HomeGenreActionTom Clancy’s The Division “Underground” Impressions

Tom Clancy’s The Division “Underground” Impressions

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Tom Clancy’s The Division “Underground”

Developer: Ubisoft Massive
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: 28 June, 2016
Price: $14.99 USD – Available Here

Tom Clancy’s The Division’s first DLC is “Underground.” It introduces a randomly generated dungeons set in the tunnels and sewers of New York City and the incursion Dragon’s Nest. Additionally, “Underground” brings a new challenge mode missions and gear to the game.

“Underground” brings in some much needed PVE end game content to Tom Clancy’s The Division. At launch, PVP minded players had plenty to keep them busy in the Dark Zone, but PVE players were stuck with a small handful of challenging mode dungeons. Two free patches brought two end game incursions to the game, which helped give the end game a bit more legs, but still felt a bit short for long term play. “Underground” looks to fix that with the new randomly created dungeons.

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After an initial story mission to introduce the new dungeons, players are free to customize their own dungeons with several variables. The dungeon can consist of one to three waves, with each wave taking about 15 minutes to clear. There are also four difficulty levels available. As players gain underground levels from successfully completing underground dungeons, new modifiers like no mini-map or constantly falling health can be added to up the ante. The more challenging the dungeon, the better rewards provided at the end of the dungeon. The real challenge is that players have only one shot at the dungeon. If the entire group dies, players are sent back to the beginning to generate a new mission.

I like how flexible the new underground dungeons are. The ability to select the wave and difficulty means gaming groups can fit one more quick dungeon before dinner or really amp up the challenge with a lengthy and difficult run. The addition of the underground dungeons has caused some problems with the party system. To put together a party, all members have to either be in the new underground map or topside. Additionally, to get to the underground area involves a long, annoying walk down a very long tunnel. A similar walk is found at the entrance of the Base of Operations, but it is almost half the length as the underground walk. These are two small, but incredibly annoying quality of life issues.

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“Underground” also adds the third incursion to the game. Dragon’s Nest is a Cleaners stronghold led by four incredibly tough members who name themselves after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It is a high mobility fight that is a nice change from the deliver the bomb standard that play major roles in Clear Sky and Falcon Lost. While the explosive RC cars are the bane of my existence now, Dragon’s Nest is an intense breath of fresh air.

For those looking for more to do in Manhattan, the update also introduces High Value Targets. Enemies have a chance to drop intel, which can be traded in for a time based mission. Those looking for a bigger challenge can grab a high risk version that gives players only one shot to complete the mission. Heroic difficulty has been added to a few dungeons and some older ones have had challenging difficult enabled, too.

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One of the biggest changes I’m thankful for are the addition of weapon kits. These items can either be crafted or looted to reroll a weapon’s talents. Cost wise, it is much cheaper than crafting the same weapon over and over again.

“Underground” adds a solid amount of content for PVE players. There are some quality of life issues that could be addressed, especially that long annoying walk to the new areas. However, “Underground” is a step in the right direction for Tom Clancy’s The Division’s overall long term replay value.

 

Jamie Laike Tsui
Jamie Laike Tsui
Jamie is the Managing Editor at Capsule Computers and has covered video games and technology for over a decade. When not playing or writing about video games, he can be found studying law or nerding out on fountain pens and stationery.