Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 brings back DMZ as a fully realized PvPvE extraction mode, and the Forward Operating Base (FOB) sits at the center of everything. Before you drop into Hajin, after you exfil, and every time you want to upgrade your gear or track down a Wanted operator, the FOB is where you go. Here's the short answer: the FOB starts sparse, but it grows into a full command center as you level up your DMZ Player Level, and knowing which stations to prioritize early makes a real difference.
MW4 DMZ FOB station overview
What is the FOB in MW4 DMZ?
The Forward Operating Base is your pre- and post-match hub for every DMZ deployment. Think of it as a persistent home base that evolves alongside your progress. You start with a handful of stations available immediately, and as you push deeper into your DMZ Player Level track (which caps at 70), more stations unlock with better gear options and crafting recipes.
Resources you extract from Hajin, including DMZ Cash, 3D Printer Ingredients, and other valuables, are shared across all your active Operators. That opens up a smart play pattern: run a loot-focused Operator to stockpile resources, then switch to a combat-oriented one to spend them.
All FOB Stations and how to unlock them
Here's every station in the FOB, organized by when you can access it.
Immediately available stations
These are live from the moment you start DMZ:
- Operators (Active Duty): Manage your roster, choose who deploys, upgrade Traits, and track each Operator's Dog Tag tier from Steel up to Onyx. Each Operator has three skill trees: Warfighter, Scout, and Survivalist, with up to 18 Trait Points earnable per Operator.
- Stash / Loadout: Your gear storage. Everything you extract and don't immediately need lives here. Resources are shared across active Operators.
- DMZ Orders: Mission Directives that guide your progression, tell the story of Hajin, and reward loot and DMZ Cash on completion.
- Firing Range: Test weapons before deploying. Standard Call of Duty firing range, no surprises.
- Survival Kits: Themed packs of consumables (armor, ammo, medicals, tacticals) you can unpack into your stash. Earned through DMZ Player Level milestones, completed Orders, and event rewards.
- Bounty Leaderboard: Tracks the Top 50 Most Wanted Operators and Top 50 Bounty Hunters globally, updated weekly. Filterable to your Friends list.
Always available (not level-gated)
- Deploy: Your launch point for every run into Hajin.
- DMZ Progression: View your DMZ rank track and the rewards tied to each level.
Unlockable stations (level and task requirements)
| Station | Unlock Condition | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| 3D Printer | DMZ Player Level 2 | Crafts items and upgrades other FOB Stations using extracted ingredients |
| Boss Board | Complete 2nd DMZ Order | Buy intel on Lieutenants and Commanders using DMZ Cash |
| Vendor | DMZ Player Level 5 | Daily rotating shop for gear, purchasable with DMZ Cash |
| Gunsmith | DMZ Player Level 10 | Buy attachments, craft weapons (requires Weapon Manuals), customize camos |
| Dog Tag Case | DMZ Player Level 20 | Display Dog Tags taken from eliminated players |
DMZ 3D Printer crafting menu
How do Operators work in DMZ?
Operators in DMZ are more than cosmetic choices. Each one levels up individually as you deploy with them, and their Dog Tags improve in quality from Steel through to Onyx (three levels at each tier). As the Dog Tags improve, you earn Trait Points to invest across the three skill trees.
Hitting Prestige with an Operator requires 18 Trait Points, Rare or higher weapons, a backpack, a plate carrier, at least four 3D Printer Ingredients, and sufficient DMZ Cash. When you Prestige, gear is wiped and Traits reset, but you receive a permanent Prestige Trait (randomly assigned). You can keep Prestiging past three tiers to reroll that permanent Trait if you don't like what you got.
Hitting Prestige on multiple Operators unlocks special calling cards and Classified rewards.
If an Operator goes MIA during a run, they're locked until recovered. Recovery costs DMZ Cash, and the price scales with how many Trait Points that Operator has accumulated. The alternative is dismissing them entirely and starting fresh.
How does the Gunsmith station work?
The Gunsmith in DMZ functions similarly to multiplayer, but with one key difference: you unlock attachments by leveling up weapons (shared progression between DMZ and multiplayer), but equipping them costs DMZ Cash. Cosmetic changes are free.
Weapons built in the Gunsmith have five attachment slots. Weapons you extract from Hajin can have up to eight. You can also share weapons with squadmates by carrying them in an extra backpack slot and dropping them mid-deployment.
To purchase a weapon from the Gunsmith, you need to find and extract the relevant Weapon Manual first. Once extracted, that weapon is available to buy as often as you like.
What is the Boss Board station?
The Boss Board unlocks after completing your second DMZ Order and lets you buy intel on High Value Targets using DMZ Cash. Intel is single-use per deployment, so if you buy it and miss the window, you'll need to buy it again next run.
Lieutenants carry unique loadouts with signature weapons that have a chance to drop on elimination. They can also drop keys to locked locations where their signature weapon may be stashed if it didn't drop directly. Grabbing a Lieutenant's Dog Tag Case broadcasts your location to every other player on the map, so extract fast.
Commanders are a step above Lieutenants. They include tanks, large drones, and at least one heavily armored soldier equipped with a minigun firing depleted uranium rounds. Locating Lieutenants in-game is also possible by activating an Upload Station on the map.
Boss Board Lieutenant intel screen
How does the PvP Bounty system work?
The bounty system is what separates MW4 DMZ from a purely cooperative extraction experience. Here's the short answer: kill four other players across deployments and you become Wanted.
Killers and Hunters
There are two roles the system creates organically:
- Killers accumulate bounties by eliminating other operators. Each kill adds to their bounty total, tracked across deployments via their Dog Tag.
- Hunters use DMZ Cash to purchase Bounty Intel from the FOB Bank or visit a Bounty Station in Hajin to locate Wanted targets.
The Bounty Leaderboard at the FOB tracks the Top 50 Most Wanted Operators and Top 50 Bounty Hunters, updated weekly.
How to find and claim a Wanted target
Visit a Bounty Station in Hajin (visible on your Tac Map) to get a free list of Wanted operators in your current deployment. Spending DMZ Cash on Bounty Intel narrows down a specific target's location to a circle on your Tac Map. That circle shrinks and updates more frequently as the target's Wanted level increases.
At the highest Wanted tier, a Killer's general vicinity becomes visible to all players in the deployment, even those who haven't purchased intel.
To claim the reward, you need to eliminate the target and extract with their Dog Tag. The payout lands in your FOB Bank after a successful exfil.
How to remove your Wanted status
Three ways to clear your bounty:
- Get eliminated and fail to exfil (your Wanted status and bounty are lost on death without extraction)
- Another player takes your Dog Tag and successfully extracts with it
- Pay off your own bounty at a Bounty Station in Hajin using DMZ Cash
How does the After Action Report work?
After every deployment in DMZ, regardless of whether you exfilled or got eliminated, you receive an After Action Report. Ratings run from F through to S++, covering your performance on that run. The report also shows your DMZ rank XP progress and your Dog Tag level advancement, both of which feed directly into Operator Trait upgrades.
Paying attention to the Dog Tag level progress is worth it early on, since that's what gates your Operator's Trait Point earnings.
Common mistakes to avoid in DMZ
The mistake most players make is ignoring the 3D Printer until later levels. It unlocks at Level 2 and immediately opens up FOB upgrades that affect stash capacity and MIA recovery costs. Prioritizing it early saves DMZ Cash over the long run.
A second common error is treating Weapon Manuals as optional. Without extracting a manual, you can't purchase that weapon from the Gunsmith. Running loot-focused Operator builds early to stockpile manuals pays off significantly once the Gunsmith unlocks at Level 10.
Finally, don't forget that weapon leveling is shared between DMZ and multiplayer. Time spent in multiplayer before DMZ launches means your attachments are already unlocked when you arrive at the Gunsmith.
For more on what MW4 has to offer beyond DMZ, check out the complete breakdown of all game modes in Modern Warfare 4 and the full MW4 release date and platform details. If you're still on the fence about which edition to buy before jumping into DMZ, the MW4 pre-order and editions guide covers every bonus and retailer perk. For everything else across the game, the full MW4 strategy guide collection has you covered.
MW4 DMZ FAQ
How many players do you need to kill to become Wanted in MW4 DMZ? Four kills across deployments triggers Wanted status. Bounty thresholds continue rising beyond that, with the highest tier being Most Wanted.
Does the bounty track across multiple deployments? Yes. Your Dog Tag records human operator kills across sessions, not just within a single match.
Can you play DMZ without engaging in PvP? PvP is optional. You can focus entirely on objectives, looting, and AI combat. The bounty system only activates once you start eliminating other operators.
What happens to your Operator if they go MIA? They're locked and can't deploy until recovered with DMZ Cash (cost scales with Trait Points) or dismissed entirely.
Is weapon progression in DMZ separate from multiplayer? No. Weapon leveling and attachment unlocks are shared between DMZ and multiplayer, so progress in either mode carries over.
