When thinking about it, Ubisoft‘s schedule makes more sense when the schedule of the Year 7 Season 2 Public Test Server of The Division 2 is considered. The PTS is set for August 27th 2 PM CEST through to September very 2 PM CEST, giving players a full week to test out the adjustments the developers have prepared. However, whereas the official tweet seems to maintain a straight face, the comments sections tell a completely different story.
A deeper examination of the comments reveals nothing but pandemonium. The users are incredibly displeased with the present Summer Swarm event— one user named Fantastic Clams documented a “post” in which she stated that she opened 90 Summer Swarm caches and got 15 bonus items, which is amazing in its own right, considering she got every single item of the 12 event clothing items with 80 caches which is ridiculous. Regarding the bonus items, “all they wanted was a singular Lexington,” which is something I can personally understand.
What I think is most relevant is how this PTS phase is perfectly centered within this event chaos. It’s Brian Torok who clarifies the timing, saying “Again, PTS in the middle of an event. In this case, a brutally unrewarding and disappointing event, but still.” It really shows how developers are working on new things, while existing content collapses. Strange priorities indeed.
This is not the only thing being complained about. Post the recent server maintenance, some users have reported issues with performance, with Memory is Misery noting that the game is “almost unplayable” on PS5 due to lag. There seems to be a lot of other questions volleyed regarding the mechanics of the game. For example, Skywolf’s question on “the purpose of tipping scales if there’s diminished returns on CHD% after like 200% or so” is indeed valid.
There are PVP players feeling ignored, with Slay3r881 asking if the second phase includes “the we abandoned pvp community pts as well.” Ouch. Mr. Agoraphobia called out the exotic pistol talent situation and said it was a “big mistake not to change” it, and that it is “another stash item” if nobody addressed it.
My foremost concern is the PTS. The developers have fully documented their notes, which they linked in their tweet, so players can know where to focus their attention with the new changes. Usually the community discusses the changes and balance adjustments to the new features and bug fixes in this phase before their implementation into the main game.
With the operable game version stirring anger from a significant portion of the players, the timing couldn’t be any worse. FrustratedGame4 commented “By offering feedback, why listen? This event is laughable. Way too many caches don’t open with a bonus item. We’re literally dedicating our time for nothing, hours and hours.”
On the other side, there are users trying to look on the bright side. Gro3_ responded with “Exciting phase two launch! 🚀” while Kamikazevondoom mentioned “Phase 2? I like 🤘🏼🤘🏼.” Indicating people are having fun with the game. Still, the majority of the responses to the tweet show frustration regarding the event reward system.
The Division 2 is unique as it has an established userbase, and many of the users share the enthusiasm of the game’s developers. This paints a clearer picture when users express the second, third and fourth level of irritation while trying to use the game. Unlike other userbases, the players are open to expressing any issues and positively engaging with the community at large. While this is infuriating, it is, as of now, refreshing in the gaming world.
Many other players and I are in the dark with regard to these ‘improvements’ but the community has already made their voices heard related to these ‘improvements’ so it will be curious to watch if these improvements are made in the test build by the developers, or if they’re made in the live game in the month of September with the PTS phase two. What is clearly known is the drop rates need improvement, a rewarding gameplay loop has to be implemented, and the time ‘investment’ of the players must be put in value.
Even though players can immediately join the PTS and check out the new updates being tested, the live game still needs to be ‘hopefully’ addressed sooner. In common with other titles, The Division 2 struggled for a while and the community was generally supportive of the various changes and patches. It is a matter of ‘waiting and watching’ whether this wave of dissatisfaction will motivate the improvements to the game or cause the player ‘base to’ decrease.
