Hunt: Showdown’s Blood Testament Chapter 2 separates free changes from a paid Hunter pack

Chapter 2 did not mean every feature arrived on day one

Crytek’s Chapter 2 patch notes date Blood Testament Chapter 2 to October 6, 2026, but its story post and patch notes divide the material across two dates. Inferno returned with the chapter launch. By contrast, the notes say the Bileweavers, their Bloodweaver variant and the infected compounds would arrive with All Hallows’ Cleave on October 13. For a returning hunter reading the headline after the fact, that distinction explains why a feature listed in the chapter story might not have been present in the first match on October 6. The patch page is more precise about rollout than the promotional announcement.

This is a seasonal chapter inside Hunt: Showdown 1896, not a new game release. It adds a changing set of conditions and rewards to matches while the underlying extraction loop stays familiar: enter with a Hunter, gather resources, pursue the objective and decide whether to leave with what you found. The practical question is less whether the chapter replaces the old game than which hazards and unlocks are active on the date you play.

Inferno changes visibility and paths through a compound

The most immediate change on October 6 was Inferno’s return as a Time of Day condition. Crytek’s patch notes say wildfires can appear across all maps, heavy smoke reduces visibility, and the fires themselves stay fixed in place. That last detail matters more than the visual effect: a blaze can block a traversal path, forcing a squad to choose another approach instead of relying on the route it used in a previous match. Crytek says Inferno remains in the active rotation throughout Chapters 2 and 3.

The event-only Firefighter Supply appears during Inferno. Crytek lists the Flame Rifle as a guaranteed find at that supply, alongside possible rewards such as a Scouting Map or Tarot Cards. The rifle is described as a scarce weapon that sprays a steady burst of flame using pressurized liquid. It gives players a tool tied directly to the condition, but the notes do not say it makes the fire harmless or that a supply will appear in every location. Treating the Firefighter Supply as a guaranteed map-wide spawn would go beyond what the patch page says.

For a team planning a bounty run, smoke and fixed fire zones create two different problems. Smoke can hide movement and make a long sightline less useful; a fixed blaze can remove a route altogether. A squad that normally crosses a compound by the shortest path may need to check an alternate entrance before committing to a fight. Crytek does not publish a map-by-map list of the affected paths in the article, so the exact route is something players have to read from the match itself.

The red Bloodweaver is tied to Blood Moon, not every match

The Chapter 2 patch adds two related threats, but they do not share the same condition. Bileweavers return in 20 compounds spread across all maps. Crytek says five of those compounds are selected for a match. Their eggs have a revised color treatment intended to make their poisonous nature clearer. That means a hunter may encounter a contaminated compound without seeing every marked location from the full chapter list.

Bloodweavers are a red-colored Bileweaver variation. The patch notes say they appear only during the Blood Moon Time of Day and cause bleeding damage with their jump attack and egg hatching. The distinction is useful during a hurried fight: the red body and spiked red eggs flag the more dangerous variant. Crytek describes them as more aggressive in the story post, but does not publish a health value, spawn rate or damage number in the notes reviewed here. There is no basis for claiming every Blood Moon match will contain one.

All Hallows’ Cleave unlocks three rewards at named stages

The community event began October 13 and has five stages. Crytek’s patch notes connect progress to objectives completed in matches and describe rewards at stages one, three and five. The Atlas, unlocked at stage one, reveals hidden locations on the map. The Temperance arrives at stage three and restores the last Trait the Hunter lost during that mission; the developer note says it can also restore Traits lost to Siphon, not only burned Traits. Stage five adds the Long Derringer, a small single-shot pistol using Long Ammo. Crytek describes it as high damage with reduced velocity and a short drop range, most accurate at short to medium distance.

Those are different kinds of rewards. The Atlas changes what a team can see, The Temperance restores a specific piece of a Hunter’s build, and the Derringer is a weapon choice with an unusual range profile. Crytek says reaching each stage threshold unlocks gameplay additions through community contributions. The official article does not give an end date for All Hallows’ Cleave or a per-player point target, so the October 6 announcement alone cannot tell a late reader whether a particular reward is still claimable. Check the live event screen before planning around one.

The Hunter pack is separate, and its title is inconsistent

One detail is easy to misread because Crytek’s own pages use two names. The October 6 story post calls the premium Hunter pack Bound in Blood, while Steam’s DLC catalogue lists Hunt: Showdown 1896 – Bound by Blood. Steam shows an October 7 release date and a $9.99 US price. The listing describes one Hunter, three weapons, one consumable, one avatar and one frame: The Protegee, The Primrose Mosin-Nagant, Skin Deep for the Sparks Pistol and its silencer, plus The White Fox Ammo Box. Crytek’s story explains Sophie Laurent’s connection to Lynch and the serum; Steam is clearer about the items and price.

That pack is not the same thing as Blood Testament Chapter 2. The date difference is another clue: the chapter launched October 6, the DLC listing is dated October 7, and the new monsters and event rewards were set for October 13. A player interested in the match changes does not need to treat a cosmetic purchase as the entry fee for Inferno or the community event. The story post and store page reviewed here do not present the Hunter pack as a prerequisite for the chapter.

October also gives new players a separate entry window

Crytek’s story post says Hunt: Showdown 1896 was featured as a PlayStation Plus Game of the Month from October 6 through November 2. That timing overlaps with Chapter 2 and the start of All Hallows’ Cleave, which gives a new or returning player a reason to learn the current conditions before the monthly offer ends. Crytek points beginners to its Player Guides, but the announcement does not say that the guides are required or that the monthly listing grants permanent ownership after the offer period.

A sensible first session is therefore about learning the live map rather than buying every item mentioned in the chapter post. Check whether Inferno is active, watch for the smoke and fire blocking a route, and treat a red Bloodweaver as a distinct threat when Blood Moon is running. If the event is still available in the client, its stage progress and reward screen provide the current answer on what remains to unlock. The DLC decision is independent: use the Steam listing to inspect its cosmetic contents and regional store price, and do not confuse those extras with Chapter 2’s match conditions.