The Division Update 1.6 News: New PvP Mode, AlphaBridge Nerf

First details are released about The Division’s next expansion, Last Stand, which will add a new eight-player PvP-focused mode and another Incursion this year.

The Division has debuted its next and third expansion, titled Last Stand. It will add a new PvP mode in the Dark Zone, as well as PvE content by way of a new Incursion. There are more details to come on that Incursion, but the game’s developers have provided details on the new PvP mode, Last Stand.

According to The Division development team, Last Stand adds a dedicated, separate player combat arena to the game, which is something many players have wanted. Last Stand once again combines PvP with PvE, as the Dark Zone does; however, it pushes the gameplay further into PvP with forced engagements with other players.

Last Stand is an 8v8 mode in the Dark Zone, which tasks two separate 4-person teams to work together and reach terminals spread out across the map. In each match, teams will need to move to three terminals to take control of the area, transfer data, and, in turn, capture them. Those captured terminals also become spawn points as they are captured. To add even more urgency and chaos, options open up late in a match to allow players to spawn onto their teammates and get back into the fight faster.

Last Stand matches have a 20-minute limit and take place in their own dedicated version of the Dark Zone, but use the same map and landmarks that players will recognize. So while players won’t encounter any non-Last Stand participants in the Dark Zone, they will still encounter the usual PvE enemies. These enemies are still roaming the streets and landmarks, so players will have to deal with them in addition to the enemy team.

Speaking of teams, players can matchmake into the mode solo or in teams of four (but can’t go in with a team of eight). And while the mode takes place in the Dark Zone, normal Rogue penalties do not apply—a death does not result in players losing their gear.

As for the rewards and loot given out in Last Stand, there is a dedicated progression system, similar to Underground. Players will level up as they play, up to Level 40, and will unlock exclusive items at new levels. Rewards will be given out at the end of a match, similar to how it works in Survival, and the winners will get extra rewards. There will not be a Gear Score increase with this DLC.

Alongside the launch of The Last Stand, however, Ubisoft Massive will also release update 1.6 for The Division, which will introduce some changes to the game. Since the focus of today’s announcements was on the DLC expansion, the developers didn’t have too much to say about the update and what it will entail, but they did tease one substantial change: a nerf to the Alpha Bridge gear set.

A nerf for the Alpha Bridge gear set has been a long time coming, and most regular players of The Division knew it was only a matter of time. While there are plenty of viable gear sets in The Division, Alpha Bridge is the cream of the crop thanks to its 4-set gear perk. With it, players can stack 6 weapon talents on a single gun, thereby making it a PvE shredding machine.

Unfortunately, The Division devs wouldn’t say what changes will be made to the Alpha Bridge set, but they did say that the set will still be good. If one were to take a guess, there’s a strong possibility that the Famas will be corrected so players can no longer exploit its unique weapon perk, and it’s possible that the health regen percentage on Alpha Bridge will be tweaked as well.

If The Division were to change the 4-set perk on Alpha Bridge, however, it would fundamentally shake up the current meta in the game. Players would likely flock to new sets, perhaps whatever is introduced with The Last Stand DLC.

For now, all we know for sure is that Alpha Bridge is changing, and the changes are likely going to lead to some resistance from the more diehard players. But the good news is that more recent Division patches have had their share of balance – nerfing certain items and buffing others. It’s entirely possible that while Alpha Bridge loses its status as top tier another gear set takes its place.

Division players that are curious about the changes in update 1.6 will be able to see for themselves on PC when the Public Test Server goes live at some point in the future. There they will also be able to try out the new Last Stand mode prior to it going live on all three platforms simultaneously.