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 addition to the popular battle royale game offers intense, fast-paced gameplay where players try to extract valuable items from a dangerous combat zone.

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, and features squads of up to three players battling both other players and AI enemies.

In this mode, you’ll race against ever-shrinking radiation zones. You need to escape before time runs out to save your progress. With a lot happening at once, this guide will help you understand everything, so you can play with confidence.

Gameplay modes in DMZ: Recon mode in COD Mobile

Let’s talk about the PvPvE mode first. In this mode, you’ll face off against both other players and computer-controlled enemies, which is why choosing the right gear is so important. To succeed, you don’t always need to directly fight. Simply spotting an enemy can sometimes be enough to keep you safe and moving forward.

If your equipment isn’t good enough, it’s best to avoid fighting. Instead, try to connect with other players – a few friendly gestures like emotes or nods might help. It’s a bit of a gamble, but it could improve your chances of staying alive.

You’ll face a lot of enemies, so working together is key to defeating them. Quickly learn to coordinate with your team to clear them out. It’s also important to identify the different types of enemies – like standard soldiers, rocket launchers, flamethrower units, and snipers – and understand what each one does so you can effectively counter them.

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 focus on the suggestions that resonate with you, but don’t hesitate to explore them all – this guide offers valuable tools for your improvement.

Take your time to explore and learn the map

Knowing where you’ll land is key to winning battles. Serpent Island is a great map for this game mode because it offers everything you need for exciting gameplay. To get ahead, take the time to learn the map well.

Beyond the island map, you’ll also need to master Building 21. This map is completely indoors, spanning three floors, and features fast-paced, intense gameplay. You’ll battle through areas like a garage, offices, restaurants, and a living space. Its smaller size 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 how you want to play – will you be aggressive, play defensively, or something else? If you want to jump into a game quickly, use the Quick Fill option before the match starts. This lets you choose from pre-made equipment setups. It’s best to customize these setups beforehand to match your preferred playstyle.

Let’s talk about talents. There are three Talent Trees – Scavenger, Assaulter, and Medical – each offering a different 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 complements 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

If you don’t have the right equipment, you’ll likely face difficult challenges. If you’re not finding good loot, completing contracts will be your main way to earn money. Look for people offering contracts across the island – you can earn rewards by eliminating high-value targets or gathering intelligence. Be aware that taking on contracts often puts you in dangerous situations, as others will try to stop you, but it’s simply 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 difficult, 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 you check your available options before the timer runs out and the Radiation Zone starts expanding. Some exfils require specific items, so be aware of what each one needs. Here are a few examples of how you can exfil:

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 a lot of fast-paced action and shooting, but scavenging for supplies is essential to stay alive. You’ll begin with only basic, weak weapons and equipment.

You can improve your equipment and buy powerful weapons, strong armor, armor plates, ammunition, and other useful items at the Black Market. Finding loot is crucial for earning money to spend there.

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

Progression system in the mode

Okay, so this game mode is really fun, but the way you lose stuff when you get knocked out is pretty brutal – you lose everything in your loadout except whatever you’ve stashed in your safe slot. Thankfully, there are a bunch of missions you can do to earn rewards, like Faction Missions, Weekly Missions, and even Achievement Missions. It’s a good way to keep progressing even if you’re getting eliminated a lot!

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

2025-12-12 19:14