It’s time to take down Keener.
Ubisoft has announced that their new narrative-driven expansion, Warlords of New York, will be launching on March 3, 2020 across all platforms.
In this new expansion for The Division 2, players will be taken back to New York City to explore a new open world in a devastated South Manhattan and confront a long-time antagonist to the Strategic Homeland Division’s work to safeguard society and help to rebuild a shattered America: Aaron Keener.
Veterans of The Division will undoubtedly get chills, as I most assuredly did, when they hear Keener’s name, especially after the vivid epilogue that he gives following the events of the first game. To track down Keener Agents will return to Lower Manhattan, which some may recall was a former Dark Zone in the first game. The area was additionally hit by a devastating hurricane that rocked New York City harder than anywhere else in the US, and presents new challenges for SHD Agents.
Keener, along with his network of Rogue Agents, have continued to entrench themselves in Manhattan and have become a major threat to rebuilding society after the outbreak of Green Poison, or the Dollar Flu as it became colloquially known. In Warlords of New York, Agents will be tasked with exploring new zones, each with iconic locations such as Two Bridges, Chinatown, and Wall Street. To track down Aaron Keener, players must take down each of his Rogue Agents, each with their own unique back story and skill – which you gain once you take them down.
The prospect of heading back to New York City and delivering some long-awaited vengeance is quite the enticing one. For players looking to get a jump start on the story, the final episode in The Division 2‘s free post-launch content is available today for Year 1 Pass holders, and February 19th for all players. Episode 3 – Coney Island: The Hunt is a prologue to the upcoming Warlords of New York expansion, and features two main missions, two classified assignments (for Year 1 pass holders), a new specialization —Firewall — new rewards as part of the referral program, as well as new weapons and an exotic weapon.
If you’ve yet to experience The Division 2, Ubisoft has given would-be agents a few ways to expedite their Manhattan adventures if they’re looking to take a bite out of the DLC quickly. New players who purchase the Standard Edition will get access to Warlords of New York in addition to the base game, whereas players who splurge on the The Ultimate Edition, which also gives players both the game and its expansion, will also get access to The Division 2’s Year 1 content, classified assignments and unlocked specializations.
Since players must be at Level 30 and have reached World Tier 5 to join The Division 2 Warlords of New York, each edition of the game will come with a Level 30 boost that players can activate if they wish to do so, to immediately jump into the New York expansion. Once the expansion has been completed, agents will then be free to travel between New York City and the game’s original setting of Washington, DC. The new expansion will increase level cap to 40, and introduce a “infinite progression system” called the SHD Level.
As part of their work to continue evolving The Division 2 through listening to community feedback, there have also been core gameplay enhancements are also being implemented focusing on ” build diversity, gear streamlining and even more meaningful loot.” These improvements, which are coming as part of Title Update 8, will also include an RPG overhaul aimed at giving players more control over their gear inventory.
The UI screen will be updated to always show the roll ranges for each stat on a piece of gear or weapon. The overhaul also includes the return of god rolls, improving readability and helping players make better decisions on the gear’s usefulness to their build. Additionally, players will see a more streamlined gear recalibration system, with item and stat usefulness indicators, as well as permanent attribute and stat storage at the recalibration station. This will allow Agents the flexibility to plan the perfect build.
Ubisoft Press Release
Title Update 8 will also come with a re-balance to the Dark Zone mechanics, returning to simpler systems revolving around “going rogue,” which will focus on rewarding player-to-player interaction regardless of whether it is fighting against or alongside other Division Agents.
The Division 2 Warlords of New York will be available on March 3, 2020 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Windows PC and UPLAY+. The Division 2, along with all of its current expansions, will release on the Google Stadia later in March.
