Call of Duty Mobile: DMZ Recon Guide: Overview, How to Play, Progression, and more

Call of Duty: Mobile launched its new DMZ: Recon mode on December 12th, 2025. This exciting addition to the popular battle royale game puts you in intense, fast-paced combat where the goal is to successfully extract valuable items.

I know your time is valuable, so I’m here to help! This Call of Duty Mobile: DMZ Recon guide will give you all the information you need to succeed in the game.

Call of Duty Mobile: DMZ Recon Overview: Land, fight, loot, and extract

The new tactical extraction mode takes place on the Serpent Island map. It’s the third major game mode added to the game, where squads of up to three players fight against both other players and AI enemies.

You’ll be racing against constantly shrinking areas of radiation. You need to escape before time runs out to save your progress. This mode has a lot happening at once, so reading this guide will help you understand everything and feel prepared.

Gameplay modes in DMZ: Recon mode in COD Mobile

Let’s talk about the PvPvE mode first. In this mode, you’ll battle both other players and computer-controlled enemies, which is why choosing the right gear is so important. To do well, you don’t always need to directly fight. Simply identifying an enemy can sometimes be enough to keep you safe and help you advance.

If you’re not well-equipped, it’s best to avoid fighting. Instead, try to connect with other players – a few friendly gestures like emotes or nods can help. It’s a bit of a gamble, but it could improve your chances of staying alive.

Okay, so get ready for tons of enemies coming at you all at once! Teamwork is super important here – you really need to learn to work with your squad to get through it. Also, you’ll quickly realize there are different types of bad guys – regular soldiers, guys with rockets, flamethrower troops, snipers… Knowing what each one does will help you figure out the best way to take them down!

Call of Duty Mobile: DMZ Recon: Everything you need to know and tips

Here are my main recommendations, based on everything we’ve discussed. Feel free to try the suggestions that seem most helpful to you, and don’t hesitate to explore the others – everything in this guide can help you improve.

Take your time to explore and learn the map

Knowing where you’ll land is key to success in battle. Serpent Island is an ideal map for this game mode, offering everything you need for exciting gameplay. Therefore, carefully studying the map will give you a significant advantage.

Besides the island map, you’ll also need to learn Building 21. This map is completely indoors, spread across three floors, and offers a faster, more intense gameplay experience. It includes areas like a garage, offices, restaurants, and a living space, all serving as battlegrounds. The map’s compact design makes for highly competitive matches.

Have a plan for Loadouts & Talents

Before starting a match, make sure you have good equipment and a strategy. Decide if you want to play aggressively, defensively, or with another approach. If you want to jump into a game quickly, use the Quick Fill option and choose from the pre-made loadouts. These should be set up beforehand to match your preferred playstyle.

Let’s talk about talents. There are three Talent Trees – Scavenger, Assaulter, and Medical – each with its own set of active and passive skills. You can customize these trees to fit how you like to play. Before you unlock or upgrade anything, think about whether the new skill matches your preferred playstyle.

Let’s learn what the talents are about:

Scavenger: It is all about gathering intel. It can range from detecting enemy activity by seeing enemy footsteps to denying information to the enemy by hiding the armor tier you’re wearing when they’ve hit you. This talent’s main Active Skill lets you quickly fire a probe that scans a small area, revealing any enemies on your mini map. You can choose this if you like to go solo.
Assaulter: Yeah, you know the role! You focus on aggressiveness and operate faster and with better precision. Its Active Skill can take you back in time several seconds ago. It is useful for quickly escaping an ambush.
Medical: This is a defensive and support role at the same time. You’re the hope of your squad in need. The main Active Skill gives you a smoke bomb so you can retreat, confuse, or give you cover to revive a teammate.

The main source of income is Contract

Without the right equipment, you’ll likely face difficult challenges. If you don’t find good loot, completing contracts will be your main way to earn money. Look for contractors across the island and accept missions to eliminate high-value targets, gather intelligence, and complete objectives for a reward. Be aware that these contracts often put you in danger, as you’ll be facing opposition, but that’s just part of the job.

Bosses

Serpent Island is home to two bosses: Kui Ji and The Tank. They always appear in the same locations, though they might wander slightly nearby. While locating them isn’t hard, actually beating them is a real challenge.

Now, let’s take a brief look at them:

Kui Ji: He is extremely dangerous as he can perform a Finishing Move on you and take you out of the game in a blink. You should maintain a distant during a fight against him. Defeating him doesn’t complete the job as you will need to be back to the Exfil.
The Tank: A heavily armored, heavily armed robot on wheels. If you’re planning on taking The Tank out, you’ll need a lot of ammo. So, you might want to keep a distance as well.

Exfil in DMZ: Recon

Exfil offers several ways to leave the match. Make sure to check your options before the timer runs out and the Radiation Zone starts closing in. Some exfils require specific items, so familiarize yourself with what each one needs. Here are a few examples of how you can get out:

Normal Exfil
Random Exfil
Payment Exfil
Boat Exfil
Train Exfil
Elevator Exfil

Loot & The Black Market

Just like contracts, finding loot is a key way to gather resources. Expect fast-paced action with lots of shooting, but scavenging for supplies is essential to stay alive. You’ll begin with only simple, weak weapons and equipment.

You can improve your equipment and buy new weapons, armor, plates, and ammo using the Black Market. Finding loot is crucial for earning money to spend there.

The more valuable items you find, the more money you can earn by selling them. With that money, you can buy the things you want! Be sure to search safes and vaults – they usually contain the most valuable loot.

Progression system in the mode

This mode’s progression can be challenging because getting eliminated means losing all the items you’ve equipped, except for anything you’ve stored in your safe slot. Luckily, you can complete various missions to help you advance, including Faction, Weekly, and Achievement Missions.

As you play, you’ll unlock cool new items like Reactive Camos. These are special, changing weapon skins that you can use in any game mode in Call of Duty Mobile.

2025-12-12 09:14