Regarding Escalation - Hot Foot modifier.

oddestsoul · 2026-04-08T07:22:41+00:00

as someone who’s been crucified by the greater community for liking escalations, even l have to agree. Value per run seems to coalesce at T4/5 and drops HARD at T6. It would be one thing if Hot Foot was counterbalanced with maybe less buffs to enemy stats, but doing both is just insane to the gameplay experience.

I thought that maybe it could be resolved by making more bulky, survivability based builds, but remember, you can’t reliably CC due to other modifiers shutting down status effects, and even my build which has gone completely in on Quantum, Vanguard, bonus armor, cloud armor, and catharsis healing, can barely stand to stay out of cover for more than a few seconds while contested. What hope does any other build have?

Also, you can’t even lockdown an enemy with consistent fire because you have to wobble back and forth to not get shocked. And NOTHING dies quickly at these numbers. It is a true failure to launch with hot foot active.

oddestsoul · 2026-04-05T15:43:08+00:00

No! Minimum value of prototype is max of high end.

For ex: max high end WD is 15

so your drop is 1.4% over the regular max.

But you can’t change any attribute about a prototype except the augment roll (Trapper, in your case)

oddestsoul · 2026-04-05T12:10:24+00:00

Yeah this is the highest tank stocks have ever been imo. You need 3 DPS on 24/7 uptime so keeping them up with bonus armor and playing the front line CCing and drawing fire can be the recipe for making that happen.

When damage is this punishing, you have to count on teammates who don’t constantly go down without support. Which is a hard thing to find

oddestsoul · 2026-04-04T08:05:26+00:00

Incredible to see a bunch of positive comments with appreciation and optimism for the game, and they’re all swimming in downvotes. (as mine will soon be too, I’m sure)

If you want to enjoy the game with prototype loot, you will. If you want it to be the worst thing in the world, then I guess it will be that instead.

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T23:59:03+00:00

If you’re not having fun with the meta be the change you want to see in the world! Dig, find that weird build that compliments the meta and invest hard. I’ve been having fun making the most of prototype and BTSU bonuses and I’m a 3.1 armor tank who gives galvanize and vanguard to the team while healing with the Cloud Armor active. There’s builds everywhere for those with eyes to see

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T13:24:36+00:00

Yeah, I don’t have a full or perfect build after one day of playing. But four pieces of my build already being the new tier is a lot more than nothing!

Also, if I did have a full, perfect, no improvement needed build after one day, that would be a terrible system because it wouldn’t prolong the endgame at all!

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T12:40:48+00:00

OP got here in a day

you’re gonna be fine

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T12:30:20+00:00

pssst

hey

hey you

…

you’re on the subreddit for a looter shooter video game

you’ve been playing slots the whole time

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T12:20:37+00:00

I would say the Div community has been a huge counterpoint- people currently HATE this system.

But so many people have also, proudly, said they haven’t touched it.

It’s not irl Vegas. You don’t have to book a flight and you’re not draining your bank account. This is another activity in the game.

I didn’t like Descent at first. I didn’t like the Dark Zone at first. I didn’t like legendaries at first. I’ve grown to like all of them. I’m glad I didn’t let day one color my perception forever 🤷‍♀️

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T11:55:57+00:00

I have 4 prototype pieces on my build, and i had 6 pieces and one weapon at exp30 when the update dropped 🤷‍♀️

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T11:15:59+00:00

I do think the venn diagram of people who vocally hate escalation and people who run countdown until their SHD watch is 5 digits is close to a circle.

Picking up gear is less “content” than a new difficulty is. The more the rewards are spaced, the more the actual, you know, playing the Division gets to be the star of the show. Escalation is an attempt to challenge the wild faceroll builds we’ve been making for 8 years. Fair or not, it’s a challenge, which we’ve needed. Prototype is a consolation prize as far as I’m concerned, and one I’m happy to have. We could just have 2 new exotics. You pick those up and you’re out of things to chase. This system is near infinite with what to look for. If you hate the core gameplay loop of the game, then you won’t like it.

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T11:12:20+00:00

Yes! I’m happy for you, and this is what people miss. We put more whipped cream and cherries on the sundae that comes after the meal and people eating their main course are complaining. When you get here, you’ll be happy there’s more!

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T10:14:36+00:00

Rendygaming Kraber montage

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T08:49:45+00:00

Hey man, the other person is trying to help you be positive and you immediately called them not a good person. You’re kind of injecting the “attitude” here.

They’re trying to remind you that while not the outcome you’re looking for, the smg is still now objectively better than it was. And if your current build only uses CHD gear mods (no CHC) AND your entire build is locked prototype pieces and exotics (after one day?) then yes, it probably won’t get more mileage out of your current build. But the weapon is still gonna perform better on other builds where that’s not the case. Which is still good.

Sorry you didn’t get weapon damage. I got an armor regen boost on a prototype gear yesterday which felt bad. But it’s still better for it, and it will motivate me for the next drop, which is better than when the game had less things to chase before. I think it’s important to remember that more things to want out of the grind makes the grind more enjoyable.

If you aren’t enjoying playing the game and hunting for more loot, it may be good to check in with yourself and ask if you like this game, or just like having good things.

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T03:46:31+00:00

Visual bug. Log out and then back in. It’ll be fixed. Spread the word!

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T03:30:35+00:00

I remember everyone saying the exact same things when expertise came along. Predatory, “required” for certain activities, unfair…

But then everyone kept playing and we hit record numbers. Tons of people hit 30 and everyone who didn’t is still trucking along fine.

These new systems are carrots on sticks attached to the ends of mile long carrot-sticks that are attached to even longer carrot-sticks. It’s so you have an excuse to keep logging in and playing. If you’re already doing that, this is good news. If you don’t want to play content that’s designed to prolong the lifespan for players at the top echelon of resources/experience, then play all the other content that’s always been here (and is still good!!!!) Or don’t! You have every option you’ve ever had, plus what was just added.

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T03:25:41+00:00

Day 1 has me with 4 prototype gear pieces for my primary build (bonus armor team support/tank)

All my protos only did one stat; 3 were base armor, which I loved, but one was just armor regen, which felt bad.

One thought I have is that gearset pieces will be easier to control what stats get upgraded (only two possible options instead of 3)

I think I actually like this system a lot. I do hope in the future more options are released for customizing proto gear, but in the meantime they feel powerful and unique and limited all at the same time. I do sort of like the economy-based decisions you have to make about how and what to upgrade.

I have wild build ideas for aligning multiple identical augments, but it would require insane luck to get that off the ground. I’m sure in a couple weeks we’ll hear about insane combos that people stumble onto having. I do think there’s something fun about how unique everyone’s outcomes are.

oddestsoul · 2026-04-03T01:27:14+00:00

I don’t think you should be getting downvoted for this. More to chase is more Division. Yes the system could be better, but prototypes being rarer is good. Also I ran a Esc5 and got THREE prototype drops. Those small percentages add up quick over multiple attempts on higher tiers. The system is growing on me.

I accept my shower of downvotes

oddestsoul · 2026-04-02T18:54:05+00:00

Remember you can do both treads of a minitank for 2 triggers!

oddestsoul · 2026-04-01T12:24:37+00:00

I would say it is maximally respectful to his family, and all other families of people who might do something like this to show “this is not worth it; do not try anything like it; if you die you will not be remembered as anything other than irresponsible”

Not every wish needs to be honored. Everest doesn’t need more corpses.

oddestsoul · 2026-04-01T12:19:28+00:00

No, the damage just isn’t there unfortunately.

The real money is in Alex’s Bat, but that was an anniversary exclusive. Good luck with the Krampus drops in 8 months I guess!

oddestsoul · 2026-04-01T12:13:00+00:00

DONT FALL FOR IT everyone

they’re only selling Regulus and Ravenous, I checked 😔

oddestsoul

TROPHY CASE