On January 25, Activision released a community update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, which revealed that DMZ mode would receive a new map location, difficulty scaling for the AI opponents, and more. However, some players are voicing their disappointment over the surprise announcement that Season 2 would also include a complete seasonal wipe.
Season 2 is set to bring a fresh start for DMZ, as the incoming wipe will include a reset of everyone’s current Faction mission tier progress, removal of all Contraband weapons and keys from player inventory, and introduce brand-new Faction missions. Basically, players will be starting from scratch like it’s day one again.
Other extraction shooters like Escape From Tarkov feature seasonal wipes, but Infinity Ward never mentioned that DMZ would include them. This might not be a surprise to players familiar with the extraction-style games, but not everyone is aware, sparking some upset on social media.
“This is something they should have made clear from the start, not everyone is familiar with extraction shooters and invested their time on that mode not expecting that to happen,” tweeted one user.
A post on Reddit has sparked a debate on whether DMZ needs seasonal wipes. One Redditor commented to say that they’ve enjoyed DMZ, but unlike Tarkov, DMZ doesn’t offer the base building or upgrading features. “Start all over again? What’s the point?”
DMZ’s upcoming wipe also brings a bit of frustration for some of the players who struggled with the difficulty of higher-tier missions, which were made even more complicated by the mode’s brutally powerful AI. Completing individual missions earns various rewards like XP, operator skins, and weapon blueprints, but many players were dedicated to the tedious grind of completing all the mission tiers to unlock additional insured weapon slots, which they will now lose with the new season.
One Redditor said, “Not gonna lie, I’ll have zero interest chasing missions (especially mid/late season) for a 4 hour insured slot.”
However, DMZ’s Faction grind will hopefully be less of a struggle in Season 2. Activision has confirmed that the new season will include mission difficulty tuning and balancing to the game’s overpowered AI. Currently, the AI can beam players across the map like they have hacks enabled, but the developer is adjusting the accuracy of AI at range, plus making changes to the various types and amount of AI spawning into the match.
It’s also worth noting that DMZ is technically still in beta, so the mode is expected to keep evolving over the course of Modern Warfare 2’s seasons, but hopefully more communication can be made in regards to such impactful changes moving forward.
Additionally, the new season of DMZ will also include some spawn tuning for players and increased game stability. Season 2 is also bringing major changes to Modern Warfare 2 and battle royale. Players can expect several changes to the UI, audio adjustments, and more quality-of-life changes.
Make sure to check out our breakdown of all the rumors and leaks surrounding Season 2 of Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, including the season’s potentially leaked Japanese theme and return of the Ronin operator.
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