the first time. I had a well balanced team from Match make and it was still difficult but fun as hell. My smart cover just barley kept up but it worked. I use to be able to solo the dark zone in 1,2,3,4 and now I will not even go there. Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for your videos. I just started playing this game and I had no clue what worked and in all honesty I just don't have the time to invest in my own research with trail and error gear sets and mods. But it gets frustrating that I can't get pass the first shotgunner in even challenging lmao. Thanks again.
Although I quit weeks ago I still appreciate the fact that you are not scared to speak your mind about this game regardless.
very true.
+MP USMC SRT he sold out long ago.
+Martial_Matters yup he plays with the state of the game host all the time
These people make nonsense with the hate they spit towards you...as if you are the guy telling massive what to do...some of these people need to get a life...yes massive have nerfed a bunch of shit ...yes the NPCs are too strong in many peoples opinion...but stating the reasons/problems with this game in an opinion based video shouldn't be a problem to people...especially when it's really a fact lol...but weather I agreed or didn't I still wouldn't be giving a guy shit for it...the major fail here for me is the end-game in general and after multiple DLCs people want to feel like they are progressing, getting more and more badass, getting better and cooler weapons, not having to resort to the same OP shit that has been in the game since day 1... That can get pretty damn stale rather quickly I would say...everyone wants to feel as though there division agent is more powerful than one random ass street thug..and not be forced to use the same tactics to have any success ...and that's why balancing this game is so utterly important....I mean come on now people don't shoot the messenger...he's not the one who made the game the way it is...so why get pissy at him for explaining the flaws and trying to make the game a more enjoyable experience...the people doing this are getting pretty stale pretty quickly as well...
+MP USMC SRT I was referring to being associated with them so there will b some bias towards them he said sell out I state fact he wouldn't so much shit when it is needed bc he would loose his money from them
For all of you guys rallying behind DPS builds: Skill Up isn't telling everyone to forget firearms. I would say the average player tries to get about 3k firearms so if you're entire team is already dealing damage maybe you should try MATCHMAKING with a build to complement them. And to those with great hybrid builds of 250k+ dps, 400k+ toughness, and 25k+ sp... Guess what? Your stats are pretty optimized and this video isn't for you. But for those that need to know how to complement a group of randoms who are most likely going for damage, damage, and more DAMAGE you might benefit from this a lot. Especially cause you are probably matching making with someone who is focusing on that 2800 firearms for their weapon talents. As a skill power build you can ignore weapon talents cause what you bring to the table eclipses a small increase to armor damage, critical hit damage, etc.
I don't think PvE is too difficult, I think what will make the game seem difficult are the people within your group, whether you matchmake or have a frequent group you play with it. You can be the best player in the group, but if someone isn't playing very well, despite gear, you will eventually get overwhelmed. Not because of NPC health, not because of NPC DPS, but because of careless players who want to go out and do things on their own, especially with Underground.
Team composition is super important, I think, in this game.
so so so true. the premise of the game was around working as a team; and i find that the PvE content is perfect at where it is, working well as a team, it is so easy to work through everything. - only reason why people can't play, is because they either don't know how to play or can't be fucked finding friends and working on making a frequent team
Agreed. This is the most common situation. This is what can make it so difficult for solo players. Finding a "good group". And finding a good group willing to help you farm specific incursions multiple times in one day. That said, this game isn't difficult nor Challenging. As I'll keep sharing: in gaming there's a difference between Challenging and Punishing. Massive has made this game Punishing in several ways. Because of reasons Skill Up stated in this video. Namely, unbalanced as well as breaking its own rules.
I don't think fun group play should come at the expense of solo players or casual groups, especially since pre-30 misleads you into the belief you can solo any of the content if you play smart/careful enough. I don't find games with margins of error so narrow the one underperforming teammate can screw everything up fun. It's the exact same thing that killed Evolve in its first iteration.
True exactly what I've been saying all this time.. I'm lucky to have 3 different team with abilities that complement each other games style using diferent builds and skills and talent.
for all the people with this opinion and some reasonable age... how to connect and organize against the quick-in-death-running-bots?
Just picked up this game on gamepass and just cracked level 16 I am throughly enjoying it!
22 minutes of pure KNAWLEDDGE incoming!
Disturbed you get carried
actually 23
+Zachary Gould How's this click bait LMAO he explains all 6 reasons in the video
+Damien Simmons he's taking about disturbed
+Trey2820 O shit my bad Zachary
I don't agree with leandro's criticism. In my estimation, you have a very good perspective on The Division. You evaluate the game as it currently is tuned, suggest ways to optimize builds, and give your suggestions as to how the game might be improved. Your explanations and suggestions are thought out, reasonable, and usually spot on from my point of view. Your demeanor is one of the best on UA-cam. Can't say enough about that. You have your opinion, but you're never heavy-handed and are always cordial. There will always be people who don't agree with you because there will always be numerous ways to approach and appreciate these types of games. All you're doing is giving you're take on things. And leandro is certainly entitled to disagree. To his credit, it is a reasonable argument. You do have influence within Massive, as do others. So there's definitely some community politics at play within the developer/UA-cam arena. I for one have bemoaned the fact that The Division seems to be getting tuned to accommodate the hard core gamers and UA-camrs, of which I am neither. But that's just the way things are in today's industry.
Skill Up, you are extremely helpful and very respected within the community. Thanks for putting so much work into your craft and handling criticism with grace, clarification, and humility. I know I sound like a suck-up, but I just wanted to offer a counter to some of the criticism. Kudos for all of your hard work! Stay the course!
Cheers mate :)
Thanks Skull up, always look forward to your videos
Thanks for watching mate.
+Skill Up this is probably my favorite video you have every done.
I'm proud of it. Let's see what the community thinks :)
+Skill Up I'm going to build my second character just like this. If it works out for me. Probably how I'll run from now on. I don't go to the DZ, so PvE is my goal.
+Skill Up 16:39 youre a savage 😂😂😂
I was skeptical when I first saw this but it's amazing the difference it made just rolling a couple of pieces for electronics instead of firearms. I had never used smart cover but the combo of that and pulse is just brutal. Thx a million for this vid.
You're welcome!
Short version: The Division's main problem is ... it's too random for it's own good.
Long version:
Content is not necessarily badly balanced in The Division, however, the overall system itself is exceptionally poor at making the content manageable, much less enjoyable for the player without a pre-made group.
Endgame content is now balanced on having a team with an effective balance of skills with an appropriate level of skillpower for those requisite skills. However, since:
a) Gearsets and their stats are a strong determining factor
b) Gearset choices and their stats are random and based solely on what a player was lucky enough to get
c) Getting those gearsets is mostly dependant on playing the very content players are struggling with...
d) Matchmaking provides absolutely no system of matching players based on gearset or skills mix...
The game actually has no effective manner of providing matchmade players with a team that is capable of handling said content.
Massive/Ubisoft needs to take a page out of Wildstar or other MMOs where matchmaking for raids ensures that even a team of randoms has a good mix of 'classes' which can handle the content the way it was intended to be played. Right now, like everything else in the game, it's just Too. Damned. Random.
thanks man! Between your and MarcoStyle´s vids I have completely changed the way I play the game
I hope the devs listen to this... the thing u said about the survivability dependent on smartcover is why the game is broken. We must have other ways to survive besides smartcover.
Absolutely
Totally! Except that now rather than give us another way to survive they will just nerf Smart Cover lol.
"Oh you like it?" GONE!
+NEMISIS381 sad but true xD
While I do agree with this to a certain extent, I like how they're pushing the game towards leaning on cover-based tactical shooting, which is the main aspect of this game's gunplay. I think the problem is that
1. there aren't many other abilities to use that promote cover-based tactics compared to all the other skills that promote other styles of playing. Example: the way SMGs were the best weapons to use but required close quarters combat
2. The game lacks game modes that reward the use of cover based tactics like this, as well as game modes that promote using other styles. For instance the DZ just doesn't reward cover based team tactics all that much because it's too frantic, yet it's the main end-game content, and currently the only form of competitive/PVP gameplay. Imagine if they created a mode where you compete with another team to finish a mission the fastest; then that would urge players to build for fast kills instead of the slow/tactical burn that smart cover + ammo station provides.
I almost feel as though an arena style pvp mode would be perfect to promote this as a cover based shooter especially for the pvp mode...almost set up like laser tag or something where you can't really gank...just all out cover based like capture the flag or something like that ...where you could only cross the mid point of the map under certain conditions....remove all skills and of course create unique maps and I think you have a very viable pvp mode and even a way people could also check specific builds for effectiveness ....Somebody get this to massive! Lol
I love some of the comment below regarding the trash talking. I personally think that this is a great video. To back this up, I ran the same misson twice.
Same gear set, built for massive dpc and stamina/toughness versus a build very similar to Skillup's above. It's a no brainer.
Thank you Skillup. Top bloke.
i haven't come across any reclaimer shit yet in tons of Heroic missions etc
only seen one pc tactician gear too haha. i must just be super unlucky with drops
+Kevin Arnesen (SKORPIQN) which missions? I finally got some from Dragon's nest but they were both 214 pcs, meh
+Kevin Arnesen (SKORPIQN) yea i know but seems like the best place to get reclaimer gear sets
must be nice to run heroic.
Do the highest value HVT too I got 2 268 reclaimer from one 40 intel mission.
Thanks for taking the time to post this, very much appreciated. It does change a lot via the way I play, but what you presented makes sense; hard to argue with facts,-and this method makes a lot of sense, thanks again.
So........it IS a cover based shoots after all? Lol
You are right.. but its not a SMART cover based shooter that requires high skill power to actually be viable.... or is it??
no but it's team based so yeah you should probably have a skill build on your teams
Just so you know, I am glad you are saying everything that you are saying about the state of balance in The Division. After playing 30 minutes of playing 1.3, I quickly realized all the things you are currently talking about. It is great to hear it for that I feel validated and that my voice is spoken. Thank you.
Saiga-12.
SASG-12.
Sausage-12.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHH
You made my day
I prefer to run the Black Market Sausage 12
Hey man, good vid.
To all the dislikers, he´s talking about what YOU can do to get the stuff done. And he is completely right, normally you can do every heroic content with high skillpower players, but without it is nearly impossible to do it. So if you take your own performance a little bit back and buff your group, you as a team do much better. If there is an other high skill power player in your team, you can switch to your DPS-Build. But what you definitely need is at least one high skill power player, he is the difference between a wipe and success. Whether you do 1.1m dmg or 1.0m is not important.
My favorite set up,
- Reclaimer with maxed cover
- Sentrician with high skillpower
- 2 DPS completely free
They've made this game way too hard even for hardcore players we dont want to get ganked by any npcs, a game is supposed to be enjoyable (yes can be a challenge) but if we are not enjoying it its not worth playing. If I want to play an insanely difficult game ill go play Dark Souls, i dont i want to play The Division because the core gameplay is fun (minus the bugs).
Preach bro, Preach
I agree. maybe instead of tougher enemies they might want to up the enemy density? weaker NPC but a whole lot more of them?
I agree. You need to run certain builds and really have a good group all built a certain way in this game. With all the gear sets and talents and perks and weapons you'd think there would be more room for flexibility. As it stands half the stuff they give you doesn't get used because it's ineffective against the mobs they throw at you. It's a damn shame. Reminds me of a bucket of legos but you are only allowed to build things out of one color.
Thanks to that kind of thought everyone is making games for casual players than making them for real gamers. Games should always be challenging, not watered down just for casual player
probably the single greatest YT channel. seriously dude I never watched UA-cam at all till you started doing these. thank you sincerely for all the effort :)
haha, that's going a little far! But thanks mate :)
IMHO this is probably one of the most helpful vids you have put out on this topic. Thank you.
I switched my firearms to electronics and stamina around 400k keeping just enough firearms on to retain weapon talents and the difference was unreal, so much better IMHO.
Absolutely spot on! I agree with you completely. When I do missions with my friend he runs tactician and I run sentry and we hardly ever fail.
My friends and I had just about given up on this game due to the difficulty of much of the end game content. Completely changed my build to this style and it's made a huge difference for us. Thank you for making this game fun again. Having said that, massive, please balance this game out so we have more diverse ways to enjoy end game. We don't need more content. Just balance what we already have
Great video. This helps a lot since I'm a casual games trying to figure out the best way to get through these harder challenges. I enjoy your videos so keep up the good work.
You sir are exactly what the Division community needs! Another excellent video!
I always appreciate how you explain things in your videos. I am a casual XB1 player and your insight has helped me go from a 190 to 235GS. I know that doesnt mean too much but watching how you play and how you stat re-calibrate is so helpful. Thanks from Las Vegas.
Thanks from Sydney :)
Great video man. It's weird how accurately you have described my mindset with this game, and I am glad there's SOME way to counter the heroic difficulties in this game. I'm gonna go try it right now. Thanks man!
as always the best (and positive) "The Division" content on the intertubes. thanx for giving me "hope" to get into the game again!
I think you hit it right on the head man. Only thing I would argue with is you don't even REALLY need to stack electronics that much. 4 piece Tac at a base 30k skill power when fully buffed will max out Smart Cover and pulse. That's what I run in our group and have a little firearms. It works really well. Love the vids. Keep them coming!
Great Topic and thanks for sharing. I used to rely on DPS/Toughness and completely ignored skill power. Then I began to notice that when I did a match make for missions it was so much easier when we had a person with high skill power in the group. I have recently changed my build and I am at 180,000 DPS/385,000 Toughness/43,000 skill power. This has made my game play so much more enjoyable. I could never go without high skill power now.
Well said! I always turn to you for advice, I'm going to try this because you have never let me down before.
I appreciate all the work you into this. I have to twist arms to get my friends to join me too.. and although balance is needed... I'm still having fun in this game and when I come from other games and see the graphics again... I'm always floored. Thank you Skill Up!
what i love about this game , that there are too many ways to play it , its the best console game that have ever been made , i love it so much and im so addicted to it . gl guys :P
Thanks man, Been mainly playing solo, so have been really struggling. Used this setup last night and made a hell of a difference
Hey SkillUp I totally agree with your thesis. Yesterday I had a couple of hours to waste and I did Lincoln tunnel in heroic mode (using match make). Being a PS4 player and a casual player lately, I don't have new or very high gear so I improvised and tried something different. I put on 4 pieces of LS and 2 pieces of Striker's. With this set my LMG had 180k DPS and my agent 360K toughness and 25K of skill power. I've used smart cover the one with the extra damage (can't recall the name) and boy I found the difference in damage to be higher even with my skill power less than the 45K you suggest.
Finally the game is going to the right direction. Tactics, preparation, coordination and less blunt shooting around.
Please people stop mentioning WoW as a comparison. You only sound ignorant. I've been playing WoW since 2005 and it has a special place in my hart but Division simply is not WoW. The comparison is unfair on both sides.
I wish and hope this game will grow and mature and be the MMO of the consoles - as WoW is for computers - but only time will tell.
This is a totally fair comparison when you look at it from just a video game perspective...there are other MMOs besides just wow that have made there way to console and they were beautifully designed and developed...think about how long ago wow came out...all he is saying is that video games should progress and get better as time goes on...and this is a prime example of why so many games are failing...anyone could compile a list of games that are far better put together in terms of just about any aspect...to ask for a better product and overall balance in a game and then refer to one that met those standards makes total sense...and if you wanna hit the console point look at final fantasy 11 released in 2002 and
totally destroys this game in overall balance content etc etc. until we demand this type of thing from our game developers things will get worse before they ever improve.( this game techniqually classifies as an MMO even if poorly done...open world meant for hardest content to be done by teams, everything not scaled for solo play...even certain Massive MMOs that could have parties of 18 players have catered more to solo players as they go down the road...while still bringing challenging multi-player content as well...for a Triple A title game that was in development for this long I think we all should expect a better overall product....
Right from the start of this video I've agreed with you for the most part.
I first played this game like mad when it was released, but soon after reaching 30 I left for a couple months, but after hearing about the underground dlc I came back. Right away I noticed a huge difference in the balance of the game, especially in PvE (I find PvP pointless) and struggled to raise my Firearms and Stamina to a comfortable level to survive in the new content. But now that I've seen this video, you've basically confirmed what I've been suspecting from the release of 1.3.
It's also just a side note but seeing as I play on ps4 I'm currently missing out on reclaimer which I also agree is the best set out there for PvE.
Thanks for the informative videos man and keep up the great work, the community really appreciates the hard work you put into your content, despite what many of the comments say on this and other videos.
I have great success with 250k/350k/25k range all the time because I know how to use cover, cover to cover, hit vulnerable points, can aim well at moving targets and usually hit them in the head etc.
A Good player > any build you can dream up. I would gladly take a 200GS good player over a 255 GS crappy player anyday.
My 30s (All completed all Heroic Incursions, UG 3 phase/4directive):
1> 265k/320k/22k Assault/Shotgun/3xFM/3xFirecrest (smoke mine/overdose)
2> 200k/275k/41k SMG/LMG/2xReclaimer/4xtacts (Rez Station/smart cover)
3> 225k/380k/18k Shot/Marks/3xLonestar/3xFirecrest (smoke mine/overdose)
4> leveling to 30 (thinking LMG/Shot/4x Lonestar/Savage/Revitalize
With a group of good players I know 1 & 3 dominate well, with a PUG #2 has better luck because I can compensate for poorer players and does make the point of this video. Survivability: 2,1,3 in order. The auto rez station makes #2 survive more but #1 doesn't go down as much thans to 90% Exotic Resilience.
Now I do want to make one comment:
You say there is no time penalty but Clear Sky is brutal the longer you let it last as mobs just keep spawning, for everything else you are correct.
Great vid! I've been playing since release and always struggled getting better gear, modding or what-have-you, but I now have a decent main and two mediocre alts at the moment and like going into your vids with an open mind to learn something new and/or try. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Awesome video. My game experience has changed so much since I started focusing on skill power and toughness. Groups love me, I don't die every three seconds and when having a bit of a coordinated group we walk through challenging (just started UG, so can't play heroic yet) UG missions with ease.
I paused just a few seconds in after your disclaimer and liked it and subscribed. Just because you put yourself out there. Besides, you're crazy pro mate.
I always enjoy playing the "cc mage" role but didn't think it was super viable in the Division...Glad to hear a perspective that highlights the benefits of taking that route and the proper method of execution. Thanks for the info!
+Skill Up Thank you a lot for this great video!!!
Been working on having my 4th Reclaimer's gear set. I'm running basically what you have for 2 weeks now: 500K toughness, 30k sp (working on having more), smart cover, pulse or station. I see the difference in difficulty of pve content and was trying to explain that to friends without any luck...
Thanks again for this clear and informative video, I can now show it for them to understand! ;)
Gonna try this when i get home tonight! I have been running high dps and toughness. Thank you sir!!
i Think this is The Best Video you've done so far.
Just stopping by Skill Up to tell everyone I was wondering if my plans to be a support were viable, and that this video was helpful in directing me on where to put my attention. It so happens I had a lot of great stuff already, and now have 80/460/50 build. I am absolutely able to carry any group through Heroic 3 directive undergrounds over and over. My skills are ready before I need them, which means I can kill smart cover and move it if I need to without waiting for cool down. I totally agree this isn't the only way to play - I will eventually enjoy having a true tank front-line build where I'm constantly moving and trying to peel mobs off my team members, but until the close range and overall enemy DPS is reduced, and threat is actually a functional mechanic, this is the perfect build for my desire to play a support build in PVE.
All of that said - this isn't the build for everyone - and if you don't like having to play this way you'll just want to go for 5 piece sentry + savage gloves.
BUT even if you don't want to play this way where you hide and just try to stay alive in PVE, as Skill Up said - that's just not a viable option at this point.
Absolutely 100% correct. When i run my tac set with smart pulse. 99% success in underground heroics. When i run any of my DPS sets 30% success or less.
Skill Up - love your videos. you're the voice of reason and common sense in this community.
fantastic work as per usual - buffs over dps proves itself in PVE again. I am playing on PS4 and at this point the Sentry’s Call build is fun - looking forward to reclaimer. Thanks again - the work is appreciated.
Great content as usual. I made some minor tweaks after watching this, changing fire-arms stats to electronics and bumped skill power up to just 30k. if I matchmake with a group that is running pulse I use smart cover or vice versa. With simply changing mods and two re-rolls on backpack and holster, I have become ten times more effective. I melt enemies faster, never run out of ammo in underground and find myself able to be a healer. However, convincing others of this is a tough proposition. I still get ridiculed by players who think DPS is god and investing stats in anything else is garbage. Stay out of the box skillz. A month from now everyone will follow suit. Thanks for the videos. This is where I go for the best in theory.
like anything - it's always good to listen to as many perspectives as possible - thank you for yours.
Another great video dude, I do like your tips and completely agree about firearms/skill. Sharing this with a friend, 90% of the time we're the 2 of us are matchmaking and hopefully this will make out runs more effective
Fantastic video! I'll be trying this out tonight when i get home.
Hey skill, I've been watching and liking your videos since the beginning. I've always appreciated your content, and took your advice in the game. I used to be a solo player but not I've made a few friends through matchmaking and we play together sometimes. I always recommend your videos, I know we would be friends in real life. I want this game to succeed just like you do, and I know it will someday. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate the videos you make and I try to watch every single one. Thank you, man. ☺️
Very kind feedback mate. Thanks for that- really appreciate it :)
thanks skill up your dedication to the division is commendable. I hope your recognised in the division 2 !
I still think firearms is VERY important I use sentrys with a Black market SASG, brutal, responsive, fierce, 5 sentry and 1 savage is a must for a free 14% crit chance to most targets, meaning I only need to bring weapons to 15-20% crit chance and savage brings it above 30 then any pulse from soneone with 25k or more skillpower maxes out crit chance while all attachments buff crit hit damage.(appart from my scopes which are always crit chance and headshot since you cannot get damage and range is not worth it)
I really find sentry essential for example I can kill those big flamers solo in under 20 seconds simply by applying 3 marks with a shotgun them immediately shooting their left tank which explodes immediately which alone almost kills the flamers since it does 50% more damage, then you can quickly headshot them or shoot their second tank.
My build right now can have 250kDPS 418T and 30k skillpower enough for 50% smart cover and 40% damage buff which I mainly use in PVP since you can hop in and out very quickly and keep that 50% resistance for a few seconds giving you double toughness of course if just 1 team member has that 45k you can get quad toughness meaning you'll have over 1m T most of the time since they bring 75% resistance.
I am basically agreeing with skillup here but you only really need a 26-30k skillpower pulse and its only worth going to 45k skillpower for smartcover.
Ive always said 3 DPS guys and 1 skillpower player to buff them, im generally a DPS player but still bring a 32% crit chance pulse, obviously the higher base DPS you apply that 50% smartcover to the faster you'll melt enemies.
IMO 26-30k is that magic number with skillpower because its free, 6k on mask, 7k on backpack, armor on all other items other than knee pads which you take exotic on and also attempt to get it on your vest and although its not final measure with 400T 24% exotic is generally enough to save you from a sticky if you're surprised while farming, then all mods you use skillpower on =, for example mine range from 147-160 stamina and 1300-1500 skillpower, of course you could always add 3% exotic or even armor if you're gear isnt properly rolled but skillpower is always better, but I wouldnt recommend going to 45k if you want to kill anything for me I need enough DPS to deal with a shotgunner quickly or even 2 of them quickly.
so what if everyone thinks the same as you? No one will have the 25k skillpower..
I've been running a skill power build since day one (even before the gear sets) and I completely agree that it is the best build for the game. I have also been running Tacticians Authority since 1.1 and it's hard to switch to anything else. When playing with my friends they always enjoy having me in the group because my max pulse or max smart cover just makes the entire team better. I usually always play a support role in most games so I'm use to it, but it also feels nice to feel needed haha
Also to +Skill Up, thank you for not telling everyone they need to run this only, or make it seem like the meta, and for making it a lot better than what it could've been. really the stats in general (FA, S, EL) are trash. I have high SP and low Electronics, and about 3k S with 400k toughness. building into those stats alone doesn't help really, it all depends on what attributes you also have on your peices of gear you obtain.
My group and I have been having this very conversation among ourselves. Just this morning I was looking over the list of what drops where to start getting the gear for a more skill power focused build for myself. The funny part of all of it was that they all agreed with me, and then when I pointed out that I used to run a skill power build back in the day but stopped because they refused to take cover, in a cover based shooter, they just shrugged. One of us has a great Reclaimer set already so that really opens me up to possibilities. Thinking maybe 2x tactition plus Lonestar or FireCrest, but we will see what I end up with.
You tell it how it is and are totally right. The dragons nest incursion with having to use the immuniser station and Smart Cover in order in order to survive proves it.
Absolutely agree. Great Video. Keep it coming.
Really great video I think everything you said is quite relevant and makes a ton of sense in PVE which is what I primarily play due to the unpredictability of the darkzone and lvl 99 griefers.
Very well put together. he gives general tips based on the game's current mechanics. I checked between pulse and smart cover. In pve I agree with SU. The gains are better from smart cover, both defense and offense. Very good job (video) in my opinion.
I've been running this build for a long time. now it's 4 sent. 2 fm. your spot on,on the info even if some don't like the massage.
Really loved this content skill up. I tend to drop into my tactician build when we matchmake and we start struggling. The difference that support provides is crucial
Tried the high electronic build with 4 reclaimer and 2 tactican build. Works like a charm! With 47k electronics you pretty much do not have cool down with pulse and smart cover. Combine that with explosive bullets it is awesome. I use it all the time now for heroic farming and works majority of the time. As long as you got decent teammates you are good to go. Not very good for solo but with a team it is perfect! Thanks for the video!!
great video. absolutely love the concept. never been able to being good firearms into groups so i gave that up a long time. its amazing how many people will welcome you into a group when you say i have 47k skill power and my pulse or smart cover is rechaeged by the time it goes away. always having max damage increase or resistance is also a great thing
Thanks Skillup, I am building my third character using your advice, it's working very well. I am really enjoying going back and playing from the beginning. I still get excited even when the standard green drops for my character.
Thanks for the tips SkillUp!! It helped me out overall!
I think differently regarding my builds now and it made a great difference in my experience in the division because now I know I have to build differently depending on what I plan on doing.
Thanks a lot man!!
After this vid I now have 2 builds that work very well in PvE!
you know what, i been just dropping reclaimers straight in the sell pile but you make valid points as always.
"everything will be fine..." Haha, Oh man... Nice song choice Sir! Hope everyone chills out and listens.
After your video, I put together a quick build 2 sent, 2 tact, 2 fm. (40k skill 400k tough) Could not even activate weapon talents. Gave it a shot though, matchmake for falcon lost heroic........ Finished it, finally-- first time. I am stoked. No weapon talents active and I was dealing more damage than with 220k dps on the same weapons before. My team loved me, and it was only me with smartcover and pulse. With their heals and immune we passed it with only a couple snags.
Thanks so much, I was skeptical but you were on the money with this one. Just wish I would have saved some of the 229 weapons that I had with great base talents. Oh well... still stoked.
btw.... sasg worked great!!!!
Amazing story! So pleased!
Good video, I will try this out. I personally like the difficulty with the division, it makes for a more rewarding experience when you get the drop you're looking for.
I run a 46k electronic reclaimer build and it's awesome! I pushed someone's dps up to around 500k in my Smart Cover which has 100% up time! It is unfortunately the way to go for heroic content. Good work skill up!
Hey mate, love your content! Especially like hearing a fellow aussie commentating. Mad props mate, keep it up
Reached Rank 40 in the Underground using 214 Reclaimer 4pc set. Excellent ideas and content @Skillup!
Great video Skillup. Keep up the great work . Awesome to see an Aussie youtuber doing so well . Just bugger, you're from Sydney ha ha .
I tried this build. Went straight to a Horsemen farming on heroic. Its brilliant!
+Skill Up Matchmake a lot, always a gamble. Watched it, slapped on some tacticians, switched from FA to electronics. I now spend my time throwing little devices on walls, no more wipe-outs thusfar, great info!
Hey man. I tried this setup shortly after you posted and it's amazing. The reclaimer gear set does help carry the team through those challenging underground but it's not a walk in the park. Still got loads of questions to ask but yeah share your work more!
Brilliant video. Tried this last night with two of us running tacticians, one with Smart Cover one with pulse and a reclaimer using explosives. Instant easy mode!! Thanks for the info.
skill up my stratagy guide !!!! thanks for putting your time in to this. good looking out!
Hard to hear but you're spot on about the game and the way it wants to be played.
the hvt's are timed, 10 minutes to kill 6 heavies with beam flamethrower so, 1 wave of mooks, 1 wave of gas grenades, and another wave of 3 flame heavies. that pushes quite a bit. I understand your points and I agree with some of them. smart cover is great if you have cover and if your team mates use it.
another great video which emphasises the balance issues with certain skills. you're right that a properly balanced group makes things easy comparatively. I'd really like to see skills adding 5-10% difference in dps/mitigation and having more variety in how people can play as you've previously suggested. Sub optimal should be viable ( if that makes sense) but sub optimal, not unachievable!
Changed up my alt char to this and as much as I hate to say it PVE heroic is so much easier than my firearms build. Before I wouldn't even consider trying challenging or heroic incursions, now I'm farming the four horseman no problems. Thanks for the tips mate!
I saw an early video from the game where they show the Brooklyn bridge and some npcs patrolling it, they could give us the bridge in one of this patches like an incursion. We could have to battle through the bridge going to Brooklyn and on the other side of it have to battle 2 named bosses that work together, something like a smart guy with a shield that actually uses it to protect himself and his friendly named boss that could be one that is very agile that rolls, runs and tries to use cover from his shield buddy. Also have some big box of loot waiting for us and only allow us to keep the loot if we can make it back to Manhattan(some drones flying around the bridge would make a nice addition to variety). One thing that is cool for me when I'm playing is the unexpected. That's why the first time you play any game it is so cool, having enemies coming out not in the same line up every time could help with this. If you think some of this ideas are decent please voice it. Thanks SU.
Thanks for the info skill up. I appreciate the time you put into your vids. I got fed up with the game after 1.3, after playing since launch. Plus as a solo player, the developers have made it clear they could care less about us. I can appreciate that it's meant to be played with a team, but after they've chased both groups I used to have, away from the game with their updates. I finally give up too
Dude your my favorite Division UA-camr! When you start doing Destiny as in depth as this you will also me my favorite Destiny UA-camr!
Shot on with this vid dude. Well done
Great vid. Enjoy your content. Been slowly moving to electronics anyway. Time to get stuck in. Glad the stash got bigger so I can retain some of my hard earned gear while exploring your suggestions. Thanks and keep up the good work..
thx for this video skill-up iv been using smart cover/ammo cache constantly on all my characters (even the non tacticians) as they just make life so much easier, the amount of times iv ran heroics and seen 240+ and 250+ gear scores going down while im safe in my 210-220 gear is beyond a joke, hopefully more will watch this video and realise that gearscore is not everything
probably your best video ever.
I run forearms arms and toughness only with 1200 skill power. and although my pulse helps, the DZ is off limits even with 255 gear score.
I don't run smart cover as I have first aid.
to change to 25000 skill power I will lose brutal on both my weapons and drop to about 218 gear score.
but, based on this video I will set up my gear with electronics and see how it goes.
thank you.
Awesome. Hope it helps :)
Noticed a big difference. It's a better play style for me. Thank you!!
really useful video mate, thanks for taking the time to put it together.
I took your advice and build a four piece reclaimer and two piece technician it worked 40000 skill 380000 toughness and 175000 DPS. Pulse and smart cover. I carried the group through heroic underground with ease thanks for the advice skill up.
Thanks for the video. I will try this type of build. I gotta do something because I am well above the tired level of the crap changes that are being made. I loved this game and now I am close to calling it. last night I played heroic in Falcon Lost and Challenging on Clear Sky for the first time. I had a well balanced team from Match make and it was still difficult but fun as hell. My smart cover just barley kept up but it worked. I use to be able to solo the dark zone in 1,2,3,4 and now I will not even go there. Thanks for the tips!
thanks skill up for taking the time to explain how to run the content . this has helped me out.. keep up the good work
Nice type of content mate. Keep em coming :-)!
Thanks for your videos. I just started playing this game and I had no clue what worked and in all honesty I just don't have the time to invest in my own research with trail and error gear sets and mods. But it gets frustrating that I can't get pass the first shotgunner in even challenging lmao. Thanks again.
Yet another great video and great advice. Thank you Skill Up, keep them coming.