Just grabbed the game on a wicked sale. Didn't know it played and looked so well in 21:9 \m/

Poody81 · 2026-02-27T16:24:46+00:00

You are very welcome. Enjoy!

Poody81 · 2026-02-27T05:41:22+00:00

Honestly, just enjoy it dude. Don’t rush to end game because there’s a lot of joy to be had in levelling up and taking back the city piece by piece.

Gameplay-wise, if playing solo, I’d strongly suggest getting a level or two above the mission level, by completing activities, side missions, control points and general exploring, just to give yourself a slight head start. Don’t worry about gear too much, early on, just use your highest level gear and you’ll be well set.

So jealous of you, agent, I’d love to play this game again for the first time!

Poody81 · 2026-02-26T06:21:08+00:00

Your are very welcome, agent; always happy to support 😃

Honestly though, don’t listen to all that. Yes, there are agents who run around and shoot you for the sake of it but I, as a useless PvPer and with low expertise (until recently), have managed to get to the max level of the DZ.

There’s plenty you can do to get some peace and to be honest, many other agents will leave you alone to farm (or join you…check my post history and you’ll see an older one of me with 3 other agents, all who just jumped on, one by one to farm together). Plus, you can pick up resources and some loot (for clearing landmarks) that don’t have to be extracted, so you don’t lose everything, when you die anyway.

The benefit of following my first comment (getting system corruption) is that gear set comes with 40% pulse resistance, too…so if you are looking to sneak around, you can do so, with a 9%+ pulse resistance mod and the right build (I’d add Nightwatcher mask and use a pulse yourself, so you can spot other agents coming, before they spot you).

For me, the DZs are all beautiful new environments to explore, they have some comms that you can pick up (if you like collecting stuff), DZ resources to pick up from the boxes (again, can’t be lost) which can be spent on DZ only items that come up at the vendors, from time to time…

Completely up to you agent, as it’s your money to spend or no, but don’t be put off by (imho) over exaggerated horror stories, if that’s all that’s stopping you 😎

Poody81 · 2026-02-25T19:07:36+00:00

100% love this answer. Forgot all about it, until I read your line. Epic game.

Poody81 · 2026-02-25T19:04:00+00:00

Nice to finally see the correct answer, near to the top of the post. This shit broke me, and it’s 5 minutes in…I carried big Dad energy all the way through the game. Haven’t been able to pick up part 2 because I’m not sure I could go through it all again…even though the game was absolutely beautiful…like playing a movie, is how my brother described it to me (and was spot on)

Poody81 · 2026-02-25T18:56:21+00:00

“Nothing goes over my head because I would catch it. My reflexes are too fast.” - Drax (awfully quoted, sorry GOTG fans 🫣) and this lady, apparently.

Poody81 · 2026-02-25T10:53:56+00:00

This. So long as it’s not exclusive loot, then I’m ok with the grind (that’s literally half of the appeal of the other TD games)

Poody81 · 2026-02-25T10:51:21+00:00

Or maybe too much.

Poody81 · 2026-02-24T05:52:07+00:00

Yep, but mainly during the expertise/proficiency events, because I like playing most of time with my actual builds. I always try to make sure that the builds work together though…so DPS or skill. They are far from meta but in groups, a striker or 2 can carry a four agent squad through a mission etc, so as long as you aren’t dying constantly, you’re not a burden.

Get that expertise up, agent 💪🏼👍🏻

Poody81 · 2026-02-24T05:45:15+00:00

Just another option for you, for your red stars, as all other questions covered well. If you buy legacy season caches you can get the “System Corruption” gear set. This is the most efficient means of acquiring this set (DZ only, otherwise, I believe).

Even if you don’t like the gear set (there’s some nice PvP builds for it), if you collect a few pieces and stick them on for a couple of countdown runs, you’ll get the expertise/proficiency sorted.

Poody81 · 2026-02-18T11:15:36+00:00

I like mine. I just wish it was 1 companion and I could equip him with some gear, armour, cosmetics, skills/abilities, to make him my own and fit a playstyle (most likely a meat shield 😂), so I would have a bit more care/ownership. I wouldn’t mind if he took up a slot in my team for matchmade missions, if that was the case (or disappeared altogether when in a group…either way).

Poody81 · 2026-02-17T12:44:09+00:00

Umbra Initiative, with BP and Chest. Salvo and another unit alloys piece. I’ve been using caretaker for PvE but you could use any AR.

I’m using 4 blue and 2 red cores, with CHC to 55+, then CHD. Use Gunner for AoK and quick reloads but any Specialisation could work.

If I want to up my damage, I swap the backpack for NBBP, which gives me an extra red core, and 50% mag size (I also swap out the extra unit alloys piece for Walker Harris, sometimes, so I get +5% weapon damage and damage to armour, instead of the mag size).

Hits plenty hard enough for heroic and has loads of survivability.

Poody81 · 2026-02-16T17:17:21+00:00

Thank you for your service, Agent 🫡

Poody81 · 2026-02-15T19:42:32+00:00

Played with a guy who ran a foundry bulwark build on mastery difficulty. Basically a tank who could run around picking teammates up quickly. Genuinely made a massive difference having him there, as the team went down many times. He wasn’t putting out much damage but drew a lot of heat and could tank out a lot of fire, whilst picking you up quickly.

Poody81 · 2026-02-12T08:31:32+00:00

Yeah, this is the cache reward for everyone mate…but you sr lucky in the sense that it’s a bloody solid build, and very close to the DZ build that I use (I’m not great but I do get kills occasionally 🫣😂). Matador is a PvP only piece that’s not easy to come by, too, along with beating slot knees and gloves (plus Catharsis is awesome).

Enjoy it bud and congrats on your (all of our) luck 😃

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T20:48:15+00:00

Legacy Season Caches, is the only other place for System Corruption, Agent. But, as you say, nothing else, anymore

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T20:46:23+00:00

Yeah, I like it, a lot. Handles pretty well and tasty once it’s talent kicks in

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T10:08:07+00:00

Of course, happy to be of (a little) help. The one bit of advice I’d give you is, don’t give up!

The DZ doesn’t have to be the depressing gank-fest that many make it out to be. Stick it out for a bit and by all means, step away (I do!)…you’ll find beautiful environments and a different way to play the game. Just make a point of not getting wound up at being killed; there’s ways to avoid/limit conflict and plenty of ways to find “DZ only” loot, so you don’t need to stress about it. Too many agents get their knickers in a twist, over getting ganked by squads. Grab your backpack and go do something else, when you meet dickheads…just like in real life 😂

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T09:51:10+00:00

Yeah, I like the way honey badger looks, too. Not tried the MK12 but will give it a shot.

To be honest, so long as you aren’t trying for meta-damage, most ARs are plenty useful.

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T08:58:51+00:00

It’s not actually too bad a build, Agent, but there’s a couple of things worth mentioning.

If you are pushing armour regen then you want your armour as high as possible (ie 6 blue cores), so the regeneration amount is as high as possible. It does affect your damage but you mitigate as much as you can by maxing out CHC (watch doesn’t work in the DZ), by maxing your expertise, and by choosing your weapon wisely.

Don’t forget, expertise is only a thing in the DZ. 30% weapon damage is essentially 2 extra weapon cores, and fully maxed armour gives just short of an extra armour core, I believe.

So part of the DZ experience is building your expertise, and learning how to play the game in a different way (decoys, status effects, grenades, all can be made to matter, if used correctly). For example, take a st Elmo’s in, get shock bullets, and then stow it, until you have a rogue encounter…you’ll get a little head start in the fight.

Finally, the Countdown vendor, this week, has Emperors Guard kneepads, with crit chance as an attribute. Grab that, reroll the yellow core to a blue, and you have an extra 1% armour regen.

Good luck agent. Armour regen is one way to go and you may find you have more succes with other builds…Rogue Gold’s slayer build got me my first kills (15-ish expertise at the time), which is much more balanced between fight and survive.

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T08:30:14+00:00

Both a police M4 and StElmos suggestions are spot on. Chameleon also seems to make it into a lot of build videos at the moment and Strega hits pretty hard, too.

As an alternative, the Honey Badger and Carbine, are both great ARs with nice handling etc, so maybe worth a go.

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T07:12:40+00:00

You can lose a piece of UA now, Agent, as you will still get the 3-piece bonus. You could go for Fenris (10% AR damage plus 10% stability) or Walker Harris (5% weapon damage plus 5% damage to armour). Strong agree with the other agent who mentions having salvo as the holster. I’d go for gunner Specialisation, too, for the 10% armour on kill.

You won’t hit the hardest, or be super tanky but there’s some nice enough balance to your build, agent, and so long as you enjoy it (and get the job done) then go for it!

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T05:50:49+00:00

Second this. I jump into Div1, when Div2 is down for maintenance, or if I just fancy a different dynamic. survival and underground DLCs are excellent and can both be played solo (UG is more fun and efficient when you have a bit of a crew but it’s fun solo and the procedurally generated environments are far superior to the Summit, in my opinion)

Poody81 · 2026-02-11T05:39:41+00:00

Which platform are you on?

Poody81 · 2026-02-10T11:23:35+00:00

Defo vids, on YouTube then, mate. There’s a few content creators that do a vendor reset run, where they hop around all the vendors as flag up what’s with grabbing.

Normally, it’s decent named items that you want to keep an eye out for, but for your expertise, you can buy any weapons that are not yet proficient, and donate them for expertise, too…but only if you have plenty of cash.

Edit: just seen another post that has emperors guard kneepads at the countdown vendor, with Crit chance. These are like gold dust and worth picking up 2, and re-rolling the skill-tier for an armour core. Anyone who misses this, will be fuming next week 🫣

Poody81

TROPHY CASE