What are contraband weapons in DMZ?

DMZ is a departure from the rest of the Call of Duty franchise. This Escape From Tarkov-like mode has players scavenge gear from Al Mazrah and lets them keep whatever they can carry if they extract—though it also takes whatever is in players’ inventories if they die.

Contraband weapons are the most common armament in this new system. In DMZ, contraband weapons come with their own functions and limitations. They’re a vital part of the new system and can help ensure you’ll have a steady supply of weapons for when your favorite guns are on cooldown.

Here’s how contraband weapons work in DMZ so you know exactly what happens when you bring them in with the helicopter.

How to use and obtain contraband weapons in DMZ

Contraband weapons are essentially any guns you loot from Al Mazrah and bring back with you aboard the escape helicopter. This includes any weapons you get from other players or enemy combatants. Contraband weapons will be available from your weapons inventory, and you can equip them normally before the mission screen.

Contraband weapons have up to five different randomly generated attachments, and players can luck into anything from vanilla to fully kitted versions of weapons in DMZ. Guns dropped by enemy operators will also turn into contraband and maintain their attachments.

While you can loot any weapon in DMZ and turn it into contraband upon a successful extraction, you can also purchase higher-quality weapons at any Buy Station. These small shops have a selection of weapons available with prices ranging from affordable to expensive, with higher price tags giving you more attachments. If you buy a weapon in a match and extract with it, you can add it to your collection as contraband as well.

Differences between contraband and insured weapons in DMZ

There are two main differences between contraband and insured weapons, and they relate to what type of attachments you can use and what happens to them if you fail to extract in a DMZ match.

You can’t access the Gunsmith with contraband weapons, meaning you’re stuck with what you have. Insured weapons, on the other hand, allow you to fine-tune them with attachments and cosmetics as you see fit.

Additionally, if you die in DMZ, your contraband weapons will stay in Al Mazrah. While a player can also loot them (and in turn retrieve them as contraband), you’ll lose any contraband and non-insured weapons you have on your person if you fail to extract from the DMZ. Insured weapons aren’t lost when you fail to extract, though their slot does go on cooldown. Insured weapons don’t normally count as contraband, though.

Since insured and contraband weapons work differently, it’s helpful to have a decent number of contraband guns you can use comfortably in case you’re ever in need of a good weapon when your insured slot is on cooldown or when you don’t want to risk it. Having a few contraband weapons can also help you level different guns you might want to boost. Just hope you get attachments you like, though, since you can’t change them.

Using contraband weapons to unlock them in different modes

One of the most useful aspects of contraband weapons in DMZ is how easy it can be to unlock them for your loadouts across different modes. Though contraband weapons are exclusively available in DMZ, there’s still some benefit to bringing weapons you like alongside you in the helicopter.

Once you extract with a weapon, you’ll receive it as contraband, but you’ll also unlock it across other game modes. This means you can tweak it in the Gunsmith as if you’d unlocked it normally by playing, and you’ll unlock the M13B exclusively by extracting it in DMZ.

Related: How to unlock the M13B in DMZ

Bringing a contraband weapon you haven’t unlocked will give you a contraband-tagged version of the weapon for your use, but it will also allow you to use that weapon in your insured slot. In that case, all limitations between contraband and insured weapons still apply. If you’ve looted an M13B from a player, for instance, you can use the (immutable) contraband version you’ve found or deploy with it as an insured weapon. Bringing an insured weapon allows you to tweak it to your preferred loadout, and you’ll also have a contraband copy left over in case you feel like leveling up a specific weapon.

Between looting and buying weapons, players have a true arsenal at their disposal each match, and that arsenal can get even bigger if they can leave Al Mazrah unscathed with their loot.

What happens if I run out of contraband weapons?

If you run out of contraband weapons entirely, you may have the option to select a randomized free weapon, according to reports on social media. You can also enter a match without any weapons on your person and try to loot whatever you can from AI combatants, which is especially easy if you have a team to help you.