Ubisoft has officially announced the Warlords of New York expansion today for Tom Clancy's The Division 2 (affiliate link btw) after details about it leaked yesterday evening. We now know for certain that this expansion launches on March 3. We also know for certain that players are returning to New York, specifically four new named zones in Lower Manhattan.
In today's announcement, Ubisoft confirmed a lot of what was already leaked yesterday, while also providing tons of additional information. Hold onto your butts, because there is a lot of fresh and expanded upon details to take in. Right up front, we're going to confirm one thing: There is no snow to be seen.
We also know now that this expansion focuses on the rogue Agent, Aaron Keener. Remember him? He was the guy that was sort of the main protagonist in the first game, and then he just up and disappears for a while. Sure, you got some audio logs for him, but talk about just having that whole plot fall on its face without resolution, right? Well, he's back. That's correct, if you wanted some resolution or advancement to the story from the first game, you need to buy the second game and this expansion to see if things actually get resolved or not.
Keener has now surrounded himself with other rogue Agents. Together, they control a few different violent factions that are all operating under Keener's banner. He wants to create an all new bioweapon, because of course he does. He even wants it to be more potent than the one that already near completely destroyed society in major cities. In order to get to Keener, you'll have to fight through his four new lieutenants. Defeating each one will reward your Agent with new skills.
There are some familiar factions returning in Warlords of New York. These include the Rikers and the wicked firestarters known as the Cleaners. All of this takes place through five main campaign missions. There are also new open-world activities, eight side mission stories, and "a new endgame to contend with." This new endgame impacts both New York and Washington, DC, the location that serves as the basis for the the core game in The Division 2.
The four new locations in New York's Lower Manhattan area include: The Financial District, Two Bridges, Battery Park, and the Civic Center. Ubisoft says that these areas make up a big former Dark Zone that includes areas like Wall Street and Chinatown. Oh also? These areas have also been hit by a massive hurricane over the Summer that turned some locations "into a treacherous, twisted landscape." Lovely!
The new areas are accessible to those that hit level 30 and World Tier 5. However, Warlords of New York will include a level boost that will let players jump straight into the expansion. It seems as though this boost may only be available for "free" to those that pre-purchase the expansion. With a new level cap of 40, there are still plenty of opportunities to go "ding" even with that boost being used.
Though there is a new level cap of 40, Warlords of New York is introducing an "infinite SHD Level Progression system." This means you will get to keep earning perk points for your Agent forever and ever and ever. As previously mentioned, there are also four new skills to unlock: Decoy, incendiary stick bomb launcher, trip-wire trap, and an explosive sticky bomb launcher.
Several community requested changes are being introduced in Warlords of New York. These changes will be free to everyone, regardless of whether or not you purchase the expansion. These changes include an overhaul to the game's gear system. There will also be changes made to recalibration and Skill power.
Continuing on, Ubisoft says that they will introduce "Seasons of content" starting one week after the launch of Warlords of New York. Each season will add in a new, three-month long Manhunt endgame event. During this event, players will track down a new target by first going after their four lieutenants. Each Season is also adding in Leagues, which will be a series of challenges that players can complete in order to earn a variety of rewards.
Each Season will also add in time-limited Global Events. During these events, there will be a modifier that applies to the entire game. Players will be rewarded for successfully completing tasks while the modifier is active. Season levels can be increased by simply playing the game. Increasing your level allows you to earn new items like gear and cosmetics. Yes, this is all going to be done through a Battle Pass-like system. And yes, there will be a "free" Battle Pass and a premium Season Pass, which has its own progression track and unlockables.
Though this expansion will hit PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Uplay+ on March 3, it won't be available on Stadia until "later in March." So this is one of those mythical Stadia publisher announcements I've heard so much about?
As a little appetizer, Ubisoft has made the base game of The Division 2 just $3 on pretty much every platform. This includes Epic Games Store (affiliate link), Uplay, PlayStation Store, and the Xbox Marketplace. Alternatively, there are bundles that offer both the base game and Warlords of New York pre-order for just $33, which is 45% off. Other stores, like the EGS offer that same bundle for over $40. So uh, maybe buy it directly through Uplay if you want it?
