Warzone 2 incorporating an extraction mode was a brave step forward for Call of Duty. DMZ’s popularity reflects what a masterstroke it’s been to this point. The good news for players is that there’s huge amounts of new content to enjoy. Here’s every Warzone 2 DMZ change in Season 4.
Warzone 2 DMZ Season 4 Early Patch Notes
With Activision’s Season 4 overview and the DMZ Community Update, we received a detailed look at changes to DMZ that have now dropped. The Reset, new PHALANX Faction and Vondel exclusion zone have long been know about, but all have been formalized and added to Warzone on June 14 with the update.
The full Warzone Season 4 DMZ changes are detailed below, courtesy of Activision:
GAMEPLAY
NEW FEATURES
Introducing the Forward Operating Base
Consider the Forward Operating Base (FOB) , a central hub for DMZ. Here, Operators will complete objectives to unlock upgrades across DMZ.
The FOB is divided into four categories of upgrades (elements of which are shown in the image above, for exemplary purposes only):
- Weapons Locker
- Insured Weapon Slots
- Insured Weapon cooldown time
- Contraband Weapon stash size increases
- Stash
- Wallet Unlock
- Wallet capacity
- Key and Contraband Stash Size increases
- Bounty Board
- Personal Exfil
- Barter recipes
- Buy Station discounts
- Communications Station
- Urgent Missions access
The F.O.B. contains passive objectives – a new set of mission types for Players to pursue that reward permanent upgrades for DMZ.
- Phalanx New DMZ Faction
- With Season 04 comes the arrival of a new faction, Phalanx. Meanwhile, the REDACTED faction whom we met in Season 03 has unceremoniously disappeared from operations in the DMZ. No further intel is available on their whereabouts…Station Chief Kate Laswell is conducting operations with Phalanx directly as she has an interest in the unknown enemy faction that has invaded Vondel. Phalanx and Black Mous will execute on missions together, gaining intel to uncover the force’s identity.
- Mission Objectives Menu
- Added new UI/UX menu where Players can view and track their Faction Missions, upgrades, location challenges, and notes.
- Seasonal Reset
- Key and Mission item stashes are resetting
- Faction Missions are resetting
- Insured Weapon Slots are resetting
- Active Duty Slots are NOT restting
- Contraband weapon inventories are NOT resetting
Vondel
- Signals Intelligence New DMZ Contract
- Signals Intelligence allows you to hack 3 other Contracts to earn passive income
- New Weapons Case and Rewards
- Travel to Vondel to track down the Bullfrog and earn all new rewards
ADJUSTMENTS
- Enemy Combatants killed with suppressed weapons will now take longer to call in reinforcements
- Running a helicopter into the DMZ boss chopper will now aggro it
- AI combatant damage has been adjusted relative to the increased Player health
- Stealth Vest:
- Now protects against Advanced UAV effects, Players can no longer be revealed by Players with a Comms Vest
- Players using the Stealth Vest will not trigger a callout from enemy Players with a Comms Vest
BUG FIXES
- Fixed an issue where enemy combatants were not using Gas Masks
- Fixed an issue preventing several Blueprints from working properly in DMZ
- Fixed an issue where, when a Player defusing the charge at a supply site is downed (interrupting the defusing), the charge is no longer incorrectly defused
- Fixed an issue where pleading for help while on the train could cause the camera to act incorrectly
- Fixed an issue where some laser traps were not visible in the Koschei Complex
- Fixed an issue where Players were unable to join in progress when part of the Squad transitions to the Koschei Complex from Al Mazrah
- Fixed an issue where stowed Weapons weren’t reporting mission progress
We’re now breaking all the changes down to explain what they mean for the average player. DMZ can be quite confusing, but hopefully the explanations below, alongside the patch notes, make the changes easier to digest.
Season 4 Reset
The reset will work as it did in Season 2. Players’ Contraband, Key & Mission Inventories will be emptied and Insured Weapon Slots reset. These slots let players protect one gun that they’re guaranteed to keep even in the case of an unsuccessful extraction.
Earned rewards like Blueprints, Skins, and Calling Cards will not be reset and remain available to players as normal.
Phalanx Faction
The new Faction has now been revealed as Phalanx. Station Chief Kate Laswell will be in charge of the Phalanx Faction, overseeing missions and ensuring they work in tandem with the Black Mous Faction. It comprises multiple different missions which, like previous Factions, will see players tasked with infilitrating a zone, defeating bosses, acquiring rare items and then extracting successfully.
Interestingly, Activision continue to tease a wider storyline in DMZ. On Season 3’s REDACTED Faction, they said: “Meanwhile, the REDACTED faction whom we met in Season 03 has unceremoniously disappeared from operations in the DMZ. No further intel is available on their whereabouts…” Secrets to uncover, then.
Vondel
Vondel is Warzone’s new map, set in the Netherlands and taking inspiration from its capital, Amsterdam. It’s not exclusive to DMZ, but it’s a fresh Exclusion Zone for the mode. It’ll bring new challenges, rewards and at least one new boss. There’s also the addition of the Bullfrog and a brand new Signal Intelligence Contract. In the contract, Operators will hack phones to gain access to cash rewards from other contracts in the area.
There’s a new dynamic weather feature to Vondel in DMZ, specifically called ‘Dynamic Fog’. It’ll see changeable fog thrown into the mix on Vondel, adding another layer into infiltrating and extraction. According to the devs, “DMZ Operators should be prepared to face volatile conditions as visibility may quickly deteriorate or improve.”
Forward Operating Base
Arguably the most significant revealed for DMZ Season 4 so far relates to the brand new Forward Operating Base, which is described as a “Central Hub for DMZ”. It will be a brand new menu system specifically designed for DMZ players, comprising of four different areas. These are:
- Missions Objectives (mission select)
- Location Objectives (map challenges)
- Forward Operating Base (upgrade objectives)
- Notes (collection)
The FOB is also an area where players can complete objectives to earn diverse upgrades. There are four new categories for these DMZ upgrades:
- Stash
- Wallet Unlock
- Wallet Capacity
- Key & Contraband Stash size increases
- Weapons Locker
- Insured Weapon Slots
- Insured Weapon cooldown time
- Contraband weapon stash size increases
- Bounty Board
- Personal Exfil
- Barter recipes
- Buy Station discounts
- Communications Station
- Urgent Missions access
Every upgrade will also be “passive”, meaning it’ll be automatically equipped for DMZ players.
Activision explained the changes as follows: “We believe the new upgrade infrastructure will eliminate the friction we felt between Operators and high-tier mission objectives… This change will allow Players to progress through DMZ more efficiently than the previous Faction Mission-only structure.”
Urgent Missions & Reputation
Urgent Missions are new to DMZ, part of the FOB. They’re Faction-requested, quicker and easier to complete than typical missions. They’ll earn players Faction Reputation (more on that below) and unlock more story missions, making progression easier.
Completing Urgent Missions will improve your reputation with specific Factions. Activision explained: “Urgent Missions will rotate and offer rewards for eager and efficient Operators on a daily basis.”
Finally, a new Wallet lets players drop extract and re-infiltrate with cash in hand. Activision say this will make “it easier to complete objectives that require hundreds of thousands of Cash for completion… Or so your Operator can go on a spending spree.”
That’s everything to know about the full Warzone Season 04 DMZ patch notes, as well as all the changes explained. There’s a huge amount for players to look forward to and, across every mode in Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2, we’ll have it covered on Twinfinite.
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