Bonus Episode 256: We Read the Entire MW4 DMZ Deep Dive. It's All XP.
Infinity Ward dropped a giant MW4 DMZ deep dive, so we skipped the summaries and read the whole blog post ourselves. Old school.
Raz has already decided DMZ won't be good, and he explains why with a painting analogy you won't forget. Then we go line by line: the FOB, three operators with separate traits, the stash, the 3D printer, weapon manuals, the boss board, dynamic ops, lieutenant hunts, and commanders that turn out to be tanks.
The big problem keeps coming back. In Escape from Tarkov, almost every piece of loot has a use. Jake has found fewer than five LEDXs in 2,700 hours, and that scarcity is what makes extracting matter. In MW4 DMZ, the "valuable loot" seems to be 3D printer ingredients and XP. So much XP that we started counting every time the blog sold a feature with it.
We also get into the HUD clutter, a threat meter that tells you you're being shot at, the return of squad assimilation from DMZ 1, vehicles, trains, heavy choppers, after-action reports graded F to S++, and why the reveal tells you everything before you ever play.
Is MW4 DMZ an extraction shooter, or Call of Duty with a backpack? Raz has made up his mind. Part 2 is next.
0:00 - Intro
1:13 - Patreon hangout news
2:54 - Reading the blog post, old school
4:17 - "Your numbers have plummeted"
5:46 - Activision can't capitalize
6:52 - JGOD says DMZ looks good
8:21 - The painter is Call of Duty
9:19 - Same engine as the bad beta
10:20 - Early access is a smart move
11:57 - "Don't call it a tour of duty"
13:12 - Part 2 and the FOB
14:58 - The FOB as a Tarkov hideout
18:11 - Three operators, separate traits
22:05 - ARC Raiders-style skill trees
23:38 - The stash and the missing loot loop
28:26 - Why one LEDX matters
30:36 - 5 LEDXs in 2,700 hours
32:27 - DMZ orders and survival kits
34:08 - 3D printer, Gunsmith, weapon manuals
38:02 - Vendor and bounty leaderboard
39:35 - Boss board: too much intel
41:42 - COD can iterate: the Gunsmith story
43:46 - Dog tag case and level 70
45:23 - Looting... for XP
46:38 - Bandages, keys, hidden entrances
48:40 - "Dynamic operators"
54:18 - AI-written lore
55:05 - Dynamic ops are just contracts
56:56 - The XP count begins
58:18 - Hunt operator bounties
1:00:44 - Side ops and radio towers
1:03:42 - Lieutenant hunts
1:04:29 - What valuable loot?
1:07:06 - No reason to extract
1:12:14 - Boss tags broadcast your position
1:14:33 - Level 70 and prestige
1:15:04 - Commanders and "print sand"
1:21:37 - Real extraction players aren't hyped
1:22:01 - COD isn't trying to win them over
1:24:43 - Combat engagements and camos
1:25:43 - HUD overload
1:28:46 - Do you need a threat meter?
1:31:03 - The backpack: nothing to extract
1:33:24 - Ping wheel, truces, assimilation
1:37:47 - The tac map
1:39:08 - Raz steps away, Jake reads the tasks
1:40:23 - The Ashika castle task we failed
1:42:47 - Hot take: that Tarkov task is too hard
1:43:52 - Robot dogs, drones and tanks
1:44:47 - Classified enemies: keep the mystery
1:47:16 - Threat levels explained
1:52:03 - The AI isn't fun
1:52:53 - Vehicles
1:58:28 - Trains are actually cool
1:59:17 - Helicopters trivialize everything
2:01:48 - Heavy choppers are back
2:03:52 - After-action reports, F to S++
2:05:15 - Dog tag levels make no sense
2:06:37 - Tour of Hajin
2:12:13 - Verdict: better than DMZ 1, not saying much
2:17:56 - A trailer that shows the whole movie
2:18:57 - Going to the primary source
2:20:26 - Part 2 peek: five ingredients
2:21:21 - We saw this coming