Also, what improvements do you guys think the game has over the original? Just a short, quick post, but still, can someone please answer both questions?lol
No, you don't really need to play R6V to understand anything in R6V2.
The biggest improvement in my opinion is allowing players to gain ranks regardless of whether you play online or not. R6V only allowed you to gain ranks playing online. R6V2 allows you to gain experience points regardless of whether your playing solo or online, although xp gained online is higher.