PATCH NOTES

DESCENT

Many of you dove straight into Descent to explore the new 1-to-4 player PvE mode and were quick to share your thoughts. We wanted to acknowledge some of the key changes:

DIFFICULTY

• POST-NEMESIS LEVELS DIFFICULTY
  • Based on the feedback we received during the PTS Phase 1, post-Nemesis difficulty was dramatically increased up to 39% compared to the previous version
• DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SINGLE AND CO-OP EXPERIENCE
  • Better balance between Health, Damage and Armor
  • Increased difference between Veteran, Elite and Boss-level enemies
  • Adjusted the Rational Level Design system used for balancing and difficulty scaling

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HAZARDS

• Changed the placement and affected areas for some of the hazards, making them more intrusive/visible during gameplay
• Removed the option to bypass Hazards from the shop
• Increased the frequency of occurrence

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XP & REWARDS

Starting with the PTS Phase 2 the new reward system will be in place.

• XP earned for completing Descent levels will be split into 3 categories:
  • XP awarded to players that have not yet reached level 40
  • XP awarded to players that have reached level 40 and moved on to the SHD level progression path
  • Seasonal XP to help level 40 players progress though the Seasonal Rewards track

Rewards are based on the maximum Descent loops reached and comprise of sealed caches that will be sent to the player’s inventory upon completing the Descent run and returning to their main character. Please note that the LEVEL mentions refer to the main game character outside Descent:

• 1-29 LVL: Field Proficiency Cache containing Standard, Specialized and Superior quality items
• Crafting Material Cache containing crafting materials of all sorts
  • 11-29 LVL: Weapon Crafting Cache
  • 11-29 LVL: Gear Crafting Cache
  • 11-39 LVL: Recalibration Crafting Cache
  • 30-40 LVL: Crafting Material Cache
• 11-40 LVL: Exotic cache excluding Raid Exotics
• NEW! Simulation Cache
  • 30-39 LVL: Simulation Cache containing Superior and High-End quality items
  • 40 LVL: Simulation Cache containing High-End quality items with a 15% chance of dropping Gearsets and Named gear & weapons
• 40+ LVL: NEW! Reconstructed cache containing Named weapons and gear from S1, S2, S3 and S4

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STABILITY IMPROVEMENTS AND OTHER CHANGES

• Improved stability to prevent crashes
• Updated Talents descriptions
• Items are no longer shuffled in the NSA store
• Added NSA store tutorial
• Added a pop-up message when pressing “Depart” button in SP – now a confirmation is required for exiting to DC
• Added missing sounds & various sound design improvements
• Fixed the NPC spawn
• Fixed the wave counter starting from 1 instead of 0
• Fixed the Revive Token UI in the shop
• Added Missing “Start simulation” and “Matchmake” buttons from the AR panel of Descent near the White House for Xbox
• Added departure timer

YEAR 5 SEASON 1 BROKEN WINGS

TALENTS

• The Perfect Companion Talent is used on the Named Chest Henri
  • Was not a mistake and we intend to keep it
• Revamped the damage reduction from skills to damage reduction from all sources so the Charging Talent won’t affect other damage-dealing talents and grenades
• Updated the Defibrillator Talent description
• Updated the Overcharging and Safe Charging Talents descriptions
• Fixed the issue with the Defibrillator Talent not activating on a newly equipped item with the same Talent – equipping, unequipping or swapping items will no longer cause the Talent to stop working
• Added Thunder-Strike Talent to the Recalibration Library
• Fixed the issue with the Thunder Strike Talent and its perfect version amplifying damage from all sources, including skills, grenades, status effects with DOT and any damaging Talents like Toxic Delivery from the Vile Exotic Mask. Now Agents can only deal extra damage to shocked targets with the Named weapons or any other regular weapon that has the normal version of the talent
• Fixed the issue with the Charged Talent speed boosting agents in co-op when near other agents

GEAR & WEAPONS

• Changed the “incoming skill damage” to “incoming damage” and lowered the value for “The Cavalier” Gear Set
  • Talent “Charging” – For each second spent out of cover during combat Agents will get 5% reduced incoming damage. Max 40%
    • Reduced from 50% to 40%
  • Talent “Charged” – While fully charged, gain immunity to any movement speed debuff and share hazard protection and the damage reduction with all allies for 10 seconds.
    • Removed skill damage reduction
  • Chest Bonus – Talent “Overcharging” – Increases Charger max incoming skill damage protection to 50%
    • Reduced from 70% to 50%
• Cavalier Gear Set has the correct name
• Removed a dye slot from the St. Elmo’s Engine Exotic AR
• Fixed the mod slots for the Cavalier Gear Set Holster are placed outside the screen
• Fixed the issue with the St. Elmo’s Engine Exotic AR obtained from the PTS Crafting Cache having no Attributes and Core Attributes
• The Shocker Punch Exotic Holster no longer has maxed Core Attribute
• Fixed the Cavalier Holster and Mask mod slots placement
• Named weapons from the PTS Crafting Cache no longer have the base gear rarity (grey)
• Added missing visual representation Mod icons for the St. Elmo’s Engine Exotic AR in the Inventory

QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

• Conflict XP rebalance
  • Added SHD XP progression
• The living world activities XP gains revamp
• Added the Grants Tab to make the compensations process more streamlined and items easy to obtain
  • Grants Tab can be found in the Store
• Added an option to allow players to change mission difficulty regardless of the world difficulty setting
• Added quick grenade selection menu
  • Hold G for PC
  • Hold D-pad Left for the consoles
• Added an option to mark Apparel Items as favorite
• Added Directives selection for Raids
• Added the option to Show selected mission Directives on the Mega Map
• Added the possibility to hold ESC/SPACE to skip videos and epilepsy warnings
  • Equivalent of Space button is X (PS) and A (XB)
  • Equivalent of Escape button is Options (PS) and Map/Hide Map (XB)
• Added a new In Loadouts section at the bottom of the Item Details window in the Inventory (under a gear piece’s talent and mod slots) to display the current loadouts where the selected item is present
• Added the Hide/Show Mask’ and ‘Hide/Show Signature Weapon’ buttons in the Inventory when hovering over the specific tiles/tabs
  • Currently present in the cross Options layout
• Added a notification widget for modding Primary, Secondary and Sidearm weapons’ skin slot, which appears if the player has any custom skin available for that weapon in the Store. The notification also has a quick button that redirects to the Weapon Skins Store tab
• Added visual feedback for locked Grenades
  • When browsing through the Grenades menu in the Inventory, players will see a notification which lets them know if the selected Grenade can be equipped or not

KNOWN ISSUES

TALENTS, GEAR & WEAPONS

• Missing text highlights in various Talents’ descriptions
• Placeholder images are displayed instead of the correct icon and mods for the St. Elmo’s Engine Exotic AR in the Crafting Station menu
• Placeholder image is displayed instead of the correct icon for Shocker Punch Exotic Holster in the Crafting Station menu
• The PTS Crafting Cache does not mention the new TU18 gear in its content description
• The Charged and Changing Talents can be stacked in co-op
• St. Elmos Engine stacks can be earned with shock ammo from the Talent (only standard ammo should count towards the 100 stacks)

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DESCENT

• 40-level players with SHD progression unlocked may receive a much higher amount of XP than designed after completing any number the Descent game mode loops
• A door will automatically open if you wait for too long in the corridor. On Darpa maps please interact with the door console before entering the room

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QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

• The living world activities rebalancing revamp is only available to players who have their difficulty set to Heroic. Please be aware that since we do not have difficulties activated in the PTS build and players join in with their own difficulty settings, the ones who don’t have Heroic on won’t be affected by the XP revamp
• Items claimed from the Compensation Vendor won’t drop on the ground if the player has their Inventory or Mailbox full. Please make sure that your inventory has enough space before attempting to claim items from the Compensation Vendor

PATCH NOTES [ENG]

NEW GAME MODE DESCENT

Overview

Descent is a free, 1-to-4 player game mode with semi-infinite and randomized progression, versus an infinite difficulty curve. Warlords of New York ownership is not required to access the mode.

What to expect

Agents are stripped of all their gear, specializations and perks when starting the game mode. The mode is a playground where you can experiment with builds not feasible in the regular game, challenging them tactically and encouraging deeper understanding of the build meta. This AR training simulation at the NSA Facility was designed to test the limits of the Ortiz Robotics tech. Leave your gear and SHD tech behind to help Wally extract intel from the NSA database.

How it plays

All Agents can access Descent from the Mega Map to activate the simulation. Equip weapons, skills and talents, take turns exploring rooms, defeat enemies, bosses and the ultimate opponent: the Nemesis.

Infinite fun

Continue your Run after defeating the Nemesis and see how far you can go for exclusive leaderboard rewards! Discover the history of the simulation and Ortiz Robotics’ connection to the Division and the Black Tusk each week in your Collectibles menu.

Rooms

Each Room has a different difficulty rating (Easy, Medium and Hard) and provides rewards. Earn Talents, battle powerful HVTs in Arenas and keep pushing forward until you face the Nemesis.

Each Room features a Talent Console that unlocks after defeating all enemies. Choose your Talent and start constructing a powerful build to take on the Nemesis. Stack the same Talent more than once for upgraded effects.

Enemy spawn doors

All rooms have some doors marked with a red pattern. From these doors the hostiles spawn in waves.

Heat gauge

When choosing a room, the fixed amount of Nemesis Heat gained will be shown in the AR panel at the entrance and it depends on the Room’s difficulty. Easy Rooms will see you gain more Heat than Hard Rooms, forcing the Nemesis to be generated earlier. After the gauge reaches 100%, you will encounter the Nemesis at the end of your current loop. You can continue with the run after defeating it, but it can only be encountered once.

Supply rooms

You can get extra ammo, armour kits, consumables and special ammo in the Supply Stores.

TALENTS

Talent & Exotic talent consoles

You have a limited time to choose a random talent from the 3 available (the 4th one can be unlocked at the NSA Station). Choosing the same talent more than once will stack it, making it more powerful.

Pick a free slot or replace a Talent you do not need any more if all slots are full. Unlock new slots at the Descent Shop, found at the start of each loop, by spending Descent Currency which can be obtained after clearing a room.

BUFFS

Buffs reinforce your overall Offensive, Defensive or Utility categories. You can choose one category and reinforce it.

SKILLS

Skill types are divided into four categories:

WEAPONS

You can choose between 3 weapons of random type, category and rarity. There are 3 different weapon rarities you can encounter:

1. worn – the base gear rarity as well as the most common weapon rarity
2. standard
3. specialized

CURRENCY

NSA Tech

To spend your NSA Tech, go to the NSA Station outside the Descent’s game mode.

Descent Currency

Spend Descent currency to get extra ammo, armour kits, consumables and special ammo.

NEW GEAR

Electrique – Gear Brand Set

• 1 Piece equipped gives +10% Status effect Damage
• 2 Pieces equipped give +20% Electricity Protection
• 3 Pieces equipped give + 10% SMG Damage
• Chest and Backpack Bonuses:
  • Named Chest “Henri ” – Talent “Perfect Companion” – Increases total weapon damage by 20% within a 10 meter radius of an ally or skill
  • Named Backpack “Lavoisier” – Talent “Perfect Galvanize” – Applying Blind, Ensnare, Confuse, or Shock to an enemy grants 50% of your armor as bonus armor to you and all allies within 30 meters of that enemy for 10 seconds.

“The Cavalier” – Gear Set:

• 2 Pieces equipped give + 30% Hazard Protection
• 3 Pieces equipped give +40% Incoming Repairs
• 4 Pieces equipped give access to a new unique talent
  • Talent “Charging” – For each second spent out of cover during combat Agents will get 5% reduced incoming damage from any skills. Max 50%
  • Talent “Charged” – While fully charged, gain immunity to any movement speed debuff and share hazard protection and the skill damage reduction with all allies for 10 seconds.

After “Charged” is consumed, “Charging” buff will resume if the Agent is still in combat and out of cover. “Charged” Talent does not stack.

If another agent applies “Charged” on an ongoing “Charging” Talent, “Charging” will pause for the duration of the “Charged” Talent.

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• Chest and Backpack Bonuses:
  • Chest Bonus – Talent “Overcharging” – Increases Charger max incoming skill damage protection to 70%
  • Backpack Bonus – Talent “Safe Charging”– Charger gives 10% protection per second

NEW WEAPONS & TALENTS

Exotic Weapons

St. Elmo’s Engine – Exotic AR

• Talent “Actum Est” – Shooting an enemy gives 1 stack, at 100 stacks the next magazine is filled with shock ammo.

Shocker Punch – Exotic Holster

• Talent “Defibrillator” – Gives 50%-time reduction when being stunned by any electric skill. Using a Shield gives 100% melee damage. Using the St. Elmo’s Engine Exotic AR gives an extra 100% melee damage and apply shock to any enemies hit with melee within the 5-meter radius. It has a 15 second cooldown.
• Fixed Attributes – Armor, Explosive Resistance and Hazard Protection

To get the full potential of the TU18 Exotics we recommend using them with a Shield.

Named Weapons & Talents

Cabaret – MP5 ST

• Talent “Perfect Thunder Strike” – Deals 40% extra damage to shocked targets.

Big Show – MG5 LMG

• Talent “Perfect Thunder Strike” – Deals 40% extra damage to shocked targets.

Talent “Thunder Strike” – Deals 30% extra damage to shocked targets. Applicable to all weapon types except Signature weapons.

KNOWN ISSUES

Descent Game Mode

GENERAL

• To play with the template provided please create a new WONY character

VISUALS

• The visual identity of the mode is not final
• If the lobby remains dark upon your first entry and you can’t proceed, please exit and re-enter the mode

GAMEPLAY

• The incoming enemy wave timer is sometimes not visible. The timer is set to 10s.
• If the Group Leader disbands the group, resuming personal progress might not work.
• If you don’t get to see the tutorial pop-up, you can access it while outside Descent by opening the Inventory -> Tutorial tab -> Descent mode
• If notifications no longer work, please try to log out and log back in
• Upon reaching the Nemesis lobby, wait for all players to be ready to continue before starting the fight
• If your team gets wiped out by the Nemesis, you might notice the end flow triggering twice with the option to continue. Please exit manually
• When entering Descent in a group, you might notice the Depart interaction appearing on the console before other players are loaded in. Wait for all players to load before continuing. Interacting with the Depart prompt will kick you out of mode

MATCHMAKING

• Matchmaking does not work if the players have different levels. Please use the template provided to create a new WONY character
• Please do not use Ubisoft Connect invites to join another player in an on-going Descent session, it will break their run
• To enter the mode, use the AR panel at the location shown on the screenshot below. You can also start matchmaking from here if you are looking for a group

UI

• The Seasons shop is empty. If it pops up, please press and hold ESC to close it.
• The NSA shop at the location shown on the screenshot above will sometimes have no items available. Try to fast travel or logout and back in to reset the shop.

Talents, Gear and Weapons

• The TU18 weapons form the PTS cache can drop without attributes and talent
  • WORKAROUND: Use the weapons from the Character template
• St. Elmo’s Engine Exotic AR has a placeholder name The Senate
• St. Elmo’s Engine Exotic AR obtained from the PTS Crafting Cache has no Attributes and Core Attributes
• Mod icons for the St. Elmo’s Engine Exotic AR are missing in the Inventory
• Placeholder image is used for the visual representation icon of the “Actum Est” Talent
• Placeholder image is used for the visual representation icon of the “Charging” and “Charged” Talents
• Placeholder image is used for the visual representation icon of the “Perfect Thunder Strike” and “Thunder Strike” Talents
• Missing visual representation icon for the “Defibrillator” Talent
• The “Defibrillator” Talent description is missing the information about the 15 seconds cooldown
• The “Defibrillator” Talent still mentions St. Elmo’s Engine’s Exotic AR placeholder name, The Senate
• Named weapons from the PTS Crafting Cache have the base gear rarity (grey)
• Sometimes, when having the “Shocker Punch” with the “Defibrillator” Talent equipped (and the talent is working), equipping/unequipping or swapping items, may cause the Talent to stop working
• The opposite will work as well, where having the “Shocker Punch” with the “Defibrillator” Talent and the Talent is not working; equipping/unequipping or swapping items will activate the Talent
• The “Defibrillator” Talent is not activated on a newдн equipped item with the same Talent