So today the second DLC pack for Nioh 2 dropped and boy howdy is it a dewzy of a DLC pack.
Mission wise this DLC is just as short as the last DLC, but that is made up for in the extra difficulty mode added (Dream of the Wise) which will drop an entirely new tier of gear, plus the addition of a brand new weapon (fists), and several new gear sets. This pack seems to want to offer up just more of everything and does deliver on that front. Considering this DLC is currently also on sale for $5 if you don't already have the season pass. After the sale the DLC will be $10 like the last one.
So let's talk about the good and the bad of the general DLC content, this being the new region and the missions therein. There are four main missions this time, one of which barely counts because it's little more than one small area and a boss fight. The other missions are fairly beefy, with cool new bosses and......some repeated ones from the original game again. Three of Nioh 1's bosses reappear here and though they've got some new tricks up their sleeves their mostly the same fights from before. It's a shame Nioh insists on reusing content because it's strictly to pad the length of the DLC as previous game bosses don't appear anywhere else in the game. Normally the repeat bosses wouldn't bother me, but there is such a small amount of "new" content with each DLC pack that when some of the limited content is repeated stuff it's a bit disappointing.
If you are super versed with Nioh's combat still, the DLC shouldn't take you very long to get through depending on what difficulty you are attempting. It took me a little under 4 hours to beat on NG+, and I have to clear it on each of the 4 difficulties still, with Wise or NG+++ absolutely going to be a pain in the ass.
Speaking of NG+++, let's talk about what that means. First of all everything is harder of course, and several enemies throughout the levels will now have powerful endless buffs on them like higher armor, magic resistance, attack power, etc. None of the effect are anything you can't counter with magic, or buff yourself with as well. These buffed enemies provide the best loot and once you defeat them they will not respawn with buffs, if you die any of these that respawn will be normal versions. Other than that it's just another higher difficulty mode.
Though NG+++ is also where you can get the next level of gear. Now orange or "Etherial" gear will drop. These are more powerful versions of items already in the game, but these can roll even more powerful bonuses on them as well as more powerful set bonuses that will not appear on previous tiers of gear. This stuff is the best the game can offer and it's a new loot grind to add to the list of things to do with this DLC pack. Nioh has always been about the loot grind and build optimizing so for most Nioh players this is exactly what we've wanted. Additionally gear can drop up the level 180 now (previously 170).
Finally there are the fist weapons. I didn't get a chance to mess with the fists very much, but they feel like a fast brawlish type of weapon similar to the tonfas. There is only one set currently in the game that will buff the fists, so making a build out of them will be pretty straight forward. They are cool and they are flashy. But honestly they don't feel like my style and that's fine.
All in all. This DLC is just as good as the last DLC. It's more Nioh 2 and that's about all you could really ask for. Though it's worth noting the reused bosses does lessen the impact of this DLC a little bit.
Mission wise this DLC is just as short as the last DLC, but that is made up for in the extra difficulty mode added (Dream of the Wise) which will drop an entirely new tier of gear, plus the addition of a brand new weapon (fists), and several new gear sets. This pack seems to want to offer up just more of everything and does deliver on that front. Considering this DLC is currently also on sale for $5 if you don't already have the season pass. After the sale the DLC will be $10 like the last one.
So let's talk about the good and the bad of the general DLC content, this being the new region and the missions therein. There are four main missions this time, one of which barely counts because it's little more than one small area and a boss fight. The other missions are fairly beefy, with cool new bosses and......some repeated ones from the original game again. Three of Nioh 1's bosses reappear here and though they've got some new tricks up their sleeves their mostly the same fights from before. It's a shame Nioh insists on reusing content because it's strictly to pad the length of the DLC as previous game bosses don't appear anywhere else in the game. Normally the repeat bosses wouldn't bother me, but there is such a small amount of "new" content with each DLC pack that when some of the limited content is repeated stuff it's a bit disappointing.
If you are super versed with Nioh's combat still, the DLC shouldn't take you very long to get through depending on what difficulty you are attempting. It took me a little under 4 hours to beat on NG+, and I have to clear it on each of the 4 difficulties still, with Wise or NG+++ absolutely going to be a pain in the ass.
Speaking of NG+++, let's talk about what that means. First of all everything is harder of course, and several enemies throughout the levels will now have powerful endless buffs on them like higher armor, magic resistance, attack power, etc. None of the effect are anything you can't counter with magic, or buff yourself with as well. These buffed enemies provide the best loot and once you defeat them they will not respawn with buffs, if you die any of these that respawn will be normal versions. Other than that it's just another higher difficulty mode.
Though NG+++ is also where you can get the next level of gear. Now orange or "Etherial" gear will drop. These are more powerful versions of items already in the game, but these can roll even more powerful bonuses on them as well as more powerful set bonuses that will not appear on previous tiers of gear. This stuff is the best the game can offer and it's a new loot grind to add to the list of things to do with this DLC pack. Nioh has always been about the loot grind and build optimizing so for most Nioh players this is exactly what we've wanted. Additionally gear can drop up the level 180 now (previously 170).
Finally there are the fist weapons. I didn't get a chance to mess with the fists very much, but they feel like a fast brawlish type of weapon similar to the tonfas. There is only one set currently in the game that will buff the fists, so making a build out of them will be pretty straight forward. They are cool and they are flashy. But honestly they don't feel like my style and that's fine.
All in all. This DLC is just as good as the last DLC. It's more Nioh 2 and that's about all you could really ask for. Though it's worth noting the reused bosses does lessen the impact of this DLC a little bit.