MW3 zombies tips and tricks – 6 essential tips in our guide to survive Operation Deadbolt

MW3 zombies tips and tricks – 6 essential tips in our guide to survive Operation Deadbolt
Talal Musa Updated on by

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Looking for MW3 zombies tips and tricks? You’ve come to the right place! Modern Warfare 3’s zombies is probably the best thing about this year’s game. So we’ve teamed up with our very own gaming expert and Call of Duty enthusiast Jay Crotty, who runs the Videogamer.com TikTok account for his tips and tricks to survive the zombie hordes in Operation Deadbolt

The tips and tricks below are not hacks, per say, but more authentic advice from our resident expert who has put hours into the mode. If you’re after a quick hack, there’s currently an unlimited sentry gun glitch which gamers around the world are exploiting right now in the mode. You can read about the MW3 sentry gun glitch and also see our MW2 vs MW3 comparison piece.

Image taken by VideoGamer

As with any cooperative mode, team work and comms are crucial. If you haven’t got a headset, that’s going to make things harder for you. The same goes when you’re in a lobby with randoms… if one of your team decides to ‘go it alone’ this is going to cause you a huge amount of problems when you try to exfil. Once you’ve got that sorted, follow the six tips and tricks below and you’ll all make it out in one piece.

Get to know the rarity system fast

In MW3 zombies, there’s a rarity system that goes, grey, green, blue, purple, orange. Jay says: “You need to make sure to prioritise getting a higher rarity weapon asap, whether from the mystery box, loot box or wall buy as it’ll already be green or blue which gives a big damage buff.” This means you’ll have better stopping power against the zombie hordes, so don’t rely on weapons you’ll find around the map.

✓ Jay’s tip

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

The second you start not working as a team in Zombies, you will run into problems very quickly. Always go in with a plan – start with some Bounties before tackling story missions. Don’t try to do everything as time is limited – instead, focus on a specific few objectives

Complete contracts – yes, really

OK, some players don’t do this and instead wait for a loadout. But in MW3 zombies completing contracts is a must. “It’s such an easy way to earn fast points. Make sure you focus on bounty contracts as they’re the fastest and can rack up rewards quickly,” says Jay. Contracts award reward portals that can give you free perks and pack a punch for your weapons – these can also be exfilled out of the game for use in a later game.

Image by VideoGamer

Do the story missions

Again, it’s easy to avoid these as they come across as time consuming, but you’ll get some powerful rewards if you can power through. This will be your priority if you want to unlock aether tool blueprints and more to severely improve your stopping power. Jay adds: “Finishing the full quest line also unlocks the bone collector zombie skin which is arguably the most unique skin in the game.” So this is definitely worth the effort.

A screenshot of a gun in a video game featuring MW3 zombies tips.
Buy stations dotted around Urzikstan are absolutely key if you’re to survive and thrive in Modern Warfare 3’s zombies mode

Tackle the Mercenary Convoy

This is certainly a challenge but is worth it for the loot alone. Check out our detailed guide about how to find and destroy the mercenary convoy in MW3 zombies, which runs you through all the steps you’ll need to do to beat it. Just make sure you’re armed as it’s going to be an intense firefight.

Tool up your weapons

Jay says: “Aether tools upgrade your weapon to the next rarity – these can be taken out the game to start the next game with an instant buff – same with the pack a punch crystals that instantly Pack a Punch your weapon for free. Pack a punch goes from level 1 – 3, you can pack a punch to level 1 in the level 1 zone, 2 in level 2 zone and 3 in level 3 zone. Level 3 zone is brutal, even when youre fully upgrade it is NOT SAFE, be extremely cautious.”

Image taken by VideoGamer

Dying in the game will cause you to lose EVERYTHING

When you go into a game, you can take with you a weapon in your ‘insured slot’ – dying removes this slot for an hour meaning you cannot use your own weapon. Jay says: ” Don’t bother taking in your own loadout unless you’re looking to rank up guns/go for camos. For MW3 zombies, it makes better sense to swap it out in game to any of the higher rarity weapons from the mystery box or wall purchase/loot boxes.”

Modern Warfare 3 zombies FAQ

Can you play zombies solo in MW3?

Yes. All you need to do is toggle Squad Fill off and you’ll drop in alone. But we absolutely do not recommend this.

Where does MW3 zombies take place?

Operation Deadbolt takes place in Warzone map of Urzikstan.