MW4 DMZ FOB Guide: Every Station and When It Unlocks

The MW4 DMZ FOB, short for Forward Operating Base, is where everything between deployments happens. You return there after every run to unload loot, rebuild your kit, pick your next Operator and choose how you head back into Hajin. It is also where the mode's permanent progression lives, so it matters more than any single deployment.

Activision's official FOB guide describes the base growing from a foothold into a fully operational camp with over a dozen stations. Some are open from your first visit, others unlock through your DMZ level or Orders, and several can be upgraded with the 3D Printer. Here is what each station does, based on what has been revealed ahead of the October 23, 2026 launch.

What the FOB is and how it grows

The FOB is a camp you walk around in third person, much like the HQ social space in Call of Duty: WWII. Infinity Ward made third person the default so you can see your own Operator, your squadmates and which station each of them is using. Activision describes it as both a staging ground and a social hub.

Growth is tied to progression. Your DMZ Player Level runs from 1 to 70, and leveling up unlocks stations, recipes, Stash space, Bank capacity and an extra Active Duty slot. XP earned in a deployment still counts when you fail to exfil, so a bad run never stalls the base. The 3D Printer then turns the materials you bring home into permanent upgrades.

The base also doubles as a tutorial. Infinity Ward's Joe Cecot explained that when a level-up upgrades your 3D Printer, the end-of-match recap tells you and the printer blinks in the FOB, so you know where to go next.

FOB stations available from the start

Six working stations are open on your first visit:

• Operators (Active Duty): manage your Operators, upgrade their traits and choose who deploys.
• DMZ Orders: guided mission directives, organized in pages, that teach each system and pay out resources, loot and cash.
• Stash/Loadout: store loot between runs and build the kit you carry in.
• Firing Range: a wooded range with targets from under 10 meters to over 100 meters, for testing builds and optics.
• Survival Kits: themed loot packs, such as Deployment, Triage, Armor, Equipment and SERE Kits, that you unpack into your Stash.
• Bounty Leaderboard: the top 50 Most Wanted players and the top 50 bounty hunters, globally or among friends.

The Progression and Events screens are there from the start as well, along with Deploy. Deploy is a razor-wire threshold leading to a transport helicopter, and it is where you choose Story Missions, Dynamic Operations or Free Roam.

FOB stations you unlock as you level

The rest of the base opens up as you play. Each unlockable station has a clear requirement:

Unlockable MW4 DMZ FOB stations and their requirements, per Activision's FOB guide

Station	How it unlocks	What it does
3D Printer	DMZ Player Level 2	Crafts gear, ingredients and permanent base upgrades
Boss Board	Complete your second DMZ Order	Sells Lieutenant intel and shows free Commander intel
Vendor	DMZ Player Level 5	Sells weapons and items for DMZ Cash, with stock that rotates daily
Gunsmith	DMZ Player Level 10	Builds weapons and buys attachments with DMZ Cash
Dog Tag Case	DMZ Player Level 20	Displays Dog Tags taken from players you defeated

Leveling also upgrades stations you already have. Rewards along the 1 to 70 track include more Stash and weapon slots, a bigger Bank, Gunsmith discounts, extra Vendor offers and higher bounty payouts at the Dog Tag Case.

The Stash: persistent storage at the FOB

The Stash is the heart of the new item economy. It holds weapons, gear, consumables, 3D Printer Ingredients, keys and valuables between deployments, and anything you craft can be sent straight there. Every Active Duty Operator shares it, while each Operator keeps a separate Backpack and Loadout.

Space is tight early on. The Stash starts at 40 items and 12 weapons, with weapons counted separately. Crafting Resources do not use slots; their totals simply appear in the corner of the menu. You can sort by type or rarity and merge stacks. The guide even mentions discarding items in the rare case your Stash is full and your Bank is already at its cash cap.

Survival Kits are a useful buffer. Unopened kits stack indefinitely in their own station menu, and their contents only land in your Stash when you open one, so there is no need to unpack them until you need the gear.

Capacity grows two ways. DMZ level rewards add item and weapon slots, and the 3D Printer offers Stash Item Capacity and Stash Weapon Capacity upgrades. What survives a failed run, and what does not, is covered in the MW4 DMZ items guide.

The 3D Printer and permanent FOB upgrades

The 3D Printer unlocks at DMZ Player Level 2 and quickly becomes the busiest station in the base. Every print needs a Recipe plus some mix of Resources and Ingredients. Recipes unlock through your DMZ level, through Orders, or by looting one in Hajin and extracting with it, which also pays 5,000 DMZ Cash.

The first recipes are the basics: Bandages, Medkits, 1-Plate and 2-Plate armor vests, and Small and Medium Backpacks. The Medium Backpack is the first printable pack with Secure Slots. The printer cannot make primary, secondary or melee weapons, so guns still come from looting, the Vendor and the Gunsmith.

The Upgrades category is where the base itself improves. These permanent upgrades each take several prints and include Bank upgrades, Stash Item and Weapon Capacity, MIA Recovery Discounts and the printing of rarer Ingredients. Others add Dog Tag Case storage, Gunsmith discounts and extra Vendor options. Valuables, marked with a gem icon, sell for cash but also count as upgrade materials, so think before you sell.

Spending DMZ Cash: Gunsmith, Vendor and Boss Board

DMZ Cash lands in your Bank after a successful exfil, and three stations spend it. The Gunsmith builds weapons. You can upgrade any gun you extract, but buying a base weapon requires extracting its Weapon Manual first. Activision's example is a base M4 at around 5,000 DMZ Cash, and each extra attachment slot costs more than the last.

The Vendor is the quick way to fill a gap before your printer or manuals catch up, and its stock changes every day. The Boss Board sells intel on a specific Lieutenant that lasts for one deployment. Extracting with a Lieutenant's Dog Tag Case is what progresses the board, and Infinity Ward describes checking off Lieutenants as a goal for each season.

Cash also pays for MIA rescues and paid infils. From Deploy, going in on foot is free, a Polaris Dagor A1 drop costs 5,000, an LTV 25,000, a helicopter 50,000 and a cargo plane 100,000. The cargo plane is the only option that lets you choose your exact landing point.

A sensible order for your first FOB sessions

The unlock order suggests a natural path. These are planning ideas based on the revealed requirements, not tested routes:

• Follow DMZ Orders first. They open the Boss Board, teach each system and pay out the materials you need.
• Reach level 2 quickly and print a Medium Backpack when you have 50 Synthetics and 5 Rigid Synthetics, since its Secure Slots protect items on a failed run.
• Hold on to valuables you do not need for cash. They double as upgrade materials.
• Go easy on the Vendor before the Gunsmith opens at level 10. Weapon Manuals turn one-off guns into repeatable builds.
• Keep a cash buffer for MIA rescues before you invest heavily in one Operator's traits.

For Operators, traits and rescues, see the MW4 DMZ operators guide. For the mode as a whole, start with MW4 DMZ explained. The store's Modern Warfare 4 listings are on the Modern Warfare 4 hub.

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