Guest Article: Modern Warfare 3 Survival Guide by Baseplate AKA @DeathPDC
We recently reached out to T3’s Twitter following asking if anyone had any guides they’d like to see on the site. Baseplate was kind enough to send in this well thought out guide to Survival in MW3. We hope you like it as much as we did.
Usually when I write these tactical guides, I spend countless hours on every map devising a strategy for every detail. Due to the massive size of MW3 and the amount of maps, here’s a short guide with some great tips on how to survive the endless onslaught of enemies. This is Baseplate’s Guide to Survival!
1. Communicate with your team members. I can not stress this enough. If you are being overrun in one of the later rounds, call one of your teammates to come give you a hand. Devise a plan with them, cover each others back. Nobody likes dead teammates, especially when you are on round 27.
2. Save your money. I recommend waiting till the fourth round to buy new weapons or equipment. Your Five-Seven is decent enough to kill the first few rounds of enemies. Take down enemies with your knife as well as many times as possible. This is a quick way to get lots of money to get a lot of firepower for juggernauts and choppers later on.
3. Stay away from suicide bombers! It is never a good idea to knife a suicide bomber, especially since their bombs go off right after their death. Suicide bombers are a nuisance but very deadly in later rounds. Put a few rounds in them, then run like hell.
4. Buy body armor and self revive. These two things are crucial to staying alive and in the game. Once you go down, haul over to the equipment and drop some cash for these babies. These little suckers are expensive, but can really go a long way later in the game.
5. Snipers are a no-no. That’s right, don’t use snipers in survival. Their scopes zoom in too far and have a slow rate of fire. They might get you a few kills early on, but are a total waste of money.
6. Buy Predator missiles for juggernauts. Juggs are really tough later on, and are more resistant to bullets. Juggernauts, however, are easily picked off with Predators since they aren’t bomb proof. However, if you are short on cash because you bought a LMG, just unleash hell upon the jugg. Two grenades and a volley of bullets will drop these guys eventually.
7. Buy ammo. Do it every round if you have to. Not all guns appear in the hands of the enemy early on, so youll run short on ammo eventually. However, if you have enough bullets to get you through one more round, go ahead and wait. You’ll be able to save more money for weapons and upgrades later.
8. Upgrade your weapon. Be it a LMG, sub-machine gun, assault rifle, or a sniper, it’s always good to have an attachment to help aim or reduce recoil. The sights used for aiming aren’t always easy to aim with so one should definitely invest in a sight.
9. Scarcely use air strikes, always use a Riot Shield Squad. Riot Shield Squads are 3-for-1. 3 guys repel into the battlefield with Riot Shields and kill everyone in sight. The riot shielders not only kill enemies, but can help block you from incoming bullets. Also if they die, they drop the riot shield so you can use it.
10. Always invest in claymores and a good secondary. A good secondary weapon can cause a great deal of damage as well as your primary. Being able to carry LMG and an ACR makes you more dangerous than a fat man eating a can of beans. However, use the wisely and reload them in between rounds. Never know when you’ll need them. Also, claymores in high activity parts of a map can greatly reduce the amount of enemies that actually cause damage… If they are placed correctly.
Well, everyone! I suppose that’s it for now! Please enjoy this guide, go rack up some points and climb those leaderboards. Happy Gaming!
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The bit about snipers is so true. In theory they woull be good against Juggs but they move so fast that an ACR or MK14 would be better. I like MK14 with ACOG as it can quickly drop enemies with 2 shots and it is still effective at closer ranges.
In solo mode it is a good idea to use sentry guns to cover your back but be sure to move them when juggs are around because they will take them out in a heartbeat, also, when facing juggs it helps to move from juggs And to shoot them from a far.
Hi there I usually c4 trap jugs find where they land and leave 5 c4 laying there takes them out pretty fast, also you say to communicate is this only possible on ps3 or do you need to be in a Xbox party chat as I’ve tried and don’t believe i could chat with my team mate??
Good article! I figured most of it but you make solid points.
These are very amateur tips that wont get you past 20-30 waves max. Instead:
Suppose youre playing a tier 1 map with 50 level profile (you SHOULD crank your profile to 50 before making any serious attempts at high-wave survival, same goes for your partner)
# Find a relatively safe corner on the map to which all the enemies would scramble and camp there for massive killstreaks, covered positions are the best but not always.
# Dont buy anything until you have enough money for LMG, its the only weapon thats useful after 30+ waves, get MG36, LSW (both fastest reload animation) or M60 instead of the latter for firepower.
# Get slieght of hand at first availability
# Dont waste money on predator missile for juggs and choppers. Use flashes on jugg-only waves and shoot down the choppers from cover
# For tier 1 maps, jugg waves are 10, 15, 20, 26, 30 then a pattern of a jugg wave every 4 waves (34, 38, so on). Starting with 26 juggs come with soldiers and dogs.
# Clamore up all entries to your position, place C4 to places of enemy congregation, which you can track on the map, when they bunch up, double tap F (on pc) to quick-detonate teh C4, gives massive killstreak points and clears half the wave if done right. C4 spawn trapping is also possible, though hard to coordinate due to spawns being dependent on your position.
# Get 2 sentry turrets, dont buy the grenade launcher if youre camping in a building to avoid friendly collateral damage.
# Get Riot Shield squad on too open maps. Remember they follow wherever you go and are slow, so plan your movements accordingly.
# I cant stress this enough, never buy any weapon other than LMG, pick up enemy weapons for secondary and go scavenge after each wave, but make sure you have 2 LMGs by wave 20. Get a handle and a red-dot sight on both.
# When ammo on both weapons is depleted while there’re still enemies alive, pick up their weapons, but dont forget the place you dropped your main weapon, switch back and refill ammo.
# Always have self-revive when doing solo, dont overuse body armor until its fully depleted.
# Always have flashbangs in case of emergency on regular rounds and imperatively always have them on jugg waves.
# Sleight of hand is the best perk on the list, if you cant get it, get Cowbow (quick aiming). You wont ever need extreme conditioning, just jump after your sprint is depleted and you can sprint indefinitely (bunny-hopping)
# From wave 23 and on theres always a chopper on regular rounds, so camp indoors and leave the chopper for the last. Go shopping while avoiding the chopper so you have time to set mines/refill ammo, etc, then only kill the chopper.
# Waves right before the jugg wave are particularly hard, especially wave 41 has a steep difficulty jump, so double up on everything, with full ammo, grenades, armor, revive, sentries, riot squad, mines and C4.
# Use airstrike if necessary, but not predator as it becomes obsolete after around wave 40, no it doesnt kill a jugg with one hit anymore and is basically a waste of 2500.
# Use kill-train strategy, where you run the biggest circle around the map, gradually wearing down enemies with mines, C4 and airstrikes. Flash enemies so they bunch up in a single open positions before calling in the airstrike.
# Never rush through enemies to revivie your teammate, you get full 30 seconds, which is enough to take your way around the map. Always flash nearby enemies if possible and revive only from prone position to avoid being hit.
# Aim for the head, and for juggs – only for the head
# Airstrikes also hit the attack choppers, so if you time it correctly, you can take out a chopper or two on harder maps.
# Some good places for camping and juggs are:
Resistance:
regular waves (23+): corner-shop in teh north-west, C4 the outside road/building walls, mine teh backdoor, place 2 sentries inside, on really tough waves (~70+) throw airstrike outside.
jugg waves: for 2 players, hide in the well under teh tree between teh boxes near the weapons crate, go prone, with your teammate above you, he shoots, you revive him when he dies. Both should have airstrikes and C4 in case of low ammo.
Underground:
regular waves (23+): the tunnel, with one turret up front near the tourniqets, and one in the niche behind the desk to cover the rear, mine both entrances, with a couple of mines right in front of the tourniqets for dogs, set C4 outside in the main hall close to the stairs that lead to the tunnel on the top part/walls of the stairs too, lot of enemies concentrate in that position.
jugg waves: the white truck in the backyard, the the right of your spawn location, destroy it beforehand, get on the top and go prone, jugs cant reach you there, stay behind, until all enemies are near, kill the soldiers first, also mine the surrounding before the start of the wave, and place some C4 right around the corner in front of the small building ahead, enemies hide there jsut look for on teh map, kill teh unshielded jugs first but leave teh shielded one, hes very slow so run shopping for the next round then kill him off from teh top of the truck as well. Always have body armor for these jugg waves.
And thats how you survive gentlemen, so just ignore all these amateur bullshit articles.
Necro’s tips are pretty accurate. I would only have one thing to add.
# Timing your resupply is incredibly important. Don’t just attempt to run and restock carelessly between levels, if you get caught in the middle of spawning enemies in the later levels, you’re done and now you have to spend hours replaying those first waves.
Whenever possible, you should try to allow both teammates to stock up before the round is over. So you can spend the brief pause between waves placing any traps or getting into starting position (most maps have an ideal starting point to control where enemies spawn).
Regular waves: As soon as there is only one or two enemies left, break off and resupply before killing them. The waves before jugs and choppers are especially important to do this.
Jugs or jugs & choppers: In either case, the jugs will be the last to go, since when there’s both, the chopper needs to get dropped first. Once there is only one juggernaut left, it is incredibly easy to restock while on the move from just one (don’t get yourself cornered), especially if you’re on team survival. One teammate can just run around one building, then trade out to go resupply.
Choppers: Depending on how you fight these waves, in open maps, the choppers must go down first, then you resupply with a couple regs running around. Or in good cover scenarios, kill everything except one chopper and then go resupply. It’s very easy to avoid chopper damage from just one as it will obviously aim at whoever it’s going to shoot at, and you have a split second to get behind cover, wait for the burst to end, then move.
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As for sniper rifles.. Useless later on? Absolutely. Hilarious? For the first 10 rounds or so.
You can upgrade the 50cal with an ACOG scope so you have the responsiveness and quick aiming of an assault rifle while one shotting everything for the first few waves. And for only $3250. Obviously this isn’t the best strategic move, but it’s fun.
Oh, just noticed he said go shopping while avoiding chopper, well then. >.>
You should call or visit the dealership and speak with the service manager.
Ask as much questions about the used car – Though you are buying a used car, but it still involves a decent amount of money.
Of course not all second hand cars are a complete disaster from the outset and many last the buyers for several years.
all of these guys have valid points but as a true survival player myself, i would also suggest camping in the main house in the middle of the map ,with the two kitchens and two doors on either sides. Place two centuries in the back or the house by the couch and bookshelf in front of the fireplace side by side camp behind the bookshelf and couch. Leave space between the centuries and the bookshelf and couch to allow movement out between waves. after the first juggernaut wave, body armor and self-revive are a must have before starting every wave (First Priority spending). After lvl 23 leave the chopper alive, and resupply while dodging the choppers fire by going prone when you hear its gun spin up, it will shoot directly next your head. While dodging the chopper pickup C-4 and Claymores, to set in spawn positions by the barriers at the edges of the map and in key grouping positions to thing the spawns out, (Quicker rounds but slow set up so its just as fast as grinding but use less ammo over all and make all the points back from multi kills and streaks). by doing this i can make lvl 30 not even trying solo and lvl 50+ no problem with a friend who follows this same strategy. Sleight of hand is a must have with LMG’s and always have spares for preds or air strikes for emergencies. Use flashbangs to blind enemies to allow yourself or a teammate to revive while in prone. juggernaut waves can be solved by using 2 predator missiles on the clumped juggernauts position as the first weakens then and the second one kills them, you and your partner make enough for both to buy a predator missile. clumping the juggernauts together and using 2 predators is even effective after lvl 40.
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