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Survival is complete BS


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On 9/23/2018 at 2:30 PM, Whirled03 said:

Okay, so here goes. I might be pointing out some stuff you may already know, but it's still some decent info for those that do not know it.

 

The Map

 

The map stays static each map. What this means is that loot and enemies are always in the same spot, or patrol the same areas. Although enemy locations stay the same, realize that the enemy group may be somewhat randomized (like on occasion there's an elite mixed in).

 

Another thing to note is that just like in the main game, there is a sense of "progression" to the LZ map - enemies seem to get more difficult as you travel northward. This isn't 100% consistent though, because there are elite/vet patrols in the lower level areas. They are more frequent as you go northward though.

 

The biggest part of Survival is learning the map, both in the LZ and the DZ. So starting off, don't be 100% focused on extracting. When I started out, I always tried to explore a new area. If you can find where the spots are where there's a lot of loot (write it down with the nearby addresses, or screenshot it), that means you can make a beeline to it in the next match, and be even faster the next time around.

 

Don't be in a rush to enter the DZ if you're unfamiliar with Survival - I think it's a mistake to go in there really early. The reason why, is that there is significantly less material to find in the DZ. Less material = tougher to make gear = might have a tougher time killing the Hunter.

 

I spend about 75% of my time in the LZ, and most of my matches last about 2 hours. Even though it really sucks if I die in the DZ, 90% of the time I'm successfully extracting because I've taken the time to get prepared for it. When I have died, it has almost always been because I'm either trying to go really fast or I'm overconfident.

 

Landmarks

 

To tie in with what I mentioned above, since areas get more difficult as you go north, this also means that the more southern Landmarks are generally easier. They can still be a challenge, but realize it's entirely possible to clear some Landmarks with just the starting Pistol.

 

At the same time, don't feel like you absolutely need to clear Landmarks. They are simply an area with a lot of loot clustered in close proximity (meaning less time wasted looting). There are plenty of areas that have a ton of chests, materials, and medicines/painkillers. There are even a few locations out there that have the better chests (the ones that have a gear item, a piece of clothing, and consumable in it) that are only guarded by a few regular enemies.

 

Contaminated Areas

 

There seems to be about as many Contaminated Areas in the LZ as there are Landmarks, and they also have a ton of loot in them. You need to have the Advanced Filter to explore them, but normally it is worth it. Most Contaminated Areas are a lot bigger than Landmarks though, so you may find yourself taking a lot of time to explore them. Once you explore them a few times though, you can get a general feel of where the loot is in the area, and loot it faster.

 

Combat

 

Don't be intimated by every enemy you come across, but you still need to be cautious. I always try to clear everything I come across, with the exception of the elite patrols. Vets can be a little intimidating sometimes, but more often than not you'll come across an Engineer more than anything else. Engineers are pretty stupid without their Turret, so if you make it a priority to destroy it, they generally spend 90% of their time in cover.

 

I recommend killing enemies because they have a chance to drop all loot - Gear, clothing, consumables (even medicine), and materials. Sometimes you do get some bad luck, and they never drop anything, but I think it's worth it for a chance at some much needed medicine.

 

Enemy Behavior is extremely strange in Survival. Sometimes they will stand there like complete idiots and simply die, other times they will zerg you and hunt you down for 1/4 of the map. Sometimes a regular enemy seems to do as much damage as an elite, so always be cautious, no matter what the situation is.

 

Gear

 

Pay attention to your attributes. A Green => Blue is not necessarily an upgrade; if you're running around with full Blues, but only have 800 Stamina, you're going to be at risk in combat. For this reason, I always prioritize Stamina, then Firearms, then Skill Power. It's best if you can balance it out, but unfortunately it's tough to do until you get to the DZ (and have the materials).

 

Try to balance your gear to where you're above 1k Firearms, and somewhere between 1k-1500 Stamina while you're in the LZ. By the time you get all Purples, it's possible to be over 1500 Firearms/Stamina, which is a great place to be.

 

Don't automatically deconstruct everything without looking at it first. Sometimes you get a side-grade, and you might find something with equivalent stats, but maybe it has "Health on Kill" or something else decent on it.

 

Skills

 

playstationtrophies.org recommends Pulse and Turret, which I agree 100%. Pulse is very necessary because it's extremely easy to get ambushed; it's surprising to see how a group of 3 can turn into a group of 7 within a couple of seconds.

 

Support Station is recommended by others, but I don't fully agree. It certainly has its uses, but consider testing out First Aid as well, since it basically acts a rechargeable Medkit. When I'm in the DZ, I actually usually run with Pulse/FA to clear out Landmarks (when I have the gear for it), because the Turret does virtually nothing to elites.

 

FA is nice because you can use it on the run. When you're trying to travel in the DZ, and want to avoid enemies, it's significantly faster just to use FA when you take damage and keep on running.

 

Weapons

 

I almost always run with a SMG (if I can find one) in the LZ, and replace it with an Assault Rifle once I get ready to enter the DZ. I always try to find a Sniper Rifle for my secondary, but rarely use it in the LZ (they can be nice for clearing Landmarks though). That way you can ensure that you have the scope it comes with for later.

 

Be careful of LMGs, as some of them have some serious recoil to them.

 

Extraction Goal - Part 1 (The LZ)

 

What I try to shoot for before entering the DZ is to have most, if not all, Purple gear. Prioritize armor before weapons, but you may want to make a Purple Sniper Rifle before entering the DZ (the SRS is what I usually make), just in case you cannot find any Division Tech. By this time, I always have Pulse and Turret, and if I can manage it, First Aid.

 

After you have your Purple set, depending on your time left, try to continue to explore the LZ for more materials. Since you won't really need any upgrades in gear, you can deconstruct all the things you pick up, so you can convert them later into High End materials. If you manage to get a stockpile of Blue quality materials, it makes it significantly easier to jump into the DZ and make a bunch of High End gear.

 

For High End armor, it takes 3 High End Fabric and 1 High End Electronics for each piece. Sometimes Electronics are hard to come by in the LZ, so keep an eye out for them. Weapon Parts and Tools seem to be more frequent in the LZ, but you still want to loot them. I will suggest making some Mods when you're in the DZ, and the Weapon Mods need 1 High End Weapon Part and 1 High End Tool, and the Gear Mods need 1 High End Fabric and 1 High End Electronics

 

If you're comfortable with your gear and material stockpile, jump into the DZ. If you're not there yet, I would say 30 minutes left on the Disease timer is a good time to get into the DZ. If you know the DZ somewhat, you can potentially enter at 20 minutes left, but you do have to hustle.

 

Extraction Goal - Part 2 (The DZ)

 

Open up the map and make note of the Antivirals. Start heading in that direction (you will want to get the Antivirals), and if you're unfamiliar with the DZ (particularly about where the Div Tech is), start to explore while you make your way to it. You only need 1 Div Tech chest for the good weapons, and a lot of them are along the perimeter of the DZ (some are found in contaminated areas, some are not); some are guarded by NPCs, some are not.

 

Make sure you are very careful while exploring the DZ. The DZ is a lot smaller, so enemy groups are significantly closer to each other, making it easy to accidentally run into 2-3 groups at once.

 

Duck into your first Hideout that you come across, and start to make some High End armor with the materials you hopefully stockpiled. Ideally, you want a full High End set, but you still have to be wary about your Stamina. However, in the DZ, you can make up for it - You can make specific Gear Mods (for Firearms, Stamina, and Skill Power). Once you have your High End set, look at your attributes and see what you're lacking. If you're over 2k Stamina/Firearms, that's a good spot to be just for extraction (try to get higher for Landmarks though).

 

If not, make some Gear Mods to increase whatever given stat; sometimes I run with 5 Stamina Gear Mods, other times I mix-and-match.

 

If you manage to find a Div Tech chest, I always make a Tactical ACR and Custom M44. Do not use the Div Tech from the Antiviral chest though, you want to save that for the Flare Gun. If you managed to make those two aforementioned weapons, also consider putting Weapon Mods on them as well. This is what I usually run with, but prioritize the M44 Mods first:

 

Custom M44 - Rate of Fire Magazine, Compensator, Accuracy Hand Bar, Scope from previously looted Sniper Rifle (if you don't have one, the ACOG scope has a 3.4 zoom).

Tactical ACR - Crit Chance Magazine, Compensator, Crit Chance Scope, Accuracy Hand Bar

 

The ideal is to have at least the Custom M44, Firearms/Sta at least 2k, and to have Pulse and First Aid before heading to the extraction. Although all of that is not necessary, it really increases your chances of any issues you run into with the Hunter.

 

You can explore the DZ more if you have time, but starting the extraction with ~12 minutes left on the Disease is probably ideal. It takes about 5 minutes to get from the north part of the DZ to DZ02, and you have to account for any potential problems with the Hunter.

 

Extracting (The Hunter)

 

I've always been successful with the DZ02 cheese, which I found originally here:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/thedivision/comments/5folr3/the_lazy_way_to_beat_your_hunter_in_survival_take/

 

There's a video in that link that shows how it works. If you're extracting for the first time, make sure to explore the DZ02 extraction area to be familiar with where to run, and where the rope is.

 

Before doing that, regardless of your experience, always use Pulse in the extraction area to see if there are any Hunters around. You can usually tell if there are, by opening up the Map and seeing if there are any Unconscious Players around the extraction area.

 

I've killed 3 Hunters at the same time using the Sniper perch mentioned in the link, and that's the real reason why I go overboard with my gear. You cannot account for what other players will do; sometimes they die and leave a bunch of Hunters camping the area. Other times they join in, summon another Hunter, and now you have to potentially deal with 2 or more.

 

If there is only 1 Hunter, it is possible to extract with significantly worse gear. I've killed the Hunter before with a Blue quality Covert SRS, with a couple of headshots. So do not feel that you absolutely need the M44 to extract successfully.

 

There is a bit of randomness with how the Hunter behaves. I've had times where he's sat in cover for the entire duration, and other times where he's downed me by spamming blind-fire. Sometimes it's possible to manipulate him to move (by moving further away from him), but sometimes he doesn't budge. Again, this is where the gear will help; if you have better gear, you can take more damage so you can stand out in the open where he'll potentially reveal himself, allowing you get a headshot in.

 

Summary

 

The idea has two benefits - If you spend a significant amount of time working on getting better equipment, not only do you increase the odds of surviving any given firefight, but you also increase the odds that everyone else will leave before you. I've had many matches where I've been the last player, and it's really nice to ensure yourself that no one else is going to screw over your extraction.

 

The only real downside is that by entering the DZ late, you run the risk that you may not find any Div Tech. The only time I've ever really had this happen is when people go into the DZ really early (particularly groups), and take all of it. That said, there is a lot of Div Tech than you might realize, and there are spots (just like in the LZ) that not a lot of people know about. So it's just a matter of exploring, so you know where to go for future matches. If you know the entire map really well, that means you've got a back-up place to go to if everything else is looted out.

outstanding guide!

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