So I posed this question in 4 different division facebook groups recently: “Do you play division primarily for PvP or PvE?” I intentionally allowed people to only choose 1 answer. After leaving the poll up for a week I went back to find that only about 30% of the total player base primarily played PvP.
That was surprising to me. I don’t really understand why you would grind to simply kill enemies faster in order to grind more to kill enemies even faster. The end game for me personally has always been grinding so I can have an advantage over another human player. (But I guess that’s just me and 30% of the division player base.)
But news broke today that Massive (the creators of the division) are working on some new things…..
So I thought I would make a list. What would they need to do to win us PvPers back?
(1) A post apocalyptic world must be PvP
The thing about Division 1 that was consistent with the lore was that the PvP encounters were good and fun and fit with the lore. Being in a post apocalyptic DC where I just shoot AI is not realistic. I should have to outsmart humans for resources and other things in order to win.
(2) We want bigger and better PvP experiences.
8 on 8 last stand? Heck yes, bring it back. 12 on 12 dark zone fights? Heck yes. Give us an objective throw some AI in and call it a day. Some of the best times I’ve had in D1 have been in Last Stand. I would love literally anything Last Stand-esque.
(3) We want bigger and better PvPvE experiences.
Where is survival or something like it? Is it called CONTAGION? Are we fighting other players for limited resources but also fighting Black Tusk? Does it take over the whole map the way survival did? Is it a giant rainstorm instead of a snowstorm?
Now that is a game I want to play. Make the AI harder and stronger but also optional. Give me good reasons to help my team out by fighting AI instead of players. Bring strategy back to the PvP encounters.
(4) We want fun PvP.
PvP at its core is not fun right now. Just a few of the reasons why:
– Small player numbers in DZ
– Hard to find people who even want to fight
– TTK is simply too fast
– Fast heals are gone
– Overpowered AI in the DZ
– Wayfinding and icons on the screen in the DZ actively discourage PvP rather than encourage it
Here is a video I made in January 2018. Most of it is nonsense but go to 1:20. Watch how long my fight with this dude lasts. It is epic. It is a nail biter. We were like 2 warriors locked in battle trying to outsmart each other again and again and again. When a fight doesn’t last more than 10 seconds it’s not fun. Fix TTK.
(5) When you intentionally f over PVP players we will just leave.
Its pretty simple. We have a ton of games we can play right now. Right now I’m playing other games until division sorts itself out.
(a) Nerf the freaking AI in the dark zone. Nobody likes being killed by some OP AI when you’re trying to fight other players. All the PvE players have the rest of the map and other game modes to farm. The dark zone is for us.
(b) Do a better job gamifying the dark zone experience. Where are players? Where are extractions? Why have you hidden this information from me? Since the release of D2 they’ve done nothing but actively discourage PvP.
(c) If you copy Call of Duty and add a “prop hunt” game mode I will uninstall the game and never play it again, I promise you that Massive.
