Five CGN builds with their full gear, rolls and farm plans, what Red Horizon changed for each one, Ubisoft's own reference loadouts, and the new fire and status kit.
Builds checked Aug 20, 2026 · Season notes checked Sep 26, 2026
Read this first
What Red Horizon changed
The five builds below were put together on August 20, during Year 8 Season 2. Red Horizon went live a week later, on August 27, with balance changes that touch most of them:
Red-core gear sets were rebalanced. Ubisoft's rule for the pass: the harder a set is to use at full potential, the more it gives back. Striker's Battlegear is a red-core set, so check its current bonuses in game before crafting or optimizing. Blue- and yellow-core sets (tank and skill sets) weren't in this pass.
Brand set bonuses moved around. Shock Resistance, Health, Incoming Repairs and Swap Speed bonuses were removed, Protection from Elites was added, and weapon-damage bonuses were reorganized by weapon type.
Determined was nerfed. A kill from a converted headshot no longer guarantees another one. None of these builds use it, but marksman builds that did now need the Iron Will exotic chest (free season pass track).
PvP got two balance passes, at the season launch and again in TU Y8S3.1 on September 22, covering sets, talents, exotics, skills and Prototype augments.
Three PvE builds for sustained weapon damage, LMG pressure and skills. Check the red notes on each card against the current game before spending Optimization or Expertise materials.
1 · All-round weapon DPSGunner
Striker Overdogs
CheckedAug 20PvE
Sustained damage for Heroic, Countdown, group missions and general PvE.
Weapons
Primary: St. Elmo's Engine Exotic · AR targeted loot
Secondary: GR9/MK46 with Damage to Armor and Frenzy
All red weapon-damage cores. Critical Hit Chance to 60%, then Critical Hit Damage. CHC/CHD gear mods.
Skills
Crusader Shield and Reviver Hive. Decoy or Pulse when you need them.
Farm plan
Target: Striker gear in Countdown; spend Requisition on named item caches. Farm assault rifles for St. Elmo's Engine.
Until it drops: Ceska/Grupo chest with Obliterate; any damage gloves until Overdogs drops.
Recalibrate: Keep pieces that roll CHC/CHD naturally, then change the core or the weaker crit roll. Don't go over 60% CHC.
Best in: Heroic · Countdown · missions · group DPS
Red Horizon: Striker's Battlegear is a red-core set, which were rebalanced on Aug 27. Check its bonuses in game.
2 · LMG pressureGunner
Tipping Scales Pestilence
CheckedAug 20PvE
Damage and staying power, with Pestilence spreading through dense waves.
Weapons
Primary: Pestilence with Damage to Armor Exotic · LMG targeted loot
Secondary: GR9/MK46 with Damage to Armor and Frenzy or Fast Hands
Gear
Mask, backpack, chest, kneepads: Tipping Scales
Gloves: OverdogsExotic · cache or targeted loot
Holster: SalvoNamed
Rolls and mods
All red weapon-damage cores. CHC to 60%, then CHD. CHC/CHD gear mods.
Skills
Defender Drone and Reviver Hive. Decoy or Banshee Pulse as swaps.
Farm plan
Target: Tipping Scales from its current source; LMG targeted loot for Pestilence and the GR9/MK46.
Until it drops: Contractor's Gloves in place of Overdogs; any weapon-damage holster until Salvo drops.
Recalibrate: The right red core plus CHC/CHD first. Put Damage to Armor on the secondary LMG when you can.
Best in: Heroic waves · Retaliation · master missions · group PvE
Red Horizon: Ubisoft's own Broken Rain loadout used Tipping Scales on Aug 11. Red-core sets were rebalanced on Aug 27, so check its current bonuses in game.
3 · Safest skill buildTechnician
Refactor drone + turret
CheckedAug 20PvE
Remote damage that holds up in Legendary, with little exposure.
Weapons
Primary: Capacitor Exotic · Summit challenges
Secondary: Rifle or SMG with In Sync
Gear
Mask, gloves, holster, kneepads: Refactor
Backpack: Force MultiplierNamed · Hana-U
Chest: Wyvern or Hana-U with Glass Cannon or Kinetic Momentum
Rolls and mods
Skill Tier 6 with Technician. Skill Damage everywhere, Skill Haste where possible, Skill Haste mods.
Skills
Striker Drone and Assault Turret. Shoot with Capacitor to raise their output.
Farm plan
Target: Refactor first, then Hana-U and Wyvern. Farm backpacks for Force Multiplier and assault rifles for Capacitor's unlock path.
Until it drops: 3 Empress, 2 Hana-U and 1 Wyvern; Combined Arms backpack; Kinetic Momentum chest.
Recalibrate: Skill Damage is mandatory, Skill Haste second. Technician adds one tier, which leaves room for one red core at Skill Tier 6.
Best in: solo Heroic · Legendary · Summit · safe farming
Red Horizon: yellow-core (skill) sets weren't in the Aug 27 rebalance, but brand bonuses were reshuffled; check your Hana-U and Wyvern pieces.
PvP · checked Aug 20, 2026 (Y8S2)
PvP builds
PvP has its own rulesThese builds trade PvE damage for armor, burst and talents that hold up when someone shoots back. Balanced and Classic Dark Zones normalize your gear; Blackout doesn't, so a full PvE-strength build with your SHD Watch and Expertise counts there. Both builds were checked before two PvP balance passes (Aug 27 and Sep 22).
1 · HybridTechnician
Capacitor NinjaBike
CheckedAug 20PvP
A durable weapon and skill hybrid for Dark Zone roaming and Conflict.
Weapons
Primary: Capacitor Exotic · Summit challenges
Secondary: your preferred close-range finisher
Gear
Mask: Walker, blue core
Backpack: NinjaBike MessengerExotic
Chest: Equalizer, red core
Gloves: Contractor's Gloves, blue core
Holster: Picaro's Holster, blue core
Kneepads: Fox's Prayer, red core
Rolls and mods
CHC to at least 50%, then CHD. CHC/CHD mods. Keep the red and blue cores as listed.
Skills
Jammer Pulse and Decoy. Stinger Hive or Explosive Seeker if you want to play more aggressively.
Farm plan
Target: Summit challenges for Capacitor; backpack targeted loot for NinjaBike; brands one by one in Countdown.
Until it drops: an Adrenaline Rush backpack until NinjaBike drops, then rebalance brand bonuses.
Best in: Dark Zone roaming · Conflict
Red Horizon: skills were retuned for PvP (base values and tier scaling) on Aug 27, and again on Sep 22. Test in the Shooting Range with PvP settings on.
2 · Close-range burstGunner
Striker Ouroboros
CheckedAug 20PvP
High-RPM close-range pressure for aggressive players who can build and keep stacks.
Weapons
Primary: Ouroboros Exotic · Paradise Lost
Secondary: your preferred ranged AR
Gear
Mask and gloves: Striker's Battlegear, red cores
Holster and kneepads: Striker's Battlegear, blue cores
Backpack: Ceska or Grupo with Adrenaline Rush
Chest: Ceska or Grupo with Unbreakable
Rolls and mods
Aim for 55% CHC, then CHD. CHC/CHD gear mods. The two armor cores are the minimum for survival.
Skills
Crusader Shield with Decoy or Pulse. A Seeker Mine can force someone to move before you push.
Farm plan
Target: Striker and Ceska/Grupo in Countdown. Ouroboros comes through the Paradise Lost Incursion.
Until it drops: a high-RPM SMG with Optimist.
Best in: Conflict · Dark Zone team pushes · close-range rogue fights
Red Horizon: TU Y8S3.1 fixed Adrenaline Rush stacking more than intended in PvP, so this build's survivability is lower than when it was checked.
CGN's ratings, relative to each other
Side by side
Build
Role
Damage
Survival
Farming effort
Best use
Striker Overdogs
PvE weapons
5/5
3/5
Medium
General PvE, groups
Tipping Scales
PvE LMG
5/5
4/5
High
Dense waves, long fights
Refactor skills
PvE skills
4/5
5/5
Medium
Solo, Legendary, safe farming
Capacitor NinjaBike
PvP hybrid
4/5
4/5
High
Dark Zone roaming
Striker Ouroboros
PvP burst
5/5
3/5
Very high
Conflict, close-range pushes
Ratings compare these five builds with each other, as of August 20. Your rolls, Expertise, group buffs and the season modifier change real performance.
From Ubisoft, Aug 11, 2026
Ubisoft's own loadouts
When the Broken Rain Incursion launched, Ubisoft put three complete loadouts on the free track of its event pass: one healer and two DPS. The pass has ended, but the loadouts are a useful reference for what the developers consider coherent builds. The same red-core rebalance note applies to the two DPS loadouts.
Red Horizon's new pieces are designed to work together. This is how Ubisoft's own item text lines them up; it isn't a tested CGN build with exact rolls yet.
Under Pressure (this season's global modifier): the Pressure Gauge's default bonus is Status Effects, and it grows with kills, including fire and status-effect kills.
Fafnir (exotic shotgun, free season pass track): each shot has a 40% chance to apply Burn, and weapon damage is amplified by half your Status Effect bonus.
Ember Engine (new gear set): 2 pieces give 8% Skill Efficiency, 3 give 30% Status Effects, and 4 give a 40% chance for any status effect you apply to also apply Burn (60% with its chest). If the original effect was Burn, the target takes 25% more Burn damage.
Vicarious Combustion (active modifier): headshots on burning enemies spread Burn to enemies nearby.
Diminishing returns on status effects still apply, so Burn lands less often in practice than Fafnir's 40% suggests. In PvP, Ember Engine's talent no longer triggers from Pulse (TU Y8S3.1).
