Warzone 2 DMZ Season 2 patch notes: Ashika Island, progress wipe & new Faction

Infinity Ward announced everything coming to DMZ in Season 2. Let’s get you up to speed with all of the pertinent information.

DMZ continues to grow in popularity. The Tarkov-inspired extraction shooter has become a fan favorite game mode, thanks to an incredibly addicting gameplay loop. Season 2 expands the experience further by adding a seasonal refresh and adjusting enemy and mission difficulty.

When Infinity Ward initially announced the progress wipe, community members had mixed reactions. However, the developers later clarified that Insured Weapon Slots would not reset with Season 2, and players celebrated the decision.

As DMZ’s community introduces more members to the bandwagon, the developers have rewarded fans with more fresh content. Season 1 Reloaded added Building 21 as a new Exclusion Zone, and the game mode is already receiving a new environment at the start of Season 2. Let’s jump right into what fans can expect for the upcoming season.

DMZ Season 2 locations

DMZ features three playable locations in Season 2, Ashika Island, Building 21, and Al Mazrah. Players can expect to find plenty of new things to do in the Pacific archipelago. Infinity Ward announced the new Exclusion Zone features a new Weapon Case and Boss as well as locked locations to gain access to and explore.

As for Building 21, the map will continue to only be available in limited windows. Make sure to check our guide on when Building 21’s doors are open. The developers announced new ways to gain an access card to the Exclusion Zone on Al Mazrah or Ashika Island, including S.A.M. Site Crates, Chopper Boss Crates, and more.

Al Mazrah receives updated intel and a new POI at the Sattiq Cave Complex.

Season 2 progress Wipe

Infinity Ward further explained how the progress wipe will work in Season 2. Contraband Weapon Inventories, Key Inventories, Faction Missions, and mission progress will all be reset at the start of Season 2.

As previously mentioned, Insured Weapons Slots that were unlocked during Season 1 will not be reset. For players that didn’t unlock Insured Slots, the developers announced it will be easier to complete the requirements.

The development team also clarified there won’t be a mission refresh every season.

Warzone 2 DMZ Season 2: full patch notes

Here are the full Season 2 patch notes.

Ashika Island

The new Ashika Island map coming to Warzone™ 2.0 is a brand-new Exclusion Zone for DMZ. Players will infiltrate on the shores of the island before making their way inland. Infiltration is under heavy fog that can impact combat by providing cover for both Operators and the occupying force: Shadow Company… but what could they be doing here?

There is much to discover in the Ashika Island Exclusion Zone including:

·      A new Weapons Case.

·      A new Boss: The Bombmaker.

·      New locked and dangerous spaces to access and explore.

·      And more!

Building 21

In Season 01 Reloaded, we introduced Building 21 with a unique Access Card and a timed infiltration window. Season 02 Missions have Operators returning to Building 21 as another Exclusion Zone option. If you need Access Cards to Building 21, be sure to seek out the following (in either Al Mazrah or Ashika Island):

·      S.A.M. Site Crates

·      Chopper Boss Crates

·      Buy Stations

·      Legendary (Orange) Crates

Operators should be prepared for heavy resistance in Building 21; it’s recommended you gear up before heading to this location!

Al Mazrah

There are developments to explore in Al Mazrah as well, with updated intel indicating including the crash of an unknown aircraft at the Sattiq Cave Complex. The fight between White Lotus and Legion rages on… perhaps Operators can take advantage of this inter-faction animosity?

We previously announced that Season 02 will include a reset and Faction Mission Refresh. Here is exactly what that entails:

·      Contraband Weapon Inventories will be rolled back to the starting weapons.

·      Key Inventories will be emptied.

·      Faction Missions and mission progress will be reset to make room for an updated mission set that incorporates all Exclusion Zones.

Last week we confirmed:

·      Insured Weapons Slots unlocked through previous Faction Mission progress will not be reset. However, if you did not unlock an additional Insured Slot in Season 01, the new Season 02 requirements to do so should take much less time.

For clarity on any Season 01 progress:

·      All Season 01 mission and boss enemy rewards – for example previously acquired Al Mazrah weapons case rewards – will not be reset, with the exception of Contraband and Keys.

Why are we doing this refresh?

·      Mission progress in Season 01 got too difficult, too quickly. With Season 02 we’re making sure each mission’s challenge and time requirements are more balanced.

·      The Key Stash will now be able to hold specific mission items that you must gather from one Exclusion Zone and bring to another. This allows us to have longer from missions that utilize all of our Exclusion Zones.

·      With the new mission set, we can employ multi-location missions that send players to Al Mazrah, to Ashika Island, and to Building 21. The mission refresh is made up of new missions, updated missions and missions we felt worked really well from Season 01.

To complete this reset, DMZ may have to go offline for a few hours ahead of the launch of Season 02. We’ll be sharing details and timing on that soon.

Modern Warfare® II owners will also have access to mission orders from a brand new fourth faction, Crown. This British group is shrouded in mystery, but they have certainly piqued the interest of Black Mous….

Again, this Faction will only be available to Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II owners.

We recently detailed some of the changes coming to DMZ in Season 02, but are including them here as well with some additional context:

Enemy Tuning

In Season 01 the AI in DMZ were challenging, but the ramp up of difficulty was often steep with some players getting overwhelmed. With Season 02, we’ve introduced a number of balance changes to adjust the types of AI spawning, the number of AI spawning, and the accuracy of AI at range and much more. All of this should provide a challenging but manageable play-space that still requires player respect of enemy combatants in the DMZ.

Dev Update: We can assure you, the AI combatants in DMZ are still not to be taken lightly.

 Spawn Points

We are tuning some of the infil points across Al Mazrah for improved early match experience based on gameplay data. Starting at a point at which your squad feels isolated or without loot and contract opportunities is not the best experience. These tweaks should improve spawn points across the map.

Dev Update: In addition to moving infiltration points, we’ve also made changes to exfil, boss and dead drop locations across Al Mazrah.

Mission Difficulty Tuning

Data and feedback reinforced that the Faction Mission difficulty ramp was too aggressive for many Players, and that the demanding scale ultimately made it very challenging to unlock the second Insured Weapon Slot (completing all Tier 3 Missions) in Season 01. We have adjusted the overall scaling of difficulty in Missions as the Tiers progress. Later Tier Missions will still be quite challenging even for the experienced Operator, but we believe more straightforward access to an additional Insured Slot will provide a better path forward for all Players.

Crashes

We know crashes are especially impactful in DMZ if you lose your items and Contraband Weapons as a result. Addressing these crashes is a priority for Season 02, and we are committed to increased stability.

Future seasons will bring more changes and new content to DMZ. While DMZ is still in Beta, our hope is to continue getting feedback to shape future iterations of the game. We do not intend to apply a mission refresh every season. Instead, we’re excited to try different approaches each season to continually improve the DMZ experience. More to come on this in the future.