Division 2 Exotics: How to Get Melon Baller, Keeper, Loaded for Bear

Division 2 exotics come from a handful of sources: Exotic Caches, targeted loot, the Season Pass, the season's Climax mission, limited events, raids and crafting. The trick is knowing which one a given item uses, because several of the most searched "exotics" this season aren't exotics at all. The Melon Baller and the Keeper are named High-End backpacks, and they come from a different place than Loaded for Bear, the season's exotic gloves.

This guide covers The Division 2 during Year 8 Season 3, Red Horizon, which Ubisoft launched on August 27, 2026, up to Title Update Y8S3.2 on October 15. It does not cover The Division Resurgence, which has its own loot rules.

Quick summary

• Division 2 exotics drop from Exotic Caches (guaranteed), targeted loot, the Season Pass, the Climax mission, events and raids. Some, like Regulus, can only be crafted.
• Melon Baller and Keeper are named backpacks, not exotics. Ubisoft added both with Red Horizon. You get them from the Season Pass track or Red Horizon caches.
• Loaded for Bear is the Red Horizon exotic gloves. Ubisoft's notes list it as the Climax exclusive reward, so it can't drop until that mission is in your game.
• Fafnir (exotic shotgun) and Iron Will (exotic chest) are on the free Season Pass track.
• Until November 3, 2026, Red Moon events add Vertigo, Sarru, Regulus, Eagle Bearer and Ouroboros chances.

Exotic or named? Why Melon Baller and Keeper aren't exotics

Exotics have an orange name, a unique talent and fixed mods, and you can wear only one exotic armor piece and one exotic weapon at a time. Named items are High-End gear with a fixed "perfect" version of a normal talent or attribute. You can wear several named pieces at once, and they still count toward their brand set.

That difference matters when you farm. An Exotic Cache will never give you a Melon Baller, because the cache pulls only from the exotic pool. Ubisoft's Red Horizon notes list both backpacks under "New Named Gear," not under the new exotics. Ubisoft also said that, starting with Red Horizon, it will add named pieces with perfect talents to existing brands instead of releasing new brand sets. Expect more items like these.

How exotics drop in The Division 2

Every exotic sits in at least one of these sources. Use the table to pick where to spend your time. It's a decision aid, not a full loot table.

Source	What it gives	What to check first
Exotic Cache	One random exotic from the general pool	Seasonal and event exotics may be missing from the cache pool
Targeted loot	A higher chance at the exotic for that gear slot or weapon type	The loot label on the map or mission screen
Season Pass	Fixed seasonal exotics and named items at set tiers	Your current tier
Climax mission	The season's exclusive exotic	Whether the Climax is live in your Seasons tab
Events and bounties	Event-only exotics, plus Exotic Cache rolls	The event end date
Raids and crafting	Raid exotics and blueprint-only exotics such as Regulus	The project list at the Base of Operations
Dark Zone landmarks	Exotic components	Landmark difficulty

A few details make these sources better. Countdown's Requisition Station sells Exotic Caches for the tokens you earn from runs. The Exotic Cache entry on the Division community wiki also lists main missions and Incursions on their highest difficulty as cache sources.

In the Dark Zone, Ubisoft gives exact exotic component odds for Blackout: 33% from Challenging landmark Phoenix crates, 40% from Challenging landmark bosses, 40% from Heroic landmark crates and 48% from Heroic landmark bosses. Those rates match the other PvP Dark Zones. Contaminated caches from the Toxic Dark Zone can also roll exotics.

How to get Red Horizon's exotics and named gear

These are the items Ubisoft added this season, with the source for each. Tier numbers come from the community wiki, so check the Season Pass screen in game.

Item	Type	Talent	Where it comes from
Melon Baller	Named Airaldi Holdings backpack	Perfect Concussion	Season Pass (tier 72 per the wiki), Red Horizon caches
Keeper	Named 5.11 Tactical backpack	Perfect Protector	Season Pass (tier 59 per the wiki), Red Horizon caches
Loaded for Bear	Exotic gloves	Afterburn	Red Horizon Climax exclusive reward
Fafnir	Exotic shotgun	Dragon's Breath	Free Season Pass track, extra copy on premium
Iron Will	Exotic chest	Resolved	Free Season Pass track (tier 29 per the wiki)
Vertigo	Exotic LMG	Startling	Red Moon events
Sarru	Exotic backpack	Decoy King	Red Moon events

Melon Baller backpack: how to get it

The Melon Baller is a named Airaldi Holdings backpack with Perfect Concussion. Ubisoft's notes describe it this way: headshots raise total weapon damage by 20% for 1.5 seconds, or 5 seconds with marksman rifles, and headshot kills add 15% total weapon damage for 10 seconds. Its core is weapon damage.

To get it, push the Red Horizon Season Pass track or open Red Horizon caches. The Melon Baller wiki page puts it at tier 72 and also lists Airaldi Holdings targeted loot. It fits marksman rifle builds best, since the 5-second window lines up with the slower fire rate.

Keeper backpack: how to get it

The Keeper is a named 5.11 Tactical backpack with Perfect Protector. When your shield takes damage, you gain 25% bonus armor and every other ally gains 35% of your armor as bonus armor for 3 seconds, on a 3-second cooldown. Its core is armor, so it suits shield and tank builds that stand in front of the group.

You get it the same way as the Melon Baller: from the Season Pass (tier 59 per the wiki), Red Horizon caches, or 5.11 Tactical targeted loot.

Loaded for Bear gloves: how to get them

Loaded for Bear is the only item in this list that most players can't simply grind toward yet. Ubisoft's Red Horizon PTS notes call it "the Climax exclusive reward" and left it out of the test server.

In those notes, its Afterburn talent puts stacks on enemies you hit, up to 20 per enemy. Reloading consumes every stack and deals 2% weapon damage per stack to the enemy carrying them. Check the live tooltip, because PTS values can change before release.

For timing, look at last season. In Mutiny, Ubisoft's notes said the first Master clear of the Climax mission guaranteed that season's exotic, and lower difficulties could drop it at lower odds. Ubisoft hasn't confirmed the same rule for Loaded for Bear, so read the Climax announcement when it arrives.

Fafnir and Iron Will

Both are on the free Season Pass track. Fafnir fires Dragon's Breath shells, and each shot has a 40% chance to Burn. Its weapon damage is amplified by 50% of your Status Effect bonus. Iron Will exists because Ubisoft changed Determined to work like Perfect Determined. Its Resolved talent turns your next body shot into a headshot, on a 2-second cooldown in PvE, and it needs an MMR, rifle or pistol.

Vertigo and Sarru (until November 3, 2026)

Ubisoft added both exotics in Title Update Y8S3.1 as Red Moon Rising rewards. In Red Moon Unleashed, which runs from October 15 to November 3, the Y8S3.2 notes list exact odds. The Necromancer drops an Exotic Cache (80%) or Sarru (20%), and the Risen Hunter drops an Exotic Cache (80%) or Vertigo (20%). If you play solo in West End, Necromancer Unleashed on Heroic rolls an Exotic Cache (80%) or Ouroboros (20%).

Older exotics and named items people still search for

The Division 2 Regulus

Regulus is an exotic Police 686 Magnum with Regicide: headshot kills cause a 5-meter explosion for 400% weapon damage and apply bleed to every enemy hit. Normally it can only be crafted. Clear the Operation Iron Horse raid, finish the five goal projects it unlocks at the Base of Operations, then collect an exotic component from each of the raid's five named bosses. The Regulus wiki page lists the full cost.

Until November 3, there's a shortcut. The Revenant bounty "Final Girl" rolls either an Exotic Cache (80%) or Regulus (20%).

Eagle Bearer

Eagle Bearer usually comes from the Dark Zone or the final chest of the Operation Dark Hours raid, which resets weekly. During Red Moon Unleashed, the Revenant bounty "Blinding The Eye" also rolls it at 20%.

Bittersweet

Bittersweet is an exotic M1A rifle from Year 7 Season 3, Mutiny. Its Transfusion talent builds up to 8 stacks from headshots, and shooting an ally or a skill repairs them for 50% of the shot damage per stack. It was a Season Pass reward that season. The wiki expected it to move to rifle targeted loot afterwards, so farm where rifles are the targeted loot.

Carnage

Carnage is a named IMI Negev LMG with Perfect Sadist, which adds 35% weapon damage against bleeding enemies and applies bleed to your next target after 3 kills. It came with Warlords of New York. It can drop anywhere LMGs are the targeted loot and has a higher drop chance from the Coney Island Ballpark main mission.

Orbit and Salvo

Orbit is a named 586 Magnum pistol with Perfect Finisher. Switching away from it within 10 seconds of a kill gives 35% critical hit chance and 40% critical hit damage for 15 seconds. It comes from Dark Zone extraction, Dark Zone vendors, the Countdown Requisition Station, and Conflict, Legacy and Named Item caches.

Salvo is a named Unit Alloys holster from Mutiny with a perfect +5% rate of fire attribute. It comes from Unit Alloys targeted loot.

Heartstopper: the Heartbreaker gear set talent

"Heartstopper" isn't an exotic. It's the 4-piece talent of the Heartbreaker gear set. Headshots apply pulse for 5 seconds, and each hit on a pulsed enemy adds a stack of 1% bonus armor and 1.1% weapon damage, up to 50 stacks, losing 2 stacks per second. The Max BPM chest raises the cap to 100, and the Cold backpack doubles the armor per stack to 2%.

Umbra Initiative set

Umbra Initiative is a gear set first given out on the Season 10 Price of Power reward track. It's now in the general loot pool. Its 4-piece talent stacks critical hit damage and RPM while you're in cover, and armor regeneration while you're out of it.

Crafting exotics and named items

Crafting covers what drops can't. There are four routes:

• Raid crafting. Regulus is blueprint-only, built from Iron Horse components.
• Blueprints from Inaya. Red Horizon added blueprints for Agitator, Investor, Caduceus, Nurse's Kneepads, Whiplash and Underboss at Inaya's crafting station. Ubisoft notes you must already own the item before its blueprint appears.
• Named item replicas. The wiki lists blueprints for Carnage, Orbit and Salvo in Reconstructed Caches, bought with NSA Tech at Descent's NSA Stations.
• Exotic components. The Dark Zone landmark drops above are one source. The wiki notes that reconfiguring an exotic's attributes at the crafting station costs an exotic component.

Example: you want a marksman rifle setup this week. The Melon Baller is a Season Pass grind, so keep leveling the track while you farm. Iron Will is on the free track too. Spend your remaining time on Red Moon bosses for Exotic Cache rolls before November 3, instead of waiting for one specific drop.

Want a hand with this?

If you'd rather not grind a specific drop, Division 2 exotic armor and Division 2 exotic weapons services are listed on FullBoosts, and the Division 2 hub shows the rest. Read Ubisoft's Terms of Use before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included. A marketplace listing isn't publisher permission. The Division 2 boosting safety guide explains account access and the refund policy.

FAQ

Is the Melon Baller an exotic in Division 2? No. It's a named High-End Airaldi Holdings backpack with the Perfect Concussion talent. Get it from the Red Horizon Season Pass or Red Horizon caches, not from Exotic Caches.

How do you get the Keeper backpack in Division 2? Keeper is a named 5.11 Tactical backpack added in Red Horizon. It's on the Season Pass track (tier 59 per the community wiki) and in Red Horizon caches.

How do you get Loaded for Bear in Division 2? Ubisoft lists the gloves as the Red Horizon Climax exclusive reward. They can't drop until the Climax mission is in your game. Last season, the first Master clear guaranteed the Climax exotic.

How do you get the Regulus in The Division 2? Clear the Iron Horse raid, finish its five goal projects, and collect a component from each of the five named bosses, then craft it. Until November 3, 2026, the "Final Girl" Revenant bounty also has a 20% chance to drop it.

What is Heartstopper in Division 2? Heartstopper is the 4-piece talent of the Heartbreaker gear set. It is not a standalone item. It stacks bonus armor and weapon damage on pulsed enemies after headshots.

What is the fastest way to get exotics in Division 2? Any Exotic Cache is a guaranteed exotic. Countdown tokens, top-difficulty missions and, until November 3, Red Moon bosses and Revenant bounties are the steadiest cache sources. For a specific item, farm its targeted loot instead.

Related guides

• The Division 2 boosting safety: builds, access and policy
• The Division 2 game hub