DMZ is the extraction mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. You deploy from your Forward Operating Base (FOB) into Hajin, an exclusion zone on the Korean Peninsula, where you loot, complete objectives and fight AI forces and rival players. Then you have to reach an exfil before the radiation storm closes in. If you extract, you keep your Loadout and Backpack. If you die, your Operator goes Missing in Action (MIA) and you lose everything you carried except items in a Secure Slot. The DMZ XP you earned counts either way.
This MW4 DMZ beginner guide covers the map, how exfil works and exactly what you keep. It’s built from Activision’s two official DMZ deep dives, the October 20 early access patch notes, and in-game reporting where Activision hasn’t spelled things out. DMZ early access has been live since October 20 at 10 AM PT for digital pre-orders, and the full game launches on October 23 (start times in our DMZ early access explainer).
Table of Contents
Quick answer
- Loop: FOB, then deploy (Story Missions, Dynamic Operations or Free Roam), loot and fight, exfil, back to the FOB.
- Exfil: look for green smoke on the Tac Map, call the helicopter, hold the site until it lands and board it. A Fulton balloon or a flare also works.
- If you extract: you keep your Loadout and Backpack, your DMZ Cash goes to your Bank, and any Recipes and Weapon Manuals unlock permanently.
- If you die: you lose your Loadout and anything in your Backpack that isn’t in a Secure Slot. Your Operator goes MIA. Your Stash, DMZ level and earned XP are safe.
- Safer first drops: Deadtown, Imjin Farmland, Cheongun Village, Mirae General Hospital and Songdo Wharf all start at Low threat.
- Avoid at first: The Grid, Chang-san Air Base, the Citadel inside the 14th Political Prison and the Haneul Nuclear Reactor.
MW4 DMZ beginner guide: what to do first
- Keep your starting gear. On October 20, @CODUpdates warned that players who sold their starting equipment (including Med Kits), or dismissed the Operator wearing it before their first deployment, could soft-lock their DMZ Orders. The early access patch says this is fixed, but selling starter kit gains you nothing.
- Recruit an Operator. You start with two Active Duty slots (three with the Vault Edition). The Operator you pick is locked to that slot until you dismiss them. Operators are mostly cosmetic, but each one earns its own Traits.
- Read your DMZ Orders. Activision calls them one of the most reliable ways to level up early. They teach the systems and pay out resources, loot and cash. The Boss Board unlocks after your second Order.
- Take the Free Loadout in the Ready Up menu. If you extract, you keep it, so it costs you nothing to bring.
- Turn on Squad Fill if you’re solo. It drops you in with two other players. You can also deploy alone.
- Keep the first runs short. Pick one objective, loot what’s around it and leave. The DMZ XP still counts.
Hajin's 13 major points of interest. Hajin City sits in the east, the prison and air base in the west. Image: Activision
How to deploy: missions and infil options
The Deploy menu gives you three choices:
- Story Missions: narrative missions with a briefing and high-value rewards. Check them against your squad’s Orders first, because objectives can overlap.
- Dynamic Operations: multi-step objectives that pay DMZ Cash and XP. Each completed Op drops a Supply Drop, and the drops improve from Common to Uncommon to Rare as you finish more in one deployment. If you take the Hunt Operators Op, expect to face a full rival squad.
- Free Roam: no mission. Activision recommends it for farming 3D Printer Ingredients and hunting Wanted players.
For Dynamic Operations and Free Roam, you also choose how to get in:
| Infil | Cost (DMZ Cash) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Ground | Free | Random spot, on foot |
| Polaris Dagor A1 | 5,000 | Random spot, light vehicle air-dropped with you |
| LTV | 25,000 | Random spot, heavily armored vehicle |
| Helicopter | 50,000 | Your squad flies in, and one of you pilots |
| Cargo Plane | 100,000 | Lets you choose the exact drop point |
The Hajin map: where to go as a beginner
Hajin has more than 60 named locations. The official Hajin deep dive lists 13 major points of interest, each with an expected threat level before any shooting starts. The threat scale runs from Low up to Extreme.
| Location | Where | Official threat level |
|---|---|---|
| Deadtown | Southwest | Low (Re-Education Center: Medium) |
| Imjin Farmland | South-southwest | Low (Rice Mill: Medium) |
| Cheongun Village | North | Low (Heavenly Luck Casino: High) |
| Mirae General Hospital | North central | Low |
| Songdo Wharf | East Hajin City | Low |
| Cheonwang Peak Array | Central | Medium |
| Wolves Stadium | South central city | Medium |
| Hajin River Heights | Southeast | Medium |
| NuriGO Mall | Northeast city | Medium (East) / High (West) |
| 14th Political Prison | Northwest | High (the Citadel: Critical) |
| Haneul Nuclear Reactor | Northeast | High, with radiation (gas mask required) |
| Chang-san Air Base | West | Critical (bunker: Extreme) |
| The Grid | Central Hajin City | Critical (Nenshin Tech Complex: Extreme) |
Three tips from the official guide make the map easier to read:
- Building colors tell you what’s inside. Red Fire Stations hold Radiation Gear and Parachutes. Blue Police Stations have military gear and a locked Armory. Green Clinics carry medical loot, and Activision warns that other players camp them for injured targets.
- Gas Stations repair and refuel vehicles. DMZ vehicles need both, unlike Warzone’s. Ammo and Armor Caches go on cooldown after use.
- UAV Towers and Lieutenant Hunt towers are Side Ops. A UAV Tower reveals nearby players and enemies. A Lieutenant Hunt tower marks the closest Lieutenant (a boss with a unique weapon and loot).
Threat, stealth and the Hunt Squad
Each area shows its Threat Level under your compass. Fighting raises it and brings tougher reinforcements, while breaking line of sight and staying quiet lowers it. A separate Hostiles Kill Count meter tracks how many AI enemies you’ve killed in the deployment. When it fills, a Hunt Squad comes after you and you’re Marked for Death. Solo players should watch the stealth indicator, which turns from white to yellow to orange as an enemy is about to spot you. Activision recommends melee, throwing knives and suppressed shots for getting through high-threat areas unnoticed.
The Tac Map shows the radiation countdown, your current Operation and DMZ Orders in one view. Image: Activision
How exfil works in MW4 DMZ
- Find a site: exfil sites are enabled from a pool of locations across Hajin and marked by green smoke.
- Call and hold: call in the helicopter, then defend the site as enemy pressure builds until it lands. You extract once you’re on board.
- Alternatives: a Fulton balloon or a Flare, according to the Hajin guide. Flares are very loud and visible from far away.
- Watch the clock: the HUD’s Time Remaining counter shows when the radiation storm will intensify. Head for an exfil before then.
- Expect company: Activision warns that squads use exfil sites as ambush points. If you pick up a Lieutenant’s Dog Tag Case, your position is broadcast to everyone, so leave right away.
What you keep and what you lose
| Item | You extract | You die |
|---|---|---|
| Loadout (weapons, armor, gear) | Kept | Lost |
| Backpack items | Kept (move them to your Stash) | Lost, except items in a Secure Slot |
| DMZ Cash found in the run | Added to your Bank | Not banked |
| Recipes and Weapon Manuals | Unlocked permanently, plus 5,000 DMZ Cash each | Not unlocked |
| DMZ XP and DMZ level | Kept | Kept |
| Stash (40 items and 12 weapons to start) | Safe | Safe (it never leaves the FOB) |
| Operator | Earns Dog Tag levels and Trait Points | Goes MIA |
MIA Operators: you can pay DMZ Cash at the Operators station to rescue an MIA Operator with all their Traits. The more Traits they have, the higher the price, and they come back with no gear. Or you can dismiss them and recruit someone new. GameRant reports that dismissing resets your Dog Tag to Steel I but leaves your Stash and DMZ level alone.
Where it’s still unclear:
- Secure Slots: Activision says Secure Slots come with upgraded backpacks but hasn’t published how many each backpack gets. GameRant calls it a “Reserve Slot” that protects one item. Several guides point to the Medium Backpack as the first one with Secure Slots.
- Vault Edition kit: it includes Weapon Insurance Contracts and Operator Rescue Beacons, but Activision’s DMZ guides don’t explain what either does.
- Rescue Packs: a June Dexerto preview described vendor “Rescue Packs” that save your whole loadout. They don’t appear in Activision’s October guides.
Treat all three as unconfirmed until you see them in the game.
Items in the Stash stay in the FOB and are shared by all your Operators. Rarity runs from Common to Ultra. Image: Activision
FOB unlocks and your first crafts
| Station | Unlocks | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Operators, Orders, Stash, Firing Range, Survival Kits, Bounty Leaderboard, Deploy | Immediately | The basics |
| 3D Printer | DMZ level 2 | Crafts gear and upgrades other stations |
| Boss Board | After your 2nd DMZ Order | Sells intel on Lieutenants |
| Vendor | DMZ level 5 | Weapons and gear for DMZ Cash, with rotating stock |
| Gunsmith | DMZ level 10 | Build weapons once you’ve extracted their Weapon Manual |
| Dog Tag Case | DMZ level 20 | Displays tags from players you’ve killed; its upgrades raise bounty payouts |
Your first 3D Printer recipes at level 2 are the Bandage, Medkit, 1-Plate and 2-Plate Armor Vests, and the Small and Medium Backpacks. Without a backpack you only have the 8-slot Basic Pack, so a bigger backpack is the obvious first goal. You can pin recipes and ingredients with Track, and tracked items show a pin icon when you find them in Hajin. Your Armor slot fills with plates automatically when you infil.
Weapons work differently from multiplayer. Weapon levels are shared between the two modes, but in DMZ you can only buy a gun at the Gunsmith after extracting its Weapon Manual. Until then, you use what you find, buy or loot. The Gunsmith adds up to five attachments, while guns found in Hajin can have up to eight. Our MW4 launch weapons list covers every base gun.
Early access fixes so far
The October 20 DMZ early access patch notes (posted October 21, 05:15 UTC) fix several things beginners will notice:
- a crash when breaching the door in the Breaking New Ground story mission;
- the After-Action Report showing 0 XP after a player’s first match;
- double completion credit on story missions;
- squadmates not getting XP when someone else lands the final hit on a Commander;
- the starting-gear soft lock.
Activision says full launch patch notes are coming to CallofDuty.com/patchnotes. One console note: PS5 and Xbox Series X|S need Variable Refresh Rate turned on to get Performance Mode in DMZ, per @CODUpdates.
FAQ
Is MW4 DMZ free?
No. DMZ comes with Modern Warfare 4 ($69.99 on Steam), and early access requires a digital pre-order. Activision hasn’t announced a free-to-play version, and the game isn’t on Game Pass at launch.
Can you play MW4 DMZ solo?
Yes. Activision says you can deploy in a squad or alone. Squad Fill puts you with two other players if you want a team.
Do you lose XP if you die in DMZ?
No. DMZ XP counts even if you don’t extract, and it also feeds the main level 1-55 track. You lose your gear, not your progress.
Does DMZ progress carry over to multiplayer?
Weapon levels and career XP do, which makes early access a head start on unlocks and camos. For what carries over from Black Ops 7 and Warzone, see our MW4 carry forward guide. Launch timing by platform is in our MW4 preload and early access schedule.
Sources: Call of Duty blog, DMZ Deep Dive Part 1 (Hajin), Call of Duty blog, DMZ Deep Dive Part 2 (FOB), Call of Duty blog, DMZ reveal, @CODUpdates patch notes, GameRant, Dexerto. Checked October 21, 2026, 07:40 UTC.
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Featured image: AI-generated illustration
