The Division 2 announced the next chapter of the loot shooter with a big trailer. With “Warlords of New York”, the game receives its first paid expansion and shows that it is far from dead. Launch is already on March 3.
What’s new? The Division 2 announces almost out of nowhere the largest expansion the game has seen so far and launches its Year 2 with a bombastic announcement.
The main Twitter account announced a world premiere for February 11 on February 10. In the nearly 30-minute video, not only the release date of Episode 3 was revealed, but also the first major paid expansion of the game “Warlords of New York”.
The release dates were also surprising: Episode 3 starts on February 12 and “Warlords of New York” on March 3. Here you will find the most important information summarized.
Warlords of New York starts on March 3
When does it start? The expansion starts on March 3. So there are less than 3 weeks between the announcement and the release.
How much does the expansion cost? If you already own The Division 2, you can buy the new “Warlords of New York” expansion for €30.
Where does “Warlords of New York” come from all of a sudden? It was to be expected that the developers were working on something big. That it is now supposed to come in just a few weeks, takes place in New York, and changes the whole game so drastically, not so much.
Gear 2.0, new level cap, and completely new open-world area
What can we expect with the Warlord expansion? “Warlords of New York” leads agents back to Manhattan. Aaron Keener, the first rogue agent and traitor of the Division, rules over a large area in the former world city, and the Division wants to stop him.
To do this, it goes to “Lower Manhattan”. Keener has 4 “Warlords” who control specific areas of the new territory in New York for him. Before we can capture the renegades of the “First Wave”, we must get past his 4 watchdogs.
Who Keener is and why he will become so important, you can find out here: The Division 2: Gameplay gives a taste of the hunt for Aaron Keener
What changes are there in gameplay? The following important points change in The Division 2:
- Completely new open-world in New York with its own campaign
- Introduction of regular seasons
- The maximum level rises to 40 – All agents have to work their way up to the max level again.
- Endless progression system – With resources, we can continue to improve even further, apparently even infinitely.
- Level 30 characters can be created – If you are starting new or with a new character, you can immediately start at level 30 in New York.
- New gear, weapons, and skills – Here more information about Gear 2.0.
- UI and core system overhaul – Here is the summary of the UI and recalibration changes.
- Overhaul of the Dark Zones
- Legendary difficulty will be introduced
- Directives
- Total difficulty will be revised
- Hunter mechanics in New York
Not everything is completely clear yet; the changes are too extensive. Even the 30-minute video wasn’t enough. But it is clear that the game will be different after the adjustments.
What new gear can we expect? Due to the overhaul of the complete gear system, we can expect many new gear pieces. Even the old stuff will become interesting again, as everything receives new values and a new orientation. Most of your gear will initially be worthless.
In the big presentation, the developers showed at least 3 exotic weapons that will probably come with or during the expansion. Additionally, a new brand set was already seen, Groupo Sombra S.A., focusing on damage.
Are there also new skills? The 4 Warlords supporting Keener in New York each come with their own skill that you can learn when you take out the nasty bandits.
- Explosive Sticky Bomb – A launcher that fires a sticky bomb at enemies, which explodes on demand.
- Fire-Spreading Stick Bomb – Also a sticky bomb, but does not explode, instead spreads fire in an area.
- Hologram-Decoys – A decoy skill that can distract enemies with a holographic agent.
- Shock Traps – A throwable trap that stuns nearby enemies with electric shocks.
The sticky bomb should be familiar to Division veterans from the first part. With the return to New York, you can now also play with the nasty sticky bombs.
Aaron Keener, seasons, and the Dark Zone – the new Division
How does the story progress? With Episode 3, a new chapter of The Division 2 begins. The developers use the conclusion of the first year to shift the story with the start of Year 2 on March 3 to New York.
Here, you have to eliminate the 4 Warlords of Keener to then confront the end boss himself. New York has been designed as its own campaign. As long as it runs, you cannot return to Washington. A clear indication that the story is going its own way and runs more or less independently of the situation in Washington.
The residents of New York could be a bigger help here than in the former capital. The New Yorkers have been fighting against the bandits for months and know exactly how to defend their settlements and how to handle heavy war machinery.
How do the Division seasons work? To remain interesting even after the conclusion of the new “New York” campaign, Division 2 will introduce new seasons.
- Season contents
- New targets to hunt
- Story context
- Global events
- Season leagues
- Weapons and gear to unlock
How long a season lasts has not yet been revealed. However, each season is supposed to bring new content and rewards to agents and keep players engaged with the shooter for longer. In this context, the “Hunters” were also mentioned, who are supposed to make life difficult for the agents in New York.
What happens to the Dark Zone? The developers also promised changes here, but did not go into great detail.
It should be more rewarding when players help each other, and the game returns to a simpler mechanism for the “Rogue Status”. However, it will still have to be seen how the changes to the gear and skills will affect gameplay in the Dark Zone.
What do you think of the announcements? Can the “new Division 2” bring you back, or are you still skeptical?
