How to complete the Cutting It Close mission in DMZ

DMZ’s newest Shadow Company faction missions really test your game communication skills; from having an enemy operator jump on your vehicle and kill AI, to giving them your weapon to exfil with, these quests require you to actively seek out enemy players and barter with them to help complete your mission.

There is none more difficult than the Cutting It Close mission, in my opinion. Not only will you need to secure a hostage, but you’ll also need to protect them for the entirety of the session, ignore any close-range exfil choppers, and wait for the last moment to escape with them—oftentimes aboard final exfil with enemy operators.

This mission is already hard enough just by keeping the hostage alive and now I’ve got to talk a stranger into helping me out?

A guide to completing the Cutting It Close mission in DMZ

Cutting It Close is a tier two Shadow Company faction mission, meaning you’ll need to beat the tier one story mission and earn enough reputation to attempt it.

There is only one requirement for this mission:

• Exfil a hostage at the final exfil.

It’s already hard enough to complete a hostage rescue, especially solo. So many things can go wrong, from failing to defuse the hostage bomb to having the hostage take a bullet, meaning you’ll have to start over again.

But now you’ve got to keep the hostage alive until final exfil, and hope the other operators let you escape alive? This one took me a fair few attempts.

Complete a Hostage Rescue contract—then wait a while

I did eventually solo this mission, but ideally bring some friends for this one. Drop into Al Mazrah and quickly find and complete a Hostage Rescue contract. You’ll be looking for a green icon with handcuffs.

Once you start the contract, find the house with the hostage and clear it of enemies. Be careful not to shoot at the hostage when you find them. Defuse the bomb attached to the hostage then wait.

Normally, you would carry the hostage to a nearby exfil chopper, but in this case, you’ll be waiting as you need to escape with the final exfil. I grabbed a flatbed truck, threw the hostage on the tray, and then drove to the furthest point from the radiation gas location to wait.

Awaiting final exfil, and talking operators into helping

Yes, it took me an entire session, but I waited with my hostage friend for the radiation to begin to spread. It is possible to predict the final exfil’s location based on where the radiation gas begins to spread from. If correct, you won’t have far to travel with the hostage to get to the chopper, meaning you should be first there.

If you’re with a squad of friends, get the hostage aboard the final exfil chopper as soon as possible, then guard that chopper with your life. But if you’re me, attempting to solo the mission, you’ve got to be creative.

As I saw other teams approaching I immediately turned on my microphone and asked them to be kind and let me finish my mission without shooting me or my hostage. Amazingly, this worked. Shock horror I know, but sure enough, on came a squad of six to escape with me and my hostage.

In all honesty, a lot of players are just in DMZ to complete their missions and are happy to assist. It’s worth asking for help in an active lobby sometimes—you just never know.

Predict the final exfil and find a nearby Hostage Rescue contract

Alternatively, you can risk it and attempt to grab the hostage toward the end of the session. Predict where the final exfil will finish and see if there’s a Hostage Rescue contract nearby, then head there as the gas begins to spread.

This way, you won’t need to traverse the map with the hostage or wait for too long—just get to final exfil and hold it as early as possible.

Completing this mission will get you a Veterinarian Key for Vondel, as well as 7,500 XP.