Modern Warfare 4 players demand DMZ change after hours of progress are lost

Modern Warfare 4 DMZ players are demanding change after losing hours of in-game progress, with the cost of reviving operators also coming into question.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is finally here, and if it is the last entry in the Modern Warfare sub-franchise, Activision and Infinity Ward look set to go out with a bang.

While the campaign and traditional multiplayer are keeping players busy, the returning DMZ mode is already proving popular. However, just days after launch, players have raised concerns they'd like to see addressed. The question is: will Activision or Infinity Ward listen to feedback and make the changes players are calling for?

Modern Warfare 4 DMZ players frustrated over lost loot and progress

“Really, what the DMZ mode has taught me is that I really want to be playing ARC Raiders. There's nothing enjoyable to me about losing tens of thousands of dollars due to some random player after knocking out several objectives and looting countless buildings and racking up 80 NPC kills,” explained Redditor Dr-Sata.

“I am fully aware that there are some higher-ups at Activision that do not think that there is a market for PvE DMZ mode,” they continued. “You are wrong. There is; please, God, add it. Please. There were millions of active players in the DMZ queue; do y'all SERIOUSLY think that ALL of them want PVP only?”

In a nutshell, Dr-Sata wants players to have the option of playing DMZ against AI alone, with no other human players on the map. As fun as DMZ PvP is, many have been complaining that some players aren't playing the mode as intended. Instead of completing objectives and fighting over territories with other players, some are camping for the entire duration of a match to steal loot and nothing else.

If you thought a camper was annoying in traditional Call of Duty multiplayer, they don't hold a candle to the campers in DMZ, whose only goal is to take what you've earned by completing objectives. At least with a PvE mode, there should be no human campers, which could make the mode feel more balanced and fair. It would be nice to compete in DMZ with friends against AI, with the ability to adjust the difficulty for increased rewards, all without campers.

DMZ players call for PvE mode as revival costs spark debate

There are plenty of players who agree with Dr-Sata's sentiment although, of course, there's a fair amount of debate too.

“I agree. I just wanna complete my mission without some [censored] objective camping the vault on Operation Silent Ledger. It's happened like seven or eight times now,” replied cbb0722.

“I think the cost to revive the operator is too high. I'm broke after dying four times. Maybe it's just me, but it kind of kills the fun, especially loading in with random teammates that run off alone, so I end up dying to three-man squads,” exclaimed dneals.

“I think it's fine. It's not supposed to be cheap to revive some high-traits operator; otherwise, where's the balance? It's very easy to go in with a fresh operator with a free starting kit and get some resources refilled,” countered 6814MilesFromHome.

“But that’s boring. I want to prestige my operator. But having to pay 55000 when you die is ridiculous,” replied Automatic_Media1121.

“The strategy is to use operators you don't really care for looting/farming runs. Then, strictly only use your valuable operators for the high-value objectives, but only if you find a good squad through Discord,” explained BlackBluez. “That's what I've been doing so far. When my squad or friends log off, I switch to low-value operators and solely focus on looting/farming in free roam.”

Making operator revivals less costly would make it easier for players to get back into DMZ without feeling too heavily punished, especially when they're up against campers. However, reducing the cost too much could have a negative impact on the mode's risk-versus-reward dynamic.

The issue of losing loot and progress due to a server disconnect is a trickier problem to solve. Ideally, Activision and Infinity Ward would introduce a system that protects players from losing progress through no fault of their own. However, distinguishing a genuine server disconnect from a deliberate one, intended to avoid a loss while keeping the rewards earned during that run could prove difficult.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.