What you need to know
- Ubisoft has revealed the details on Year 5 Season 3 Vanguard, starting in The Division 2 on February 6.
- This season's Manhunt sees the story head back to New York City, with our long-time ally, Alani Kelso, the 'target.'
- This season's Manhunt is a little different to others, focusing less on individuals and more on locations as we search for the missing Kelso.
Year 5 Season 3 Vanguard is finally upon us in The Division 2, and besides the promised Project Resolve updates, new loot, and new events, story junkies have been wondering where the tale will take us next.
After defeating The Recruiter, aka Agent Johnson, at the end of the Season 2 Manhunt, focus is switching away from Washington D.C. and back to New York City. The target? Division agent, Alani Kelso.
That's right, this season we're chasing one of our own.
'Hunting' a fellow Division agent in Season 3
The Season 3 Manhunt is all about "trust." But why are we chasing Kelso? Isn't she on our side? If you missed any of the previous seasons, to recap some key points:
- At the conclusion of Season 11, Kelso went back to the Haven settlement in New York City to make sure it was secure after the attack on the White House.
- Since then, nothing has been heard of from Kelso, and it now seems she's disappeared.
- At the end of Season 2, a cut scene saw Vik, one of the last civilians rescued to the Castle settlement, talking up the possibility of Kelso being a Hunter. After all, we just despatched Agent Johnson, a Division agent who was working as The Recruiter. So is Kelso also a Hunter?
In this season's Manhunt we won't be locating individuals, instead retracing Kelso's steps across the city as part of the investigation. Based on the knowledge that Hunters walk among agents, nothing is off the table, despite Manny's continued, committed, trust in Kelso.
Given the name of the season, though, Vanguard, I'd wager that Aaron Keener (or his legacy) will potentially feature somewhere. After all, that was his call sign.
New Exotic weapons, gear sets, and more
Besides the new story content coming with the Manhunt, a new season means new exotics to acquire. As usual, there will be two, and this time we're getting a pistol and some gloves.
- Mosquito (exotic pistol) - Talent: Mosquito Song - Hitting an enemy applies a stack. Stacks are shared between players. At 10 stacks, the enemy will forcefully target the last player to apply a stack for 5s. Stacks deplete every 5s. Activating the effect on an enemy will remove all stacks from other enemies.
- Rugged Gauntlets (exotic gloves) - Talent: Iron Grip - 50% Recoil Penalty when hip-firing; -50% Recoil Penalty when blind-firing from cover.
Both of the talents attached to these new items are, well, interesting, and without trying them out I'm not exactly sure how they'd be of use in a build. But exotics are exotics, so we gotta get 'em.
Additionally, there will be a new exotic rifle exclusive to Descent, known as Vindicator. All of this is alongside a new gear set, a new brand set, and three new named weapons.
Project Resolve is also a big focus, but there's a lot to go through. I suggest grabbing a beverage and rewatching the reveal stream at your leisure, or hit the blog post for a written version.
