Escalations
Harder mission runs shaped by Mutators. Since Red Horizon, you don't lose your Escalation token if you disconnect. Ubisoft says Season 4 will give you more control over difficulty and rewards and make Mutators more predictable.
Activities · checked Sep 26, 2026
What to play
The Dark Zone rotation and each variant's rules, the newest Incursion, Retaliation, and which activity to run for which loot.
The Dark Zone rotation
Since Red Horizon, the three Dark Zones (West, East and South) rotate variants every week. At any time there's one PvE Dark Zone and two PvP ones. Toxic and Balanced are up every week; Blackout and Classic take turns week to week.
| Variant | Type | Your gear | What's different |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toxic | PvE, permanent | Normalized to level 40, but talents, sets, skills and weapons use their PvE values. Prototype gear is normalized. | Black Tusk and other factions can appear. Sample canisters and Surge are gone, and extracting now clears your Toxicity. Landmark chests have a 20% chance to drop a contaminated cache from the PvP Dark Zone loot pool. During Red Moon Rising (to Nov 3) this is where the event runs. |
| Blackout | PvEvP | No normalization: SHD Watch and Expertise count. Global PvP Balance still applies. Prototype gear uses full base stats, but augments use PvP values. | Permanently Invaded with Black Tusk, including tougher Veteran, Elite and Named enemies. Rogue Protocol is active. Heroic-quality loot, plus a 20% chance at an extra contaminated item. |
| Balanced | PvEvP | PvP Dark Zone rules. Check the Dark Zone info screen for its exact normalization settings. | Up every week. |
| Classic | PvEvP | PvP Dark Zone rules; check the info screen in game. | Alternates weekly with Blackout. |
Loot worth knowing about
- The PvP Dark Zone special loot pool includes exclusive and raid gear sets, legacy DZ-exclusive weapons, named items and exotics. Red Horizon added Ortiz: Reficere, Caduceus and Nurse's Kneepads to it.
- In Blackout, Prototype drops scale with enemy rank: 0.2% from normal enemies, 0.5% (mid rolls) plus 0.2% (high rolls) from elites, and 1% (mid) plus 2% (high) from bosses.
- Exotic component rates match the other PvP Dark Zones: 33% from Challenging landmark Phoenix crates, 40% from Challenging landmark bosses, 40% from Heroic Phoenix crates and 48% from Heroic landmark bosses.
Red Moon Rising
From September 24 to November 3, the Black Tusk take over the PvE Dark Zone and your SHD tech misbehaves. The longer you stay in, the more Red Moon Stacks you build, each adding buffs and drawbacks. Dying, leaving, or extracting contaminated loot wipes your stacks; safehouses pause the build-up until you step back out.
- Dedicated loot pools: exotics, DZ named items, curated named items and Prototype gear.
- Two new exotics: Vertigo (GR9 LMG) and Sarru (backpack). See Gear.
- The Recruiter is back; killing him drops his unique mask.
- Dark Zone Surge (Sep 22–29) gives 3x DZ XP, no DZ XP loss on death before the level cap, and 2x DZ Funds.
Broken Rain Incursion
The newest Incursion, live since August 11, 2026. Four players take back the Steel Creek Dam and its hydroelectric plant in rural Pennsylvania from the Rikers, racing Hurricane Morgan before it floods the site. It's free for everyone who owns The Division 2 and has reached level 40, and it supports matchmaking.
- Rewards include an exclusive exotic ACR, a mask for a flawless completion, a backpack trophy for a flawless final-boss kill, a gear dye, and gold, silver or bronze arm patches based on clear time.
- There's a hidden reward. Ubisoft's only hint: look out for beavers.
Retaliation
This season the Cleaners are the main Retaliation threat, with the 95 Company Elite Squad in the mix. Retaliation turned a year old in September; its anniversary Project Chain, which ends in an Outfit Token, is back for one extra week from September 24 with projects unlocking every hour.
Where to farm what
| You want | Go to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A specific gear set or brand | Countdown or the Summit | Both let you pick targeted loot. Countdown runs also earn Requisition for named item caches, and Countdown Surge (Oct 6–13) doubles it. |
| Blueprints, materials, XP | Control points on high difficulty | Quick, repeatable, and they follow each zone's targeted loot. |
| Exotic components | Heroic Dark Zone landmarks | The highest published component rates (40% from Phoenix crates, 48% from bosses). |
| Prototype gear | Blackout DZ bosses and elites, or Red Moon Rising | Blackout bosses have the best Prototype odds; Red Moon Rising has its own Prototype pool until Nov 3. |
| Caduceus or Nurse's Kneepads | Targeted loot, the PvP DZ pool, or their blueprints | Added to targeted loot this season. Blueprints are at Inaya if you already own the item. |
| Headshot weapons tested fast | Deadeye Overdrive (Sep 29 – Oct 6) | +60% headshot damage, +30% weapon damage and more accuracy and stability for a week. |
Other modes
Classified Assignments
Paid story missions unlocked at level 30. This season: The District Mall Inferno (out now) and The Georgetown Dead Zone (October 15).
Descent
A roguelite mode where you start each run with nothing and build up inside it. Treat it as its own puzzle rather than a place to test your main build.
Raids
Eight-player raids like Dark Hours and Iron Horse. Coordination and roles matter more than raw damage. Prototype gear is normalized inside raids and Incursions.