Team Ninja is clearly still not being given a budget for this DLC, but they managed to do so much more with what they have compared to Bahamut.
Instead of re-doing missions you've already done, you take on a series of smaller one-off missions (procedurally generated I assume), which feed into the meta progression of reaching new floors in the Rift Labyrinth.
On top of that, there's new mechanics such as monster allies you can speak with outside of missions and summon for attacks in Rift missions (literally Nioh 2's Yokai Skills but simplified), new gear rarity tier with a new summon blessing mechanic, chaos enemies, chaos events, new consumables, etc.
A lot of it is very... frugally developed, such as using all the monster assets for the monster allies. These allies also have 0 voice acting despite being the wordiest motherfuckers in the entire damn game. But you know what? I don't give a shit. I found the monster summons system fun and charming, my only gripe being a technical issue: the game sometimes loads in your party members for these conversations and the loading is slow on my system.
Let's not forget the biggest new mechanic, though! Equipment fusion. This is the most handy fucking thing, it lets you mix and match your gear's affinities and effects freely. Of course, it can take lots of materials, but goddamn it man it's amazing to have such a good option for tailoring your build.
There's only 2 new bosses, like in the first DLC, but of course Gilgamesh is a fucking awesome boss and really fun to fight, though a bit easy. The final boss of the DLC is kinda ridiculous, though, but it also went down fast. I remain unfiltered and I won't use Extra Mode cuz it's lame.
Anyway, I've talked enough. I think I have nothing more to say. In short, this DLC does a fantastic job of adding some fun new mechanics and twists, playing to the base game's strengths, while not feeling like a total retread like Bahamut's DLC did.
Lastly, here's a video of me killing the final boss of the DLC for fun. I get fucked up but I win anyway despite using a relatively new build after I got tired of my old one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZwN3HFu180
Instead of re-doing missions you've already done, you take on a series of smaller one-off missions (procedurally generated I assume), which feed into the meta progression of reaching new floors in the Rift Labyrinth.
On top of that, there's new mechanics such as monster allies you can speak with outside of missions and summon for attacks in Rift missions (literally Nioh 2's Yokai Skills but simplified), new gear rarity tier with a new summon blessing mechanic, chaos enemies, chaos events, new consumables, etc.
A lot of it is very... frugally developed, such as using all the monster assets for the monster allies. These allies also have 0 voice acting despite being the wordiest motherfuckers in the entire damn game. But you know what? I don't give a shit. I found the monster summons system fun and charming, my only gripe being a technical issue: the game sometimes loads in your party members for these conversations and the loading is slow on my system.
Let's not forget the biggest new mechanic, though! Equipment fusion. This is the most handy fucking thing, it lets you mix and match your gear's affinities and effects freely. Of course, it can take lots of materials, but goddamn it man it's amazing to have such a good option for tailoring your build.
There's only 2 new bosses, like in the first DLC, but of course Gilgamesh is a fucking awesome boss and really fun to fight, though a bit easy. The final boss of the DLC is kinda ridiculous, though, but it also went down fast. I remain unfiltered and I won't use Extra Mode cuz it's lame.
Anyway, I've talked enough. I think I have nothing more to say. In short, this DLC does a fantastic job of adding some fun new mechanics and twists, playing to the base game's strengths, while not feeling like a total retread like Bahamut's DLC did.
Lastly, here's a video of me killing the final boss of the DLC for fun. I get fucked up but I win anyway despite using a relatively new build after I got tired of my old one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZwN3HFu180