Just as a lark I figured I’d try my hand at the achievement to do a mission on challenging mode by myself. I chose the Lincoln Tunnel mission but forgot I had my world tier set at 5 and was promptly beset by a horde of nigh-unkillable Rikers and died more or less in seconds.
So I bumped down to world tier 2, the lowest you can do a challenge mission, and had much better luck. Every enemy is still a yellow class elite, but much more manageable at my gear level. In fact I was cranking right along until the point where I had to defend the engineer who tries to open the water valve and I just couldn’t. Dude is basically made of paper, I could deal with the enemies thrown at me fairly quickly but he just could not take any punishment. I almost made it once but finally gave up.
Still, it was pretty fun even though I didn’t succeed. I think I could manage on a level where my success isn’t tied to defending a guy who can be killed by a sneeze, so I may give it another shot tonight.
I use the turret cause it’s awesome, and a healing station. Currenyly only have the tech wing-special skill unlocked.
I really miss the ping thing though, it’s really handy, but dang the healing station is a life saver.
I’m only level 9 and decided to wander into the DZ just for the hell of it last night and I got Rekt with a capital R. Not from other players but from the AI which was either highly leveled or had skulls above their heads. I was stubborn and persevered for a bit and quickly raised my DZ level up to about 9. I am guessing I should have waited a bit longer before entering the DZ.
I do love how spooky the DZ environment is with streets being filled with hundreds of crows that squawk and scatter as you run through them. It was really eerie at night with haze and a snowstorm contrasted with the starkness of streetlights cutting sharp lines.
This game really is gorgeous with wonderful sound design. I wish there was a button to toggle the cluttered UI so I could take more screenshots unhindered.
If you like immersion, you should try out Survival - Its accessible from the metro beneath your base, and is REALLY cool. You decide whether its PvE or PvP and its damn fun. Level doesn’t matter here either.
Nice! I can’t wait to try it, that sounds right up my alley; almost seems to have a STALKERish vibe.
I know some things are level gated in this game so I didn’t investigate that yet, but it sounds like I can go in at any level or do I need to hit 10 or something first?
The dark zone has been talked up so much that I’ve just avoided it. Now that I’ve reached the endgame though, I should probably give it a shot at least. I’m really not a PvP guy though.
I went into Dark Zone for 30 minutes or so and I hated it. I don’t like PVP either. I’d probably only do it again if I become too obsessed with the trophies, but I’d rather not
I have this mental image that the dark zone is just crawling with griefers who can’t wait to gank me and take my stuff - it’s probably not that bad, but I really hate the sound of it. But yeah, I should at least try it before I shoot down the idea out of hand.
I’ve played TD for near two years now. I always run DZ solo. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been ganked. If you solo in DZ, you just can’t flounce around like you do in the light zone. You have to keep your ears open, stay on the move, and treat any player contact as a potential hostile.
Last time I tried the Dark Zone isn’t as bad as it used to be thanks to some patches. It’s worth pointing out that if you do get griefed you’ll be have to listen to whatever the greifer has to say since chat is enabled by proximity. I’m guessing there’s a way to turn that off though?
There are also cheaters. I rarely make that claim in games, but I’ve seen outrageous stuff with my own eyes. I haven’t encountered them in the dark zone though, as I rarely go there.
All that being said, I still regard the release weekend dark zone (can’t believe that was two years ago) as one of the top five gameplay experiences of my life. I think the reason I love survival mode (pve & pvp) so much is that it hearkens back to that.
Survival is rather incredible - I tried it for the first time a few days ago, and it was intense! The only weird thing is, that the rewards are level 30. That kinda sucks, instead of scaling.
You start with a pistol at the edge of the map along with 24 other players. Everyone is infected and has to escape before they succumb. Meds and pain killers can delay the infection
The entire NYC map is in play. Staying closer to the beaten path is safer/quicker, but straying further out into the city will take you into areas less likely to have been looted by others.
The game keeps track of how many players have died, and any player can revive any other player with a medkit (which are much rarer than in the base game).
There are several objectives with the ultimate goal to fire a flare gun from the heart of the dark zone to call in a chopper for evac
Threats include enemies, disease, and the cold. This mode takes place during an intense blizzard which ebbs and flows during the match affecting visibility and cold
Clothing, which is normally just cosmetic in the game, now has warmth rating and is crucial to staying alive. Until you’re fully outfitted you’ll have to find fire to warm up at during the match.
You start with no skills, but can craft them along the way in hideouts/safe houses. In addition to these, there are other new icon/location types like helicopter crashes & downed players
If you manage to find the cure and extract, you stand to win a bunch of loot crates which you can open and use outside of survival mode
PvE, PvP, & teamplay are all options before you start the session.
Ah ok- it’s all rather confusing, and I don’t play enough to keep track. I’m not even sure what world tier means other than it was something I realized I had to change when I wasn’t getting high level gear drops.
