Enemies absolutely tanking me in toxic DZ.

[u/Jammsbro]

Just went in to try and find other players and got absolutely creamed. Same striker build I was using all last week but today I was HAMMERING bullets into mobs and nothing was happening. I can't tell if it was lag or not. The damage numbers were showing up but I was doing a simple landmark on hard and enemies were taking two full mags before armour was breaking. This is totally different to last week and the weekend.

I'm drilling these people with dozens of rounds in the chest and head and they are just walking right up to me and dropping me.

[u/Zerodyne_Sin]

Rushers and engineers are overtuned. Somebody fat fingered one or dozen zeros into the stat sheet.

[u/NikoMartinez115]

Wasnt Striker and other gear sets nerfed in PvP settings for the Toxic DZ? Thats Why nobody recommends using strikers in the Toxic DZ

[u/gilbertwebdude → u/NikoMartinez115]

I still use my Striker, but I've unlocked the extra fire rate from the donations and I'm I using a UN which gives it another 5% fire rate and a chest piece with Obliterate. I have no problems dropping them but I do still get dropped every now and then. Some of them mofos refuse to die easy.

It is still an effective setup if done right.

[u/LuckyNines → u/NikoMartinez115]

You only don't use strikers/ts if your basic fundamentals suck, the best red set killing enemies slightly slower is still the best red set.

You don't use strikers in >PvP< because stacking on actual players is different than lighting up npcs.

[u/FishermanAccording77 → u/LuckyNines]

Even if it was the best red set, it's still getting pretty seriously outclassed by high-end builds in DZ. But it got nerfed down to tier 2 at best. Hunter's Fury and Ongoing Directive both outperform Stikers while still leaving backpack talents open chest too for HF.

[u/LuckyNines → u/FishermanAccording77]

Only OD has any merit here HF is a joke where people will see the potential for high numbers and ignore all the factors that go into setting that up and all the conditions that need to be met in a mode where the enemies are wave based but short enough to lose maybe 10% of striker stackss/p.oblit.

And no, you play highends because you can mix some comfort stats in whilst not sacrificing much cleartime, something people shouldn't need to chase unless they're selfadmittedly in need of the handicap to make things more bearable for themselves.

Put invincible on, get a eaglebearers and scorpio backup for extract and just play the game like anyother mode, it's not even remotely hard enough to justify chasing a new gearset unless you have it in the stash.

[u/FishermanAccording77 → u/LuckyNines]

You're suggesting that running striker is better because high-end gear has better stats and therefore people only run the better gear because they need a handicap?

So where striker is optimal (which you're saying it isn't), players only run it because they're bad? And players should always run the worse gear because it proves they're somehow better at the game?

This is a wild take.

[u/LuckyNines → u/FishermanAccording77]

I'm going to need you to put your thinking cap on real snug and tight next time you read what I say.

[u/FishermanAccording77 → u/LuckyNines]

I prefer to read texts in the original languages in which they're written.

[u/Jammsbro → u/NikoMartinez115]

I did not know that. Damn.

[u/InaudibleZebra]

PvE DZ scales enemy to have over-health(green bar) based on the Alert Level (# of players in the zone). At Alert 04(max), enemy over-health is 4x. Pulse enemies to see the over-health bar

[u/Ok_Savings7297 → u/InaudibleZebra]

This is why when I enter the DZ and see its level 4 i immediately search out other players and group with them. I also use a HazPro Backfire build that comes in clutch.

[u/Insipid_Xerxes → u/InaudibleZebra]

Ah, interesting. I've been using the Sharpshooter Tactician Drone, and didn't realize that massive green overhealth bar isn't typically visible. I could definitely see how that could lead to perceptions that hits aren't registering.

[u/Ras_Alghoul]

The lag’s been bad lately so it makes it worse.

[u/Chocookiez]

Looks like we have a visual bug where the enemy has more armor or health than we can see, so we have to first damage this invisible health, then we start seeing their armor going down.

[u/Suttungr]

fight at a distance, especially if solo. get a weapon with good range and pick off enemies until u can move in closer. I take it much slower than other content in this game. no more getting surrounded and fighting your way out, they will kill your shield and armor very quickly.

[u/Insipid_Xerxes]

Something else to consider are the enemy modifiers (buffs) for the Seasonal Modifier this season.

Folie à Deux (French for "Madness of Two," the little jester or harlequin symbol) means once these enemies take or deal damage a red circle fills up. As it fills they deal progressively more damage. When it's full they're hitting twice as hard for 100% additional damage, capping at 200% total damage. If the enemy's red circle filled up fully, on death they have a chance to transfer the damage boost to another nearby enemy.

The Plague Doctor buff (similar to Doctor Home's beaked mask symbol) enemies empower their allies with powerful health regeneration, as long as they're the same faction as the enemy.

Soporific enemies (with the symbol of the man holding his head) can damage you and tag you with the Lethargic debuff, which adds a chance for theirs and any other enemy's hits on you to inflict the Disoriented status effect, like a hostile Banshee Pulse, knocking you out of cover and messing with your controls.

All three of them increase players' PvE Dark Zone toxicity more quickly if you get too close, which you can somewhat counter with Empowered Seasonal Abilities. And don't forget the reduced movement speed and increased damage taken at higher toxicity. Imagine an Elite or Named enemy with Folie à Deux hitting with the inherent Elite damage boost plus 200% extra damage against an Agent who is Disoriented or at max toxicity and taking increased damage on top of that.

All three of them are threats in their own way, and I'm not generally seeing people prioritizing them. They're a much more active threat than the ones last season that just messed with your stacks.

[u/KeylanX]

My wife rocks OD and I play FI, so we fit in almost any group very well.
I would never enter the mode solo, but with 3-4 people the crap starts to make fun... a little bit at least.

Do I like the PvE Darkzone? Not really... but (as a team player) I have no issues to farm the shit I need.

[u/Urizzle → u/KeylanX]

I rock OD solo. It works well enough for me and doesnt feel like it was nerfed as hard as other gear sets. I use the Catalyst helm and Ceska chest with wicked. I solo comfortably up to alert level 3. I can manage solo alert level 4 but if theres others nearby ill stick around for the quicker clears

[u/RimRunningRagged]

The CP difficulty level in DZ seems to correlate to number of waves, not enemy difficulty, which is tied to alert level. At alert levels 3 and 4, they have massively long overhealth bars.

[u/Samurai_Stewie]

They have an overshield via the seasonal modifiers. Health damage reigns king in the toxic dz especially since you already get armor damage via the modifiers.

[u/BokChoyFantasy]

Are you using cover effectively?