Warzone will wipe DMZ progression in Season 2 and split players

Warzone 2.0‘s DMZ extraction mode has been one of the most popular parts of the battle royale sequel, but a controversial upcoming change has some players wondering if they’ll stick with it. Infinity Ward recently announced when player progress will be wiped Season 2 goes live next monthwhich elicits more than groans and scratches from some of the mode’s biggest fans.

DMZ pits players against both each other and mini-armies of AI-controlled opponents as they race for loot before successfully reaching the extraction point and making their way to safety. It basically takes a lot of the ideas made Escape from Tarkov a hit and adjusts it to fit the feel and player expectations of a call of Duty Game. While still technically in beta and not without its flawsDMZ was on overall a huge success. However, with Season 2 going live on February 15, players are now preparing for the mode’s first official reset.

“Brand new missions are coming to Season 02, including an update to your current faction mission progression and an inventory reset (contraband and keys),” the call of Duty Studio noted towards the end Preview of yesterday’s patch notes. “We will be detailing all important information for DMZ ahead of Season 02 in an upcoming blog.”

The players were immediately separated, both on the exact meaning of these changes as well her merit. Longtime players in Extraction mode saw it as a staple of the subgenre. Others come from the Battle Royale and call of Duty side of the shooter ecosystem, seemed both shocked and unenthusiastic. This led to similar conversations between the players.

“Why reset DMZ keys and contraband?” asked one player in the comments on Twitter. “So bad, I’m done with DMZ. All the time I was grinding was for nothing,” replied a second. A third added, “Wipes are a part of almost every extraction shooter out there… it’s nothing new so you don’t know why you expected DMZ to be any different.”

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While keys and contraband are already lost if you die during a pre-extract DMZ round, faction rank is something players work through over the course of days and weeks. By completing certain missions in the game, they can increase their faction rank and unlock new rewards. The reset means players who haven’t completed all of the current content before the start of Season 2 will lose access to these unlockables. It will also potentially force players to redo tedious low-level faction quests.

“Yeah I don’t know why that is, they should build on that and not reset all my Tier 5 factions.” tweeted Twitch streamer Marksman. “Doesn’t quite make sense, but I won’t be replaying all the missions, so be done with DMZ.”

For extraction shooters like Escape from Tarkov, players acquire all kinds of gear and loot that stay with them outside of individual games. The result is that some players build huge arsenals over a long enough period of time, while others are constantly at a disadvantage. The occasional reset effectively wipes the slate clean and lets everyone restart from an even playing field.

war zone 2DMZ mode, on the other hand, doesn’t give veteran players much of an advantage over newbies. Faction rank grinding will unlock additional gear slots, but isn’t the same as rolling into a match on a small armory. It also seems that while DMZ is still in beta, many players were unaware until now that progress would be reset between seasons, creating a mismatch in expectations, especially for players new to the subgenre are.

Of course, we don’t know exactly how all the changes in Season 2 will affect DMZ. The patch notes themselves point to many improvements. It’s possible that resetting and new faction missions won’t feel as onerous in practice either. Activision did not immediately respond to a request for comment clarifying the situation.