MW4 DMZ X01 Guide: Black Site, Deep Vault, The Captain

What is X01 in MW4 DMZ?

X01 is a new DMZ location: a former Russian weapons facility on the edge of Hajin, seized by North Korean forces and identified as a GRANIT Arms black site (Activision's Season 1 blog). It is fully enclosed and built from dim passages, tunnels and linked chambers over several floors, around a weapons assembly line. Activision lists cargo bays, vehicle depots, underground labs, production lines and the sealed Deep Vault, and warns that troops and specialists from the 100 Spirits faction operate inside.

Infinity Ward's Season 1 patch notes add three concrete things: new DMZ Orders tied to X01, an in-world 3D Printer, and updated Boss Board intel. Ghost is the Watcher for X01 and talks your squad through the Orders as you push deeper.

Detail	What we know	Source
Release	Season 1, midnight ET November 6, 2026	Activision
Setting	Underground GRANIT Arms black site on Hajin's northern border	Activision
Watcher	Ghost, with several pages of new Orders	Activision
New Lieutenants	Tae-Hyun ("Knuckle") and Chol-Min ("The Wrench")	Activision
New Commanders	The Captain (Juggernaut plus elite guard), an autonomous Wheelson	Activision
Timer	Toxic gas, starting at 20 minutes	COD Central, Playnews
Map	Two floors on the Tac Map, Data Center and Main Warehouse	COD Central
Killstreaks disabled	UAV, Advanced UAV (November 10) and Bombing Run (November 11)	Infinity Ward

How do you get into X01?

Go to the freight elevator in the northwest corner of Hajin, open the gate and ride it down with your whole squad. COD Central and Playnews both place it in square B0, the row above B1 on the very edge of the map, at a walled site where the road north along the river ends. The first X01 Order describes it as the abandoned elevator shaft near the facility in the northwest of Hajin (COD Central).

1. Get close. You can't choose your Hajin infil, but Jayon Warehouses (about 400 m) and North Fork Hajin River (about 450 m) are the nearest infil points, per COD Central. From farther away, a helicopter is quickest.
2. Open the gate. Look for a red-brick building with a barred metal gate and press the red button on the wall panel next to it.
3. Board the cage. Follow the warehouse corridor to the mesh elevator and hold the interact prompt on its panel.
4. Wait for your squad. A second confirmation runs on a timer of about 30 seconds. Squadmates who aren't in the cage when it leaves stay on Hajin.

Both sites report that no key, keycard, cash or item is needed. COD Central also reports that since November 7, X01 shows up in the FOB deploy menu as its own location with Free Roam as the only mode, so you can spawn inside the facility without the elevator ride. Infinity Ward's notes don't mention that change, so check your deploy menu. Spawns inside aren't fixed: players report starting in the Data Center, on the Main Warehouse floor or in a Supply Depot storeroom.

Example: your squad is mid-run on Hajin with a good haul. Don't take it down the elevator unless you're ready for a new 20-minute clock and a higher-threat facility. Exfil on Hajin first and come back fresh.

How does the X01 Deep Vault work?

The Deep Vault is a sealed wing on the Data Center floor that you open with a Deep Vault keycard, then ride down to several levels of locked rooms with the Core Room at the bottom. COD Central maps the wing from grid D3 to C2 in the northwest of the Data Center floor, with the round vault gate at its southeast end. Game Rant describes the vault as sitting in the northwest of the lower floor, which fits the same area.

Deep Vault keycards

The gold three-digit cards each open the gate and one numbered room inside. COD Central found in its runs that the gate leaves the card in your inventory, while the matching room consumes it. Rooms 101 to 106 sit on the first lab level, and 301 to 303 sit side by side two levels further down.

Keycard	Where players report finding it	Opens
Deep Vault 301	Field loot; also reported from The Captain	Gate, then Room 301 (third level)
Deep Vault 406	Desk in the Executive Room, Admin Offices (not guaranteed)	Gate, then Room 406
Deep Vault 106	Field loot; one guide links it to Lieutenant Tae-Hyun	Gate, then Room 106 (lab level)
Executive Room card	Made at the Supply Depot encoder from an Encodable Blank Keycard	Executive Room, second floor of the Admin Offices
Staff Emergency Exfil Keycard	Reported as craftable at the 3D Printer	An emergency egress shaft

This table is a decision aid based on community runs, not an official drop list. Keycards roll randomly, so bring any you already own in a Secure Slot.

Getting through the gate

Swipe the card at the reader beside the round gate, step into the small room behind it and call the elevator. Detonated reports that the vault door closes again after a short window and only reopens for another card or from the red button inside, so hold the room until the elevator arrives. Expect wall turrets on the lab level (COD Central). Infinity Ward's November 10 notes fixed players getting stuck in the Vault Elevator and bodies falling through the floor in the Deep Vault, so older reports of lost runs there may no longer apply.

Unlocking the Core Room

At the bottom of the vault is a sealed Core Room. Guides describe the same loop: press the button at the Core Room, climb to the control room at the top of the wing, start the override, and hold that room against a wave of heavy AI until the timer ends. Then go back down and open the door. Game Rant mentions Tier 3 enemies with riot shields during the defense. Infinity Ward's November 7 notes changed the "Vault Defend" interaction so it only becomes available after the Vault Door is open.

Inside, players report weapons lockers, an Elite Weapons Locker that needs the rare X01 Vault DRC Locker Key, loot chests and an Argonaut armor rack. Argonaut is a Juggernaut-style Killstreak; Infinity Ward raised its health from 800 to 1,200 in the Season 1 notes. Several guides also report a boss called Blix at the Core Room, and DMZ Codex says the Complete Defusal objective is finished at a computer on the central glass case ("Neutralize Bioweapon"), not by the kill. Neither is confirmed by Activision.

Who are the X01 bosses?

Activision names four: Lieutenants Tae-Hyun ("Knuckle") and Chol-Min ("The Wrench"), and Commanders The Captain and a patrolling Wheelson. It hasn't published their abilities or drops.

Boss	Type	What players report
The Captain	Commander, Juggernaut with an elite guard	Carries a minigun; often seen around the Admin Offices, T.E.C.H. Lab or Main Warehouse; drops a Deep Vault keycard (reported as guaranteed by some guides, not by others)
Wheelson	Commander, autonomous patrol	Turret can be disabled with DDoS or a Shock Stick (Infinity Ward's fix notes confirm both effects work on it)
Chol-Min ("The Wrench")	Lieutenant	Holds a hall in the Motor Pool, grid E7; drops the key to Lt. Chol-Min's Stash Room above it (COD Central)
Tae-Hyun ("Knuckle")	Lieutenant	One guide says he drops the Deep Vault 106 card; Room 106 can hold the Jeogyeom shotgun

For The Captain, the common advice is to fight as a squad, stun him with a Shock Stick and finish him with Thermite or sustained fire from cover. That's the general way to handle Juggernaut-type enemies, not a published strategy for this fight. Infinity Ward fixed The Captain killing players in Last Stand who could still be revived, on November 7.

The Season 1 Threat Briefing event also sends you after him: find The Captain in X01, take sections of his helmet and exfil with them for rewards. If one squadmate exfils with a Commander part, everyone in the squad gets credit (Activision). Our DMZ beginner's guide explains how Lieutenants, Dog Tag Cases and the Boss Board work.

How do you exfil from X01?

Find an active exit early, because X01 shuts its standard exfils as the gas spreads. Activision warns that the facility "will take extreme measures" against intruders and tells you to always know where the nearest exfil is.

• No Fulton. Playnews reports that Fulton markers don't work in X01, and exits are elevators you call, which alerts nearby guards.
• Late in the timer, players report that the usual exits close and an emergency exfil appears on the Tac Map. DMZ Codex says one late marker can point to Production Assembly.
• Emergency egress shafts open with a Staff Emergency Exfil Keycard (DMZ Codex). Detonated lists a 3D Printer recipe of 2 CPUs, 4 Printed Circuit Boards and 8 Control Units for it; check the cost in the printer, since recipes have changed between patches.
• Leaving the Deep Vault: the elevator you came down on no longer works by the time you're done. Force open the side elevator and ascend the rope back to the vault room (Detonated, DMZ Codex). Expect AI, and possibly players, waiting outside.

Infinity Ward's November 10 notes also added a Scavenger Bonus: if you fail to exfil, you still get some DMZ Cash based on what you looted and how long you lasted. Story Missions don't get it. Our DMZ Cash guide covers the rest of the money side.

How should you prepare for X01?

Bring a full squad, Night Vision Goggles and a plan for one goal per run. Activision calls for careful planning, specialized equipment and squad coordination, and it describes the site as dimly lit.

1. Pack for darkness and armor. Night Vision Goggles, Shock Sticks and Thermite cover the dark corridors and the Juggernaut fight. Our DMZ loadouts guide has weapon builds.
2. Put keys in a Secure Slot. A Medium Backpack gives you Secure Slots, and anything there survives a failed run (Activision's FOB guide, as covered in our beginner's guide).
3. Don't plan on UAVs. UAV, Advanced UAV and Bombing Run can't be used in X01 now (Infinity Ward, November 10 and 11).
4. Pick one target. The Captain, a keycard room or the Core Room each take most of a 20-minute timer.

Before you deploy, fill in: "This run we're going for ___, we'll leave by ___, and if it goes wrong we fall back to ___." For Hajin's own POIs and threat levels, see our Hajin map guide.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind X01 Orders or DMZ progression yourself, DMZ mission help and other DMZ services are listed on FullBoosts, with everything else on the Call of Duty page. Read the publisher's rules before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included. A marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the X01 entrance in MW4 DMZ? In the far northwest corner of Hajin, map square B0, north of Jayon Warehouses. It's a freight elevator behind a barred gate at a red-brick building. Community guides report that no key or cash is needed.

Can you deploy straight into X01? COD Central reports that since November 7 you can choose X01 in the FOB deploy menu, with Free Roam as the only mode. Infinity Ward's patch notes don't list it, so check the deploy menu in game. The Hajin elevator still works either way.

How do you open the Deep Vault in X01? Use a gold three-digit Deep Vault keycard, such as Deep Vault 301 or 406, at the reader by the round vault gate. Players report that the gate doesn't use the card up, but its numbered room inside does.

Does The Captain drop the Deep Vault key? Several guides say he drops a Deep Vault keycard, and some call it guaranteed. Other community sites list the cards as random field loot. Activision hasn't published his drops.

Who are Knuckle and The Wrench in DMZ? They're the two Season 1 Lieutenants: Tae-Hyun ("Knuckle") and Chol-Min ("The Wrench"). Players place Chol-Min in the X01 Motor Pool, where he drops the key to his stash room. Activision hasn't given their locations.

How long do you have in X01? Players report a toxic gas timer that starts at 20 minutes. As it runs out, the facility closes exfils, so find an exit before you start a long objective.

What is the Argonaut in DMZ? A Juggernaut-style Killstreak. Players report a guaranteed Argonaut rack in the Deep Vault Core Room, and Infinity Ward raised its health from 800 to 1,200 for Season 1.

Sources

• Activision, Modern Warfare 4 and Warzone Season 1 announcement
• Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 patch notes (November 5 to 11 updates)
• COD Central, How to get into X01, Deep Vault 301 keycard, Deep Vault 106 keycard, Chol-Min's Stash Room key
• DMZ Codex, X01 map guide and X01 Deep Vault guide
• Game Rant, How to unlock the Deep Vault in X01
• Detonated, X01 Deep Vault guide
• The Based Otaku, X01 Deep Vault walkthrough
• Playnews, X01 entrance guide

Related guides

• Modern Warfare 4 DMZ Hajin map guide
• Modern Warfare 4 DMZ beginner's guide
• Best Modern Warfare 4 DMZ loadouts
• How to farm DMZ Cash in Modern Warfare 4
• Modern Warfare 4 DMZ best Traits