Title Update Y8S3.1 lands in The Division 2 on September 24, 2026, following a maintenance window, and it kicks off the first content drop of the Red Horizon season. The headline addition is Red Moon Rising, a limited-time event that turns the PvE Dark Zone into Black Tusk territory, while a returning global event, three resource surges, and a fresh round of PvP balancing round out the update.
Quick answer: Y8S3.1 adds the Red Moon Rising PvE Dark Zone event (September 24–November 3), two new Exotics, the Rage Harvest global event, three multiplier surges, and a broad set of PvP tuning and bug fixes.
Red Moon Rising event and the Red Moon Stack system
A red moon has risen over the Dark Zone and the Black Tusk have moved in. During the event, Agents who enter the PvE Dark Zone fight Black Tusk forces while their SHD tech behaves strangely. The longer you stay, the more Red Moon Stacks you build, and each stack brings a mix of strong buffs and dangerous drawbacks as the count climbs.
The stacks only last for a single run. Dying, leaving the PvE Dark Zone, or extracting contaminated loot wipes them clean. Safehouses let you pause the buildup until you step back out into the Red Moon.
You can farm Red Moon Rising between September 24 and November 3, giving you plenty of time before the event ends.
Rewards and the two new Exotics
Taking on the tougher Red Moon encounters pulls from dedicated loot pools that include Exotics, DZ Named items, curated Named items, and Prototype gear. Two brand-new Exotics headline the reward list.
| Exotic | Type | Talent effect |
|---|---|---|
| Vertigo | GR9 LMG | Suppressing an enemy applies Disorient and grants you and allies +30% Damage to Targets Out of Cover for 15s (Startling) |
| Sarru | Backpack | In combat, the Moon cycles 8 phases every 5s, amplifying your damage from 5% up to 25% at Full Moon, then back down (Decoy King) |
Vertigo ships with +15% Crit Chance optics, a +50-round magazine, +15% Reload Speed, and +10% Rate of Fire. Sarru’s Decoy King talent also pauses the Moon cycle for 10 seconds and grants Overcharge when you deploy a Decoy during a Full Moon.
The Red Moon also brings back the Recruiter. Take him down to receive his unique Mask.
Rage Harvest and the limited-time surges
The Rage Harvest global event returns from September 29 through October 6. Enemies are protected by Overheal that makes them tougher the more it stacks. Break through that shield to build your own Rage, which raises Weapon Damage, RPM, Weapon Handling, Critical Hit Chance, and Critical Hit Damage. Keeping constant pressure on extends how long your Rage lasts.
Three stats-and-resources surges run alongside the events on their own schedules.
| Event | Dates | Main bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Zone Surge | Sept 22 – Sept 29 | 3x DZ XP, no DZ XP loss on death before the cap, 2x DZ Funds |
| Deadeye Overdrive | Sept 29 – Oct 6 | Accuracy and damage boosts (see list below) |
| Countdown Surge | Oct 6 – Oct 13 | 2x Countdown Requisition |
Deadeye Overdrive stacks several accuracy-focused bonuses for its duration:
- +60% Headshot Damage
- +30% Weapon Damage
- +40% Accuracy
- +40% Stability
- +40% Weakpoint Damage
PvP balance changes
Another round of PvP-specific balancing touches Prototype Augments, Gear and Brand Set bonuses, talents, Exotics, and SHD Skills. The adjustments cover damage and defensive values, skill range, duration, cooldowns, and individual talent numbers. Both new Exotics, Vertigo and Sarru, receive their own separate PvP tuning, and the full comparison of previous values against updated ones is published as a dedicated breakdown.
Modifier, gear, and mission adjustments
Modular Plates now supply substantial active and passive Shield regeneration rather than immediately restoring Shield health, replacing an effect that could fail to activate. Activating Signed, Shield, Delivered also fills the magazine of your equipped weapon without using ammo from your reserves.
The Zodiac Legacy Climax Mission in the Nightclub also changed based on player feedback:
- Any enemy capable of dropping Canisters will now drop 150 Munitions as well, for a total of 12 Munitions drops per mission.
- At mission start, your Canisters and Munitions reset; each player then receives 100 Munitions and 12 Canisters.
- Sample Size begins at 800; players who already passed 800 during Y8S2 keep their higher value.
- Players joining in progress skip the starting grants but can still collect enemy drops.
For gear and weapons, Ember Engine’s Spontaneous Combustion no longer works through Pulse in PvP. Pulse-delivered secondary effects, including EMP or Confuse, can still activate it. Inaya’s inventory now includes reconfiguration blueprints for Prima Donna and the Steel & Sons ACR; unlocking each blueprint requires owning the corresponding item and storing it in your inventory or stash.
Retaliation Project Chain returns with faster unlocks
Fixes now prevent progression blockers in the Retaliation Project Chain. Beginning September 24, the chain will be available for one additional week, with projects unlocking every hour rather than once daily.
The chain’s material rewards are available to everyone again, including players who completed it during its first run. The final Outfit Token is limited to one claim: players who already obtained it cannot receive another, but anyone who missed it previously can earn it this time.
Notable bug fixes
The weapons and talents pass closes several exploits and mismatches, most of them in PvP.
- Destroying your own deployed skills no longer triggers weapon talents that need a kill, and Flatline no longer fires on destroyed friendly skills.
- Fixed a Prima Donna exploit that could instantly revive players in PvP and corrected the Caduceus critical-hit repair amount in PvP.
- Adrenaline Rush, Bloodsucker, and Clutch no longer over-stack or over-run their listed durations in PvP.
- Aim Assist no longer reduces ADS turning speed with Tommy Guns or the Underboss Exotic SMG, and Hollow-Point Ammo now amplifies damage by its stated value.
Gear fixes stop Striker’s Gamble from stacking PvE and PvP talents at once, correct Acosta’s Kneepads in the Dark Zone, and fix the Blast-Resistant Plate tooltip on Ember Engine to read 60% instead of 20%. Prototype’s Trapper and Echo augments now work correctly in the Blackout Dark Zone.
Several skills were also corrected in PvP, including Burn Sticky Bomb damage, Achilles Pulse zone damage and duration rounding, and Riot Foam scaling. Banshee Pulse disorientation duration against players in the Dark Zone, and the Artificer Hive’s deployment range were fixed as well.
Mission, vendor, and UI issues round out the list. Fixes address weekly Classified Assignment Project rewards, the ViewPoint Museum Escalation fail state, immune Shooting Range dummies, incomplete outfit deliveries from Outfit Tokens, Y8S3 Seasonal Caches missing from the Textile Vendor, and lingering Mega Map and Pilot notifications. On the connectivity side, Xbox players can once again join a friend’s session, and shots against moving NPCs register correctly under higher latency.
