The new CoD takes a radical approach to dealing with “rats.”
With the release of Modern Warfare 4 on October 23, the new DMZ game mode will also launch.
It’s intended to be the third major pillar of the game alongside single-player and multiplayer, and to give major extraction shooters like Arc Raiders, Hunt Showdown, and Delta Force a run for their money. One of the most exciting new features: bounties!
DMZ? I know that!
The DMZ mode already existed in a beta version in Modern Warfare 2 from 2022, but updates stopped just one year after its release. The new version in MW4 takes place on the new open-world map Hajin and is said to be significantly more polished—featuring deep progression, various factions, story missions, dynamic weather, and more.
From Hunter to Hunted—The New PvP
In the new DMZ, players who frequently and actively target other players will be placed on a bounty list. Self-defense, however, is exempt from this rule—only those who actively hunt others will end up on a wanted list.
In the extraction genre, players who ambush others to steal their gear are often derisively called “rats.”
This controversial playstyle could therefore pose a new threat in MW4—because as the bounty rises, the hunter suddenly becomes a prime target for other players!
Here’s how the system works:
- Players who actively hunt other players in DMZ raids gradually build up a reputation level—essentially, a reputation as a killer.
- The more often this player eliminates another player in PvP (self-defense doesn’t count), the higher the bounty that’s placed on them.
- Anyone who kills such a player with a bounty and collects their dog tags from the round takes the corresponding reward.
- However, if no one manages to claim the bounty, the killer eventually reaches “Wanted” status and becomes the target!
- All other players in a round can pay for intel at the start of the raid, which marks the position of wanted players on the map.
Outside of raids, there are leaderboards that display the best bounty hunters and the most wanted players with the highest bounties, fueling the cat-and-mouse game.
DMZ thus introduces a completely new type of PvP dynamic that could have a lasting impact on the course of matches and the evolution of the meta.
At the same time, the system opens up various roles we can take on. If you want, you can go “rat hunting” in Hajin as a sort of law enforcement officer or build a reputation on the Wanted list as a notorious killer.
Do you think the Bounty and Wanted system in MW4 DMZ is a good idea? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
