Fast forward to the slightly chaotic launch of this extension, connection errors, bugs preventing talking to NPCs, and other queues of the first hours are now a thing of the past. And since we are talking about the past, it should be noted that a woken mind could easily take Warlords of New York for an extension dedicated to the first The Division rather than the second. The campaign forces us to leave Washington DC to join the Big Apple, which was already the playground of the first episode. The developers have even chosen to set us on the trail of renegade agent Aaron Keener again! For this, it is imperative to have a level 30 character, the new areas being designed to take us from this level (which corresponds to the maximum level of The Division 2 without the extension) to level 40. New players or those who have given up the game along the way last year can fortunately create a level 30 character directly.
Thus, before you can confront the big main villain, you will first have to eliminate his lieutenants one by one, in the order you want. Hello Far Cry 5 and Ghost Recon Wildlands! Here, the sub-chiefs are four in number. Theo Parnell is a hacker adept at drones, Vivian Conley is an explosives expert and leader of the cleaners, James Dragov is an expert in heavy weapons and leader of the Rikers, and finally Javier Kajika is an expert in tactical operations. To these four lieutenants correspond four neighborhoods to be liberated: Civic Center, Two Bridges, Financial District and Battery Park. Unlike other Ubisoft titles, the campaign does not stretch for dozens of hours. At first we could almost be tempted to congratulate ourselves! But in the end it turns out to be a little too tight, since it only takes five to eight hours to eliminate all these beautiful people.
MEETING IN KNOWN TERRITORY
Even if the fact of returning to New York inevitably contributes to the impression of deja-vu, it must be recognized that the megalopolis always has its small effect. Cleared of the layers of snow from the first episode, it reveals devastated environments, rutted roads as well as streets strewn with garbage, car wrecks and vegetation regaining its rights. In addition, the high buildings of Manhattan naturally offer very nice panoramas. In addition, fans of The Division will appreciate finding the factions of the Cleaners and the Rikers even if, once again, all this is not done to bring a feeling of novelty. This status quo still has a positive aspect: the gameplay is still as effective. With no real risk taking, the game is sure to please anyone who was already enjoying the original adventure. On the other hand, those allergic to endless shootouts will also find the famous "HP bags" enemies, which are particularly tedious to kill when playing solo... If Warlords of New York is clearly not revolutionary, you should still not believe that the immobility is total. Many small changes concerning craftsmanship, the Dark Zone, talents or even the amount of loot (which has been reduced so that obtaining loot seems more rewarding) thus answer the call.
Without going into too much detail, let's remember that the equipment attributes have been reduced and simplified, certainly to be easier to understand. The intention may be laudable, but some players may curse when they realize that their favorite weapons no longer work quite as they used to. Especially since this new system is imposed on absolutely all players… including those who have not purchased the extension!
The most significant upheaval comes from the general equipment system which now responds to the name of "Gear 2.0". Without going into too much detail, let's remember that the equipment attributes have been reduced and simplified, certainly to be easier to understand. The intention may be laudable, but some players may curse when they realize that their favorite weapons no longer work quite as they used to. Especially since this new system is imposed on absolutely all players… including those who have not purchased the extension! The latter also brings more endgame content, notably through an SHD (Strategic Homeland Division) level system, which works more or less like the Paragon levels of Diablo 3 or the Guardian tokens of Borderlands 3. Playable endlessly despite the modest lifespan of the main campaign, Warlords of New York tests the ability of players to perform the same actions over and over before weariness distracts them from their duty(ies). Once a looter shooter, always a looter shooter!
