Sledgehammer has unveiled the roadmap for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Season 3, and it's brimming with exciting content. The sheer volume of new features is overwhelming and the upcoming season promises significant changes to Multiplayer, which are sure to have a profound impact on gameplay. Let’s talk about all of the changes you can expect to come to Multiplayer with Season 3, and what they might mean.
Season 3 Additions to MW3
- SIX new 6v6 maps...
- FIVE new Conversion Kits...
- FOUR new weapons and game modes...
- THREE new Vests, Aftermarket Parts, and Zombies Schematics...
- TWO new Perks, Warzone Public Events, Warzone Field Upgrades, and sets of Seasonal Ranked Rewards...
- ONE new Tactical Equipment, Field Upgrade, Warzone Game Mode, Warzone Champion's Quest, Warzone Contract, and Warzone Killstreak...
- …and of course ONE colossal addition to Warzone - the eagerly awaited Rebirth Island!
Should we finally take a look at the Roadmap?
For new weapons, we’ll be receiving the BAL-27 Assault Rifle, FJX Horus SMG, MORS Sniper Rifle, and Gladiator Melee weapon. It’ll be exciting to get our hands on the brand-new weapons and see what they play like! We don't know what these new weapons will be like, but we can have a good idea what the Conversion Kits & Aftermarket Parts might do. The action will spread across an impressive six new Multiplayer maps, and we’ll have the opportunity to enjoy four new game modes as well: Capture the Flag, One in the Chamber, Minefield, and Escort!
Conversion Kits & Aftermarket Parts
You can expect a weekly article and new weapon build(s) covering the new Conversion Kits and Aftermarket Parts right here on Fanbyte as they drop, so stay tuned! Let’s take a peek at what’s arriving, and what kind of build you might expect to see soon!
New Conversion Kits
- JAK Revenger Kit (BP50 Assault Rifle)
- “This conversion kit turns the BP50 into a CQC legend. A 9mm caliber conversion with shortened receiver and high-capacity magazine.”
- A 9mm conversion of the BP50 is a bit puzzling as the BP50 already has some of the best mobility and handling stats of the ARs and feels like an SMG as-is. This build will likely have reduced damage and velocity, but even more increased mobility and handling.
- JAK Lawbreaker Kit (KV Broadside Shotgun)
- “This conversion kit turns the BP50 into a CQC legend. A 9mm caliber conversion with a shortened receiver and high-capacity magazine.”
- The KV Broadside has excellent range and damage, but is bulky and very slow - trademarks of your standard Battle Rifle. We can reasonably expect this Conversion Kit to be able to use a large amount of Kastovia weapon platform attachments - likely sharing the same attachments as the Kastov 762, Kastov 545, Kastov-74u, and Vaznev-9k.
- JAK Shadow Titan Kit (Bruen Mk9 Light Machine Gun)
- “Converts the Bruen Mk9 into a compact and integrally suppressed light support weapon chambered in 300 blackout.”
- A few expectations based on the description: Integrally suppressed barrels tend to enhance mobility and strafe, but reduce Damage Range and Velocity. This sounds like a great option for the Bruen on paper considering that it has an infinite Damage Range (can achieve the same TTK over any distance), but the caliber change to .300 Blackout will likely change the damage profiles. I’ll be testing it at length as soon as it drops and publishing my findings here on Fanbyte!
- JAK Patriot (M16 Assault Rifle)
- “Converts the M16 into a fully automatic rifle with a heavy ported barrel built to provide superior recoil control and firing aim stability.”
- Gun nuts may be eagerly awaiting what should equate to the M16A3! The real question is: How will the M16 full-auto conversion be different from the M4? It will be interesting to see how the M16A3 performs differently than the M4 (in-game, of course).
- JAK Atlas Kit (AMR9 Submachine Gun)
- “Converts the AMR9 into an extremely lethal and accurate 5-round burst carbine chambered in 556.”
- A 5-round burst can be quite… janky for Multiplayer. The usability of a burst weapon depends on how fast the entire burst is fired, the delay between bursts, and the spread of the burst. The JAK Signal Kit for the Holger 556 (4-round burst) was fantastically useless, so this one could go either way.
New Aftermarket Parts
- JAK Cutthroat Kit (Stock: MCW, MTZ-556, M4, AMR-9)
- “This 3D-printed stock provides an unrivaled combination of speed and stability while aiming down sights.”
- We could be looking at great Aim Down Sight and Sprint to Fire bonuses, but the real utility will be in how much Firing Aim Stability it provides - one of the best stats in the entire game. As soon as this part drops, I’ll be deep-testing how it behaves on each weapon and publishing the best version!
- Wardens (Lockwood Mk2 Marksman Rifle)
- “Relive the glory days, stir up the hornet’s nest, and take down your enemies, leaving no loose ends with these museum-worthy akimbo lever-action Shotguns.”
- Dread it, run from it - the overpowered Aftermarket Part arrives all the same. I get the feeling that SHG is going to release this one very overpowered to allow players that feeling of nostalgia, then quickly nerf them. Stay tuned for the build that I engineer, as I’ll make sure you get the one with the best range and hipfire performance!
- Photonic Charge Barrel (MORS Sniper Rifle)
- “This hyper-advanced barrel is more than simply a barrel. Holding the trigger charges the rifle and releasing fires a single, high-power energy projectile.”
- We don’t fully know the mechanics of the MORS as it’s arriving in Season 3, but it sounds like this could potentially be something with enhanced penetration, or ability to one-shot in Warzone!
New Vests & Perks
New Vest: Gunslinger Vest
Underkill enjoyers rejoice! For those that like to weave between two pistols, this Vest provides a host of impressive bonuses since you’re giving up your primary weapon. I can envision a satisfying playstyle with the TYR (+JAK Beholder Rifle Kit) as your long-range primary option with a duo of WSP Stingers in the back pocket for close-quarters encounters. This Vest sounds fun!
- Secondary Weapon specialist.
- Weapon Slots: No Primary Slot, Secondary Weapon Slot (2)
- Equipment Slots (4): Tactical (2), Lethal, Field Upgrade
- Gear Slots (4): Gloves, Boots, Gear (2)
- The following benefits apply to Secondary Weapons only:
- Refreshes stamina on kill.
- Improved reload speed.
- Reload while sprinting.
- Increases weapon swap speed by a minimum of 40% (swap speed bonus differs between weapons).
- Spawn with maximum Reserve Ammo.
Vest: Modular Assault Rig
This Vest appears to be designed to spam Stuns and Grenades, so it will probably be very fun to use, but not fun at all to play against. However, for anyone trying to complete weapon camo challenges that require you to get kills on enemies affected by a Tactical - this is 100% the Vest for you!
- Lethal and Tactical scavenger.
- Equipment Slots (5): Tactical (2), Lethal (2), Field Upgrade
- Gear Slots (3): Gloves, Boots, Gear
- Start with maximum Reserve Ammo. Resupply Lethals and Tacticals from dead players.
Vest: Compression Carrier
Features built-in Quick Fix, which is very cool, but Quick Fix was needed long ago when MW3’s health regeneration was… not so great. It’s essentially not needed as much now since health regeneration is now 4.9 seconds at most and can be accelerated even faster (during your current life) via the Med Box! I don’t anticipate too much use of this Vest.
- Assisted healing and gas protection.
- Equipment Slots (1): Lethal
- Gear Slots (3): Gloves, Boots, Gear
- Immediately regenerate health after a kill or objective capture. Reduced effects from gas grenades.
Perk (Boots): Reinforced Boots
This bonus is now no longer limited to the Ninja Vest, so it’s great to see additional variety allowed for the Boots slot! Unfortunately, it still has to compete with Covert Boots (Dead Silence), so I’m not sure this Perk will see too much usage.
- Immune to movement reduction effects.
Perk (Gear): High-Grain Antenna
This new piece of Gear emulates some of the benefits of the CCT Comms Vest, but relies on someone else using it - and for them to be nearby - to gain two out of the three bonuses. I expect this piece of Gear to have horrendous downtime, be rarely of use, and essentially abandoned by players. Anyone playing solo has no reason to use it whatsoever - this will only be good for those playing in a dedicated squad - and even then, it’s a questionable choice.
- The minimap is zoomed out for you and nearby allies.
- Enemies remain on radar longer for you and nearby allies if a nearby ally has the CCT Comms Vest Perk.
- See nearby ally radar pings from Intel Jacker and compass indicators from nearby ally Signal Jammers.
New Tactical Equipment & Field Upgrade
The EMD Grenade received a pretty massive buff recently, so the EMD Mine might behave similarly. The EMD Grenade now marks players for 30 seconds, which is basically a lifetime in CoD time, and their position is shown on the minimap every half-second. We’re now looking at an upgraded version: the EMD Mine will not just reveal position, but also direction on the minimap.
There may be some interesting (degenerate) play with the new Modular Assault Rig for the tactical players among us - times will tell exactly how this Tactical will change the landscape.
New Tactical Equipment: EMD Mine
- Proximity-triggered mine that sticks to surfaces. Once triggered, the mine shoots out tracker devices that reveal the enemy location and direction until removed.
New Field Upgrade: Enhanced Vision Goggles (EVG)
Based on the screenshot, this Field Upgrade will automatically highlight enemies with a red outline. It’s a novel addition to the game, but I’m not sure how useful it will be - Modern Warfare III’s visibility is generally quite good, but the real gain in this item’s usage will likely not be visibility, but reaction time. Bodies glowing red will be registered by your brain as enemies faster than no highlight, so I anticipate this will be for high-aggression slayers on 6v6 maps.
- Toggle between normal vision and enhanced vision with integrated target highlighting. Has limited battery.
I hope you enjoyed this rundown of the major gameplay changes coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III in Season 3, and there’s a lot to be excited about! Be on the lookout for the latest posts here on Fanbyte for highly-tested and optimized builds for the new weapons, Conversion Kits, and Aftermarket Parts - coming as soon as the new season is out!
