Here’s everything you need to know about the locations and Black Site keys for the new Strongholds in the sequel to Warzone.
The sequel to Call of Duty: Warzone features brand-new Stronghold locations for battle royale and a DMZ extraction mode. Here, we outline everything you need to know about Warzone’s new high-tier looting grounds in order to obtain some of the game’s best equipment.
New Strongholds characteristic described
Strongholds are buildings that contain high-tier loot and cash, but are well protected by AI foes. On Al Mazrah, there are 77 possible Stronghold locations, but only a handful are active per match. These structures exist in both battle royale and DMZ, but they operate differently in each mode, so it is important to understand the distinctions.
Conflict Strongholds
At the conclusion of the first battle royale circle collapse, Strongholds become accessible on the map without the need for keys. There will never be more than three active Strongholds on the map at once. On the map, strongholds are represented by a large castle icon. The first team to reach a bomb site must defuse it before the timer expires. After that, the objective of all subsequent Strongholds is to eliminate a certain number of AI foes, but any human players you encounter will also contribute to the required total.
Warzone Black Sites
Black Sites are unique to the battle royale mode. The first player or group to clear a Warzone Stronghold will receive a key to a Black Site location, which is essentially a more perilous version of Strongholds. On the map, Black Sites are represented by a skull icon. These areas contain significantly more formidable AI foes, including a minigun-wielding Juggernaut boss.
The first time you complete a Black Site, you will also receive a permanent weapon blueprint usable in all game modes. It also provides plenty of gear for use in the actual match, such as a minigun, a durable gas mask, a loadout drop, and a permanent UAV to ping enemies in the area surrounding the Black Site until the area is lost to the collapse of the circle.
Notably, clearing Strongholds after the initial one will grant you sweet rewards, but you will not receive a Black Site key for your efforts. If you are not the first person to clear a Stronghold, you may still loot the key from the enemy who earned it.
DMZ Strongholds
In DMZ, Strongholds are marked on the map with a castle icon, just as they are in battle royale, but they are immediately accessible instead of becoming active mid-match. This version of the Stronghold is also a locked structure accessible only with a keycard. The keys can be randomly obtained through looting or purchased from Buy Stations for $5,000. However, you’ll want to save your cash, as keycards drop quite frequently, especially if you’re killing AI in the vicinity of a Stronghold. Keycards are minuscule, but their blue glow makes them easy to locate on the ground.
Once you have access to a Stronghold, you must complete the Stronghold’s objective in order to obtain its rewards. The majority of Strongholds simply require you to eliminate all AI foes, but some have objectives such as cracking a safe open, during which you must defend the location from AI reinforcements attempting to storm the Stronghold.
These DMZ Strongholds offer similar loot as battle royale, including items such as killstreaks, three-plate armor, and self-revives.
Regardless of the game mode you’re playing, I strongly advise equipping additional armor plates. You should also equip the munitions field upgrade so that you always have enough ammunition to fight off all the AI enemies. Some Strongholds have more AI than others, and those in densely populated areas may have more bots to kill.
Here’s how to unlock the M13B assault rifle in DMZ mode for use across Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 as part of Season 1’s unlockable content. Also, weapon loadouts function differently in DMZ than in battle royale, so be sure to consult our guide on DMZ weapon types.