Because my desire to play on-the-go with Ally X, I decided to replay The Division 2 from scratch and at least catch up to my Platinum’d PS4 variant. Took me well over 200hrs in the course of 2 months. I managed to get into Battle for Brooklyn at SHD Level 700 — rocking a mean Striker build anchored by the NinjaBike exotic backpack and Elmo’s Engine. However, I have to say that it continues to grind my gears that Massive Entertainment—after seven years—still can’t figure out proper crossplay between platforms, regrinding from scratch wasn’t entirely fun. I mean, Bungie figured it out with Destiny 2 and pretty much everyone else, it’s not like Massive is incompetent; clearly, they know their stuff. Anyway, I digress – let’s get back to the expansion.
Welcome Back to Brooklyn
Massive Entertainment world building still impresses. Say what you will about their content cadence or their occasionally shallow endgame, but Brooklyn looks exceptional and up to par with current standards. The environmental detail is top-tier—grime-slick alleyways, sun-drenched rooftops, and a masterclass in urban decay that feels lived-in and believable. Even after all these years, Massive continues to flex their muscles when it comes to the finer touches. They wasted no time pulling at nostalgia either. The opening mission is a loving homage to the very first gameplay reveal of The Division 1. If you’ve been here since day one, it’s a moment that hits pretty well. For me, scanning the environment immediately came to me— It’s fan service in the best way, and for a second, I genuinely thought we might be returning to those ambitious roots.
Clocking in at roughly 25 hours, Battle for Brooklyn is paced to keep you moving, but not necessarily invested. With my current build, Heroic difficulty felt like a cakewalk—thanks to the synergy between my NinjaBike backpack and the Striker gear set, I mowed through mobs like a buzzsaw even without the seasonal modifiers (activating it made it much easier for me). Elmo’s Engine sealed the deal, letting me sustain pressure and momentum through most encounters. That power fantasy is still very much alive (albeit still a little too bullet spongy for my taste), and if you’ve got a well-tuned loadout, you’ll cruise through this DLC without breaking a sweat. The final mission offered a decent challenge spike, but even that was mostly due to sheer enemy volume rather than smart encounter design. I was hoping for a satisfying grind to unlock the new exotic mask, The Catalyst, but after repeated runs… nothing.
Surface-Level Shine
This DLC is thin. Brooklyn might be new on the surface, but it plays almost identically to DC and NYC. The loop is unchanged—push a control point, clear out enemies, loot, repeat. There are no new world activities to spice up your journey, no clever side content that feels like it rewards exploration. Outside of the standard Hunter Mask chase, there’s just not much there. For a game that once teased deep lore and interconnected systems, this feels like a glorified seasonal update. Speaking of lore, the story is entirely detached from what we’ve been building with the Manhunt seasonal missions – aimed to be newcomer friendly, and it’s a relatively smart choice but I know they could have crafted a story that can intertwine. And maybe that’s what it’s meant to be. At $15, expectations are naturally lower, and what you get is polished, stable, and functional content that’s built on the back of existing systems. If Massive can keep this level of quality and push it out every three months, they might have a way to reignite the player base. But five years after Warlords of New York, it’s hard not to feel like Battle for Brooklyn is just treading water.
This is not a DLC for lapsed players. If you fell off during Warlords, or found the seasonal updates too boring, there’s nothing here to pull you back in. There’s no game-changing loot, no brand-new named gear pieces that redefine builds. What Battle for Brooklyn does offer is a bit of comfort food for the diehards—the players who log in daily, tweak their loadouts, and chase min-max perfection. For them, this is just another plate at the table. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The combat is still punchy and tactical. The enemy AI is still competent. And when everything clicks—the explosions, the suppression, the flanks—it still feels so good. But if you’re chasing that high of something truly fresh or ambitious? You won’t find it here.
REVIEW SCORE: 6/10
So here we are. Another Division 2 expansion that’s decent, not great. Fun, but forgettable. And most notably—too safe. If you’re already knee-deep in the world of SHD levels, builds, and optimization, Battle for Brooklyn is worth your time. It gives you more to do, more ground to cover, and a few hours of tight gunplay. But for anyone hoping this would be a return to form or a big swing toward innovation? It’s just not that.
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