Hunt: Showdown 1896 Adds Cargo Balloons as a New Stronghold Extraction Objective

Hunt: Showdown 1896's Road to Hell Chapter 2 went live on July 2, 2026, bringing a structural addition to Strongholds: Cargo Balloons.

What changed

Cargo Balloons are a new extraction objective found at Strongholds. To use one, Hunters must inflate it by opening valves on up to three connected hydrogen gas tanks. Inflation time scales with how many valves are open:

• 1 valve open: 12 minutes
• 2 valves open: 6 minutes
• 3 valves open: 4 minutes

Audible hissing at the hose junction signals when inflation reaches 50% and again at 100%. A fully inflated balloon can then be released via a direct interaction — but only while not carrying eligible cargo.

Hunters can load loot onto a balloon at any time before launch. Each balloon holds up to 4 Cargo Crates and 1 Bounty Token (stored in a dedicated Bounty Canister). Critically, loading cargo does not lock in ownership — rewards go only to the team that actually releases the balloon.

New Cargo Crates scattered across Strongholds come in three types:

• Scarce Ammo Cargo Crate
• Hunt Dollar Cargo Crate
• Weapon Cargo Crate

Each type appears in either a Standard or Worn variant, with crate condition influencing reward quality. A Worn Scarce Ammo Crate yields one random scarce ammo type; a Standard variant improves on that.

The mechanic introduces a slow, noisy, and highly contested objective — inflating a balloon advertises your position for minutes at a time, making the extraction a natural flashpoint for late-match confrontations.