Deep Rock Galactic Halloween 2026 Event Guide: Straw Boss and Skulls

Combat Summary

• What it is: Hoxxes Halloween 2026 is the Halloween event in Deep Rock Galactic, with a haunted Space Rig, a new hat, catch-up hats, and flying skulls that boost mission rewards.
• When it runs: October 22 to November 5, 2026. It ends Thursday, November 5 at 13:00 CET.
• Straw Boss hat: Complete the special Halloween assignment before the event ends.
• Past hats: Complete the Last Year’s Horrors assignment to unlock all previous Halloween hats.
• Skull bonus: Shoot down flying skulls in caves, deposit them, and each deposited skull earns a Double Performance Point Bonus.
• What it is not: Cosmetics plus a points bonus, not new missions or weapons.

What the event includes and when it ends

Hoxxes Halloween 2026 is live in Deep Rock Galactic. Official: It runs October 22 to November 5, 2026, and ends Thursday, November 5 at 13:00 CET, according to official Steam news for Deep Rock Galactic on October 22, 2026. Do not assume a grace period, because none is stated. Any assignment left unfinished at that cutoff should be treated as missed.

The event has four parts: the new Straw Boss hat, Last Year’s Horrors for past hats, flying skulls for a Double Performance Point Bonus, and a haunted Space Rig with ghosts, jack-o’-lanterns, eerie ambience, and ominous whispers at the Abyss Bar. This guide covers Deep Rock Galactic seasonal play for Halloween Events in Co-op squads.

Straw Boss assignment

The Straw Boss is the headline reward for 2026. Official: You earn the new Straw Boss headgear by completing the Halloween assignment, described in official news as the special event assignment, before the event ends on November 5 at 13:00 CET. That is the complete official requirement used here. No extra purchase, rank, or side objective is listed as part of earning the hat.

In practice, open the assignment board, select the Halloween assignment, and keep it active while you play. Check its objectives before each mission so you do not run missions that make no progress. If an objective calls for a particular mission type, biome, or enemy, build your mission choice around it instead of queuing at random.

Community tested: Seasonal assignments go faster when the whole squad tracks the same assignment. Tell your team which assignment you are tracking at the start of a mission. When objectives overlap, everyone progresses together. When they do not, agree whose objectives take priority for that mission, then rotate next time. Do not confuse this assignment with Last Year’s Horrors. They are separate, and completing one does not complete the other.

Last Year’s Horrors catch-up

Last Year’s Horrors is for players who missed earlier Halloween events. Official: Completing it unlocks all previous Halloween hats for players who missed earlier events. It is a catch-up route, not a second copy of the Straw Boss reward, and its value depends on what you already own.

If you already own those hats, spend your limited event time on the Straw Boss assignment and skull hunting instead. If you are new, returning after a long break, or missed one or more past years, Last Year’s Horrors fills those gaps in one assignment.

Community tested: Check your wardrobe before you start. Note which Halloween hats you already own, so you know what this assignment will actually add. That quick check avoids finishing an assignment and realising the hats you expected were already in your collection. New players should usually finish Straw Boss first, then move to Last Year’s Horrors. Returning players who care more about an old set can reverse that order, but should switch no later than two evenings before the end, so neither assignment is left half-finished.

Flying skulls and the Double Performance Point Bonus

Flying skulls are the in-mission twist. Official: Shoot them down in caves, deposit them, and each deposited skull earns a Double Performance Point Bonus for the mission. The key word is deposited. A skull you shoot down but never deposit earns nothing. Only the deposit turns a flying target into a bonus.

How to hunt

Community tested: Skulls are small, fast, and hard to hit. Long-range precision weapons work best. A scoped rifle, a precise sidearm, or another accurate long-range option gives you a far better chance than a short-range spread weapon fired in hope. Aim ahead of the flight path, because the target keeps moving while your shot travels. Take one calm shot instead of emptying a magazine in panic.

Engage from a stable spot with a clear line of sight, rather than shooting while sprinting across an open cavern. If the skull is over a hazard, a cliff edge, or a swarm spawn, let it go. No single bonus is worth a death or a squad wipe. Call out skulls early, during quiet moments such as travelling between objectives, with a direction and a landmark, so teammates can help or avoid your line of fire.

Deposit before chasing the next one

Community tested: A skull dropped or left behind earns nothing, so deposit before chasing the next one. This is the most common mistake. A player shoots down a skull, sees a second skull, runs after it, and never returns for the first. The result is two chases and zero bonuses.

After a skull goes down, move to it, pick it up if needed, and take it to the deposit point before looking for another target. If a teammate is closer to the deposit point, hand the job to them in chat and keep covering the team. A deposited skull is banked. An undeposited skull can still be lost to time, distance, or a new fight.

A Double Performance Point Bonus is most valuable on a mission you were already going to finish well. For background on promotion and progression, see our promotion guide before planning a long session around bonus chasing alone. The bonus improves a good run. It does not rescue a failed run.

Squad etiquette

Community tested: Never wipe the squad chasing a skull. Agree that rule before the mission. If chasing a skull means splitting from the team, crossing a dangerous area alone, or ignoring a swarm warning, stay with the team. The skull will pass. A downed teammate costs far more time than a missed bonus.

Assign roles loosely. One or two players with precision weapons can take skull duty while the others hold the objective and keep the deposit route clear. Rotate the role between missions. Be honest about misses: if you miss, say so, so another player with a better angle can take the shot.

Haunted Space Rig

The Space Rig is haunted for the event. Official: Expect ghosts, jack-o’-lanterns, eerie ambience, and ominous whispers at the Abyss Bar. These are atmosphere changes, not new mission content, and they are worth a slow walk around the Rig at least once.

Start at the Abyss Bar, where the whispers are reported, then walk the main decks and look for ghosts and jack-o’-lanterns in places you normally rush past. Give yourself one relaxed visit between missions.

Do not mistake atmosphere for progress. Standing in the haunted Rig does not complete assignments or deposit skulls. Enjoy the dressing, then queue for a mission with a clear assignment goal. The Rig sets the mood. The caves pay out the rewards.

What the event does NOT add

Honest framing matters. This event is cosmetics plus a points bonus, not new missions or weapons. Saying so plainly helps players plan: if you are waiting for a new biome, a new enemy type, a new weapon, or a new story mission, this event will not give you those things.

That limit does not make the event worthless. Cosmetics are a real part of Deep Rock Galactic identity, and many players care about hats that mark the year they played. A Double Performance Point Bonus is also genuinely useful for progression. But the value is in collection and progression speed, not in new gameplay systems.

Players coming from Rogue Core should keep the two games separate. They share a universe and a tone, but they are different games with different progression. For a clear side-by-side view, see our DRG vs Rogue Core differences guide before assuming a hat, weapon, or mission rule carries over from one game to the other.

Speculation: Future Halloween events may reuse or extend these ideas, but this guide makes no claim about what next year will include. Any talk of future hats, skull variants, or Rig decorations beyond 2026 is guesswork until an official post says otherwise. Plan only around the October 22 to November 5, 2026 window stated above.

A one-evening completion checklist

Use this checklist if you have a single evening to make real progress, assuming two or three missions in one session.

• Select the Halloween assignment for the Straw Boss hat first.
• Check your headgear collection and decide whether Last Year’s Horrors is also worth your time.
• Tell your squad which assignment you are tracking before the first mission.
• Bring a long-range precision weapon, and agree no one wipes the squad chasing a skull.
• In each mission, shoot down skulls, deposit each one before chasing the next, then return to the main objective.
• Between missions, visit the haunted Space Rig once, including the Abyss Bar.
• After the session, check assignment progress and decide whether to switch assignments next time.
• Stop at least one evening before November 5 at 13:00 CET with both assignments in view, so a bad final session cannot strand an almost-finished assignment.

If you can only play one mission, choose one that advances your active assignment and gives you skull chances.

Verification note

Official facts in this guide are the event dates, the November 5 at 13:00 CET end time, the Straw Boss reward for completing the Halloween assignment, the Last Year’s Horrors catch-up for previous Halloween hats, the flying-skull deposit rule and Double Performance Point Bonus, and the haunted Space Rig details, all from official Steam news for Deep Rock Galactic on October 22, 2026. Community tested facts are the skull-hunting tactics, the deposit-before-chasing rule, the squad etiquette advice, and the assignment-order planning, drawn from player experience rather than official patch wording. Anything about future events is labelled Speculation above and should not be read as an official promise.