The Division Nerfs Crafting, Bumps Phoenix Credits in 1.1 Update

division, patch, bug, fix, update

Never look a gift horse in the mouth, they say. When Tom Clancy’s The Division‘s free Update 1.1: Incursions was announced, many players were over the moon about it, and rightfully so.

Free stuff? Sign us up! But buried in the game’s patch notes, is some disheartening information. Rather than learn from Destiny‘s mistakes, it appears Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment will continue to meddle with the game’s mechanics. The game’s creators will be seriously changing the way crafting works in the new patch on April 12th.

 

 

If you can’t watch the video:

Specifically, Massive Entertainment will be increasing the conversion ratio for crafting materials.

  • 10 Standard (Green) materials instead of 5 to craft 1 Specialized (Blue) material
  • 15 Specialized (Blue) materials instead of 5 to craft 1 High-End (Gold) material
  • 10 High-End (Gold) materials instead of 8 to craft 1 lvl 31 High-End (Gold) item

In plain English, this doubles the requirements for converting green materials to blue, and triples the requirements for converting blue materials to gold. On top of those changes, crafting gold items will now take 25% more material.

Oh, and you’ll also be getting less from equipment when deconstructing it. The patch will cut deconstruction yield by 50% for green and gold items.

  • Deconstructing a Standard (Green) item yields 1 Standard material instead of 2
  • Deconstructing a High-End (Gold) item yields 1 High-End material instead of 2

The combination of these two changes amounts to significantly more time spent in game grinding to obtain equipment for materials.

 

the division, crafting, phoenix credits, nerf, buff, boost, patch
Do you remember when materials were useful? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

 

These changes come on the heels of the poorly-received nerf to Phoenix Credits in one of the game’s recent patches. The people behind The Division obviously realized dropping Phoenix Credit yield by up to 1500% may have been a rash decision. The 1.1 update undoes some of that damage. Phoenix Credits drop have been increased on lvl 31 and 32 named enemies:

  • Level 30: 1-3 Phoenix Credits
  • Level 31: 2-4 Phoenix Credits
  • Level 32: 3-5 Phoenix Credits

Either way, neither the changes to crafting material conversions or Phoenix Credits are friendly to players new to The Division. In fact, it leaves these players at a total disadvantage, when compared to players who have had the game since launch.

 

the division, phoenix credit boost, crafting nerf, patch, update, 1.1
Changes are coming to the DZ, as well.

 

To be competitive, not only do new players have to overcome weeks of a head-start, they also have to do so under very different game conditions, making it nearly impossible. It is this kind of behavior on the part of the developer that alienated a large part of Destiny‘s player base. A lack of consistent game mechanics also confuses and irritates many players.

Perhaps as a bit of a trade-off, Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment did make some changes more friendly to casual players:

  • Added new level 31 and 32 High-End items Blueprints to Vendors
  • Removed Division Tech requirements from some level 31 High-End Blueprints

The developers are also planning to revamp The Division‘s Dark Zone experience for lower-level players in the new patch:

  • The vendor in the Church Safe House will now sell items in Dark Zone Funds instead of Phoenix Credits.
  • Dark Zone rank requirements for Superior and High-End items at Dark Zone Vendors have been adjusted:
    • Superior (Purple) items: DZ Rank 15 instead of 30
    • High-End (Gold) level 30 (Gear Score 163): DZ Rank 25 instead of 50
    • High-End (Gold) level 31 (Gear Score 182): DZ Rank 40 instead of 50

To provide a more challenging experience for seasoned players, Update 1.1 will add a new Dark Zone bracket for characters with Gear Score 160+.

 

the division, phoenix credit, boost, crafting, nerf, patch, update, 1.1, incursions
Because it isn’t difficult enough already.

 

Update 1.1: Incursions is free, and is due out on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC on April 12th.

What do you think of Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment’s decisions? Tell us in the comments!

If you’re interested in what else is changing in Update 1.1: Incursions, check out the video below: