"The best thing in the history of the franchise" - COD fans reminisce about DMZ in Warzone

The fan-favorite game mode, DMZ in Warzone, refuses to die. Although Call of Duty has put it on life support with no further content updates, the game mode sees thousands of players daily. Recently, a Call of Duty fan took to Reddit and talked about their love for the mode. The post, titled "Who Misses DMZ," was a short love letter to the game mode.

It instantly caught the attention of other members of the subreddit. Fans of DMZ quickly flocked to the post and shared their thoughts about the game mode and how Call of Duty decided to treat it.

Comment byu/Accomplished-Lynx603 from discussion inCODWarzone

Expand Post

A fan who goes by the username u/OlDirtyTriple shared their thoughts about DMZ:

"DMZ was the best thing in the history of the franchise. The game mode had its downsides but the core concept was genius. The worst thing about DMZ was the COD playerbase. Cheating, griefing, quitting mid game, etc. Love the series but it's true, the COD community are the dregs of society."

According to them, DMZ was the best thing to happen in the history of the Call of Duty series. They mentioned that it had a few issues, but it was a "genius" concept. However, they believe that the mode is no longer supported because of the Call of Duty player base. Constant cheating or instances of leaving a match when it's underway eventually led to the downfall of the mode.

Finally, they added that they love the Call of Duty series, but it was the player base that ruined the mode.

Throughout the post, DMZ in Warzone received nothing but praise. For some fans, it was a game-changing moment. u/Tippin187 said the following about DMZ:

"DMZ reinvigorated cod for me. It’s still fun to play, but DMZ made me actually enjoy cod again. Now that ive played BO6 and the way WZ feels now is terrible, im actually glad they didnt keep it around, but im still hoping it’ll return when IWs year comes around."

They mentioned that DMZ made Call of Duty fun for them again. It was something to look forward to, and the mode made them enjoy Call of Duty after a long time. However, they added that DMZ being absent from Warzone at the moment was a good thing. To back up their statement, they mentioned that after the integration of Black Ops 6 with Warzone, the latter feels "terrible" and hence, its removal from the title was a net positive for DMZ since it would have left a negative mark on the mode's legacy.

Regardless, they are still hopeful that the mode will return to the game when it is Infinity Ward's time to release a Call of Duty title.

The praises for DMZ in Warzone didn't end there. Another COD fan, u/solaceoftides, commented the following about their experience with DMZ:

"I didn't touch WZ for all of MW2 because DMZ was so fun, even as a solo. The gameplay. The narrative. The maps. Best COD game mode ever. If they would have integrated the last two games into that, I would probably be playing it right now."

They started by stating that they didn't even touch Warzone's core game modes during Modern Warfare 2's life cycle and instead played only DMZ. They loved the gameplay, the narrative of DMZ, and the maps. According to them, it's the best Call of Duty game mode ever.

Finally, they mentioned that if Modern Warfare 3 (2023) and Black Ops 6 were integrated with DMZ in Warzone, they would be playing only that and wouldn't be tempted to try out other modes.

Call of Duty fans share their love for DMZ in Warzone (Images via Reddit)

Many other comments praised DMZ in Warzone. Fans have a lot of fond memories of playing the mode. Some fans, such as u/Trashlxrd666, mentioned that DMZ brought them back to the Call of Duty series and got them anticipating the release of DMZ 2. They added that the formula of mixing PvE and PvP gameplay was perfect.

Other fans, such as u/bluesman7131, wanted developers to release the mode as a standalone game, stating it was their most played mode during MW2 days.

However, not everyone has fond memories of DMZ in Warzone. u/Ralwus rightfully pointed out the shortcomings of the mode:

"It had potential but needed work. The mission system was not great. It was super awkward coordinating the same active missions with friends so you could both make progress."

They dove deeper into the reasons why the mode didn't work out for many:

"Overall the mode suffered from a lack of purpose. Why am I running missions? Sure it's fun to run into other teams doing missions, and those fights are my favorite DMZ memories. But that's all the mode was. Teams pretending there was a purpose (there wasn't) so they could hang with friends in a chill mode and maybe have some interesting engagements with other teams doing the same. That was fun while it lasted, but as cheating and camping became more common, it stopped being fun."

They started by saying that DMZ in Warzone had a lot of potential, but it needed some work, meaning that it wasn't as perfect as others claimed it to be. The mode and its mission system weren't properly designed, leading to progression issues. Furthermore, they claimed that the main reason for the downfall of the mode was that it didn't give players any purpose.

Players would simply go on completing missions without any purpose, and it led to a dull experience. They mentioned that their favorite memories from DMZ were just them running into other teams and fighting them. However, as cheating and camping became a problem, the game mode stopped being fun.

What happened to DMZ in Warzone?

DMZ in Warzone is an extraction-based game mode, introduced to the title with Modern Warfare 2, quickly becaming a fan favorite. The objective of DMZ was simple. Players would drop into a map, loot, complete missions, and aim to make it out alive. That's the entire gameplay loop.

However, since it was PvPvE, many enjoyed it better than other generic modes, as it was much more relaxing and had a lot to do with teamwork to survive and extract successfully.

But soon, the mode stopped getting updates, and with MW3, Call of Duty essentially pulled the plug on it. Although fans can still play DMZ in Warzone, developers have stopped supporting it, and there have been no content updates for years.

However, there are rumors that DMZ in Warzone is set to return with the upcoming Call of Duty title, and it certainly has fans of the mode excited.

For the latest Call of Duty news and guides, check out the articles below:

Edited by Ripunjay Gaba