[UPDATE: Ubisoft has now resolved the netcode bug affecting The Division 2's gameplay. The original story continues below.]

Following two successful beta tests, The Division 2 officially launches for all players later this week. As expected, the game will be getting a day one patch to address a number of things discovered in the past month or so, with PS4 players having to take an extra step to ensure that their extra large update size can fit on the hard drive. Some players with certain editions of the game can now start patrolling the streets of Washington, DC a little early. Unfortunately, the game hasn't even been out a full day yet and already a massive, game breaking bug has been identified by the community.

In a post over on Reddit, a Division 2 player has come across a potentially major issue with the game. When attempting to join the group of a player that's on the same network or same external IP, the enemies from the other player's game stop moving and cannot be interacted with. Interestingly enough, the person is still able to find loot and update objectives, but essentially, the host instance gets taken over by the joining player's instance, rendering their game unplayable.

Further testing revealed a potential workaround where both players disconnect and then reconnect to the game. Doing so leaves them in the group and forces the game to sync both instances correctly. Playing solo seems to be the only way to currently avoid this issue, but considering The Division franchise is based around matchmaking and grouping up for activities, this is likely going to be a priority fix for Massive Entertainment.

the divisions 2 screenshot

For what it's worth, the post has not gone on deaf ears as the issue has also been reported to the official Ubisoft forums where a member of the support team has been assisting. According to the user, the host appears to be the one that's affected by this bug. When the affected individual was still in a base when the bug occurs, gates at other locations like the White House or Theater HQ won't open when the player approaches. With only a few days left before the official global launch of The Division 2, Ubisoft has a bit more time before this issue becomes an even bigger issue.

Although it's still early, The Division 2 isn't the only looter shooter having difficulties getting out of the gate. BioWare continues to struggle with the drop rates in Anthem, which has drawn the ire of its community. Following an unintentional buff to Masterwork and Legendary drop rates over the weekend, a recent patch has again lowered that number back down making it harder to obtain the best loot again. A Reddit post calling for players to stop playing for 5 days in protest is quickly gaining momentum with over 10,000 upvotes. Considering how Anthem has struggled with critics and the community and with a rival game in The Division 2 launching this week, it's a very important time for the new IP.

The Division 2 releases March 15, 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Ubi Forums; Reddit