Ubisoft have posted a rather lengthy blog post on their official site detailing some of the new features coming to Tom Clancy's The Division with the third and final announced expansion pack Last Stand which is coming at some point this year. This expansion pack will be released on all systems simultaneously, so no timed exclusives for either console or for the PC version of the game. Note that you'll need to buy the expansion separately if you've not bought the game's season pass.
In Expansion III: Last Stand, we’re adding new ways to compete with other players and a new way to experience the Dark Zone, in a brand new separate game mode! Compared to the open and unstructured nature of the Dark Zone you’ll find in the game right now, Last Stand is session based and features clear objectives and win conditions, while still incorporating aspects of the Dark Zone such as PvE enemies and Landmarks.This expansion will introduce a new game mode for players who just want to shoot every other player they encounter in the Dark Zone. In this new mode, 2 teams of 4 players will have to complete several specific objectives to win the game. One team will be in charge of protecting tactical terminals containing classified SHD tech data from the other team, which will be comprised of Rogue Agents. The team that manages to capture and hold these relays will win the match. You'll need to be level 30 before you can take part in the Last Stand mode.
When taking part in Last Stand, the game will always assume that your team are the Division agents while the enemy team will be seen as Rogues (note that they are just labeled as Rogue for lore reasons, as the actual Rogue mechanics do not apply in Last Stand). In other words, you will always be the good guy when playing Last Stand.
In Last Stand, the familiar Dark Zone is divided up into four different maps spread out over the Dark Zone. Which map you'll play on is decided at random, and you'll get to see which map you'll be playing on when you're matchmaking. Each round will last for 20 minutes or until a team has managed to hold the terminals long enough for the data transfer to be completed. During the match, you'll mostly be busy capturing or defending points while also trying to neutralize points captured by the opposing team. Once you capture a terminal you will receive a spawn relay which gives you a few more options if you get killed and need to get back to the fight.
To give you a better overview you will choose where to spawn from the megamap instead of from the list you get in the regular game. At a given point during the match, the rules change, and you can start automatically spawning in close to your team mates, making the later game more aggressive and fast paced.In the last Stand mode you won't have to think about going rogue since engaging other players in combat doesn't come with the same kind of consequences you get in the normal Dark Zone. You won't have to worry about losing Dark Zone credits or XP when you're killed in this mode either.
The mode's matchmaking system will not only look at your Gear Score (the average level of all your gear's scores combined) but also at your performance in previous matches. This should hopefully result in you getting matched with players of your skill level. If you matchmake for the Last Stand mode as part of a team, the system will look at your entire team's performance and try to find a group with a similar skill level as well.
Just like in the regular Dark Zone, there’s more to it than just player versus player combat – the regular NPC enemies are still roaming the streets and the usual Landmarks are all there. These NPCs are also guarding the control points, with the central control point always guarded by elites that you will have to deal with somehow before you’re able to gain a foothold there.While the focus in the Last Stand mode lies mostly on PvP, there is also a PvE component. Around the map you'll find the familiar trigger happy rioters, cleaners, LMB and Rikers. Killing these NPCs will reward you and your team with SHD tech which you can use to unlock temporary "tactical boosts and fortifications" that could be the difference between life and death in the Dark Zone. This means that you'll always have to be on the lookout for enemy NPCs so you can mine the resource, buy the boosts and use them to attack the other team. The inclusion on NPCs means that you can focus more on PvE or PvP depending on your personal preference.
The Last Stand expansion also comes with a new progression system that might feel familiar to players who played the Underground expansion. As you play the Last Stand mode you will gain Last Stand ranks, up to level 40. Every time you rank up you'll receive a sealed cache with items containing gear and reaching specific ranks will get you unique cosmetic items you can use on your character. There are 2 complete sets of cosmetic vanity items you can collect by playing the mode and you won't be able to get those any other way. If you manage to reach rank 40 you will still get experience for completing and winning matches and you'll keep on receiving sealed caches as well.
You will get extra rewards every time your team wins, but over the course of a match we track more than 30 actions you might perform. Once the match wraps up, you will be ranked according to how you did, similar to how it works in Survival, and you’ll be rewarded accordingly.Tom Clancy's The Division last expansion will also be getting a new Incursion for endgame players, but there is no information about that at the moment. Ubisoft also hasn't revealed a release date yet. More info on that as it happens!
Are you going to give the Last Stand expansion a go? Let us know in the comment section below!
