Titanfall 2 - Regeneration

Titanfall 2 follows in the footsteps of the first game with "Regeneration" playing a big role in progression. Respawn have tweaked the Regeneration process slightly this time, removing some requirements and expanding on others. In this post I explain the refined process in TF2, helping you understand it's importance in the game.

What is Regeneration

Regeneration is like the classic Prestige mechanic from other FPS games such as Call of Duty. Upon reaching the max level you have nowhere to progress so the game gives you the option to reset progression in return for luxury rewards that cannot be earned elsewhere.

Regeneration can occur many times, as you level up through each of the generations milestones. Each time your Regeneration "counter" increases, and in the case of Pilot regen, is visible to other players to show just how good you are.

Choosing to go down the pilot regen path is completely optional though. Casual players might not want to reset all their progression since it took a while of infrequent gameplay to get there in the first place. Hardcode players and those with more time will see value in Regeneration, since the process of levelling up requires consistent play time and a long term commitment to the game.

Differences between TF1 and TF2

In the original game Regeneration was quite a feat, made more difficult due to the "challenges" that had to be completed before Regeneration was possible. Long time fans will remember only too well the "Gooser" challenge between Gen 5 and 6, that required players to shoot ejecting pilots out of the air with incredible accuracy (Respawn later changed this due to it's almost impossible nature).

In TF1 once you levelled beyond Gen 1, not only did you have to reach level 50 again but you had to complete a different set of Challenges as well. Challenges included kills with different weapon types, titan class kills and environmental kills.

Matchmaking was also influenced by Regen level, putting you into higher tiered matches based on your level. Most new players would rarely see a Gen 2+ player unless they progressed beyond Regen 1.

TF2 Changes

With TF2, Respawn have changed Regeneration so that Challenges are no longer required - it's simply a case of progressing through each of the milestones. What has changed considerably though is the type of Regeneration that's included in the game - rather than just a single regen mechanic, players can regen for:

Character (pilot)
Weapon
Titan
Faction

Furthermore, every titan and weapon in the game has it's own Regen scale and each item is tracked individually. For example, your L-Star weapon may level up to 10 whilst an unused Charge Rifle will stay put at Level 0, simply because you haven't used it. Similarly, your Northstar titan may be level 7 whilst Ion could be zero, again simply because you haven't been using Ion. Players must actively use weapons and titans to level them up.

Max Levels

Theoretically, your pilot has a max level of 50. At this point the player has the choice to regen, forfeit their current pilot unlocks and reset back to level 0, then begin to level up again to 50 for the next regeneration.

Weapons and titans don't really have a max level, instead they follow progressive milestones. The first Regeneration occurs automatically at level of 20 in TF2. At this point the game switches to using the term GX.XX, to signify Generation X.XX. To be honest they still equate roughly to the 30's, 40's, 50's etc. In the case of G5.19 you could assume this means level 52.

The maximum Regeneration for weapons and titans is just over 10. At this point the Stoic Dark skins become available.

As you can imagine, it will take you much longer to Regen the character vs titans or weapons.

What happens during pilot Regeneration

Once your character (pilot) reaches max level, the Regeneration option becomes available. Upon choosing to regen, pilot unlocks are reset. However, you will NOT sacrifice things such as attachments in the case of weapons and loadout utilities in the case of Titans because these follow a completely different Regen path. Faction levels also remain unchanged during pilot regen.

The game warns you that you may have to level up your pilot sufficiently to gain access again.

Tip: The Regen option appears on the main menu, at the bottom of the list below settings. You need to back out of the multiplayer screen to see it.

Why do it

Besides being able to show off your Regeneration level, the process has other benefits to offer.

For example, many of the games "skins" are locked behind regen. The Titan Camo "Warship Urban" is locked behind Northstar Regeneration - so unless you've reached the appropriate Regen level with Northstar you won't be able to equip that skin. Another good example is Banners such as the "Beastmaster" Banner and the "Presidential", both of which are locked behind ARES Division and Angel City Elite regen respectively.

Besides unlocking items, the game also gives you a little helping hand for the next pilot Regen, in the form of an XP multiplier. This multiplier increases steadily the higher the regen.