Some Warzone 2 DMZ tips can turn a brutal experience into a sleek operation, able to get kills, collect money and exfil for massive rewards. The Warzone 2 DMZ is a unique experience, as rather than playing until you win, you simply play until you feel you're ready to leave with whatever rewards you've managed to earn and scavenge along the way. Clearly there's a lot to both learn and un-learn here, so we've gone through the game in detail to help you figure out all the best Warzone 2 DMZ tips and tricks to survive and thrive in Call of Duty's demilitarized zone.
How insured weapons work in DMZ
Your DMZ loadout comes with you after you exfil and if you die, you’ll lose all your gear. The exception is that insured weapons are actually reusable after a certain amount of time. Insured weapons are ones that you can customize in the gunsmith, much like loadout weapons from Warzone 2.0. If you temporarily lose access to your insured weapon, you can actually shorten the wait by extracting a DMZ match with cash. So, it pays to complete missions and collect cash, especially if your insured weapon is currently on a timer.
How contraband weapons work in DMZ
Contraband weapons are any firearms you pick up during a DMZ play session. These can be weapons from AI or real players. The catch with these weapons is that you cannot customize them in the gunsmith and if you die with them, they’re gone for good. But it’s always a good idea to extract with contraband weapons, especially to hold you over while you wait for your insured weapon to come back.
How to exfil easily in DMZ
Remember, you need to exfil from the map to secure all the items you’ve earned in a DMZ match, but doing so is much harder than it sounds. There are very few extraction zones on the map, but one trick is to complete the hostage rescue missions to gain access to an additional exfil helicopter. This is invaluable especially since many players like to camp at exfil zones to wait for players looking to extract – eliminating them at the last moment before taking their hard-earned gear. Completing hostage rescue missions essentially gives you access to your own chopper, reducing the risk when extracting.
Activate UAV Towers to see enemies nearby
Around the map are UAV Towers (indicated by a little tower icon) that typically appear close to main POIs. If you plan on completing an objective nearby, it’s a good idea to activate a UAV Tower, which tells you where all the AI enemies are in that particular area. The UAV is only available for a limited time, but you can easily go back to reactivate it again to help you as you take down your foes.
Headshot armored enemies to get plates
Armor is a hot commodity in DMZ, as it seems to spawn infrequently. However, you can guarantee to get access to armor by eliminating armored AI with headshots. When you do, these enemies will always drop armor plates for you, allowing you to always stay stocked up.
Get the gear you need before taking on a challenging mission
This might sound like a no-brainer, but new players will especially benefit from this tip. After you die in DMZ, you lose access to your backpack, keys, armor vests, and pretty much anything else you’ve collected thus far. It might be tempting to immediately boot up another match to start the next mission, but we recommend completing some easier objectives first. If you plan on defeating the Warzone 2 DMZ chemist or a Juggernaut, or even one of the tougher fortresses, it’s crucial to first have the right gear for the job.
Aim to complete Faction missions
There’s no shortage of things to do in DMZ, but one thing you should always prioritize is completing Faction missions. From the main DMZ screen, you can visit the Faction missions screen to see which ones are available. Completing these missions earns you progress toward the three Factions: Legion, White Lotus, and Black Mous. Each one has different rewards, but the most important ones are the additional insured slots you get for completing various tiers.
Take it slow and fight from a distance if you can
The number one cause of death in DMZ is rushing into crowd of soldiers and getting caught from all angles - the AI can be savage and it's easy to fall to a hail of bullets from every direction before you even realise what's happening. Whenever you can, take it slow and scope out what's ahead to get a read on enemy numbers and positions. If you have the right weapons try to fight from a distance - the enemy AI is aggressive but surprisingly poor shots at range, so if you can pick them off without getting close you'll easily tip the odds in your favor.
How DMZ keys work
There are two main types of keys: Fortress keys and Warzone 2 DMZ Stronghold keys. It’s important to distinguish between the two because they work differently. Fortress keys are for specific buildings (such as the Cavern Boat Dock Shack or Art Museum). These keys have limited uses and only work for that particular building. Fortress keys stay in your inventory after you extract with them. Stronghold keys, on the other hand, are universal and have unlimited uses, at least within that particular match. You cannot take Stronghold keys with you after extracting.
As long as one player exfils, everyone gets credit
It’s typical for things to go awry during DMZ, but thankfully, only one player needs to successfully extract for the mission to count. Sometimes, it’s best to ignore reviving a downed teammate and instead, make a beeline directly for the exfil chopper. If this happens, even players who died will earn rewards for that particular match. This is important to note, and discourages players from quitting early.
Don’t get greedy
It’s tempting to try and complete as many missions as possible in DMZ, but oftentimes, getting too greedy will get you killed, causing you to lose all your gear. Especially at first, do your best to take things slowly while getting acclimated with the game before you attempt longer expeditions. The other important thing to consider is that you only have a limited amount of time to finish missions anyway. Once the countdown timer in the top left reaches zero, the radiation will begin to overtake the map, eventually making it impossible to exfil successfully so keep this in mind.
