Honestly, hunting the Hunters is probably the most stressful thing you can do in D.C., New York, or Brooklyn. It’s not just the combat—though getting hit by a stinger hive the second you spawn is a nightmare—it’s those cryptic, borderline annoying puzzles. You’ve probably spent twenty minutes standing in a fountain doing jumping jacks, wondering if the game is bugged or if you’re just doing it wrong.
Basically, there are three main sets of masks scattered across the map. You have the original 12 from Washington D.C., the 13 from the Warlords of New York expansion, and the 8 newer ones from the Battle for Brooklyn DLC. If you want that full wall of faces in your Base of Operations, you’re looking at 33 total encounters.
The Washington D.C. Originals
These are the classics. Most people start here because they reward you with Ivory Keys, which eventually let you open that gun case in the White House for the Shield Splinterer F2000.
Most of these require it to be nighttime—specifically after 21:00 (9 PM) in-game. You can check the time by opening Photo Mode. If you try these during the day, nothing happens. It's just you standing in a dark alley like a weirdo.
Demon Mask
This one is actually doable during the day. Go to the Demolition Site Control Point in Downtown East. Look for the building to the east with all the windows and yellow tarps. If you climb up to the little garden area and look across to the windows, you'll see four target symbols. Shoot them from top to bottom. The Hunter spawns right in the middle of the courtyard.
Wraith Mask
This is the one that everyone gets wrong. Go to the memorial wall in the Southwest district (near the Liberty's Call safehouse). Step one: shoot the light that's illuminating the wall. Step two: stand behind the flagpole and salute the wall. If you don't shoot the light first, he won't show.
The Christmas Tree Squad (Cross, Death, Diamond, and Phantom)
This is a bloodbath. You have to go to the park with the massive Christmas tree in the East Mall. Go into the nearby coffee shop, pull a lever behind the counter, and then run back to the tree and run circles around it. Four Hunters spawn at once. If you’re playing solo, you’re probably going to die. I’m not even kidding. Bring a friend or at least a Shock Trap.
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Going North: The Warlords of New York Masks
New York upped the ante with puzzles that feel like a national treasure hunt. These reward Off-White keys for the chest in Haven.
The Psycho and Drip Masks
These two are a package deal. You start by going to a laundry room in the Civic Center and interacting with a washing machine (Number 23). You’ll have to find a fuse box, grab a spare fuse, and come back. It’s a lot of running around for two guys who will try to axe you the moment they spawn in the street.
The Weirdo and Drama Masks
Go to the Canal Street Market at night. There’s a stage with some lights. You have to interact with a laptop and then run around hitting various light switches in a specific order. If you mess up the timing, you have to wait until the next night. It’s tedious, but the masks look incredibly cool, especially the Drama mask with its creepy smile.
The New Frontier: Battle for Brooklyn Puzzles
The Brooklyn masks—like Lumen, Redtail, and Necronos—are the newest additions. These are arguably the most complex.
Redtail Mask: The Antenna Nightmare
To get Redtail, you have to disable nine different antennas across Brooklyn. Some are on rooftops, some are hidden behind yellow fuse boxes you have to shoot from a distance. Once you hit all nine, you head into the sewers under the Manhattan Bridge and hit a computer. The alarm goes off, you climb out, and Redtail is waiting. He’s tough because he often spawns with NPC factions nearby, so it becomes a three-way war.
The Necronos Finale
You can’t even start Necronos until you have the other seven Brooklyn masks. Once you do, go to the original Division 1 safehouse (the one from the very first game’s intro). There’s a whiteboard. Interact with it, follow a UV trail across the rooftops, and prepare for the final showdown.
Pro-Tips for Not Getting Axed
Hunters are basically cheating. They hack your skills, so don't even bother with a Turret or a Drone. They will turn your own gear against you and kill you with it.
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- Hazard Protection is King: If you have 100% Hazard Pro, their EMPs and stinger hives won't affect you.
- The Scorpio Shotgun: Honestly, this is the Hunter killer. The status effects keep them stun-locked so they can't heal or vanish.
- World Difficulty: If you just want the masks, set your world to Normal. The masks drop regardless of difficulty, and a Heroic Hunter is a recipe for a broken controller.
The best way to tackle this is to do it in batches. Spend one in-game night doing the D.C. ones, then move to NYC. Most of these puzzles reset if you fail, but some—like the Brooklyn antennas—require you to hit every step in a single session.
If you’ve already cleared the D.C. Hunters, you should head over to the Haven settlement in New York and check the mask wall there to see which of the expansion ones you're missing.
Next Step: Check your in-game clock and head to the East Mall Christmas tree to see if you can handle the four-Hunter spawn; it's the ultimate litmus test for your build.