The Perfect Experience

This article is dedicated to the members of Team GCROCK, the heart of our community. Our mission is to:

Provide personalized support to help our members tackle the toughest content in The Division game.
Offer a platform for members to learn and grow, empowering them to join Team GCROCK if they choose.
Foster long-lasting friendships within a positive, non-toxic environment.

You can learn more about how we are structured to achieve these goals in my “Team GC” article. But how do we ensure the best possible experience for every member we meet?

It’s tough to put into concrete guidelines, but I’d like to share a few stories. Over the course of my time doing this, I’ve encountered countless stories from people of all walks of life. Every person is unique, and it’s essential to acknowledge this as we aim to grow the team and create the best environment for all.

The stories that follow are based on real community members I’ve had the privilege of getting to know. Each one will have a flip side, showing how a rigid system with no clear direction can often push people away.

I began playing The Division 2 after it went on sale, as I was getting frustrated with COD. The game seemed okay, but one weapon I wanted was locked behind an 8-player raid, and I wasn’t interested in making new friends for it.

I found a YouTuber promoting a Discord community that helped with this kind of stuff, so I joined. Before I knew it, I was in a raid with a team ready to help me get the weapon.

I didn’t think I’d need a headset or mic, since I usually play solo, but the raid leader communicated through text instead. She asked about my raid experience and my build, and I thought for sure I was about to get kicked out.

I told her I had no experience, my build was terrible since I had just started, and I was only there for the gun at the end. Surprisingly, she wasn’t bothered by this at all. She just asked if I could join the voice party to hear her instructions to speed things up, and I agreed. I found out I could use a mic on my controller, so everything worked out in the end.

The leader mentioned she wouldn’t explain much during the run because she knew I was just there for the gun, but she made sure I wasn’t after anything else. I said no, and they promised to make the run quick and fun.

The raid was a blast! I got basic instructions, and the team was so fun. It was probably the best 20 minutes I’ve had in the game. At the end, someone even dropped me the Eagle Bearer (though I hadn’t gotten one) and they took a photo to share with the community.

I found out there was another raid and an incursion with even more exotics to try for, and they were happy to take me through them whenever I had the time.

I can’t give this experience anything less than 10/10, and if I had friends, I’d definitely recommend it to them! I might even stick around in the Discord and run with more people if this is what it’s all about.

The Flip Side

I started playing The Division 2 because it was on sale, and I was getting tired of COD. The game turned out to be decent, but one weapon I wanted was locked behind an 8-player raid, and I wasn’t interested in making any new friends for it.

I came across a YouTuber promoting a Discord community that helped with these types of raids, so I joined. Before I knew it, I was in a raid with a team ready to help me get the weapon.

I didn’t think about needing a headset or mic since I mostly play solo. But the raid leader told me I needed a mic or they would find someone else. After scrambling for about 10 minutes to find my headset, I gave up, but someone suggested I use my mic on my controller, which thankfully worked.

The leader asked me about my raid experience and what build I was running. I explained I had no experience, my build was terrible since I had just started playing, and I was only there for the gun. She didn’t seem thrilled with this and insisted I should have a 50/150 all-red DPS build. Honestly, I had no clue what she was talking about – it felt like she was speaking another language.

After some discussion, the team decided to take me through the raid anyway and mentioned they’d help me out with a few things since I was there. I told them I only cared about getting the gun, and they didn’t need to worry about anything else, but she insisted it was her raid, and there was a process to follow.

The raid took about 40 minutes, and it was probably the worst 40 minutes I’ve spent in the game. The leader kept explaining every mechanic, even though I wasn’t involved in most of them. One guy was shooting blue bears for some reason, and I was told it was pointless for me to do anything since my build was so bad.

The atmosphere was terrible. It felt like I had ruined their day because I didn’t have a proper build. Except for when they were explaining the mechanics, the raid was mostly silent. They also missed one key for me, so I never got a chance to open the box at the end. The rest of the team tried to get it for me, but no luck – it didn’t drop.

They told me to stand on a trailer for a community photo for my FTC, then said, “better luck next time” and basically told me I could leave. They also advised me to work on my build before asking for help again.

After that experience, they don’t have to worry about me asking for help again. I left the Discord, and for me, the game is done. It was fun while it lasted, but I’d rather go back to COD than go through that again.

The Division and The Division 2 are definitely two of the best games I’ve ever played. I’ve always loved games like this, but I also have autism and other conditions, so games like these are often way outside my comfort zone. I struggle with reading, let alone understanding builds and all the mechanics.

I was fortunate enough to find a YouTuber with a community, and after playing with him a few times, he introduced me to some of his friends. They all helped me create builds that were good enough for any content in the game. They often shared their gameplay and did the hard work for me.

The YouTuber and his friends helped me get everything in the game and even created specific roles for me, so I always knew what I was supposed to do when we played together. It was kind of bittersweet when I finally got everything I wanted because I didn’t want to stop playing with them. To my surprise, they kept my contact details and would invite me to play when they were helping others.

This has been amazing because, even though I can’t use Discord, I now have friends who understand me and my role in helping others. Every day, I get invites to assist people with tough content, and they’re even teaching me new things at my own pace.

The experience I’ve had with The Division franchise has been the best I’ve ever had in gaming. It’s even helped me develop skills I never knew I had. I’ve even started to learn how to read a little better, and my family is really proud of my progress.

The Flip Side

The Division and The Division 2 are by far the best games I’ve ever played. I’ve always enjoyed games like this, but I also have autism and other conditions, so they’re usually way outside my comfort zone. I even struggle with reading, let alone understanding builds and all the mechanics.

I was lucky enough to find a YouTuber who had a community, and after playing with him a few times, he introduced me to some of his friends. They helped me put together builds that were good enough for any content in the game. They often shared their gameplay and did a lot of the work for me.

The YouTuber and his friends made sure I got everything in the game, and they even assigned me roles so I always knew exactly what I needed to do when we played together. I felt like part of their team, and it was awesome! But eventually, they all took breaks from the game, and I had to find new people to play with.

At first, it was fine, but then the teams I was running with started learning new strategies. They wanted me to make new builds and told me I needed to do that before I could continue playing with them. I told them I struggled with builds, so they suggested I join Discord to get some help.

I gave Discord a try, but it’s really geared toward people who can read and write, so it didn’t work for me. I tried to find other people to play with, but everyone was focused on the new strategies, and no one seemed to understand that I needed extra help to keep up.

Despite all this, my experience with The Division franchise has been the best I’ve ever had in gaming. It’s even helped me develop skills I never knew I had. I’ve improved my reading, and my family is really proud of how far I’ve come.

I’m really looking forward to when the old group I used to play with comes back to the game and hopefully remembers to message me!

I’ve never considered myself much of a gamer, but during the lockdown in 2020, my brother suggested I try out The Division 2. I’ve always played solo when I do game, and since I’d already played The Division, I figured why not? There wasn’t much else to do at the time.

And I got hooked! Once I hit endgame, I realized that a lot of the tougher content was team-focused, and with all the time I had during lockdown, I was able to dive in. I discovered a community through a guy on YouTube, and they had a system where teams would help you tackle this endgame content.

I got everything I needed, but I still had time on my hands, so I saw they had an academy that taught basic strategies. I signed up, and before I knew it, I was meeting others in the same position, and we formed a little team.

Lockdown helped us all a lot since we were stuck at our consoles all day, whereas normally we all had jobs and busy lives. But we all agreed this was something we wanted to keep going, so we took the test to become a full-fledged team.

I was nominated as the team leader, and since then, we’ve helped hundreds of community members with raids and incursions. We’ve given away tons of exotics and had an amazing time doing it.

Even after lockdown, we set aside a few days a week to play or help the community, and I’ve made friends for life along the way.

What I love most is that we all have our own lives, and there have been times when we’ve had to take long breaks. The community completely understands this, gives us space, and never forces us to do anything new. Even if we take a six-month break, we can always come back and pick up right where we left off with the strategies we learned years ago.

I never realized how powerful gaming could be, and meeting these people—who I now call friends—has been one of the best experiences of my life.

Flip Side

I’ve never been much of a gamer, but during the lockdown in 2020, my brother suggested I try out The Division 2. I’ve always played solo when I gamed, and since I’d played The Division before, I figured, why not? There wasn’t much else to do at the time.

And then, I got hooked! Once I reached endgame, I realized the tougher content was team-focused, and with all the free time from lockdown, I was able to dive in. I found a community through a guy on YouTube, and they had a system where teams would help you with endgame content.

I got everything I needed, but I still had time on my hands, so I noticed they had an academy that taught basic strategies. I signed up, and before long, I was meeting others in the same boat, and we formed a little team together.

Lockdown was a huge help for us all—we were stuck at the consoles all day, whereas normally, we had busy lives and jobs. But we all agreed this was something we wanted to keep going, so we took the test to become a fully-fledged team.

I was nominated as the team leader, and since then, we’ve helped hundreds of community members with raids and incursions. We’ve given away tons of exotics and had a blast doing it.

After lockdown, our time was more limited, but we still tried to get together at least twice a week to play or help people. Recently, we took a long break, and we ended up being away for about six months.

When life quietened down for us, we decided to return and check out the Discord server. However, none of us had the same roles we used to, and we didn’t have access to the systems we once did. It made sense considering we had been gone for a while, so I figured it would be easy to get back in.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Their whole system had changed. Now, each individual had to go through a process and perform tasks as instructed. The old methods we used were still more efficient for us, but they insisted on the new way.

We tried to explain that we were a team before, and we had helped hundreds of people. All we wanted was the access to do that again. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t accept that and insisted that each of us take their test. We all went through it just to get our roles back, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

It didn’t feel like it used to, but we just wanted to get back to doing what we did best, and this was the only place we knew how to do it. Once we got our roles back, we didn’t bother integrating with the server much. We just did our own thing, making sure to stay active enough so we wouldn’t lose our roles again.

Some of my team members got fed up and left, so I had to recruit a few more. I’ll be honest, I’ve been tempted to quit myself, but we decided to stick together. We set up our own Discord server, and we’re going to try and grow our own little thing based on what they used to do so well.

I never realized how powerful gaming could be, and meeting these people—who I now call friends—has been one of the best experiences of my life. I know things evolve, but they really need to hold onto what made them great. I hope, one day, they go back to their roots.

The perfect experience will vary from person to person. As shown in the stories, everyone has different needs, goals, and preferences. While rigid systems and processes can work, they will only be effective for those whose needs align with that particular approach.

Story 1 – Teams should be ready to help anyone, regardless of their experience or build. There are ways to complete tasks in this game without a full squad, and teams should be prepared to adapt to any build a person brings, even if communication is limited. It’s important to focus on what the person truly wants and tailor the experience to ensure it’s enjoyable for them. Make it fun, include them in the conversation, and keep the atmosphere light-hearted.

Story 2 – Having basic strategies in place with a few simple steps makes Team GC more inclusive. While we may not know exactly what extra support someone might need, if everyone knows a set of basic strategies, they can be adapted to different teams and still be effective. This approach makes it easier for more people to stay engaged as teams evolve.

Story 3 – Similar to Story 2, if it works, it works. We need to accept that experienced teams may have their own way of doing things. If strategies that are five years old still get the job done, that’s fine! Teams should be allowed to take breaks and, when they return, re-enter with minimal fuss, picking up where they left off.

The goal of Team GC is to create a broad system. There needs to be structure and processes in place, but these should be as inclusive as possible. Our teams and members need to keep this in mind when meeting new people. We need to learn about them and adapt to their needs. One size does not fit all.

I hope this article has been helpful. When you join Team GC, I set expectations, but for the most part, you will do things your way. Just remember, every person has their own idea of the perfect experience, and it’s up to us to make sure we help create it.