Crytek is billing Blood Testament as the biggest in-game event Hunt: Showdown 1896 has seen all year.
Starting September 8, Update 2.9 arrives alongside it with a blood-soaked community story, a brand new Blood Moon, two fresh Traits and one of the heaviest combat overhauls in a while.

TL;DR – What's Coming

  • Launch: September 8, alongside Update 2.9
  • New community event "Make Them Bleed" with three progression stages
  • Blood Wells on every map grant the Siphon Burn Trait
  • Two new Traits: Siphon and Chupacabra
  • New Time of Day: Blood Moon, with Intense and Dark phases
  • New weapon: the Burgess shotgun, plus Bayonet and Trauma variants
  • Balance changes for the Bow, Terminus, slug pricing, LeMat ammo and more
  • All Extraction Points, Supply Points and Scout Towers are hidden by default from now on
  • MMR Decay and a new New Player Modifier for fairer matches
  • Fair Play Follow Up: automatic compensation for confirmed cheating victims

The Story Behind Blood Testament: A Hunter Loses Himself to Blood

Blood Testament follows the Hunter Warren Russett, who, according to the official announcement, lost everything to Corruption until the mysterious Lynch offered him her newly formulated blood serum. Russett becomes hopelessly addicted, developing an insatiable thirst for blood with deadly consequences for himself and everyone around him. The official trailer doesn't hold back on how far things go: one line simply demands "bring me more blood", while the story frames the blood of men and the blood of monsters as the price of ending Corruption for good.

It's the kind of origin story Crytek loves building a whole season around: one Hunter's personal ruin becomes the spark for a server-wide nightmare everyone else has to survive.

Make Them Bleed: The Community Event's Three Stages

Update 2.9 kicks off the Make Them Bleed community event at the same time, where every player contributes to a shared points total by killing monsters and Targets during Missions and by interacting with the new Blood Wells. These blood sources appear across the bayou and the gulch, one per compound, and work a lot like a Clue: each team can interact with a given Blood Well exactly once. In return, Hunters unlock the new Siphon Burn Trait, though the activation costs a slice of their own health.

Community progress unfolds across three stages, each with its own reward:

  • Stage I: unlocks the new Blood Moon Time of Day for the whole community
  • Stage II: unlocks the new Chupacabra Trait for everyone
  • Stage III: what Crytek calls "the true new nightmare" on the bayou. The studio is keeping the details under wraps until launch.

New Traits: Siphon and Chupacabra

Blood Testament introduces two new Burn Traits that noticeably shift how a Bounty Hunt plays out:

  • Siphon: unlocked by interacting with a Blood Well. Lets players loot a Scarce Trait off an enemy Hunter's body, leaving the Siphon Trait behind in its place. Blood Wells are only present in-game during Stages I and II of Make Them Bleed.
  • Chupacabra: lets players interact with animals to restore one Health Chunk. Once unlocked, it can be purchased for 2 Upgrade Points.

The Blood Moon Over the Bayou and the Gulch

The Blood Moon is a completely new, dynamic Time of Day that noticeably changes the rhythm of PvP fights. It cycles through two phases:

  • Intense Blood Moon: crimson light breaks through the storm clouds, bathing the map in a stronger red glow and driving monsters to attack more aggressively and faster.
  • Dark Blood Moon: dark clouds cover the sky, cutting visibility and shielding the bayou and gulch from the red glow. Monster behavior returns to normal during this phase.

New Firepower: The Burgess Family

The Burgess is a foldable, slide-action shotgun with a long barrel and a 6-round magazine. Its Size 3 weapon capacity comes at the cost of long equip and unequip animations, but it pairs well with the Bulletgrubber Trait to recover ejected, still-live shells.

Two variants ship alongside it. The Burgess Bayonet adds a blade at the cost of an even longer deployment time. The Burgess Trauma comes with a reinforced stock that turns the heavy melee attack into a hammer strike instead.

During Blood Testament, all Burgess variants unlock through the Battle Pass and stay unlocked through Prestige. Once the event ends, the weapon family moves into normal weapon progression.

Update 2.9: The Big Balance Pass

Blood Testament isn't launching alone: Update 2.9 brings a long list of changes shaped directly by community feedback.

Combat and Weapons

  • Hunting Bow: one-hit kill range and reserve ammo reduced
  • Terminus: increased damage and tighter spread
  • Slug pricing drops across multiple weapons
  • New ammo type: LeMat High Velocity Ammo
  • Tool and Consumable prices adjusted
  • Heavy Knife: swing melee hit detection improved

Loadouts and Hunter Slots

  • Traits can now be saved as part of Loadouts, 0 to 15 per build, at a cost in both Hunt Dollars and Upgrade Points
  • The number of available Hunter Slots grows from 75 to 100

The Bayou Gets More Dangerous

  • All Extraction Points, Supply Points and Scout Towers are hidden by default from now on
  • Interacting with a Clue reveals two Extraction Points
  • Scouting Maps can appear at any Supply Point
  • The Spyglass can still reveal hidden compass icons

Fairer Matchmaking and Anti-Cheat

  • MMR Decay grants returning players a temporary modifier that reduces matchup difficulty after a longer absence, gradually tapering off
  • The New Player Modifier replaces the old flat reduction, which used to end abruptly at a specific Bloodline Rank, with a smoother curve
  • Fair Play Follow Up marks the first step toward more complex reimbursements: players whose Hunters fall to a confirmed cheater now get an automatic flat reimbursement in Hunt Dollars, while players whose reports lead to action get a success notification. Both trigger a pop-up on the next login after the cheater is dealt with.

What Blood Testament Means for You as a Hunter

If you know the bayou well, expect a noticeably different rhythm this time. Blood Wells only work once per team, so it's worth planning your route to your compound's well before you get pulled into a fight. Since activating one costs health, packing a healing item along suddenly matters more than usual.

Hidden Extraction Points change how you plan a round, too: without a revealed Clue, your escape route stays uncertain right up to the end, which makes aggressive Clue hunting worth it again. And once the Blood Moon rises, the threat from monsters shifts noticeably: during the Intense phase, extra caution near monster nests pays off, while the Dark phase lets you settle back into a more familiar Hunt pace.

FAQ: Common Questions About Blood Testament

When does Blood Testament start?
The event launches on September 8, alongside Update 2.9.

What is a Blood Well, and how often can I use one?
Every compound has one Blood Well. Each team can activate it exactly once, like a Clue, in exchange for the Siphon Burn Trait, though it costs a portion of the team's own health.

Will the Burgess shotgun stay usable after the event ends?
Yes. During Blood Testament, it unlocks through the Battle Pass and stays unlocked through Prestige. After the event, it moves into normal weapon progression and remains unlockable.