UPDATE 02/11/20 – This afternoon Ubisoft not only confirmed the release date of episode 3 but also unleashed all the information regarding the new expansion titled “Warlords of New York” and provided more details on the changes coming to the base game. With so much info to absorb, I decided to add a quick bullet point list of key elements all players of Division 2 should know. Also note that all of the updates I mentioned in the article below will also release the same day as the expansion.
Expansion – Warlords of New York – Global release date March 3rd, 2020
• The expansion is priced at $29.99, regardless of which version you own (standard, ultimate, dark zone etc.). If you are a Uplay subscriber this expansion pack is included.
• The Division 2 base game is required to play the expansion. As of this writing (February 11th, 2020), the standard version is on sale for $2.99 on XBOX & PSN
• The expansion does not have a dark zone
• New weapons, gear, and other items in the expansion are exclusive to the expansion
• All players will start at level 30 (no gear score) and can increase to level 40
• The expansion will have its own set of “seasons”. Once you complete the story mode of the expansion new end game elements will become available and change over time.
• Fog of War – Explore the map to identify points of interest and activities.
• Gear cap level increased from 500 to 515 (only applies to Division 2 base game, not expansion)
Episode 3 – Coney Island: The Hunt arrives February 12th, 2020
• This episode is free for all
• Includes new specialization – Firewall which is the Flamethrower
• The episode’s story will explain the return to New York and tie in the connection to the Warlords of New York expansion.
• Introduces 4 new weapons and 1 Exotic: the Chameleon, a special Kriss Vector .308 Assault Rifle with a dynamic, color-changing skin, that temporarily grants buffs to players based on their accuracy.
Over the past few months, Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 official Twitch channel (State of the game) has been slowly dishing out news regarding the massive game overhaul coming after the launch of Episode 3 which is scheduled to release sometime this month (February 2020) and will include the new Flamethrower specialization called “Firewall”. This overhaul will change almost every aspect of the game, many in which the community has been desperately requesting. Below are a few notable changes.
Recalibration of all weapons, gear, and stats is one of the first major changes coming. There’s no doubt many dedicated players will find this frustrating, especially those like myself who have spent an absurd amount of time scavenging around for the required pieces to complete a gear set in an effort to create the ideal build.
For better or worse, Ubisoft developers have stated this is absolutely essential to the goal of creating a better gaming experience. Recalibrations have been done in the past but never on this scale. They have assured that exotic and other high-end items will remain strong but almost every item will be touched and have new stats. Some images were provided to show off the new interface. Please note that the gear stats shown in these images below are for testing purposes.
Gear 2.0 will bring back the weapon and gear god rolls. Players will be able to see how close an item is to reaching god roll thanks to a new colored bar meter displayed on the item. The idea is to simplify the process of reviewing your items so that at a glance the player can determine if this item is needed or should be discarded. Like we’ve experienced in Division 1 these items can be recalibrated or found within the open world and dark zone. New named weapons and gear will also be included in this update.
Reducing RNG is another change on the way. In an effort to cut down on useless items, players will see fewer drops from killed enemies and the items that are dropped will be of use to the player’s current build. This is an update all players have been requesting for some time. The Division is an amazing loot shooter but there is nothing more frustrating than clearing a large area of enemies and discovering that none of the items dropped are of use.
Skill tiers – some pieces of gear can provide a “+1” core attribute with a max total of “+6” if all pieces of gear include “+1”. This new core attribute will always be just “+1”. Every piece of gear with this attribute will appear as tier 1, 2, 3 etc. If you are someone who relies heavily on skills, then this will be a welcomed addition. What remains unknown is if this attribute will be added to some of our preexisting gear during the recalibration or will it only be found on new loot drops. Hopefully, we will get more definitive answers on this soon.
The power level cap increase is also forthcoming. The highly anticipated power level increase was confirmed and will also be part of this massive update. The new cap level was not mentioned but if you recall prior to the first raid, a power cap increase to level 515 was discussed but never implemented.
Unfortunately, there is one major question that has not been answered which is will we see the return of “Resistance, underground and survival” game modes. The developers have hinted that new gameplay elements are also included in this massive update so one can only hope these fan favorites return, especially since episode 3 takes place in Brooklyn New York’s Coney Island. On that note, I recommend you check out last week’s “State of the game” which has Division 1 & 2 Narrative Director John Björling providing a full story recap leading up to episode 3…and beyond!
All images were obtained from the official division 2 website
Stay tuned for more details on Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 as a special steam announcement takes place later today at 11 am PST. Tune in to any of the following channels below to be notified:
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thedivisiongame
Mixer: https://mixer.com/TheDivision
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDivisionGameUS
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ubisoft
