Pretty much. Not including cosmetics/secrets like the figurines, classic maps, cheats, etc, when compared they’re not far off.

2016 had:
-Weapon upgrades + currency
-Weapon mastery challenges
-Suit upgrades + currency
-Stat upgrades + currency
-Rune upgrades
-Rune capacity upgrades

Eternal has:
-Weapon upgrades+currency
-Weapon…

Also: don’t be stingy with using your flamethrower or chainsaw, there’s plenty of ammo for them everywhere, and they will save your but if you’re down on ammo or health. You’re supposed to frequently use them.

You’ll have to ask Nintendo, but I like to think that she’s glancing at her phone, drafting a text to the group chat about how ding dang fun video games are!

The lady in the top picture, what is she looking at? :\

But to actually answer your question... From my understanding (haven’t confirmed firsthand how the DLC affects vanilla gameplay), the new characters fit neatly into the four primary routes. You can recruit them into your house just like you can members of other, rival houses.

I’d urge you to at least try the DLC…

Who’s this “Dimitri” fella I keep hearing about?

Thanks! Yup, just started last month. And hey—it’s never too late for a warm welcome.

So they just slot in to the four main routes, right?

some guy with blue armor who, let’s face it, probably got into Garreg Mach thanks to plum connections