Tom Clancy's The Division 2 was released almost a year ago and under Ubisoft's games as service approach has continued to receive updates and expansions in the form of new content episodes. The newest narrative expansion is Warlords of New York, which returns the Division to New York. This new addition brings a brand new area for agents to explore, new villains to hunt along with giving an overhaul to the action RPG system. This narrative expansion brings a wealth of new content to The Division 2 and is accessible to veteran players and newcomers alike after Episode 3 launches.

Warlords of New York deals with the threat of a new biochemical attack. Aaron Keener, a former Division Agent gone rogue, has taken control of Lower Manhattan where he intends to unleash his new strain of the virus to free the rebuilding society from the shackles of authority. A distress call goes out to Washington DC and while the Division has their hands full with an assortment of other threats, taking care of Keener in Lower Manhattan becomes the top priority. The manhunt won't be easy as Keener has employed four other rogue former Division agents as lieutenants that each have their own special skills and weapons.

Warlords of New York is set during the late summer in the open world of Lower Manhattan, a brand new area for The Division 2. Because of a devastating hurricane and the pandemonium caused the pandemic, Lower Manhattan has been transformed into something very different than how it used to look. Keener's lieutenants are hidden within the four new playable areas: Two Bridges, Civic Center, Battery Park and Financial district. In addition to the new area and villains several features of The Division 2 have received an overhaul in this new episode. The level cap will be raised from 30 to 40 and a new SHD Level system is introduced to allow infinite progression even beyond the level cap, making the end game experience more rewarding. New tactical options are available to players with four new skills to unlock along with exclusive exotics, gear sets and named items. The RPG elements have been rebalanced, allowing players to have more freedom in creating viable character builds.

After spending some time in the ruins of Lower Manhattan, it can be said that Warlords of New York revitalizes the Division 2 experience. Hunting down Keener's henchmen is done through exploring the new areas and gathering intel, which sometimes can unsurprisingly lead the player into a trap on occasion, but shooting your way out of trouble is one of the more cathartic experiences that can be found in Tom Clancy games. Help can be found in some unexpected places such as an animal shelter because even in post-apocalyptic war zones people still want to adopt cats. One of the more memorable features of this new episode is where it borrows a page from the Mega Man playbook. After killing one of Keener's lieutenants the player can pry their unique skill from their cold dead hand and begin using it themselves, which could include things such as a decoy or sticky bomb.

This expansion requires Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 base game to be accessed, which is included in the Warlords of New York Edition and Ultimate Edition for new players to Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. For new players eager to get into Lower Manhattan, Warlords of New York includes the option to create a level 30 character so they can get right into hunting down Keener. Episode 3 content will be available on February 12 to Year 1 pass holders and February 19 to all other players. Warlords of New York will be available on March 3 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC with a Google Stadia launch date announced in the future.

For more on the new features and changes players can expect to find in Tom Clancy's The Division 2: Warlords of New York, be sure to read our interview with Producer Jesper Karabanov.