Here are all the game modes and playlists available in Modern Warfare 3
Want a list of all game modes in Modern Warfare 3?As can be expected of any Call Of Duty instalment,Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3has a selection of gameplay modes and playlists on offer to cater to most players. Although you may find yourself returning to old staples like Team Deathmatch, Modern Warfare 3 has dropped new modes and limited-time seasonal events to spice things up for players.
In this guide, we’ll look at all MW3’s game modes, as well as popular playlist modes to explain how they work. While the seven core modes will always be available in MW3, playlists come and go. So if you have a favourite, you may have to wait a while before you get a chance to jump back in. For now, let’s jump into every game mode to see what it brings to the table in Modern Warfare 3.
All MW3 game modes explained
There were 7 game modes at launch: Team Deathmatch, Free-For-All, Domination, Search and Destroy, Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint and Control. Since then, MW3 has released more core and limited timed modes via theSeason Onepatch. Listed below, are all the core modes and what each one entails.
A very popular multiplayer choice in Call Of Duty, Team Deathmatch is simple. To win, you need to kill all the players on the enemy team, and the first team to reach the 100 score limit wins. If both sides are slow to rack up kills, the winner will automatically be decided based on the higher score once 10 minutes of match time passes. With party sizes ranging between 1-6 players, you’ll most likely find yourself in a 6v6 match.
Unlike Team Deathmatch, you don’t have a team here. You’re all alone and your mission is to kill everyone, hence the title Free-For-All. While killing every single enemy you come across on the map sounds like fun, you do have an objective: reach the 30 score limit to win the game, or reach 10 minutes. After that, the top three players of Free-For-All win.
The key to Domination is to, well, dominate. You have three objectives that you need to capture, hold, and defend to earn points. It’s an unlimited time match, but you’re aiming for a 200 score limit, which comes around fast, especially on smaller or cramped maps. First team to hit the score limit wins.
In Search and Destroy, the objective alternates between rounds of you and your team either detonating a bomb on a specific point, or defusing a bomb that the other team’s planted. There are no respawns, so if you get wiped out of this mode, you’ll have to sit back and spectate while waiting for the next round to start. Each round plays for two minutes, there’s six rounds in total, and your party size can hold one to six players.
There’s a double objective in Kill Confirmed. First, you must kill players on the enemy team. Then, you must collect the dog tags they drop to score extra points for your team. You can also pick up dog tags of fallen allies to deny the enemy their score. The winner is decided by the first team to reach 75 points, or the team with the highest score after 10 minutes.
In Hardpoint, there’s a specific area that you’ll be tasked with holding down and defending against attack. Both teams need to rush the area and secure it, and points are generated every second that a teammate stands on the objective area. The first team to reach the 250 score limit wins, with matches lasting five minutes.
In Control, you must capture two objectives on the map. In a fun twist, you’ve got 30 lives to use across your team, so you’ll need to be strategic. Once you capture two objectives, your team gains a point. Your team will be tasked with either defending or attacking, and this role will swap until one team earns three points. Each round is 1.5 minutes long.
As per the Season One content drop, Gunfight has returned to MW3. In Gunfight, two teams face off against one another in 40-second rounds. During that time, you must eliminate the other team. The crux is, that your assigned loadout is randomised and changes every two rounds. This mode is all about adaptability and securing quick wins. If both teams are intact after the 40-second round, they are given an additional 10 seconds of overtime. During this time a flag will spawn for each team and you’ll have to capture the enemies' flag or finish off the remaining enemy team members to win. The first team to secure 6 wins will ultimately win the match.
In All Or Nothing, you deploy with only throwing knives, no ammo. To progress you must earn an elimination to grant the Scavenger Perk, after which you will be able to pick up ammo for your weapon. The winner is whoever can secure 20 eliminations first.
With ‘Codmas’ upon us, Modern Warfare 3 has dropped a bunch of seasonal-themed modes, available untilJanuary 3. If you feel like celebrating the occasion with a bunch of zombie Santa’s, here is a list of all limited-time modes in Modern Warfare 3 as well as all upcoming ones.
The Infectious Holiday mode essentially turns a bunch of Operators into the Zombie Santa skin. Eliminated players become infected and must spread the infection to win.
Snowfight is a reskin of the Gunfight mode. In a holiday twist, fight with snowballs instead and look out for the Golden Snowball, capable of a one-shot kill. It only spawns once per round, however, so be on the lookout within the centre of the map.
Vortex is a free-for-all mode in which one player will deploy with the one-shot Ray Gun. Whoever then eliminates this player will take ownership of the weapon and so forth. Think of this mode as a game of tag. Vortex is scheduled as a mid-season drop, so we can expect it to follow sometime after the Codmas event, in the new year.
Infected will be another mid-season release. In Infected, one player is chosen as the infected and must spread the virus to other players. This is essentially the precursor to the Infectious Holiday mode.
Headquarters is a mid-season release. During this mode, you must fight to secure a base and then protect your position there. The headquarters will rotate around the map as the match progresses so you’ll need to move to keep your place.
Team Gunfight is a 6v6 version of the classic Gunfight mode mentioned above.
That’s all the game modes and playlists available in Modern Warfare 3. If you’re keen to get sucked into multiplayer but want to know more, we’ve got guides in abundance, including abest tips and tricks guide for multiplayer beginners. Be sure to check out our in-depth rundowns of thebest guns in MW3, thebest loadouts, and all the details on theMW3 mapsto get the most out of your gunfights.
