How to complete The Route Forward mission in DMZ

Call of Duty: Warzone 2’s DMZ game mode has plenty of objectives for players to complete, including Faction missions—an assortment of challenges giving players fast ways to earn XP and gear. On occasion, popular or fun missions from updates long past make a return in later updates.

One such returning mission in Warzone 2 DMZ is The Route Forward mission, which is a tier five White Lotus Faction DMZ mission. It acts as the last story mission for the White Lotus Faction that rewards you with a weapon blueprint for a very valuable rifle along with a ton of XP.

Related: How to complete REDACTED Faction Missions in DMZ Season 3

Being a tier five faction mission, players will need to complete multiple objectives, from finding tracking devices to breaking into a high-security cave system to download crucial mission-critical data.

There are a lot more variables and details needed to take care of within these main objectives, however, so here’s our complete guide to completing The Route Forward faction mission.

How to complete The Route Forward mission in Call of Duty: Warzone 2 DMZ

Getting to the Sattiq Caves

The first objective of the mission will lead you to the Al-Sharim Pass dead drop. The most optimal way to travel to the location and throughout the mission is by using either a land vehicle or a helo, assuming you spawned close to one. Once you’ve got some wheels, head to Al-Sharim Pass as indicated on the Al Mazrah map.

You’ll want to make it to the location where the dead drop dumpster is situated. It won’t be an easy to get there—the Al-Sharim Pass dead drop is crawling with enemies—so be ready for a fight or go in super quietly.

Related: Where to find the Al Sharim Pass dead drop in DMZ

Approach the dead drop dumpster and loot the contents. Make sure you have at least one spare slot in your backpack to pick up the devices; since the devices stack in a single slot, you won’t need more than one.

If you are attempting this tier five mission solo, you should be very particular about how well-equipped you are before heading into the Sattiq Caves from this point. Ensure that you have a self-revive and full armor plates ready, especially since Sattiq Caves has stronger enemies in the area that take a longer time to kill than your regular Al Mazrah soldier.

When you arrive at the caves, locate the trucks and clear the area nearby them, since if you don’t, you can get taken out pretty easily by just charging in to plant the devices.

Planting the tracking devices

You can locate the first truck on top of the entrance to the caves. Using either an Assault Rifle or Sniper Rifle at a long distance, overlook the inside of the caves from your high ground and kill any enemies that come into your sight. 

Find the first truck on the high ground above the cave entrance. Make your way towards the right front tire, and when prompted, interact with the truck to plant the device.

Finding the next two trucks is easy as they are located right below the entrance to the caves. Simply drop down and plant the devices onto the trucks located inside the underground cave system in the same fashion as you did with the first one. You should then head back to the top of the caves using the zipline.

There are a ton of enemies in this location, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem if you’re playing teamed up with others. If you’re solo, however, you will want to clear this area very cautiously and avoid going in guns ablaze. Either way, you will need a little Lady Luck on your side for this one.

Once you’ve cleared the area of enemies, you can find two more trucks at the entrance of the Sattiq Cave Complex in the Upper Caverns, which is an area west of the named location on the Al Mazrah map. The sixth truck can be found towards the back of the Upper Caverns denied area.

The truck in the back of the cavern is the toughest one to reach, as no matter how stealthy you are, you’re bound to be spotted. Treat this one with caution.

The final truck can be found outside of the caves, far off to the west of where you first began. You can tell where you’re supposed to be when you see the Stronghold flag behind the final AQ truck.

Downloading the server data

Once you have finished planting the Tracking Devices on all seven AQ Trucks, you will need to head to the Bunkers. The bunker you have to visit is situated right in front of the Sattiq Caves Exfil. This area will be heavily guarded, so again, tread caution.

A self-revive and your standard rifle may not be enough to save your hide from the horde of enemies waiting for you. Make sure you have an Assault Rifle equipped to plow down through the enemies quicker, with grenades and mines to make your job a little easier. Taking down the enemies within the bunker may not be the wisest decision, so leaving the area and firing at your enemies from the higher ground may just be the strategy you need to employ.

After you’ve taken care of the enemies, head into the bunker right beside the crashed plane in this area and interact with the server rack inside to download the data. This completes The Route Forward, rewarding you with the Chisel SA-B Marksman Rifle blueprint along with 40,000 XP.