Here is my comprehensive guide to earning all Dark Hours Commendations for The Division 2. There are a total of 13 commendations tied to this raid.
If you prefer a video format, you’ll find a full video below, along with additional focused videos throughout the guide.
Dark Hours Commendations – Boss Completion
Four commendations are awarded for defeating each boss in the Dark Hours Raid. You will automatically earn these upon completing the raid for the first time on normal difficulty (Discovery Mode won’t count).
Max “Boomer” Bailey Award
Defeat Max “Boomer” Bailey in the Dark Hours raid.
Oliver “Weasel” Gordon Award
Defeat Oliver “Weasel” Gordon in the Dark Hours raid.
Lucy & Buddy Award
Defeat the twin Warhounds, Lucy and Buddy, in the Dark Hours raid.
DDP-52 Razorback Award
Defeat DDP-52 Razorback in the Dark Hours raid.
Dark Hours Commendations – Boss Specific
Each boss in the Dark Hours Raid has a unique commendation that requires completing an additional challenge to earn it. These commendations can only be earned on Normal difficulty and are not available in Discovery mode.
Rapid Response Merit
Defeat Max “Boomer” Bailey in the Dark Hours raid without any agent using the same mounted weapon more than once.
This challenge can be tricky, so I recommend attempting it after your team has gained experience with the fight. Mastering the Boomer Double Down strategy will make this significantly easier.
How It Works:
- Once you use a mounted gun, you cannot interact with it again.
- However, you can use both guns once—meaning after using both guns, you can no longer interact with them, or the commendation will be void.
- The team must rotate quickly and efficiently, swapping in new players to take over the guns once the kiters have used them.
Recommended Approach:
- In my strategy, the floater should be the first to step in when a gunner swap is needed.
- If things drag out and more people need to jump in, coordination can become messy.
- Using the Double Down strategy, you can complete this challenge efficiently before even needing to rotate in the floater.
If executed properly, this approach ensures a smoother path to earning the Rapid Response Merit!
Target Prioritization Merit
Defeat Oliver “Weasel” Gordon in the Dark Hours raid while at least one of his security detail is still alive.
The good news is that my strategy already covers this commendation. Essentially, you need to kill Weasel while either Ricochet or Dizzy are still alive. In the strategy, you’ll kill Weasel before Dizzy, which means this commendation will unlock as you progress through the encounter.
Evasive Maneuvers Merit
Defeat Lucy and Buddy in the Dark Hours raid without any Agent taking damage from one of Buddy’s Seeker Mines.
To earn this commendation, one squad member must focus on Buddy throughout the entire encounter. Each time Buddy drops to his knees, he releases seeker mines.
A player with a 6-skill tier build should use an oxidizer chem launcher to counter this. Every time Buddy takes a knee, fire an oxidizer at him to destroy the seeker mines before they spread and hit teammates.
Buddy first drops to his knees when the fight begins and he meets Lucy in the center. He will continue doing this periodically until he is defeated.
You can use any strategy to complete this boss fight, as long as someone consistently handles the seeker mines.
Blitzkrieg Merit
Defeat DDP-52 Razorback in the Dark Hours raid before it deploys its tower for the ninth time.
When the raid was first released, this was a challenge for many teams, as reaching the Razorback damage cap in a single tower phase was difficult. However, even on my first clear, we managed to complete the damage phases in two cycles, causing the tower to deploy only eight times.
Nowadays, it’s extremely unlikely for Razorback to last beyond eight tower deployments. Most teams will naturally earn this commendation on their first clear without even trying.
However, if you’re struggling and find that the tower is deploying nine or more times, you’ll need to optimize your damage output and increase efficiency during each phase to finish the encounter before the ninth deployment.
Everything Else
Dark Hours Merit
On story difficulty complete the Dark Hours Raid.
Complete the raid on Discovery Mode. This mode allows matchmaking and is significantly easier than the standard raid. With the right strategy, it’s possible to complete it with just two players.
Extreme Service Distinction
Complete the Dark Hours raid five times from start to end.
Complete the Dark Hours raid five times from start to finish. Has to be on Normal difficulty and not Discovery Mode.
Extreme Operations Distinction
Complete the Dark Hours raid without any Agent being killed.
My complete Strategy Guide for the Dark Hours Raid will help you and your team get familiar with the encounter. With practice, you’ll be able to complete Dark Hours smoothly without anyone being killed.
This means no one on your team can go unconscious, but going down to your knees is fine. With practice and the strategies in this guide, you’ll be able to flawless the raid consistently. Keep in mind that completions on Discovery Mode do not count.
Hardcore Raid Distinction
Complete the Dark Hours Raid with a Hardcore Agent on normal difficulty or above.
This is similar to the Extreme Operations Distinction, as your team must complete the raid flawlessly. However, you need to start with a Hardcore Character and progress through the game again while grinding out all your builds. Hardcore is a permadeath mode, meaning if any member of your team dies, you must start a new character and try again.
Blueberry the Bear Merit
Find and destroy every Blueberry the Bear during a single run through the Dark Hours raid.
Find and shoot 40 blue bears hidden throughout the Dark Hours raid. This must be done in a single raid run—missing even one means starting over in a new attempt. This can be done on any version of the raid!
Blue Bear 1/40
You’ll find your first bear right at the start of the raid. Head down the tunnel, and on the right side, you’ll spot him hiding inside a pipe.
Blue Bear 2/40
Keep going and climb up the rope to the tarmac. Once you’re at the top, head right, and you’ll find a bear inside the plane you can enter.
Blue Bear 3/40
There are three bears to find in the Boomer boss room, and you can collect them all before starting the encounter. As soon as you enter, look straight ahead to spot a bear above on the arch, just past the Kerman Coffee sign.
Blue Bear 4/40
You’ll find the next bear just to the right of the previous one, sitting on a server box in the center below the Kerman Coffee sign.
Blue Bear 5/40
The final bear in this area is inside a box on the floor in the corner of the Donut shop.
Blue Bear 6/40
After the Boomer boss encounter, in the next area, you’ll find the next bear on the left side inside some luggage.
Blue Bear 7/40
In the same area, you’ll need to complete the mechanics to open the sandwich shop where the first raid key is located. The bear can be found behind the counter, near the key.
Blue Bear 8/40
From the previous area, go through a door, and you’ll be able to look outside through some windows. The next bear is sitting on top of some storage boxes on a truck visible through the window.
Blue Bear 9/40
Continue forward from the last bear, and you’ll enter a small room where the next bear is perched in the corner on top of some wall cabinets among the cardboard boxes.
Blue Bear 10/40
Near the last bear, and just before you enter the room where you need to interact with a laptop, you’ll find a bear behind a whiteboard next to a lamp.
Blue Bear 11/40
In the room where you interact with the laptop, you’ll find this bear hiding under a desk.
Blue Bear 12/40
After interacting with the laptop, you’ll gain access to the A and B sides of the next boss encounter. There are two bears here—one on A side and one on B side—and both can be shot before starting the encounter.
The bear on A side is located to the far right of the area, near the elevator door, hidden between some boxes.
Blue Bear 13/40
On B side, the other bear is located at the far left of the area, hidden underneath a truck.
Blue Bear 14/40
After the Weasel boss encounter, you’ll climb a rope through the elevator shaft. Once you reach the top, you’ll spot the bear straight ahead on a table in a fenced-off area.
Blue Bear 15/40
From the last bear, cross the plane wing. Before going through the door, continue straight ahead to find a platform with a backpack trophy and another blue bear.
Blue Bear 16/40
As you continue and head outside, you’ll find the next bear hidden beneath some satellite dishes, just before you take the rope down.
Blue Bear 17/40
From the last bear, descend the rope and hug the right-side wall. You’ll find an alcove with a bear hiding behind some crates.
Blue Bear 18/40
In the same area as the last bear, you’ll find an ambulance. The next bear can be seen through the back window of the ambulance.
Blue Bear 19/40
Near the ambulance, there’s a police car. If you look in the trunk, you’ll spot the next bear. Be careful not to close the trunk door by vaulting over it, as you won’t be able to shoot the bear if you do.
Blue Bear 20/40
In the same area, before you enter a narrow passage, there are two more bears. One is to the right of the passage, sitting on top of a white container.
Blue Bear 21/40
The next bear is to the left of the passage, hidden among the trash bags in the waste bin.
Blue Bear 22/40
As you go through the passage and before reaching the next room with the second raid key, you’ll find this bear hidden on the floor in a corner with more trash bags.
Blue Bear 23/40
In the next room where the second raid key is located, you’ll find this bear opposite the key, hidden under a table with more yellow trash bags.
Blue Bear 24/40
From the room with the raid key, and before reaching the next large area, you’ll find a room with some hospital beds. This bear is located on one of the beds.
Blue Bear 25/40
Near the last bear, in the corner of this room, you’ll find this bear hidden among some plush teddies.
Blue Bear 26, 27 & 28/40
As you move into the next area, you’ll come across three bears next to each other on top of a tabletop, and they’re hard to miss.
Blue Bear 29/40
In the same area as the last bears, on the right side of the escalators, you’ll find this bear on a wheelchair.
Blue Bear 30/40
At the top of the escalators, there are two bears on either side of the room in fenced-off areas. On the right side, you’ll find a bear sitting on a table inside a booth.
Blue Bear 31/40
On the left side, a bear can be found sitting on a chair behind a desk in a waiting area.
Blue Bear 32/40
Move forward into the next boss encounter room, where you’ll find three bears. All of them can be shot before the boss encounter begins.
As you enter the room, look to the left to find this bear hidden on some water barrels in a gated-off area. You’ll have access to this room after the boss encounter, or you can shoot through the gate beforehand.
Blue Bear 33/40
In the center of the room, look up to find the next bear on a ledge among some greenery.
Blue Bear 34/40
On the right side of the room, you’ll find the last bear in the area. It’s visible on the shelving along the far wall beyond the gate. You can either shoot it through the gate or wait until after the boss encounter when you can enter the room.
Blue Bear 35/40
After the Lucy & Buddy boss encounter, you’ll make your way to the terminal. Along the way, there are two more bears. The first one can be found in a flower pot just after leaving the Lucy & Buddy area.
Blue Bear 36/40
The next bear can be found just after the flower pot, nestled between two vending machines.
Blue Bear 37/40
Once you reach the terminal, just before the final area of the raid, you’ll find two bears. Head left when you reach the terminal to find one of the bears inside a box, across from the 4th raid key.
Blue Bear 38/40
The next bear can be found above on a banister rail, near the check-in/ticketing sign, close to the window you drop down from into the final area.
Blue Bear 39/40
The final two bears are located in the last area. Be sure to collect them before completing the final encounter and clearing the Dark Hours Raid, or they won’t count.
As you drop into the area, look up to find one bear in some scaffolding near the number 1 generator.
Blue Bear 40/40
The final bear of the Dark Hours raid can be found to the left of generator 1, inside a booth/container.
That wraps up my guide for earning all commendations in the Dark Hours Raid on The Division 2. If you need help with raids or want to join my team in supporting the community, be sure to join my Discord Server!
