Delta Force Hot Zone mode, explained

Season Starfall introduced Hot Zone to Delta Force—a 3v3v3 round-based mode that plays somewhat similar to competitive tactical shooters like CS2 and VALORANT. It may also feel familiar if you ever played THE FINALS.

Here’s everything you need to know to play Hot Zone in Delta Force and a couple of tips to get you started.

How to play Hot Zone in Delta Force

Rules

Hot Zone is a 3v3v3 game mode where your goal is to eliminate all opponents or decode a MandelBrick. The first team to win three rounds wins the game. While eliminating enemies is straightforward, decoding a MandelBrick follows the same logic as extracting a MandelBrick in regular Operations.

Capture the MandelBrick marked on the map and deliver it to one of the two available Decoding Stations. Insert the MandelBrick into the station and guard it until the timer expires. While you’re guarding the Decoding Station, enemy teams can attempt to steal it, so be watchful and prepare your defenses.

Equipment

Even though Hot Zone is a part of the Operations mode in Delta Force, you don’t use gear from your own stash for these games. Instead, you earn points by playing rounds and spend them on loadouts that look similar to sets you get for Gear Tickets at the start of every round. The first round is the pistol one, just like in CS2 or VALORANT, and then you get more points as you play to use better loadouts.

Rewards

At the time of writing, there are no dedicated rewards for playing Hot Zone. There’s no rank system where you get points by simply playing to unlock cosmetic rewards and boosters, like in core Warfare and Operations. However, there’s a limited-time event called Hot Zone that awards TurBricks for playing and winning matches.

Tips and tricks to win in Delta Force Hot Zone

Know enemy spawns

Team spawns are the same on each map, and since most of the maps are quite small, the gunfights begin only a few seconds after the round starts. Knowing where the spawns are allows you to anticipate the direction the enemy will come from. Use that to get a head start, prepare for a gunfight, or go for a flank.

Play the objective

While getting kills is fun, the key to victory is often playing the objective. In many games, players often ignore the objective, allowing one team to secure the MandelBrick. Try to stick together with your team and capture the MandelBrick.

Alternatively, you can attempt to steal it or camp the Decoding Station, but that only works if at least one enemy team actually plays the objective. At the very least, you should always be aware of MandelBrick’s location and its decoding status.

Bring the right Operator

The Operator you play can make a huge difference in how the match plays out. Luna, Stringer, Sineva, and Hackclaw are great options to bring to Hot Zone. Also, remember to use their abilities often. The cooldowns are fairly low, and you can use your gadget (aka ultimate) almost every round.