Chapter 1
Blood Moon, Bloodskin and the Burgess shotgun
Everything the event launched with: the Make Them Bleed Community Event, the Blood Moon and the Blood Wells, the Siphon and Chupacabra Burn Traits, the new boss Bloodskin and the Burgess shotgun from the pass.
From September 8 to October 6 · updated October 8, 2026
- Sep 8The event kicks off with 2.9
- Sep 9Stage I · Blood Moon
- Sep 10Stage II · Chupacabra and hotfix 2.9.0.1
- Sep 11Stage III · Bloodskin arrives
- Oct 6The chapter ends
Make Them Bleed
Chapter 1 kicks off with the Make Them Bleed Community Event: everyone chips in to the same scoreboard. For the first time you can follow the progress in real time from the menu, so you always know how the community is doing.
The blood sacrifice
Points come from killing monsters, finishing off mission Targets and using the new Blood Wells.
The three stages
Each stage unlocks something that directly changes the game for everyone.
Blood Moon
A new dynamic environmental condition that rolls in at night and drives the bayou’s wildlife crazy.
Chupacabra Trait
A Burn Trait that lets you sacrifice animals to recover a health chunk.
Bloodskin
The nightmare Crytek teased: a new boss, now loose in the bayou.
Blood Moon
The game’s first truly dynamic weather condition: it changes mid-match and switches between two phases with very different effects.
Intense Blood Moon
A crimson light breaks through the storm clouds and bathes the map in a stronger red glow. Monsters go into a Frenzy.
- They spot you from farther away
- Faster movement · Armoreds and Leeches most of all; Hellhounds and Immolators keep their usual speed
- Faster attacks
- No extra health, no extra damage
Dark Blood Moon
Black clouds cover the sky and shield the bayou from the red glow. The AI goes back to behaving normally
- Reduced visibility
- A much darker, gloomier look
- Monsters go back to normal
The new target: Bloodskin
The nightmare waiting behind Stage III of Make Them Bleed. The community hit 150,000,000 points on September 11 and Crytek unleashed it that same day: a new boss.
In the video I introduce the new boss and we go over different strategies to take him down without leaving half your health bar behind. If you’re going after him, give it a watch before you jump in, because this guy is no joke: it’ll save you more than one dumb death.
Confirmed so far
- Crytek lists it as a Boss Target
- It was unleashed on the Incursion zones
- It came with its own launch trailer
- Permanently unlocked for everyone, no Battle Pass needed
Lynch’s serum, taken to the end
Crytek tells it as the story of a man who was looking for a cure and ended up becoming the very thing he was running from. Blood Testament closes the circle it opened in September: Lynch’s serum backfires and turns whoever drinks it into something else.
The two phases
The icon changes halfway through its health bar: the first half is phase 1 and the second half is phase 2, each with its own weak spots.
Phase 1
- It takes very little damage until its armor breaks
- That exposes its weak spots
- Resistant to Poison and Blunt damage
- Vulnerable to Burn and Piercing damage
Phase 2
- Bloodskin has transformed
- Weaker against Burn and Rending
- Resistant to Poison and Blunt damage.
Blood Wells
They sprang up all over the bayou and the gulch during Make Them Bleed. They worked like Clues: one per Compound and one interaction per team.
How they worked
- Visible at range with Dark Sight
- They granted the Siphon Burn Trait
- They cost a bit of health (under 25 HP)
- They added 30 points to the community score
Frenzy
Interacting with a well threw the AI into the same Frenzy state as the Intense Blood Moon. Translation: you were better off clearing the area before touching the well, not after.
New Burn Traits
Two game-changing Burn Traits, one for each stage of the Community Event.
Siphon
Lets you loot a Scarce Trait off a downed enemy Hunter’s body, leaving Siphon in its place.
- In a team it prioritizes Death Cheat
- Solo it prioritizes Necromancer
- You can’t steal Necromancer from another solo player
- It also spawns naturally, like any Scarce Trait, and that’s the only way to get it now that the wells are gone
Chupacabra
Lets you interact with animals to restore a health chunk. Once unlocked, it costs 2 Upgrade Points.
- Horses, cows, animal cages, chicken coops, dog kennels The animal dies when you use it and, being a Burn Trait, the Trait burns away. Stack it with Relentless or a Regeneration Shot and you’ve got a pretty generous set of ways to heal up.
Burgess shotgun
A pump-action, folding shotgun with a long barrel. It takes up 3 slots even though it counts as a long weapon: the price of folding is equip and holster animations that are a lot slower than usual.
Stat sheet
- Size3 slots
- Capacity6 + 1
- Base price$300
- Reliable kill~12 m
- BehaviorSimilar to the Slate
- Rate of fireSlower
COMPATIBLE TRAITS
- Bulletgrubber · recovers unfired ejected shells
- Iron Eye
AMMO AND RESERVE
- Buckshot · reserve 6
- Penny Shot · reserve 9
- Dragon Breath · reserve 6
- Flechette · reserve 6
- Slug · reserve 4
The three variants
All three unlock through the Battle Pass and stay unlocked when you Prestige. After the event they move into the normal weapon progression.
Chapter 1 questions
How do I get the Siphon Trait?
These days, only by finding it naturally out in the world, like any Scarce Trait. During Make Them Bleed the Blood Wells handed it out too (one per Compound, once per team, in exchange for a bit of health), but they disappeared after Stage III.
What was the “true nightmare” of Stage III?
A new boss: Bloodskin. The community finished Stage III on September 11, 2026 and Crytek unlocked it that same day. All the details are in the Bloodskin section.
How does Chupacabra work?
It lets you interact with horses, cows, animal cages, chicken coops and dog kennels to restore a health chunk. The animal dies and, since it’s a Burn Trait, the Trait is used up. Once unlocked, it costs 2 Upgrade Points.
Is Bloodskin available to everyone?
Yes. It was permanently unlocked for everyone, no Battle Pass needed, and it shows up in the Incursion zones.
What is a Burn Trait?
A single-use Trait: it burns away when you trigger it. Siphon is used up when you steal the Trait from the enemy’s body, and Chupacabra when you sacrifice the animal.
What does the Blood Moon do?
It’s a nighttime condition that changes mid-match. In the intense phase monsters go into a Frenzy: they spot you from farther away and move and attack faster, though they don’t gain any health or damage. In the dark phase visibility drops and the AI goes back to normal.
What damage hurts Bloodskin the most?
It depends on the phase. In the first half of its health bar it barely takes damage until you break its armor, and it’s vulnerable to Burn and Piercing. In the second half it transforms and becomes weaker against Burn and Rending. In both phases it resists Poison and Blunt damage.
How good is the Burgess?
It’s a pump-action, folding shotgun with 6+1 shells that takes up 3 slots, with reliable kills out to about 12 m and handling similar to the Slate. The price of folding is much slower equip and holster animations.