This was not my plan, but no one i knew was silly enough to get the version that gives you the 3 day early access. Shockingly i'm having fun. (which i did not when playing solo on the first game.) I does suck when doing open world stuff when you die. :( I'd still rather be playing with others but till i guess i'm stuck with solo will the 15th :(

I'm looking forward to the SLI/HDR fix so SLI is enabled. There are higher settings than Ultra which i can't handle on one card :)

Does anyone how upgrading the Exotic level 1 weapons works. Have a pattern for it. I have all the mats for it other than some ranking on the weapon itself? I don't think it would be gear score, which i don't think comes till max level. But it is some score. The upgrade is for the level i'm at now. *shrug*

Also, other than a few min at the start, the demo was the start of the game.

This is the first hour-ish. I had some odd "lag" but i'm pretty sure it was because i used VPN to unlock the game. Hopefully that is a good sign that everything is server side so less cheating in the DZ.

I'd be interested on your thoughts after numerous hours solo. I have the same feeling in games like this(Destiny, Division 1, Wildlands etc), and Anthem was the one that finally convinced me to wait and see.

I always have fun by myself for the first handful of hours but then the novelty of it being a new game wears off. I see this happen a lot with the bomb/beast crew a lot as well.

i playing Div 2 as a open world game that others can join in on. If there is sexy end game, that is a plus. If there isn't, then i didn't expect anything. :)

So far as a video game (not just something to rush thru to end game) i'm having fun.

i've been playing solo also, atleast untill endgame. i jsut want to experience the world and game at my own pace

Nothing irritates me more than non-standardized graphic setting values. Some only go to high. Some go to ultra. And no this game has some settings above ultra? Good Lord, give me a break.

Note, not giving you a hard time OP. Its just a pet peeve that really irritates me.

As someone who played The Division 1 for 100+ hours and solo for most of the time, I've found that the Division 1 and 2 are the best open-world shooters for variety and exploration while playing without a group.

One thing I always thought the first game had going for it was that it was perfectly fine to play solo, even (just about) in the DZ. The main missions were generally better if you got some other players in, but it was also nice to do the side stuff solo.

With that said, it's also great how many ways they give you to connect with other players if you want to. For someone like me, who doesn't party up with friends, it really makes it the best of all worlds.

I haven't played the sequel, but I had a blast with the original Division and I played that solo. I really enjoyed the isolation and setting. I decided against playing the betas, but I'm still tempted to jump into this day one. Plus Ubisoft's support over the years was pretty strong which helped.

I'm still surprised how much i'm enjoying this.

The combat feels good. (but only with a mouse. I would love to play it on my 77" oled with HDR, but i'm so much less effective with the controller. I have the tobii eye tracker at the desktop, i like using it for move to cover.)

Almost every mission is feels different (other than the open world stuff), even though it pretty much it just kill everyone. :) The combat arenas are well done. the AI will flank you, but the fighting areas are setup so you don't feel like you are getting cheesed.

The loot is well done too. Not only is there meaningful changes with mixing and matching gear, but also set bonuses, mods for gear, weapons and tools. They did a good job randomly dropping in exotic and high-end (purple/yellow) gear while leveling. "hrmmm.. i don't like that weapon type, but it is purple (and more powerful than the other stuff i have) so i'll try it." It got me to try weapons that it wouldn't not normally try.

The story is totally crap. Come on people, 7 months? Stuff when this crazy in 7 months? (Also, the plants grew to much too.) Maybe like 10 years :) It is like one summer. i'm just ignoring it all as it is dumb.

It should hit level 30 today and we'll see that the end game holds. If i don't enjoy it (which i hope i do), the game is still worth it.

For a grindy loot shooter, it didn't feel very grindy. (at least pre-end game) :D

from a tech/bug side. The game is running really well. I have had some crashs, but they only happen in groups and when it happens multi people in the group at the same time. That said, one just fires the game back up and jumps back in. There was a patch today, hopefully that was fixed.

I didn't see much jank other than the normal stuff (like dead bodies ending up in odd places/stuck in walls, etc..)

I wish a put a little more time in making my dude. I just hit random a few times and just went with it. Now i'm stuck with a hillbilly :) If i could do it again i'd make him look better, but people's faces don't look great in the game... so many i'd go for full on silly looking :)

Stop having fun! I don't have time for another open world loot game right now! :P

Seriously though, it's good to hear it's holding up. That was my biggest problem with Division 1. I didn't have people to play with so I played mostly solo and everything just felt so bland and dull.

I enjoyed what they did with the loot/skills and stuff from what I played in the beta. And the settlement stuff seems cool.

Playing solo and loving it, although I tend to answer (non-freeroam) distress calls from time to time. I feel like I'm actually being rewarded for exploration in this game. More materials to loot, and I found a key to an Outcasts box! Now to find an Outcasts box...

After watching the quick look and playing the beta I'm intrigued. I have nobody to play this online with,but hearing it's enjoyable alone makes me think I should give it a shot.

@mightyduck: you could always join the GB clan!

@deckard: that's true! Good point! I'll need to find what post has the PS4 info.

ok... doing the tier 1 stuff is now getting lonely. hurry up people and level up :)

EDIT:

holy cow. nicely done ubi. The "end game" stuff is well done. It just isn't the same missions, they are new baddies, they have new skillz and toys. Making it harder isn't about making the baddies more spongey, but maker then smarter with new skills.

The mission areas are the same, but placement of stuff, where they spawn in, and who they are (and their weapons and skills) are different.

I was walking down the street and some Skynet gunship was just shooting at me. wtf :) (in a good way)

The same old places seem "fresh," at least on tier 1. I wonder what changes with the higher tiers. You can't move to the next tier till you do a bunch of missions (which have their own unlocks to open (which aren't bad.)

I'm on the fence about getting this one - I really ~want~ to get. I never got my monies worth out of Div 1, it was a game I almost loved, but the bullet spongy enemies, some of the shooting mechanics and some other little things sort of just lost me. Things this version looks to have worked to resolve... yet I'm afraid of taking the dive again only to find it wanting still.

Destiny 2 Expansion is the other one I was looking at... but man I already paid 70 bucks for D2, having to pay that again for hopefully the game I want to play just kind of burns.

it is less spongy this time (yes, it still is there, but not as bad.) they make it harder with more attackers when you add more human players. (and newer skills as you go up in tier.)

now that it is out maybe you can get the 20% discount with uplay points. (or wait till that point.)

I remember really, really liking the Division 1 at launch, and I played completely solo in the open world. The setting of the game really lent itself to the feeling of isolation, and a lot of the time I found myself just walking through the streets slowly, taking it all in. Granted, that does only apply for the first 25-30 hours before you've seen the same scripted encounter between civilians for the 4th time, but nobody said it was perfect.

Hearing that it's still a good solo experience is encouraging. I'll probably pick this up in a few months.

I've been enjoying this one solo as well, and am really liking the aggressiveness of the AI. In general it forces you to keep moving, or ensure you're using your skills appropriately to distract, and give yourself flanking opportunities. I know some people have mentioned it's difficulty as a solo game, but so far 10 hours in I haven't had issues. I've certainly died, and fights can be challenging, but it just makes you think more about your positioning.

I also quite enjoy just slowly exploring and then responding to distress calls as they pop up. Being able to pop in so quickly to other people's games to give them a hand is a ton of fun, and I've run into some good people doing that.

Overall, everything is connected rather seamlessly (especially after coming over from Anthem), the game play has been lots of fun, and there's just so much to do that I certainly see myself playing this one for some time to come.

I’ve been having a really hard time with the side missions solo. I’m getting to parts where I die and retry 5+ times to get past it and it’s really frustrating me. I don’t understand why we can’t matchmake for side missions, especially considering they scale to your level where the story missions do not so they never get any easier. This doesn’t make any sense to me.

Yeah, I’m having a blast solo. I’ll matchmake for the story encounters as the combat is kinda fun with more people, but always bail after.

btw, I think the GB clan on ps4 is full, and if anyone wants the clan benefits I made one specifically to be solo-friendly: EMOTION (EMT).

I've mostly played solo and I'm really into this game. The game is pretty brutal but not frustrating yet. I've already lost a few bounties because the AI is no pushover. I've only played with other people a few times when I've answered help requests and that was super fun too. Massive did a damn fine job with this game.

Wouldn't be surprised for that to be added in, but in the meantime you can request assistance to see if someone can hop in to help you out if you're stuck at a certain section.

I'm goin' mostly solo and it's a lot of fun until you accidentally find yourself having taken cover right where they placed an enemy closet for dudes to burst out of and it can really kill the mood, and you.

I've only put four hours into it so far, but yeah I'm liking it. I am soloing the story and side stuff before I go in with my brother. I turned off the callouts from other players so I don't have to hear that stuff. I loved the first one, and this is (for better or worse) more or less the same thing with some improvements and changes to how things work, in addition to a few new features like the base stuff. I enjoyed the shooting in the first, but its actually a lot better in two because of the way they react to gunshots. I also don't think this game will be as bad when it comes to the feeling of the repetitiveness of its side activities.

I guess the downsides are that if you've played and loved the first, you're not really getting anything that feels innovative: a huge jump from what you've already experienced in the first. Also, while the game looks great, it's not really pushing anything toward what one can expect for next-gen. Other open world games like Spider-Man as an example, that I've been playing again recently on the PS4 Pro, look better overall. The only thing that compares is NPC detail. I am also unsure about lighting. Nighttime and dark areas seem to clip a bit (which I think is the correct term).

Nighttime isn't really that dark, but light sources like street lights in an alleyway seem to dim the surrounding areas making it okay at times. I also feel like I may have glitched it at one point when I changed the brightness/contrast because when I did, the game looked like it was cel-shaded. I reverted back to default and it still looked like it until nighttime was over. I am curious if EvilBoris HDR will check this game out because I am hoping there's a more ideal setting. It's fine if not though. There are also some low-resolution textures off in the distance and pop-in. The immersion factor can kind of go down when you look down a city street and the trees further away look more 'blobby' and static than the ones in front of you.

The music doesn't play when you run into normal bad guys in different sections of the map like the first, but the soundtrack is as good as the original; some tracks are brought over (again, giving that feeling of been there, done that [but in this regard, it's not much of a complaint]), while others are new, mainly in the missions. It's all great in my opinion. This time it's a bit more rockin' if you will. Sound design is great overall though. Hearing buildings sound as if they're about to crumble or flies/bees buzzing behind you. Voice work is mostly good too. Guns sound great. So far, I like D.C. even though I haven't explored that much of the map since I have only put four hours into it. I also don't yet want to say whether I like it more or less than the first games wintry New York.

Story-wise, it does what the first one did which is honestly fine by me. I wish it could have been more with the characters and cutscenes, but just roaming around the environment and taking in the atmosphere and listening to cellphones as well as echoes is satisfying enough. I don't dislike the characters or story mind you, nor would I even say I find it boring, it's just that it is very basic. The game very much just feels like the developers saw what people were saying about the issues of the first game, and fixed or lessened them.

@fourserioux: I’ve requested assistance on like 10 different missions now and nobody has ever answered the call.

I'm enjoying it solo as well. Some of the heavily armored enemies can be tough. And the cool-down on some abilities like the drone is soooo long. My first ability was the cannon that damages armor and it's cool-down is only like 20 seconds which is way more useful alone I feel like.

I've bounced off Metro and DMC to play this for now.

I am playing it solo so far. It's tough, even frustrating at times especially when those damn helmeted club dudes run straight at you, but it's not impossible. It might take several tries, but I've completed nearly every quest I've started. Honestly, I am not used to playing with others even in these types of games. I leveled Destiny 2 to 550 without ever grouping up except for public events. I feel a bit underpowered though in the Division 2. Perhaps that's because all of the mobs are so spongy, or maybe it's the nature of the game. Eight hours in, I am only level 6. Perhaps things will get better as I rise higher.

I was having a good time with it solo but I've now hit a point where the side missions are too tough. It seems like enemies always know where you are even if you are able to move around out of their line of sight and if you get rushed by a melee enemy it's basically all over

I mainly play it solo and am enjoying myself. The game has really good matchmaking, so every now and then I'll play a story mission with others that way and then jump out of the group when I am done. Only downside of going solo is I think its nessecary to have a "support" skill on you at all times and I can see that being a negative for people who would prefer to have more DPS heavy skill builds.

The Outcasts seemingly exist to tell solo players to fuck off.

Well I’m no longer having fun with this game as of yesterday when skills broke for everybody. The game is hard enough as it is that not being able to use skills on top of that makes it nearly impossible in certain places. Massive has said this is their top priority so I hope they fix it soon. This is one of the biggest bugs I’ve seen in a game in a long time.

skills broke? They fixed it yesterday. (other than the skill power needed to use mods is CRAZY high)

I never found the game very hard even when they didn't really work well.

My problem now is i have nothing to do anymore. I hope the tier 5 comes out soon.

Side note, the exotic p90 is sexy. (i got 100% drop for the parts out of the locked crates.)

I can't get the last mask because i seem unable to kill the guy. It just disappears when hit/killed(?) - i've tried it a ton of times :( (i got all the other ones no problem.)

@zurv: If you look at the time stamp on my post it was posted yesterday before they fixed it. Anyways I guess you’re just better at console shooters than I am because I found the side missions incredibly difficult solo. When you have a bunch of dudes rushing/flanking you and having to deal with a boss it can be overwhelming and frustrating. Main missions were very easy because I could matchmake and have 4 people to deal with flankers and whatnot. Unless of course you were playing on PC, I know if I were it would be much easier because I’m good with M/KB.

Edit: I just noticed in your screenshot you’re playing on PC so I can see why it wasn’t too difficult.

It is a shame one can't matchmake for the side missions. My hats off to anyone playing this with a controller. I find is super important to hit environmental items and weak spots like pouches to deal with large groups - none of which of which i can hit when playing with a controller (because i sucks.) The only time i was OK with a controller with sniping. The zoom out, zoom in, snap to head works well... but only for the first shot. If it was a multi shot rifle and snaps to the chest :(

(argh! i want to play with HDR on the oled!)

Wasn't the Xbox getting M/KB support?

@zurv: I’m not sure if it was or not but it’s not something I want to do sitting on a couch in front of my TV.

I’ve found that I have to rely on the snap-to auto aiming a lot on XB1 since aiming at distance can often be very difficult in a bullet spongy game like this. Because the snap-to goes for midsection it does make hitting weak points or heads difficult still. I’m sure there are people that are great at this on console but I’ve never been amazing with a controller.

sofa + dog + 77" oled + HDR == makes everything great!

This has been GREAT so far for me as a solo player. The challenge is pretty high if you do stupid stuff (don't do this) but I feel like every encounter I've had so far has been manageable if I pay attention. I've been playing pretty much every day for two weeks and it's just slightly starting to get repetitive. But it's still easily in my GOTY discussion as of now!

@rorie: How punishing is the level scaling? I felt like when they addded that into Division 1, that's about when I fell off because I felt like I was always losing the race between having high enough equipment and enemy levels.

@sparky_buzzsaw: I haven't really run into much of it. Zones are tagged as being within a level range of, say, 15-19, and I believe the enemies will all be 17 if you go into that zone when you're level 17. Obviously if you run into a level 25 zone when you're 17, every enemy will have a skull over their heads and will wipe you out pretty much instantly (I've done this and it sucks, but it's my own fault). But as far as gear goes I've found plenty of stuff to use as I've been leveling, and you can craft some blue weapons without too many resources if you fall behind there. Not sure what end-game crafting looks like.

The co-op scaling is a bit weirder as I think everyone is scaled up to the level of the highest level member, but I think if you're under 30 you max out at 29. I don't know if I'll do much more co-op until the end of the game as it is pretty chaotic with the amount of people and enemies when you have 4 people in the party.