The Dark Zone, or DZ, is the PvP section of The Division, the Open World Online Role Playing Game by Ubisoft. Yes, it’s claiming to be all of that. Some creative chap at Ubisoft must have gone like- So what’s popular these days? Well Open World sure is. Players can’t get enough of collecting shit thrown all across the map. Who cares about quality when they’re overburdened with quantity.
And then there’s the Role Playing part. That genre’s been stealing GOTYs for years now, no way we wouldn’t get one if we added the RPG tag to our game. And finally online. I mean seriously, if it’s not online then it obviously not next gen. Pft. And then there’s the game part. Which tells us that it’s a game.
Anyways, the Dark Zone. I played it quite a bit lately, both in the beta and the final release, and rather enjoyed my time with it. It’s not without its faults, but to me, the Dark Zone achieved something that I have rarely experienced in an online game. Tense encounters with online players. The way the multiplayer element in The Division works is that it’s not a PvP arena, it’s a PvP enabled arena. The difference being that you can choose whether or not to engage the other players.
(Some might argue that GTA V online has a similar experience, but sheer douchebaggery is quite common among players there, since its neither as punishing, nor ultimately rewarding.)
And what makes the engagements interesting is that when you do open fire on a non hostile player/agent you effectively get a Rogue status attributed to you. When you go Rogue, you are visible to everyone on the map, for a set amount of time. Killing you grants a bonus to other players and no penalty. The game effectively puts a bounty on your head. Surviving the Rogue status, grants you bonus XP, making the the risk worth the reward.
However, the Rogue aspect of the game is not the best part. The moments when you encounter a non-hostile player for the first time, without knowing his intentions make some really tense stand offs. It’s tantamount to a behavioral psychological study of sorts, where each player is assessing the other’s body language.
Another unique aspect of the game is the Extraction system. All the loot you collect in the DZ needs to be extracted via helicopter. If you die you drop all the DZ loot (your regular loot remains with you), along with losing some XP. So to keep the stuff you collect while in the DZ you need to go to the Extraction Zone, call in the helicopter (which sends a signal across the map, and thus luring in looters), wait for it to arrive (takes around 90 seconds), and then once it’s there, tether the loot to the rope it drops to secure it, and go about your way.
The ninety seconds is yet another fight. Other players also come in to extract their loot. They may or may not kill you for yours. Players might stake out at the Extraction Zone with the some intention of killing players with loot. And the game spawns in enemies that are tough, and usually require help from other players to take down. It’s a blend of cooperation and betrayal, comraderie and backstabbing that translates flawlessly into an intense and immersive experience. Players might revive you if you go down, instead of waiting for you to bleed out and grab your loot. It could be out of a genuine desire to help, or simply because they need you in the fight to hold off the enemies. Players might shoot you down while you’re in the process of Extraction. The game adds so many factors into that dynamic, requiring you to be constantly aware of your surroundings.
You can equip yourself with an array of skills. While they were limited to begin with, using skills like the ‘Turret’ and ‘Group Heal’ were fun. The turret again requires attention, since it will fire at non hostile agents that come in its way, and can make you go rogue. However, the turret is extremely useful for crowd control and can be disabled with a single click any time you want. Once again, situational awareness is the key.
As of the now I am still at the early stages, and have faced some server connectivity issues. However, I am hopeful that over the days we’ll have a much smoother experience. Fingers crossed, I guess, unless, like Kanye, you’ve got them stuck up in your dark zone.
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