DMZ · Forward Operating Base

MW4 DMZ FOB and Crafting

Your Forward Operating Base is where every deployment starts and ends. Here’s every station and when it unlocks, how 3D Printer crafting works, and how to build guns in the DMZ Gunsmith.

Stations: 13
Starting Stash: 40
Gunsmith weapons: 32
Resources: 4

Every FOB station

Most stations are ready from the start. The rest unlock as your DMZ level climbs.

Station	Unlocks	What it does
Operators (Active Duty)	Start	Recruit Operators, spend Trait Points, rescue MIA Operators and Prestige them.
DMZ Orders	Start	Your mission directives. They teach the systems, tell the story and pay out loot, cash and resources.
Stash and Loadout	Start	Store loot between deployments and build the Loadout and Backpack you take in.
Firing Range	Start	Test weapons and optics on targets from under 10 to over 100 metres.
Survival Kits	Start	Open themed kits of supplies, from Deployment and Triage Kits to Armor and SERE Kits.
Bounty Leaderboard	Start	The weekly Top 50 Most Wanted players and Top 50 Bounty Hunters, globally or among friends.
Events	Start	Limited-time challenges and unlocks when an event is live.
Deploy	Start	Pick Story Missions, Dynamic Operations or Free Roam, choose your infil and ready up.
3D Printer	DMZ level 2	Craft gear and ingredients from Recipes, and print permanent FOB upgrades.
Boss Board	After your 2nd DMZ Order	Buy intel on Lieutenants and read up on Commanders.
Vendor	DMZ level 5	Buy weapons and items for DMZ Cash. Stock rotates daily and improves with your level.
Gunsmith	DMZ level 10	Buy weapons you’ve unlocked with Weapon Manuals, and pay to add attachments.
Dog Tag Case	DMZ level 20	Show off the Dog Tags of players you’ve killed and extracted with.

Stash, Backpack and Loadout

Stash. Starts at 40 items and 12 weapons and is shared by all your Operators, along with your DMZ Cash and resources.
Backpack. Without one you carry the Basic Pack with 8 slots. Better packs add slots, weapon slots and Secure Slots that survive a failed exfil.
Loadout. Two weapons and a melee weapon, plus Plate Carrier, headgear, self-revive, Tactical, Lethal, Field Upgrade, Fire Support and parachute. Armour plates fill in when you infil.
Survival Kits. Themed bundles you open into your Stash: Deployment, Triage, Armor, Equipment and SERE Kits.

The Stash and Loadout station in DMZ — Stash and Loadout. Image: Activision.

How 3D Printer crafting works

1 · Recipes

What you can make

Unlock them with DMZ levels and Orders, or extract with one you find. Each pays 5,000 DMZ Cash at exfil.

2 · Resources

Synthetics, Electronics, Chemicals and Metals

Broken down automatically as you loot. They don’t take Backpack or Stash space.

3 · Ingredients

Extract them whole

Items like Binding Catalyst, Biomaterials, Detonators and Control Units. The printer suggests where to find each one.

Your first recipes (DMZ level 2)

Item	Type	Needs	Does
Bandage	Consumable	15 Synthetics, 15 Chemicals	Temporarily restores max health when wounded.
Medkit	Consumable	30 Chemicals, 1 Binding Catalyst, 5 Biomaterials	Heals wounds to full and lets you tourniquet up from Last Stand.
1-Plate Armor Vest	Plate Carrier	25 Synthetics, 25 Metals	Holds one armour plate.
2-Plate Armor Vest	Plate Carrier	50 Synthetics, 5 Reactive Metals	Tougher, and holds two plates.
Small Backpack	Backpack	25 Synthetics, 25 Metals	Adds item slots.
Medium Backpack	Backpack	50 Synthetics, 5 Rigid Synthetics	More slots, plus Secure Slots that keep items if you die.

Everything you can craft

Consumables
Plate Carriers
Backpacks
Tacticals
Lethals
Field Upgrades
Fire Support (Killstreaks)
Gear (NVGs, gas masks, parachutes)
Ingredients
FOB Upgrades

Weapons can’t be printed. Field Upgrades are single-use in DMZ: unlike Multiplayer, they don’t recharge.

Permanent FOB upgrades

Bank capacity
Stash item slots
Stash weapon slots
MIA recovery discounts
Gunsmith discounts
Vendor offers
Dog Tag Case slots
Rarer ingredient printing

Upgrades take several prints each, using cash, ingredients and valuables.

The DMZ Gunsmith

The Gunsmith unlocks at DMZ level 10. It works like Multiplayer’s, except that everything costs DMZ Cash.

Weapon Manuals unlock guns. Extract with a gun’s Manual and you can buy it whenever you like. A base M4 costs around 5,000.
Pay for slots, then parts. Up to five attachment slots, each costing more than the last, plus a free Apex slot once the gun is maxed.
Levels are shared. Weapon XP and attachment unlocks carry between Multiplayer and DMZ. Weapons you find in Hajin can have up to eight attachments.
Blueprints. Each Blueprint you own is free once in DMZ. Lose it and you can rebuy it at a discount.

The Gunsmith station in DMZ — The Gunsmith. Image: Activision.

Where DMZ weapons come from

The Free Loadout
Your Stash
The Gunsmith, once you’ve extracted that gun’s Weapon Manual
The FOB Vendor
Enemies and Lieutenants
Players you kill
Military containers in Police Stations and Compounds
Weapon Blueprints you own (one free use each)

Buyable at launch: 32 weapons

8Assault rifles
5SMGs
2Shotguns
3LMGs
3Marksman rifles
3Sniper rifles
4Pistols
4Launchers

See every gun on the weapons page and the best builds on MW4 loadouts.

DMZ FOB FAQ

What is the FOB in DMZ?

The Forward Operating Base is your home between deployments: a base you walk around where you store loot, build Loadouts, craft at the 3D Printer, manage Operators and deploy. It unlocks more stations as you level up.

When does the 3D Printer unlock?

At DMZ level 2. The first Recipes unlock with it: Bandages, Medkits, 1-Plate and 2-Plate Armor Vests, and Small and Medium Backpacks.

How do you unlock Recipes in DMZ?

Level up your DMZ level, complete DMZ Orders, or find a Recipe in Hajin and extract with it. Recipes are learned automatically at exfil and also pay 5,000 DMZ Cash.

How do you unlock weapons in the DMZ Gunsmith?

Find that gun’s Weapon Manual in Hajin and extract with it. After that you can buy the weapon in the Gunsmith whenever you like. Any gun you extract with can also be customised there, but only that one copy: lose it and the gun is locked again.

How big is the DMZ Stash?

It starts at 40 items and 12 weapons, counted separately. Crafting resources don’t take up space, and both limits can be upgraded at the 3D Printer.

From Activision’s DMZ Tour of Duty, Part 2: Forward Operating Base and Modern Warfare 4 DMZ Deep Dive. Back to the DMZ guide.