After the huge reveal yesterday, The Division 2‘s Year 5 Season 1 Private Test Server (PTS) is now live, and Ubisoft has unveiled the complete patch notes for the latest update. While these changes are subject to modification before the final release, players can get a sense of what’s in store for the upcoming season.
The update introduces Electrique, a new gear brand set, and The Cavalier, a new gear set. Both sets offer unique talents and bonuses to enhance gameplay. Alongside these, several new Exotic weapons and named weapons with their unique talents are being added, such as St. Elmo’s Engine (Exotic AR), Shocker Punch (Exotic Holster), Cabaret (MP5 ST), and Big Show (MG5 LMG).
Players without the PTS build on Connect will need to download a 75.26 GB patch, while those with the PTS build will only need to download a 7.28 GB patch.
The Division 2 Year 5 Season 1 PTS Patch Notes
Please note that the new features mentioned below are still being worked on and are therefore not in their final stages. Final 3D models for some of the new gear and weaponry items are still pending, placeholder assets are used instead.
PATCH SIZE:
Size without PTS build on Connect: ~ 75.26 GB
Size if PTS build already is on Connect ~ 7.28 GB
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, armor 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:
- worn – the base gear rarity as well as the most common weapon rarity
- standard
- 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, armor 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.
*Talent “Perfect Companion” is a placeholder and will be replaced for the TU18 release.
“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.
- 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
- The “Perfect Companion” Talent is used on the Named Chest “Henri”
