To deploy solo, turn Squad Fill off in Ready Up. This sends you in without automatically assigned squadmates; it does not create a private PvE session. AI forces and rival Operators still share the deployment, and you should be prepared to encounter teams.
A useful first solo plan is one achievable Order or material target, a loadout you can replace and an extraction route checked early. Success means bringing home the item you needed, rather than extending every run until your backpack is full.
Set up the deployment at the FOB
- Open Deploy and select the activity that fits your goal: Story Missions, Dynamic Operations or Free Roam.
- Review your loadout in Ready Up and switch Squad Fill off.
- Equip a weapon, Plate Carrier, Backpack and Medkit. Check that you have the ammunition and consumables needed for the chosen objective.
- Store items you do not need in the shared Stash before deploying.
Squad Fill is enabled in this example; switch it off to deploy without automatically assigned teammates.
The official FOB guide confirms that Squad Fill automatically adds two allied players when enabled. Free Roam is useful when your main goal is looting or Orders, while a Story Mission gives a longer objective chain. Selecting a Story Mission is not a PvP immunity option.
Use the free kit when rebuilding
The Free Loadout provides basic equipment for starting again without building a costly weapon. If you extract, you keep that equipment. It is a reasonable recovery choice when your Stash or funds are low, although you may want better gear before entering a hard mission.
On-foot infil is free. Paid vehicles are optional preparations, rather than a requirement for solo play. Avoid spending your last reserve simply to reach the map faster.
Carry equipment that addresses a specific failure
| Preparation | Why it matters alone |
|---|---|
| Medkit | Repairs Wounds and restores full health after injury. |
| Bandages | Temporarily restore maximum health when wounded; they do not replace the Medkit's repair role. |
| Plate Carrier and armor supplies | Let you absorb pressure while finding cover or moving out of a fight. |
| Ammunition or an Ammo Box | Helps with a sustained objective where resupplying from defeated AI may be insufficient. |
| A Backpack with Secure Slots, when available | Protects eligible items placed in those slots if extraction fails. |
| Parachute, when your route needs rooftop exits | Avoids assuming you can safely jump from a high building without the gear. |
An early solo playthrough highlights the tourniquet as a way back from a downed state, with a reduced-health consequence. It is not a guarantee that an opposing player will leave you time to recover. Plan to reach cover and heal; do not substitute an assumed revive for preparation.
Pick a target you can finish and leave
For a material run, track the required ingredient or recipe at the 3D Printer, check its location hint and head for a fitting type of building. Leave enough backpack space to carry the ingredient intact. Printer Resources and ingredients are different: ingredients still need to be brought home for crafting.
For an Order, inspect all its tasks before deploying. A print objective is easiest to handle at the FOB first, and a specific location or item may matter more than the number of enemies defeated.
For a Story Mission, read the briefing and take supplies for its entire chain. The early missions can be approached solo, but long holds, dark underground areas and radiation make later operations less forgiving. Adding teammates is a practical choice if repeated failures cost more than the run can reasonably return.
Break contact before the AI response snowballs
The official Hajin guide explains that local Threat rises as combat escalates. Enemy pressure can become more intense and numerous, while rival human Operators are not counted in that Threat indicator.
Use cover, suppressed fire or a quieter approach where it helps. If the fight keeps expanding, stop trying to win every engagement: move away, break enemy sight or sound contact and find a calmer approach. A High or Critical objective location deserves more preparation than an open-ended looting detour.
Taking a Lieutenant's Dog Tag Case broadcasts your position. You can leave it behind if exposing yourself is not part of the run's goal; the official guide says a Lieutenant kill still awards XP and cash without the case. Collecting and extracting the case is a separate Boss Board objective.
Decide to extract while the run is still viable
Check the Tac-Map and radiation timer before committing to another POI. Current exfils are selected from a pool and marked with green smoke. Call the helicopter, hold the position and board; another squad can still approach the same site.
Useful reasons to leave include:
- You have the ingredient, manual or key the deployment was meant to recover.
- Your medical supplies or ammunition no longer fit the next objective.
- Threat has escalated and the remaining route would add another long fight.
- Radiation is intensifying and the available exit is becoming harder to reach.
Other extraction methods exist, but only plan around equipment you actually have. Neither a fixed map route nor a video promising a cash-per-hour figure guarantees the same conditions in your deployment.
Recover from a failed run deliberately
An eliminated Operator can become MIA. Paying DMZ Cash to rescue them preserves their Traits, but does not restore their lost equipment. More developed Operators cost more to recover. You can instead dismiss the Operator and start fresh if rebuilding is the better use of your funds.
Your Stash is shared across Active Duty Operators, so equipment banked by one can help prepare another. DMZ Player XP earned during the deployment still contributes even when you fail to exfil; that is different from successfully extracting ingredients and gear.
The October 29 patch raised cash from Dynamic Ops, Side Ops and Story Mission replays. Use the current mission display to judge returns rather than a launch video's fixed payout.