Defiance is coming out with a brand new DLC update tomorrow and this one has a ton of new features that Defiance players are going to love. While DLC packs are nowhere near as big as expansions, they come in for a lot less than the price tag of an expansion and include content that players can consume without having to pay for it (although access to the new missions and items is locked until the DLC is purchased).
We had to awesome chance to be part of a developer walkthrough of the new content and this is all the cool and awesome stuff we were able to see.
New Story Line
There are six new missions involving the race against Dark Matter to secure the ark-brain interface. These require the DLC in order to play. There is also a new mission introducing the new weapons. There are two additional tutorial missions.
New Weapons
Three new weapon types are available (Volge Cold Fire Weapons, a Sniper Rifle, a Hand Gun, and an Assault Rifle). In addition, there is 25 new Arkbreaker Signature Weapons. These have bonus rarity rolls tailored to the guns themselves and other bonuses such as reloading faster.
Spikes / Stims
Spikes can be placed on the ground to give bonuses to nearby players while Stims can give yourself additional bonuses.
Summoning Arkfalls
You can spend spikes now to summon special Arkfalls. In the demo we were able to see, it took four total spikes to summon the Arkfall. The summoned Arkfalls contain various interior areas, from random minor enemies to the Volge Battlemaster.
Without the DLC you can not call down the Arkfalls. However! You can still enter them.
Battlemaster
After successfully completing the Arkfall, youll have the chance to actually go inside and fight a boss.
The Volge Battlemaster is a 7 minute fight thats pretty awesome. You have 7 minutes to defeat him, no legendary rolls unless he dies. Hes an instanced boss for 20 players (the game will create multiple instances if there are more than 20 players) with a cap at 24 players. Shooting him causes his armor plating to fall off, allowing for additional damage.
Opinion
I think the DLC is interesting for Defiance. There isnt a lot of substance to it. Essentially there is a new mechanic available to all players (the stims / spikes) and the new co-op features. I think the summoning the Arkfalls are kind of neat. The new weapons is kind of cool too.
However, again, there isnt a ton of substance. Its just a few new features and a few new bonuses for $9.99 which is the price of the game right now. My biggest suggestion to those looking to enjoy this update is get the season pass. Youll save money in the long run and get instant access to the DLC as it becomes available.
From what I was able to see of the new boss fight, that's the real highlight of the DLC outside of the new weapons and new mechanics. The boss is a super interactive fight with a lot of mechanics and a lot of tension that almost requires everyone to work together.
Playstation 3 Delays
As a side note, PS3 owners will see a delay in the availability of the DLC. However, season pass owners should have their DLC manually marked as available by Trion.
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