Ah, the curse of the online game is biting for The Division at the moment. Games that initially seem exciting, massive, and jammed with content quickly peter out into repetitive, grinding, and ultimately unfulfilling experiences.
You can see this point illustrated in full with The Division’s Steam reviews, particularly the most recent ones:
And while Steam reviews aren’t always a yardstick for quality – oftentimes more concerned with chasing the ‘funny’ tag than delivering an honest appraisal – there are a large proportion of users with massive playtimes on record, saying that The Division has become the epitome of grinding misery once they hit the level cap (thirty) and had to live exclusively in the PvP dark zone to make any progress/garner any quality loot.
Time for Ubisoft to activate some new content, then, and it sounds like The Division Underground expansion can’t come soon enough.
The Division Underground expansion brings with it the following meagre offerings:
- New Gear Sets.
- B.L.I.N.D. – Control the battlefield with an improved Pulse skill and flashbangs with this hybrid gear set.
- DeadEYE – Dictate long-range engagements with powerful critical strikes or accurate headshots.
- FireCrest – Set enemies ablaze with this offensive gear set.
- Reclaimer – Boost the entire group with this ultimate support set.
In addition to the paid content in The Division Underground, Ubisoft are also releasing version 1.3 of the main game for free to all players, which includes:
- Find and equip nine new weapon types.
- Experience Hudson Refugee Camp and Queens Tunnel in Challenge mode for better rewards.
- Play the new Heroic difficulty to unlock top-tier rewards in incursions and select missions.
- Get the all new Alpha Bridge gear set.
- Discover the Terminal, a new shared social space inside the Base of Operations.
Is it just us, or does there seem to be more in the free update than the paid DLC? Maybe we’re starting to understand those negative reviews a little better.
The Division Underground expansion is available to purchase for £11.99/14.99$ US, and is of course free to download for all season pass holders. It releases today on PC and Xbox One, and will follow on PS4 on August 2, 2016. Version 1.3 also releases today for PC and Xbox One, with the PS4 version to follow on July 5, 2016.
