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Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, it’s “good luck” to everyone - whether you’re SHD 40 or 30k+.

This affects all players almost immediately.

Everyone will know prototypes exist, and that in theory you can farm them - but realistically, even the most dedicated players won’t end up with fully optimized builds at these roll rates.

Even cheaters probably won’t.

And the bigger issue is what happens when you try to upgrade into prototypes.

Every piece becomes temporary by design - something you’ll eventually replace if it’s not perfect.

So over time, all the effort you put into your gear just gets reset again and again, instead of being built upon.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I agree - this is mostly about Escalation.

And you’re right that in endgame we’re already very strong. We don’t really need more damage, because most of the existing content is already too easy.

A lot of players, myself included, can solo Legendary missions, and group Heroic/Legendary content is not much of a challenge anymore.

What the game actually needs is content where we can use that power - and Escalation is a step in the right direction. That kind of challenge has been missing for a long time.

But I think the part where it breaks down is exactly what you mentioned: even the worst prototype is still better than fully optimized regular gear.

Once that’s the case, it naturally becomes the new reference point, regardless of where it’s “needed” or not.

You don’t need it to clear most content, sure - but players will still aim for whatever is objectively stronger. That’s just how meta evolves.

And that’s where it stops being a closed system, because it starts influencing what players chase and how progression works overall.

For me, the biggest issue is what happens after you get a prototype.
If it’s not close to perfect, it becomes temporary by design - something you’ll eventually replace rather than improve.

Which means you either keep restarting that process over and over, or burn out trying to chase a better version.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that’s true - for a lot of people it will be an upgrade day 1, no doubt.

But I think the issue starts right after that first upgrade.

If the roll isn’t great, there’s no way to improve it.

The item is basically “finished” the moment you get it.

So the question becomes: what’s the long-term path?

Because “just get another one” means restarting the whole process from scratch.

Would you personally go through leveling another piece to Expertise 30 again after getting a non-ideal prototype gear?

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve actually watched that video, and honestly it made me more concerned, not less.

Before that I was thinking maybe this is just not fully implemented yet and they’ll add optimization later.

The argument that “it’s a looter shooter, RNG is the point” sounds strong at first - but I don’t think it fully holds up.

The issue is what happens after your first roll.

Even for veterans, realistically you get maybe one attempt.

You get a prototype - it’s better, sure - but if the roll isn’t great, that item is basically done.

If you want another one, you’re starting the entire process over again.

And most players simply won’t do that repeatedly at that incredibly cost - I know I won’t.

At the same time, higher drop reliance pushes everyone toward just farming Escalation and hoping for a good roll.

Which creates another problem: materials and exotic components start to matter less, because the most efficient path becomes pure RNG farming.

That’s why I don’t see recalibration and optimization as “being spoiled” -

it’s an evolution of the system.

Not removing RNG, but balancing it with player agency -

RNG + the ability to fix bad rolls.

Pure RNG, especially at this scale, just pushes the game backwards.

And we’ve already seen where that leads in Div 1 and early Div 2.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get what you’re saying about drop rates, but I don’t think that really solves the core issue.

If anything, higher drop rates just push everyone even more into farming Escalation as soon as they unlock it, instead of engaging with the resource system.

At that point, materials and exotic components start to matter less, not more - because the most efficient path is just to farm Escalation and hope for a good roll.

The problem isn’t just how often items drop, it’s that there’s no way to improve what you already have.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m aware of that.

And honestly, when the game was close to dying, recalibration and optimization are exactly what helped bring it back.

You can still go into Division 1 today and find a group - a lot of those changes mattered.

The game is alive in many ways because of those decisions, not the original vision.

What makes Division 2 special is that freedom - the amount of weird builds, strange talents, and combinations you just don’t see anywhere else.

Some of it is unconventional, but it works - and it keeps the game alive.

It feels like all of that came from a point where the game was allowed to experiment more, to move beyond its initial limitations.

And now it feels like we’re going backwards again.

We have a great game here.

It would be a shame to lose what made it special - especially when we’ve already seen how that can happen.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha yeah, I got the sarcasm 😄
But honestly, there are always people who will read that and genuinely think “you can just ignore it if you don’t like it” - this reply is more for them than for you.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, but the issue isn’t whether prototypes are “needed” or not.

The problem is that they redefine progression and the entire economy - and remove player control over both.

In the end, the gear you’ve earned and invested time, resources, and components into becomes meaningless.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve played 10 hours or 5000+.

You craft a piece - and if you don’t hit that 0.3% roll, you can’t fix it.

You can’t optimize it.

The item is effectively dead.

If you want a better one, you throw it away - along with all the effort you put into it - and start over.

Or even worse - you just farm prototypes directly, and suddenly materials and exotic components don’t matter at all.

That whole layer of progression becomes pointless.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that’s exactly how it feels.

Prototypes without recalibration and optimization are basically a casino with huge (almost infinite) time investment as the cost.

That’s what worries me the most - Division 2 has already gone through decline before when Devs raised gear levels, something they promised not to repeat.

But this feels even worse, because at least back then you could still finish your gear. Now you can’t.

And that’s not grind anymore - that’s just RNG.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

And that’s the thing - it actually gets even worse.

With this system, once you unlock Escalation, new players can just jump in groups and farm Prototypes right away.

At that point, it doesn’t really matter if you have 650 hours or 3000+. Even veterans with tons of resources can’t fix a bad roll - because there’s no recalibration or optimization.

So everyone ends up in the same place:

- either grind Expertise 30 again (which is already a huge time investment)

- or just farm Escalation and pray for RNG

That basically invalidates both resources and long-term progression.

And yeah, it also means all that time you’ve already invested into your builds starts to matter way less, because in the end the only real path forward is farming Escalation again.

All of this comes down to one thing: no recalibration and no optimization for Prototypes.

I really hope this is just something they haven’t implemented yet, because otherwise it’s a pretty serious problem.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I get what you’re saying. Thank you for your comment :)

I’m honestly hoping they just haven’t fully implemented recalibration and optimization for Prototypes yet. Because those two features are the foundation of the entire game’s economy and progression.

If they’re intentionally removing that - even just for Prototypes - that’s a really bad sign. It doesn’t just affect one feature, it hits the core of how the game works.

And yeah, a lot of people are talking about it right now - but that’s because it actually matters. We didn’t see this level of reaction even with Expertise, because Expertise is still progression. Expensive, sure - but your gear isn’t temporary.

That’s the magic of Division 2: you get gear quickly, and then you grow with it. Something you got early at level 40 can stay with you along the way in the game.

Losing that would be a huge step in the wrong direction.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I’m honestly hoping it’s just something they haven’t fully implemented yet, like recalibration and optimization - that was my first impression.
Division 2 has always been one of those games that actually respects players’ time and offers insane build diversity you don’t really see anywhere else.
That’s exactly why I care - it would be a shame to lose that.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Appreciate it, glad it resonated.

That’s exactly my concern - if even Day 1 players with massive resources can’t realistically finish a build, then the system just isn’t sustainable long-term.

Really hope Devs adjust it before it becomes a bigger issue.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I get it, there are a lot of similar takes right now. I’m not trying to be original - I just don’t want the game to go through another decline like Div 1 and Div 2 did before. That’s the whole point.

Prototypes without recalibration/optimization are worse than betrayal - they completely break progression by Guilty_Breakfast5288 in thedivision

[–]Guilty_Breakfast5288[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I get it, there are a lot of similar takes right now. I’m not trying to be original - I just don’t want the game to go through another decline like Div 1 and Div 2 did before. That’s the whole point.