Crafting materials are the backbone of progression in Modern Warfare 4 DMZ. There are 38 of them, and they feed both the 3D Printer, where you build gear, and your FOB upgrades, which make everything else cheaper and better. Knowing which materials you need and where they tend to appear turns aimless looting into a supply run.
Materials split into two groups with very different behavior: the four base Resources that collect automatically, and the specific 3D Printer Ingredients and valuables that you have to find and extract. This guide covers both, plus where in Hajin each type is most likely to show up.
The two kinds of materials
Resources are the four base materials: Synthetics, Electronics, Chemicals and Metals. You do not loot them directly in a meaningful sense; items you pick up break down into them automatically, they pool in a dedicated backpack pouch, and their totals sit in the corner of the Stash without using a slot. Because they bank passively, you almost never run out of them.
3D Printer Ingredients are the opposite. They are specific, physical items such as Biomaterials, Reactive Metals, Military Composites and the Prototype RF Module, plus components like Binding Catalyst, Detonators and Control Units. They take backpack space and must be extracted before they count. Valuables such as Gold Bars, Gold Skulls and the Cipher Code Ledger are a related group used to fund FOB upgrades.
Where materials drop in Hajin
Activision places loot by location type, which gives you a starting map for material runs. Residential districts are called out as good for crafting materials, so neighborhoods are a sensible first stop when you need Ingredients. Police stations hold combat gear, hospitals and clinics hold medical supplies, and fire stations are the place for radiation gear and parachutes.
Beyond buildings, bosses are a material source. Killing a Commander and extracting is a confirmed way to earn prized Ingredients, and Dynamic Operation supply drops improve in quality as you complete Operations in a deployment, from Common to Uncommon to Rare. The printer also hints at where a pinned ingredient is most likely to appear, so use that when you are hunting something specific.
Farming materials efficiently
The efficient way to farm materials is to loot broadly for Resources while targeting specific buildings for the Ingredients you actually need. Because Resources come from breaking down almost anything, a run that grabs lots of general loot keeps your base materials topped up as a side effect. The deliberate part is going where your needed Ingredients live.
Pinning is the tool that makes this work. Pin the recipe or ingredient you want next, let the printer flag it in the field, and route your run through the locations it suggests. That turns a materials run into a checklist instead of a scavenger hunt. The MW4 DMZ crafting and 3D Printer guide explains how recipes consume these materials.
| Location | Best for |
|---|---|
| Residential districts | Crafting materials and Ingredients |
| Police stations | Combat gear, locked armory |
| Hospitals and clinics | Medical supplies |
| Fire stations | Radiation gear, parachutes |
| Commanders (bosses) | Prized Ingredients |
| Supply drops | Scaling rarity per Operation |
Materials come in packs
Cheaper materials often come in packs, such as a 4x Detonators bundle. That matters for planning, because a single pickup can cover a recipe's full requirement for a component. When you are hunting a specific ingredient, grabbing a pack is more efficient than collecting singles, and it frees backpack space sooner.
Keep stack sizes in mind too. Items stack in your backpack, so a stack of the same material shares a slot. That is part of why a dedicated materials run with a big backpack can bring home far more than a casual grab on a combat run.
Protecting the materials you farm
Resources are safe the moment you pick them up because they bank automatically, but Ingredients and valuables follow the keep-or-lose rule and only count once you extract. A material run that dies on the way home banks nothing but the base Resources it broke down along the way.
So treat Ingredients like loot, not like Resources. Secure the rarest ones, leave once your pack holds what a recipe needs, and do not get greedy for one more building. If you would rather skip the farm entirely, the store supplies MW4 DMZ materials, though everything here is farmable in-mode.
Materials for FOB upgrades, not just gear
It is easy to think of materials as printer fuel, but they do double duty. Ingredients and valuables such as Gold Bars, Gold Skulls and the Cipher Code Ledger also fund your FOB upgrades, which include permanent benefits like Gunsmith discounts and extra Dog Tag Case storage. Those upgrades pay off on every future run, so a share of your materials is often better spent on the base than on one more printed item.
That gives a materials run two possible goals. Sometimes you are hunting a specific Ingredient for a recipe you want now; other times you are stockpiling valuables and components to push an FOB upgrade over the line. Knowing which goal you are on before you drop keeps you from spreading a run too thin. The MW4 DMZ valuables guide covers the sell-or-upgrade decision in detail.
The four Resources and the components above them
It is worth knowing the four base Resources individually, because they come from different loot. Synthetics tend to break down from fabrics and soft goods, Electronics from devices and tech, Chemicals from medical and industrial items, and Metals from hardware and weapon parts. You never collect them by hand; items you loot are broken down automatically and the totals pool in your Stash without taking a slot. The practical upshot is that a run which grabs a wide variety of junk keeps all four Resources topped up, so you rarely need to farm them deliberately.
Above the Resources sit the components and upgraded Ingredients that actually gate your crafts. Base components like Binding Catalyst, Detonators and Control Units are the common tier, often dropping in packs such as a 4x Detonators bundle. Upgraded Ingredients like Rigid Synthetics, Reactive Metals, Military Composites and the Prototype RF Module are rarer, appear in tougher areas, and are what the best recipes demand. These are the materials you plan a run around, because unlike Resources they take backpack space and must be extracted. When a recipe stalls, it is almost never the Resources you are short on; it is one of these named components, so pin it at the printer and route your next run toward where it drops.
Storage is the other half of a materials habit. Extracted Ingredients and valuables live in your Stash, and the Dog Tag Case and related FOB upgrades expand how much you can hold, which is one more reason to invest some early finds into the base rather than purely into gear. When your storage is tight, prioritize extracting the rarest components and leave easily-replaced packs behind. It also helps to run materials with a large backpack and a Secure Slot kept free for the single most valuable Ingredient you expect to find, so a failed exfil costs you commons rather than the one piece that gated your next craft. Treat a materials deployment as a focused supply run with a shopping list, not a general scavenge, and your printer will rarely sit idle.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many crafting materials are in MW4 DMZ?
There are 38 materials, spanning the four base Resources, specific 3D Printer Ingredients and components, and valuables used for FOB upgrades.
Where do I find crafting materials?
Residential districts are called out as good for crafting materials. Bosses like Commanders drop prized Ingredients, and supply drops scale in quality as you complete Operations.
Do base Resources take up stash space?
No. Synthetics, Electronics, Chemicals and Metals are tracked as totals and collect automatically. Only Ingredients and valuables take backpack space.
How do I farm a specific ingredient?
Pin its recipe or the ingredient at the 3D Printer. The printer flags it in the field and hints where it appears, so you can route a run through those locations. Bosses are a reliable backup: killing a Commander and extracting is a confirmed way to earn prized Ingredients when the usual spots run dry.
Do materials come in packs?
Cheaper materials often do, such as a 4x Detonators pack. A single pack pickup can cover a recipe's full component requirement and saves backpack space.
Do I keep materials if I die?
Base Resources bank automatically and are safe. Ingredients and valuables follow the keep-or-lose rule and are lost on a failed exfil unless secured.