Leveling up weapons in Call of Duty games is one of the most tedious, yet necessary, things you do in gaming. Modern Warfare 3 is no different than its predecessors in this way. Fortunately, some ways are faster for leveling weapons than others.
Maxing out that sweet weapon XP as quickly as possible, especially when new guns come out in updates, could be the difference between you winning or losing a gunfight.
Zombies mode is the fastest way to level up weapons in MW3
The fastest way most players have found to level up weapons in MW3 is Zombies mode. Obviously, there are mass numbers of zombies running at you at all times, meaning there are tons of enemies to kill. Headshot kills are always the most efficient, and make sure you’re using the proper weapon you’d like leveled up.
Additionally, when you exfil at the end of a Zombies mission it’ll call out another huge wave of monsters to come your way. Be sure to take advantage of all that free XP. By sticking around and mowing down a few more enemies, you’ll level up your weapon even faster than if you leave the battlefield too early.
Moreover, if you’re able to locate a gun in Zombies mode you haven’t unlocked yet, just extract while holding it. This instantly grants access to it, and is much faster than other methods. Whether a gun has to be unlocked through the armory, battle pass, or somewhere else, extracting with it in Zombies is faster.
Use Decoy Grenades in multiplayer
Zombies is definitely the quickest way to farm XP from hordes of enemies, but not everyone wants to play that game mode. Weapon XP is seriously easy to earn in other game modes too, especially regular multiplayer.
One method is to play small map game modes, like Shipment 24/7 or whatever is available at the time.
- Equip the weapon you want to level up.
- Equip the Engineer Vest to start with a second tactical grenade.
- Use Decoy Grenades as your Tactical equipment.
- Throw both decoys every time you respawn, then fight until you die.
Using this method, you’ll get all the weapon XP for each kill you earn, plus bonus XP for every kill any member of your team finishes near one of your Decoy Grenades. Fortunately, if you’re playing Shipment or another small map, that’s just about every kill. This XP farming method makes it so you’re essentially leveling your weapon with a bit of XP for every kill your teammates get, plus your regular in-game XP.
Other tips for earning weapon XP fast
First, you can complete attachment challenges for each weapon. Almost every attachment has challenges tied to it, like getting a certain number of kills while using a specific optic. Completing these grants bonus XP and you don’t have to do anything other than play the game as normal.
Next, you can work on each weapon’s specific challenges, like the ones for unlocking camos. Even if you’re not interested in earning every weapon camo in the game like some players, they’re worth doing for the XP. Additionally, there are Marksman, Veteran, Veteran (Prestige), and Master (Prestige) challenges that earn you progressively more XP as you complete them. Maximum proficiency with a weapon will grant you 10,000 bonus XP.
Finally, completing weekly and daily challenges tied to your weapon of choice is another way to boost your XP earnings. For example, if you’re trying to level up the AMR-9 and one of the daily or weekly challenges requires 10 headshots with an SMG, use the AMR-9. You’ll get XP for everything you do in the match as always, plus XP for completing each of the challenges.
