The Division 2 returns to New York with the unexpected release of a new expansion titled Warlords of New York.
Last we heard from Ubisoft’s Division 2, they were happily going through their episodic content drops that saw dribs and drabs to everyone's endgame. That apparently wasn’t enough to keep players interested as Division 2 has seen a significant drop in player numbers, according to Kotaku.
So rather than continue down a failing path, Ubisoft has decided to go back and rework the game from the ground up. Starting with this episodic nonsense.
Instead, Ubisoft is moving to a seasonal model with paid DLC a la Destiny 2. The first big expansion, Warlords of New York, will bring Division 2 players back to Lower Manhattan to take on an old foe: rogue agent Aaron Keener. He’s released a biological attack on New York and is planning to do it again unless you can stop him.
Players will get a teaser of New York today with a free content drop that sees two missions take place in Brooklyn on Coney Island (if you have the Year-One Pass--everyone else will have to wait until Feb 19 for those missions). After that, Warlords of New York arrives on March 3 for the low price of $30.
What you get will be four new zones from Wall Street to Chinatown, along with 5 main missions, 8 side missions, a new level cap of 40, and "a large number of new exotics, named items, and gear."
Even if you don't pay for the expansion, Division 2 will still become an entirely new game as of March 3 when the game receives its Title 8 Update. This reworks much of Division 2's core areas, including Gear 2.0 which reworks every aspect of the game's loot system. Reworked weapon attributes, set bonuses, talents, mod slots--the list goes on.
And as mentioned before, the game is going seasonal. One week after the new expansion, Division 2 will get its very first season. We don't know what the theme will be but we do know that each season will be 12 weeks long and provide Seasonal XP towards the progression of seasonal goals. There will also be new Global Events, Manhunt Targets, Leagues, and season-specific apparel and events.
Ubisoft is betting big that this overhaul will revitalize Division 2 and turn it into the ongoing game that they’ve always wanted. We’ll find out if it works starting in March.
Source: Ubisoft