Tom Clancy's The Division Update 1.3 Weapon Balance Changes Detailed
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Tom Clancy's The Division is no stranger to controversy, and judging by the comments underneath this blog post outlining the weapon balance changes coming in the shooter/RPG's Update 1.3 patch, such controversy is not going to go away any time soon. In short, the lesser-used weapons are getting some upgrades and the most-used weapons are getting nerfed, in addition to a few other tweaks:
This difference stems from both availability and power. The AUG, Vector, and MP5 can be acquired through blueprints in the Dark Zone, making their availability much greater than others, which is one cause of the large difference. In addition, the AUG and Vector are simply the most powerful SMGs based on their stats. This is why this large descrepency exists.
To address the current domination of the SMGs and Marksman Rifles and bring a better balance between all the weapon families, we are going to make the following changes:
- Add unique bonuses to each weapon family
- Increase Shotgun damage output
- Decrease the damage of the AUG and Vector
- Make adjustments to the M1A
- Introduce new weapons
- Add the ability to reroll talents on weapons
- Make changes to Special Ammo
Below we will detail exactly how we are going to achieve better weapon balance.
New Weapon Bonuses
Your choice of weapon has a huge impact on your playstyle. To bring more variety, we are adding unique bonuses to the weapon families that do not have them and changing the bonus on SMGs. The new bonuses are:
- SMGs now have a crit hit damage bonus rather than crit hit chance. It is much harder to reach a higher critical hit chance now, and you will have to make more stat choices when selecting gear in order to take advantage of the new bonus.
- LMGs receive a bonus that increases their damage to targets out of cover by about 25%. The design of LMGs is to force people into cover and control areas with their large magazine sizes.
- Shotguns receive a stagger bonus against NPC. When shooting targets, you have a high chance of causing them to stumble and lose their balance. This will not affect other players, however. Shotguns are also receiving a buff to their base damage that scales with the weapon’s level and up to a maximum of 30%.
- Assault Rifles receive a bonus to enemy armor damage. This allows Assault Rifles to be a powerful weapon in PVE situations.
- No changes were made to the bonus on Marksman Rifles
Each bonus provides an impact in a variety of situations and playstyles. Additionally, bringing up the damage on Shotguns up allows them to reach a level that is more on par with other weapons while they are in their optimal range. These changes allow you to now select your weapon loadout around your preferred playstyle rather than their DPS value.
The AUG and Vector
It’s clear that the AUG and Vector are two of the most sought-after weapons in the game. With a higher max damage than Assault Rifles, this desire is understandable. To address their damage level we are making the following change:
- Reduce the damage done by the AUG and Vector by 10%.
SMGs are meant to be close-quarter combat weapons that gain more from critical strikes and therefore rely on hitting the target with as many bullets as possible.
M1A
With the current Meta many players are using an M1A together with an SMG. Due to its power level and its usage level relative to other Marksman Rifles, we are making the following change:
- Increase the minimum accuracy cap on the M1A. When you shoot consistently, the cross hair will grow to a much larger size than it previously did.
The change allows for a slower and more controlled playstyle that is better suited to how Marksman Rifles should be used.
