The Division Update 1.3: Release Day Details

Video game publisher Ubisoft and Developer Massive are hoping for a coup when The Division Update 1.3 launches later this week. Released back in March, The Division racked up millions in sales and rocketed to the top of sales charts. Ubisoft clearly has a hit new game franchise on its hands.

Problem is, The Division’s huge fan base doesn’t seem to be playing the game nearly as much as it did at launch. Part of that is on Ubisoft and Massive delivering a few free game updates with a significant amount of bugs. More of it has to do with there being a lack of new content for dedicated players to enjoy, some say. The Division Update 1.3 and its companion Underground Expansion are expected to boost the game’s population and get millions of players back. They’ll bring new activities and gear. They’ll also improve on some of the game’s more frustrating attributes.

Read: The Division Underground Expansion Details

The Division Update 1.3 Release Day & Time

Ubisoft confirmed The Division Update 1.3 would arrive at the same time as the content expansion last week with a post on the game’s blog. To those that don’t have a season pass, the update will work just like any other significant upgrade in the past. Xbox Live and Uplay will prompt users to automatically update the game client installed on their PC or Xbox One after 6AM Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, June 28th. Users that have automated updates turned on won’t necessarily get a prompt to perform the update because their machines will handle the download behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, there’s a group of dedicated gamers being left out in the cold with The Division Update 1.3 this week and it’s the same users that won’t be getting the Underground Expansion until a month after its release. Ubisoft confirmed in a recent blog post that PS4 users won’t get Update 1.3 on time. The delay isn’t a part of the agreement Ubisoft has with Microsoft that keeps PS4 owners from getting the Underground Expansion the same day as Xbox One owners.

The game’s servers will completely go down in preparation for the update at 3AM Eastern Standard Time, Midnight Pacific Time in the United States.

The Division Update 1.3 Upgrades & Changes

There are a ton of changes introduced with The Division Update 1.3. Some will have longtime fans praising Massive’s recent decisions, others they might not be so impressed by.

Gear Sets & Weapons

There’s just a single new Gear Set coming with The Division Update 1.3 release. It’s AlphaBridge, and it Massive describes it as a way to let users take advantage of the weapon talents their characters have.

As for new weapons, the line-up is somewhat extensive. There’s the Military GB6 Assault Rifle, G36C Assault Rifle, G36 Enhanced Assault Rifle, Surplus SVD Marksman Rifle, Paratrooper SVD Marksman Rifle, PP-19 Submachine Gun, Enhanced PP-19 Submachine Gun, X-45 Pistol, First Wave X-45 Pistol and the Showstopper. The Showstopper is an automatic shotgun.

Gameplay & Dark Zone Changes

Hudson Refugee Camp and the Queens Tunnel Camp now have Challenge Mode for those that really want to go back and do them over again. In addition to that, missions have picked up Heroic Mode. Heroic Mode missions are harder to complete thanks to improved enemies. In exchange for the higher difficulty, players unlock better rewards. Refugee Camp, Queen’s Tunnel Camp, Russian Consulate, Lincoln Tunnel Checkpoint, Lexington Event Center and WarrenGate Power Plant missions will offer the new difficulty. All Incursion events will eventually have them too, but Massive is starting with Falcon Lost and Clear Sky.

Big Changes for the Base of Operations

The Base of Operations is where users go to claim reward items and upgrade their character. Weapons are improved there, and the survivors of the flu epidemic call the place home – provided they are on their best behavior. The Base of Operations gets its first update with The Division Update 1.3.

Included in the upgrade is The Terminal, a new space for players to hang out. It’s the first social space Ubisoft has added to the game, though players can hang out at Safe Houses already. This new area will go just beside the Rewards Vendor that’s already at the end of the hallway that holds the staircase to the Tech Wing. The Terminal itself has its own fast travel option. The recalibration area in the Base of Operations allows players to make changes to Weapon Talents too, Massive says.

Gameplay Changes

• ·        Added a new Dark Zone bracket for 231+ Gear Score.
• ·        Player stash size has been increased to 70 total slots (including Base of Operation upgrades).
• ·        Level 30 players will now only encounter level 30 or higher enemy NPCs in Free Roam.
• ·        Rebalanced NPC’s weak points to be more consistent across the board. This impacts the amount of damage needed to trigger them and the amount of damage it does when triggered.
• ·        You can now convert three High-End Division Tech to one of any High-End crafting material.
• ·        Reduced the Phoenix Credit costs of 204 High-End and 240 Gear Set items and blueprints.
• ·        The Special Equipment Vendor in the Tech Wing only sells items now and will no longer sell Blueprints. Blueprints have been moved to a new vendor in The Terminal.
• ·        You can no longer share an item that you have equipped.
• ·        Adjustments have been made to NPC threat lists that caused players to stay in combat for large periods of time. You will now leave combat after reaching a certain distance away from the enemy or after a set amount of time.
• ·        Players will now be disconnected from the game server if they are inactive for 15 minutes or longer.
• ·        Players can now matchmake from inside no-respawn areas and can fast travel into activities while the group is in a no-respawn area.
• ·        You can no longer kick a group member in a boss fight and up to one minute after it has been completed. This restriction does not apply to group members who are AFK or outside the mission area.
• ·        All players must now be present in the final Circle in Clear Sky before you can interact with the laptop and fuses.
• ·        NPCs located in the final Circle in Clear Sky will instantly respawn once killed until players enter the area.
• ·        Players can no longer deploy Mobile Cover skill while they are performing a Cover-to-Cover move.
• ·        Exotic Damage Resilience is now capped at 90%.

Weapons

• These changes only impact weapons acquired after Update 1.3 unless stated otherwise.
• ·        Added unique bonuses to several weapon families:
• o   LMG – Increased damage to targets out of cover by X%.
• o   Shotguns – Added a chance to stagger NPCs. This will not affect other players.
• o   Assault Rifles – Added an enemy armor damage bonus. This does not impact damage done to other players.
• ·        Changed the weapon bonus on SMGs from a % crit hit chance to % crit hit damage.
• ·        Increased the base damage of Shotguns.
• ·        Decreased the damage done by the AUG and Vector. This impacts all new and existing ones.
• ·        Increased the minimum accuracy cap on the M1A. When shooting consistently, the crosshair will grow to a much larger size than it previously did. This impacts all new and existing M1As.
• ·        The damage done by Explosive bullets has been reduced.
• ·        The status effect of Incendiary bullets has been reduced against other players.

Items

• ·        Every gear piece now has a set number of mod slots that can’t be recalibrated. This change only affects gear that drops after Update 1.3. Each gear piece will now have:
• o   Chest: 2 mod slots
• o   Mask: 1 mod slot
• o   Kneepad: 1 mod slot
• o   Backpack: 1 mod slot
• o   Gloves: 0 mod slots
• o   Holster: 0 mod slots
• ·        Holsters will now always have all three attributes.
• ·        Sentry’s Call and Striker’s Battlegear gear sets have had their two-set and three-set bonus reduced, and we have added a new five-set bonus. The four-set bonuses have not been changed.
• o   Sentry’s Call bonuses were:
• §  2 Set: +30% Headshot Damage
• §  3 Set: +20% Damage to Elites
• o   Sentry’s Call bonuses are now:
• §  Sentry’s Call 2 Set: +10% Headshot Damage
• §  Sentry’s Call 3 Set: +10% Damage to Elites
• §  Sentry’s Call 5 Set: +20% Headshot Damage and +10% Damage to Elites
• o   Striker’s Battlegear bonuses were:
• §  2 Set: +20% Enemy Armor Damage
• §  3 Set: +50% Critical Hit Damage
• o   Striker’s Battlegear bonuses are now
• §  Striker’s Battlegear 2 Set: +10% Enemy Armor Damage
• §  Striker’s Battlegear 3 Set: +20% Critical Hit Damage
• §  Striker’s Battlegear 5 Set: +10% Enemy Armor Damage and +30% Critical Hit Damage

Dark Zone

• ·        The 231+ Gear Score Dark Zone bracket will include more powerful NPCs.
• o   DZ 01-02 à NPC lvl 33
• o   DZ 03-04 à NPC lvl 34
• o   DZ 05-06 à NPC lvl 35
• ·        DZ 05-06 in Gear Score bracket 201-230 will now have a chance to drop Gear Score 229 High Ends and 268 Gear Sets.
• ·        Dark Zone chests now scale better with the Gear Score bracket and the named zone you are in.

Loot Changes

• ·        The High-Risk High-Value Targets have had their rewards and difficulty adjusted to take into account the Gear Score increase.
• ·        Normalized loot drops from Main Missions in Challenge mode.
• ·        Caduceus can now drop from Hard Mode Mission bosses.
• ·        Normal mode Missions now drop Superior items.

·        Green Division Tech will no longer drop in the Dark Zone after level 30.

UI

• ·        Added a base weapon damage value that makes it easier to compare weapons.
• ·        Gear mods and weapon mods are now combined in the same inventory display.
• ·        Added a new inventory slot for Misc.
• ·        Improved the visibility of Supply Drops on the Mega Map.

Bug Fixes

• ·        Fixed a bug where the Predator 4-set bleed effect would not trigger the Shrapnel player talent.
• ·        Fixed a bug where a player using a med-kit while having the combat medic talent equipped would result in destroying allied skills proxy.
• ·        Fixed a bug where using a med-kit while having the combat medic talent equipped would heal the player using it for 40% more health instead of just their allies.
• ·        Fixed a bug where EMP grenades would not always trigger the Final Measure four-set defuse effect.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the Operation ISAC timer was showing the incorrect time.
• ·        Predatory weapon talent now correctly uses the player’s Health as the base of the healing amount, instead of the target’s Health.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the Survivor Link Signature Skill would increase the movement speed while moving backwards and carrying an item.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the Ballistic Shield would lose its hitbox after the player performed a roll move.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the Ballistic Shield would become invincible after opening and closing the inventory.
• ·        Fixed a bug where Pulse would sometimes not detect NPCs in range.
• ·        Fixed a bug that caused loot containers to sometimes not be detected by Pulse when using the Recon Pack modification.
• ·        Fixed a bug that allowed players to go through objects by deploying the Mobile Cover at the top of stairs.
• ·        Fixed a bug where NPC skirmishes could start while a Supply Drop event was underway in that same location.
• ·        Fixed Supply Drop notifications and mission tracker inconsistencies.
• ·        Fixed a bug that allowed Explosive Bullets to sometimes damage players behind cover.
• ·        Fixed a bug where sometimes the damage shown by the weapon blueprint is higher than the actual damage of the crafted weapon.
• ·        Fixed a bug where sending a group invite to a player from the suggested list would make that player visible on the megamap in the Dark Zone.
• ·        Fixed VoIP chat causing lag and freezes in the Dark Zone.
• ·        Fixed a bug where surplus Division Tech rewarded in Sealed Caches would not drop to the ground if the player had reached Division Tech resource limit in their pouches.
• ·        Fixed a bug where sometimes players could not pick up currency drops from enemy NPCs.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the Rogue icon would stay on the map after the Rogue player was eliminated.
• ·        Fixed a bug where players could use the Ballistic Shield skill to break the collision with the Dark Zone Checkpoint doors and enter the Checkpoint while Rogue.
• ·        Fixed a bug where players would be teleported out of an electronics shop inside Clinton map area.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the player could exit the playable map area in Napalm Production Site mission.
• ·        Fixed a bug in Napalm Production Site where sometimes the first objective would not complete if players killed the NPCs and Napalm tank with a single Sticky Bomb.
• ·        Fixed an FPS issue during the explosion sequence in Napalm Production Site.
• ·        Fixed a bug where players would be considered outside the playable map area and teleported out in DZ06.
• ·        Fixed a bug where sometimes players would take damage when climbing a ladder in DZ01.
• ·        Fixed several character collision issues in Precinct Siege mission in Brooklyn.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the Critical Search and Destroy mission icon would not display on the Megamap.
• ·        Fixed a bug where High Value Target NPCs could shoot through walls in Flatiron District.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the High-Value Target mission in Hell’s Kitchen would sometimes lock loot behind a door.
• ·        Fixed a rare bug where a group of Level 1 NPCs would spawn in DZ04.
• ·        Fixed a bug where sometimes the Deconstruction UI pop-up would overlap the Crafting Table menu.
• ·        Fixed a bug where you could recalibrate an attribute to a value outside of what was displayed in the UI.
• ·        Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause numbers to be rounded incorrectly.
• ·        Fixed a bug where sometimes reloading wouldn’t take extended magazines into consideration.
• ·        Fixed a bug where ending reload animations would not play.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the player would be stuck in the blind fire position for too long.
• ·        Fixed a bug where player would see the fall damage warning on non-movement interactions.
• ·        Fixed the color of vanity loot drops when viewed in the game world from afar.
• ·        Fixed some audio propagation bugs for Fragmentation Grenade and player gunshots while in the Dark Zone.
• ·        Fixed several subtitle localization issues for interactions with JTF patrols.
• ·        Fixed a bug where friends were not visible on the megamap when not grouped.
• ·        Fixed a rare issue where the mission UI would disappear following a mission failure.
• ·        Minor text corrections for a few items in the in-game store.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the Moon was upside down.
• PC SPECIFIC
• ·        Improvements to consumable and grenade selection wheel navigation.
• ·        Added new key binding options for instant skill use (self-cast).
• ·        Player kills are now announced in local chat, including the player usernames.
• ·        Increased size of ignore list for chat and old entries are now pushed off the end of the list (removed).
• ·        Fixed the UI notifications for the High-Value Target vendor.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the mouse wheel would not scroll the Gear Mod inventory screen.
• ·        Fixed a bug where the scrollbar would not return to the top of the pane when players changed blueprint selections in any vendor inventory screen.
• ·        Tobii eye-tracking: Separated Aim-At-Gaze and Cover-At-Gaze options.

Read: The Division Updates & DLC – What You Need to Know

The Division Update 1.3 is free to everyone that’s already purchased a copy of the game or will purchase a copy in the future. Ubisoft and Massive remain committed to delivering free updates to the game on top of the paid content updates that players who purchase the season pass can expect.