DMZ Beginner's Guide

0:13 To get started in DMZ in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, follow your DMZ Orders, deploy into a low-threat part of Hajin with a plate carrier, a backpack, a weapon and a medkit, loot containers and do quick side jobs such as UAV Towers, and leave on an exfil well before the radiation closes in. Activision's own Hajin deep dive (Oct 5, 2026) calls Orders "among the most reliable ways to advance your DMZ Level while building up your Stash", and searching containers "one of the most reliable ways to earn DMZ XP and progress your FOB". The steps below go from your first visit to the Forward Operating Base to the After Action Report, with the tips Activision, GameSpot, GamingBible, Insider Gaming and Pocket Tactics give, each named. What the mode is, in full, is on DMZ.

Quick facts

Sources: Call of Duty, Oct 9, 2026, GameSpot, Insider Gaming.

Step 1: read your Orders at the FOB

0:26 You begin in the Forward Operating Base, the hub between deployments. Go to the DMZ Orders station first. Orders are the mode's "guiding Mission Directives", grouped in Pages, and they double as the tutorial and the story; their rewards are resources, loot and cash, per the FOB deep dive (Oct 9, 2026). The Boss Board opens after your second Order. Read the requirements before you deploy: an Order shows on the right of your HUD and on the Tac-Map, and you can ping its location for your squad.

Do not sell your starting Backpack, Armor Vest or Medkits before your first run. Selling them could lock players out in early access until Infinity Ward fixed it on Oct 20, according to its patch notes, and you need them anyway.

Step 2: choose your kit

0:53 Activision's recommended infil kit is a Plate Carrier, a Backpack, a Weapon and a Medkit. If you would rather risk nothing, equip the Free Loadout in Ready Up: basic gear that you keep if you get out. GameSpot (Oct 20, 2026) describes it as "a random low-rarity gun and basic supplies", good for low-stakes runs and for gathering crafting materials.

Pack a parachute. GameSpot points out that parachutes are not a built-in part of every drop as they were in Warzone and the 2022 DMZ beta, and a long fall knocks you down; most are single-use, and since the Oct 23 update the Disposable Parachute has three uses.

You carry two weapons plus a melee weapon in and out of a match (two primaries, two secondaries or one of each), more with a Weapon Backpack. Armor plates fill automatically at infil; Traits or the Armor Box Field Upgrade are the only ways to bring more (Oct 9 deep dive). Remember that Field Upgrades do not recharge in DMZ as they do in Multiplayer.

Step 3: deploy

Walk to the Deploy area, "a threshold of razor wire leading to a heavy-lift military transport helicopter", and pick a Story Mission, a Dynamic Operation or Free Roam. To play solo, turn Squad Fill off before searching (Insider Gaming, Oct 21, 2026: L2 on PlayStation, LB on Xbox). The free ground infil drops you on foot at a random spot; paid infils, from a 5,000 DMZ Cash Polaris buggy to a 100,000 Cargo Plane, can wait until you have money. The deployment types are explained on DMZ Story Missions and DMZ Bounties and Dynamic Ops.

Step 4: start where the threat is low

Every area of Hajin has a Threat Level under the compass, from Low to Extreme. GamingBible (Oct 22, 2026) advises starting in lower-threat places and leaving the 14th Political Prison, Chang-san Air Base and The Grid for later. Low areas in Activision's list include Deadtown, Imjin Farmland, Cheongun Village, Mirae General Hospital and Songdo Wharf; the full table is on Hajin.

Step 5: loot with a plan

3:21 Loot follows the building, says Activision's June post: police stations hold combat gear, hospitals medicine, homes crafting resources. Fire Stations are where radiation gear and parachutes turn up. GamingBible's order of priority is ammo, equipment and healing first, crafting resources after.

Resources (Synthetics, Electronics, Chemicals and Metals) are broken down automatically when you loot and take no Stash space. Valuables, marked with a gem, sell straight for DMZ Cash. At the 3D Printer you can pin a Recipe or Ingredient so a pin icon marks it when you find it (Oct 9 deep dive). Extracting with a Recipe or a Weapon Manual always pays 5,000 DMZ Cash, so grab them.

Step 6: do the quick jobs

UAV Towers are what GameSpot recommends first: quick, lightly guarded objectives that pay cash, XP and intel, revealing players and enemies nearby. Other Side Ops are capturing SAM Sites, repairing trucks (they carry a UAV), finding lost Supply Drops and climbing comms towers to locate a Lieutenant. Activision's tip is to compare your Story Mission with your Orders, since one run can often finish both.

Step 7: stay quiet

11:04 Fighting raises the threat; going quiet lowers it. Activision's Oct 5 deep dive advises breaking contact, taking cover, moving to rural ground and staying stealthy, and using melee, throwing knives and suppressed shots to cross dangerous areas. The Stealth Meter turns white, then yellow, then orange as an enemy is about to see you; go prone or back into cover before it fills. Kill too many enemies and the Hostiles Kill Count meter fills, sending a Hunt Squad after you. GamingBible's version is shorter: fight the AI only when it blocks your route.

Step 8: handle other players

Other squads share every server. You can ask for a Truce or join forces through the Ping Wheel, and proximity chat lets you listen to or mute rival players nearby. Pocket Tactics warns to use proximity chat carefully in a fight. Exfil sites are favorite ambush points, and Clinics may hide players waiting for wounded Operators. Killing players gives a Bounty and can make you Wanted; see DMZ Bounties and Dynamic Ops.

Step 9: get out early

9:56 GameSpot and GamingBible report a match timer of 30 minutes before deadly irradiated gas closes in, then 10 minutes to reach an exfil. GamingBible's advice is to leave early rather than chase one more objective. Exfil sites are marked with green smoke: call the helicopter and hold the area until it lands. A Flare or a Fulton balloon gets you out from anywhere, but both are loud. GameSpot adds that escorting a hostage can earn a private, earlier exfil on the hostage's helicopter, which is often safer than the public ones.

If you go down without a Self-Revive, Infinity Ward's Joe Cecot told Xbox Wire (Jun 7, 2026) you always get one Tourniquet to stand up wounded; a Medkit or Bandage then restores you.

Step 10: after the run

11:06 The After Action Report rates you from F to S++ on Objectives, Combat and Looting; Activision says an S rating comes from a balanced run, not looting alone (Oct 5 deep dive). Then follow GameSpot's routine: empty your Backpack into the Stash after every run, sell pure valuables, and put early money into Stash and Bank upgrades, because "insufficient bank storage wastes money." The Vendor opens at DMZ Level 5 and its stock changes day to day, and the Gunsmith opens at Level 10.

10:38 If an Operator died, they are Missing in Action until you pay DMZ Cash to recover them, and the price rises with their Traits. Cecot suggested a second Operator as a "cash mule" who earns money from vaults and Dynamic Ops to rescue the first. Cash and resources are shared by all your Operators. All of this is on DMZ Progression and Forward Operating Base.

Settings and loadouts

DMZ uses the same weapons and attachments as Multiplayer, and weapon levels carry between the two, so a gun you level in Multiplayer is ready in DMZ. Weapon picks for DMZ are on Best Loadouts, and controller and graphics settings on Best Settings.

Frequently asked questions

How do you play DMZ in Modern Warfare 4? In Modern Warfare 4 you pick Story Missions, Dynamic Operations or Free Roam at the FOB's Deploy station, drop into Hajin, loot and complete objectives, then reach an exfil before the radiation closes in. You keep only what you carry out.

What should I do first in MW4 DMZ? Read your DMZ Orders at the FOB. Activision calls them among the most reliable ways to raise your DMZ Level and build your Stash in Modern Warfare 4.

What should I bring into DMZ in Modern Warfare 4? Activision recommends a Plate Carrier, a Backpack, a Weapon and a Medkit, and GameSpot adds a parachute, since they are not free in MW4 DMZ.

How do you make money fast in MW4 DMZ? Do UAV Towers and Dynamic Ops, extract Recipes and Weapon Manuals (5,000 DMZ Cash each) and sell valuables. GameSpot also advises upgrading the Bank early so MW4 DMZ cash is not wasted.

Is the Free Loadout worth using in MW4 DMZ? Yes for low-risk runs: GameSpot says Modern Warfare 4's Free Loadout gives a random low-rarity gun and basic supplies, and you keep it if you extract.

How do you get your Operator back after dying in MW4 DMZ? Pay DMZ Cash at the FOB to recover the Missing in Action Operator, which keeps their Traits but not their gear, or dismiss them and start over. The cost rises with each Trait in Modern Warfare 4.

Sources

• Modern Warfare 4 DMZ: Explore the Hajin Exclusion Zone, Call of Duty, Jun 6, 2026
• DMZ - New Intel on Call of Duty's Extraction Shooter Experience, Xbox Wire, Jun 7, 2026
• Modern Warfare 4 DMZ - everything you need to know, Pocket Tactics, Oct 4, 2026
• DMZ Deep Dive, Part 1: Tour of Duty - Hajin Environments and Threats, Full Intel Guide, Call of Duty, Oct 5, 2026
• DMZ Deep Dive, Part 2: How to Play - Forward Operating Base (FOB) Full Intel Guide, Call of Duty, Oct 9, 2026
• Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ Tips, GameSpot, Oct 20, 2026
• Can you play Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 DMZ solo, Insider Gaming, Oct 21, 2026
• Modern Warfare 4 DMZ: 8 essential tips to survive Hajin and escape with better loot, GamingBible, Oct 22, 2026
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Launch Patch Notes, Infinity Ward, Oct 24, 2026
• DMZ First Look | COD POD Ep. 11 w/ Infinity Ward | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Call of Duty, Jun 7, 2026 (video)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 - DMZ Beginner's Guide, IGN, Oct 20, 2026 (video)
• ULTIMATE BEGINNER'S GUIDE to DMZ in MW4: Best Start, Tips & Secrets, MrRoflWaffles, Oct 21, 2026 (video)