The Division 2 currently drops three seasons per year, each lasting for a substantial amount of time, giving its players ample opportunity to complete the Manhunt, the season pass and all the other events that drop throughout.
Currently in Year 5, we're approaching the start of Season 3, Vanguard, the final one before the Year 6 roadmap kicks into gear in mid-2024. Season 3 marks the start of some pretty significant changes to The Division 2, with the hefty Project Resolve overhaul due to begin, albeit at the expense of the planned story expansion DLC.
Here's what we know so far.
The Division 2 Year 5 Season 3 Vanguard start date
We already know that Season 3 will be known as "Vanguard" and we know when it'll start. The in-game countdown is always a useful way to check how long you have left on any given season.
Season 3 Vanguard is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, February 6. Weekly resets in The Division 2 happen every Tuesday morning, based on European time, and the new season will go live following this pattern. There's likely to be downtime to deploy it, though, usually lasting two to three hours unless there are any issues. The Division 2 social media is the best way to keep tabs on this.
Remaining Season 2 Puppeteers events
At the time of writing, we're halfway through the Guardians Global Event, scheduled to close on January 23. On the same day the final Global Event, Golden Bullet, will begin and run for the final two weeks of the season.
You also have until the end of the season, call it February 5 to be safe, to make sure you've completed this season's Manhunt and defeated the Prime Target. If you've encountered a bug with progression in this, causing the final mission not to unlock, you're not on your own.
I've had the same issue, and unfortunately the only fix right now is to reset the Manhunt and do it again. It seems to bug out if you've completed it in co-op, and will say you haven't met some of the rescued targets. In turn, this doesn't allow you to hit 100% completion and unlock the final part. The good news is that any parts of the Manhunt that are successfully completed will remain so, meaning you don't have to do everything again if you only need one or two.
The Division 2 Year 5 Season 3 Vanguard: A new Manhunt and Project Resolve begins
Despite the delay of any form of story DLC into 2025, Year 5 Season 3 Vanguard will still herald the beginning of some major changes for The Division 2.
That comes in the form of the first batch of Project Resolve updates, though exactly what form those will take is still to be confirmed. The first batch of upgrades has recently been pushed out to PC players through the PTS for folks to try out, but until we get a final changelog, it's impossible to know exactly what will make the cut and in what shape.
Project Resolve is a big deal, though, and much of the current development resource is focused on it. Essentially every area of the game will be getting some attention, including PvP, designed to make the experience better both for newer and longer-serving players.
Season 3 will bring a new Manhunt to the table as well. Year 5 has seen a revamp to these, and we can expect the same pattern to follow into the new season. There will be four individual targets to complete, spread throughout the season, and once all of those are done the Prime Target will be unlocked. As yet, we don't know the story behind the Vanguard Manhunt, but it's likely we'll find out more as we get closer to the season's start date. As with previous seasons, we'd expect a period of double XP to coincide with each of these four targets.
Additionally, a new season pass will come into play, with new gear, blueprints, exotic items and cosmetics. As always, players won't be required to buy the season pass to get their hands on the best new stuff, with the paid track just offering more goodies to those who spring for it. There will also be the usual sprinkling of Global Events and Apparel Events, as well as the speed run focused leagues to participate in throughout.
The final stand for Year 5
Vanguard is the final season for Year 5, a year that's already seen some big content drops into The Division 2. Despite its lengthy service, there are no signs of slowing down, and Year 6 will be another big one if the roadmap pans out as planned.
Project Resolve upgrades will be a constant throughout, and towards the end of 2024 when the second season in Year 6 begins we're currently expecting a big revamp to the seasonal model. The promised Story DLC is then set to follow with Season 3, but unfortunately that means we're about a year away.
Nevertheless, The Division 2 keeps soldiering on, and for a game that initially was expected to have ended its new content support long ago, it's still thriving with a strong player community. Long may it continue, or at the very least, until The Division 3 is ready.
