Tom Clancy’s The Division 2: Warlords of New York Review - A Manhunt To the Big Apple’s Rotten Core

A great looking game be it day or night, and it stays true when you visit a run-down version of the Big Apple.

For the second year of content in The Division 2, Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment took a page from their past and directed the ongoing narrative to New York, where the first game was set. Warlords of New York, an expansion released on March 3, is an essential piece of content for avid players who love that grind for the best possible gear.

With all the major changes that have been implemented with regards to loot stats and the tweaks to how the endgame works once you hit the level cap, I’m happy to report that The Division 2 is in a good place.

The expansion took me roughly 5 hours to finish at a casual pace, with time spent taking in the detail of a run-down Manhattan. The campaign is pretty simple - you’re sent to the Big Apple on a manhunt for a rogue Division agent named Aaron Keener. To obtain his whereabouts, you’ll first have to hunt down the rest of his group, and taking down a subordinate of Keener brings you closer to the overall goal, but also unlocks new skills for your character. 

Max rolls for a specific stat make a return in the more streamlined gear system, which was was implemented when Warlords of New York launched in live servers.

A journey through what’s left of New YorkIt Ain’t Shakespeare, But It’s A Lot More Addicting

It’s all familiar to the point of redundancy. The campaign is just another episode in the lives of those that live in this world. The more Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft try to inject more story and depth into the game, the more apparent it becomes that each of the main story concepts in The Division franchise fits the same cookie-cutter mold. There’s always some sort of betrayal, and it’s always mixed in with your trying to prevent the next big disaster in a society that can’t seem to catch a break. Halfway through, my interest in the world waned and fell by the wayside, replaced by thoughts of what builds would look like once I hit the level cap of 40. That’s all I cared about in the end, and the majority of players would feel the same. 

The Division 2’s approach to gunplay didn’t change much in this expansion. Going against Keener’s men provides a sense of challenge, but each boss encounter feels like a tougher version of a specific enemy type, which is an issue The Division franchise has always had, perhaps an inherent limitation caused by its modern setting. The new skills are greatly appreciated as they provide new options, but can quickly lose their purpose as previous skills can be just as effective, especially in the endgame. 

Each level after reaching level 40 gives you one SHD point for you to distribute in each of the 4 categories that permanently increases a stat of your agent.

The Endgame Grind 2020

It really boils down to what you think about The Division 2’s base campaign, as the expansion gives you more of it, plus quality of life improvements to character progression in order to make the endgame grind more appealing to avid players. 

Once you reach level 40, any experience gained will increase your SHD level. Each level gives you a chance to passively increase your character’s stats; for instance, increased weapon damage or increased armor. Maxing out each tree will result in around a 10% increase on a specific statistic, but getting that done will take hours upon hours. I’m SHD 20 and I don’t feel the added stats. 

There are a series of new sets and unique weapons to find, with previous items reworked in order to reflect the changes with regards to how equipment now works in the game. The grind hits the moment you finish the campaign and reach level 40, and it will require you to play a good amount (and variety) of activities in order to progress towards completing a specific build. There are enough tasks to change things up during the grind when compared to the base game, and it appears that Massive Entertainment has a clear idea of the type of content they want to release in 2020.

Warlords of New York is a solid expansion simply because it focuses on what makes The Division 2 appealing in the first place - the endgame grinding for the best gear composition. Gameplay is still a treat to play, and compared to the game’s state at its 2019 launch, the changes made and the expansion have improved with regards to build variety. If you survived the base campaign and want more of it, Warlords of New York is a no-brainer. 

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8/10

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Highlights of the expansion

+ A better endgame progression
+ New skills to play around with as you figure out different builds
- The hunt for Aaron Keener and his group is a hollow journey through New York
+ Seasons and more content are planned for 2020

What I’ve Played

- Finished the expansion’s campaign

- Reached level 40 and raised my SHD level to 21

- Did the grind loop during the first week of the game’s first season content

[This review is based on a PC review code provided by Ubisoft.]

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