Am I doing it wrong?

[Flightmek]

I am new to Defiance - just started playing this week - and I was wondering if I am doing something wrong or if the game is as difficult as it seems to be.

I find that in some fights (not instances) I have to unload entire mags to kill a single mutant. Also, with my sniper rifle...some mutants require three head-shots to kill. Although I come out on top (and often in the top three in party events), my battles tend to be a series of mad fallback rushes to cover and my shields are almost always down.

To answer initial questions/trolling:
- I am between Bloodbath and Iron Demon areas (EGO is 350).
- I often score crits.
- My weapons/shields are Rare quality.

My build (the weapons listed are primary on two separate load-outs):
-EGO 350
-EMC LMG (300) [Fire / Dmg 243]
-FRC Quick Repeater [Bonus Crit / Dmg 1113] / MASTERED
-Tachyon III Shield
-Decoy (R2)
-Fortified Stance R3
-Cellular Armor R2
-Fortitude R3
-Detachment R3

To close..I am not complaining, just wondering if I screwed something up. I can understand enemies hitting hard and requiring a lot of damage to kill, especially since missions are open and they are intended to be ran by groups. If this is the difficulty level of Defiance, then I am cool, but if there is a better way to do things, I would like to know.

Thanks!

[Covington]

It can be the area you are in and what the threat level is. With the new ego threat level implemented it is difficult for lower level players. When we started on the PC F2p I thought it was just me and my clan having troubles. Then it hit me it's the new system they started.

[hiban]

Look in the upper part of the screen to find the current threat level, which changes every minute, depending on the level of the players on the same area:




If you are alone in the area, nothing happens. But if some player gets near you, the threat level may go up to level things. If it's a player of similar level than yours, then it's ok. But if it's a high level player (4000-5000), then the threat level will go up much more, to keep things balanced.

See the yellow "4750" number? that's because the player is of a lower level, and a couple of high level players (more than 4750) are near. Therefore, your level gets temporarily bumped to 4750 (yellow numbers indicate your level is boosted) and the threat level goes up, in this case to 10.
Note that, although your level is (supposedly) bumped to 4750, you wont do nearly as much damage and you wont be as hard as a 4750 player, so you may die quickly while high level players kill the enemies like it was a piece of cake.

(i honestly doubt your level is boosted at all)

The higher the threat level is, the harder the enemies, and the more damage they can do to you.
For someone of your level, any place in which the threat level is more than 3 may be too dangerous.

On a side note, the Mount Tam area is the starter area of the game. As such, the threat level is always lower there and can't go past 3, i think. So if you go outside of Mount Tam, you take the risk of going into an area in which the threat level is too high, maybe because there are high level players fighting there, or maybe because a high level player just happens to pass near you.

[N3gativeCr33p]

Look in the upper part of the screen to find the current threat level, which changes every minute, depending on the level of the players on the same area:




If you are alone in the area, nothing happens. But if some player gets near you, the threat level may go up to level things. If it's a player of similar level than yours, then it's ok. But if it's a high level player (4000-5000), then the threat level will go up much more, to keep things balanced.
The higher the threat level is, the harder the enemies, and the more damage they can do to you.
For someone of your level, any place in which the threat level is more than 3 may be too dangerous.

On a side note, the Mount Tam area is the starter area of the game. As such, the threat level is always lower there and can't go past 3, i think. So if you go outside of Mount Tam, you take the risk of going into an area in which the threat level is too high, maybe because there are high level players fighting there, or maybe because a high level player just happens to pass near you.

Nice explanation!

[ConcreteSnake]

I would suggest adding the regeneration perk and using overcharge...and maybe not using a tachyon

[Flightmek]

Thanks for such fast responses. You're both awesome and, hiban - your explanation was phenomenal. As an MMO player, I thought "Threat" was the threat I was generating, not the threat of the mobs in the area. Thanks again!

[ConcreteSnake]

O and thick skinned perk, when your shields break it add up to 4 plates of armor for 3 seconds which can be key to survival

[nathanpbutler]

On a side note, the Mount Tam area is the starter area of the game. As such, the threat level is always lower there and can't go past 3, i think.

Events in Mt. Tam *can* go above Threat Level 3. It's just that since that area mostly has newer players in it, it tends to be lower most of the time.

I have to wonder if that tendency for lower TL's will change soon, though, given that the dynamic event scheduler changes that are coming with the Silicon Valley update is supposed to mark the return (so to speak) of the Serenity Academy mutant siege and Mt. Tam incursion.

[hiban]

For example, my current level is 5500. So no matter where i go, i always have threat level 5. (except in Mount Tam and places in which threat level is not applied)
So if i passed through an area in which you are fighting alone against mobs, the threat level will go up to 6. And it takes a minute or 2 to go down again after i go away.

[Bonehead]

Hang in there and level up some. The game gets a lot easier around 1200 to 1500 ego.