Infinity Ward's last update before Season 1 cuts DMZ's UAV towers by 40%, scatters them at random, doubles the Sedative Inhaler and slashes the Truce Flag cooldown. Multiplayer gets full dive speed back too. Here's every change.
If you’ve been getting tracked across the DMZ map the second you drop in, help just arrived. Infinity Ward pushed “one last update ahead of Season 1!” on November 2 for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and the biggest changes go straight at DMZ’s most controversial mechanic: UAV towers.
Why UAV towers were a problem
Before this patch, a UAV tower was guaranteed at every point of interest. As Eurogamer explains, aggressive squads would spawn in and run around lighting up as many towers as possible to reveal everyone’s movement, and some towers cover extraction areas, which made it easy to set traps for teams trying to get out. A character trait that stops towers from expiring made it worse by keeping scans up all match.
What changed in DMZ
Per the patch notes, as reported by Vice and MW4 Intel:
- UAV towers: 40% fewer, and they now spawn at random. A point of interest is no longer guaranteed to have one, and two towers can’t spawn in the same area.
- Deadtown is the exception. It keeps its tower because a DMZ Order needs it.
- Sedative Inhaler: now lasts 120 seconds, up from 60, so it’s easier to stay hidden from towers.
- Known issue: the inhaler still doesn’t hide you from towers activated by enemies with the UAV Upgrade trait. Infinity Ward says a fix is coming in a Season 1 update.
- Truce Flag cooldown: down to 60 seconds from 180.
- Fixes: UAV tower objectives showing the wrong status, retired Active Duty Operators not saving, SAM Sites that couldn’t be captured after another squad abandoned or failed one, and Bounty progress resetting between deployments. Several DMZ exploits are closed too.
Multiplayer and everything else
- Dive speed is back. A temporary exploit fix had cut dive velocity by 23%. That’s reverted, and the prone-to-standing skip without animations is fixed. Infinity Ward warns of some minor animation glitches until a later update.
- JOKR Launcher: Infrared mode is switched off for now to stop an exploit. It returns with a full fix.
- KG-9: the Drill Charge Apex Attachment is fixed.
- Shipment: a first pass at better spawns, with more planned.
- Free for All now shows the Final Killcam instead of Best Play. Voice chat outside your party in FFA is still being worked on.
- HUD: a clearer After Death Damage widget and dimmer Death Skull icons.
- Maps: out-of-bounds exploits closed on Sentry and Mumbai, plus a tree visual fix on Mumbai.
- Challenges: Cash Mastery’s Loaded challenge now tracks in Inflation, and destroying friendly vehicles in Ground War: Combat Outpost no longer counts.
- Campaign: the Hits Different finishing move now unlocks once you meet its requirements.
What’s next
Season 1 goes live Thursday, November 5 at 9 PM PT (that’s 12 AM ET Friday, November 6), with separate Season 1 patch notes due before launch, per Vice. Warzone’s Hajin Conflict also arrives November 6, per Infinity Ward.
Did Infinity Ward fix DMZ's UAV tower problem?
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OnPoint’s take: This is Infinity Ward actually listening. DMZ is supposed to be tense, not a mode where one squad gets a free map of where you’re at from the jump. Fewer towers, random spots and a two-minute inhaler give solo and stealth players a real shot, and the team owning up to the UAV Upgrade gap with a Season 1 fix is the right call. Quick patches like this a week and a half after launch are how you keep people playing, and it sets Season 1 up nicely.
Image: Activision / Infinity Ward, OnPoint 4 Gamers graphic
