Division 2 Builds: 1 Exotic Weapon + 1 Armor

Year 8 Season 3 opened on 27 August 2026. Ubisoft named the season Red Horizon. You still equip 1 exotic weapon and 1 exotic armor. A 2nd exotic rifle stays in the stash. A 2nd exotic backpack stays in the stash.

The default pair for most PvE is St. Elmo's Engine and Memento. That is the answer if the ask was “what do I run” and the tab is about to close. Weapon S on this page means both recent public lists put the gun there. A gun that is S on only 1 list is written as A. Armor letters follow 1 current slot list, and the board says so.

The 78-item pool lives on the exotic tier list. This page is the pair for the activity. LFCarry prices: a 6-piece custom loadout at $160, Expertise 1 to 5 at $22, Eagle Bearer at $65, Ouroboros at $75.

Open-world and Countdown farm: St. Elmo's Engine and Memento. Shock magazine plus kill trophies. Both farm from Countdown targeted loot.

Skill or hybrid PvE: Capacitor with Memento, or Capacitor with NinjaBike Messenger Bag. Capacitor is S on both weapon lists for skill damage. NinjaBike Messenger Bag if the build wants a brand cheat more than trophies.

Legendary stronghold: St. Elmo's Engine or Scorpio, with Memento or Coyote's Mask. Scorpio is the close-range control gun both lists keep in S. Coyote's Mask if the team needs crit in the mask slot.

Dark Hours or Iron Horse: St. Elmo's Engine or Regulus, with Memento or Tinkerer. Regulus is S on both lists as a pistol. It does not eat the primary slot. Tinkerer if the raid plan is skill uptime.

Paradise Lost: St. Elmo's Engine and Memento on the way in. Ouroboros is the reward. It is A here because the lists split on the magazine change.

Dark Zone and Conflict: St. Elmo's Engine or Eagle Bearer, with Coyote's Mask or Catharsis. Treat that weapon and armor pair as a starting point.

Red Horizon added Fafnir on the season track, Iron Will on the season track, and Loaded for Bear on the manhunt climax. Fafnir is a shotgun with a Dragon's Breath talent. Iron Will is a chest with a Resolved talent. Until a 2nd list ranks them next to St. Elmo's Engine, they stay off S.

Public Season 3 recipes already pair Fafnir with Memento, and Fafnir with Coyote's Mask, and Fafnir with Hunter's Fury. Those are shotgun recipes. They do not replace the default AR pair for Countdown or open-world.

If St. Elmo's Engine and Memento are already in the stash, stop opening random exotic caches. The next hour belongs to a locked piece (Eagle Bearer, Ouroboros, or Regulus) or to optimizing the pair already worn. Expertise leveling from 1 to 5 is $22 after that pair is on.

Title Update Y8S3.2 changes builds directly. Rifles and Marksman Rifles carry 20% more ammo, and Rifles get higher Critical Hit Damage and Headshot Damage bonuses. Movement Speed bonuses from Quickstep, Acosta and Lady Death now stack additively and cap at 20% in total. Starting an Escalation no longer spends tokens. You only need the token balance for the tier. The Conflict rank cap rises from 100 to 200, and Conflict Commendation Currency buys gear at the new Prometheus Terminal. Red Moon Unleashed runs 15 October to 3 November and adds Lichtenberg, a named Classic M1A, to its Gear Caches.

A new agent does not need 78 items. The 1st hour is Countdown with assault rifle targeted loot until St. Elmo's Engine drops. Then Countdown with backpack targeted loot until Memento drops. Copies farm after the 1st of each.

Capacitor still wants Summit challenges for many agents on the 1st copy, then Countdown for extras. Scorpio is Countdown with shotgun targeted loot. Coyote's Mask is Countdown with mask targeted loot.

Eagle Bearer is Dark Hours, or a rare Dark Zone roll. Weekly raid on every character. The carry for that raid is on the Dark Hours page at $24. Ouroboros is Paradise Lost only. Plan on weekly characters.

Regulus is Iron Horse plus its exotic project. Targeted loot will not substitute after you own 1. If the missing gun is the raid AR, another exotic cache will not substitute.

Related: exotic tier list, Danny Weaver this reset, Ouroboros, St. Elmo's Engine.

Playing with friends on another platform? Check the Division 2 crossplay release date for your system.

Plan your build for Echoes of Central Park, the DLC that opens on 3 November 2026. All 3 paid DLCs, with dates and play order, are in Division 2 DLC in order.