Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 opens up plenty of opportunities for players to engage in bouts of endless fun thanks to the many game modes found within. Players have a wide selection of Multiplayer Modes in Modern Warfare 3, but which of them are the best? All of them are fairly competitive, with alternating objectives always having a key feature: win.

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Some of the best MW3 game modes feature unique objectives that add to the repetitive and constantly competitive gameplay loop of Call of Duty. These best Modern Warfare 3 modes often indulge players in high-octane action, as well as an element of tactic to their style in order to achieve victory over their opponents.

7 Cutthroat

Eliminate The Enemy At All Costs

In Cutthroat, players are tasked with a situational game mode which is 3v3v3. The goal of this game mode is simple: eliminate the enemy and be the last one standing. Players will only have one life, and Cutthroat can be a lot of fun for trios, or even random players just looking for a more intense fight outside the usual modes that involve respawning and killing.

Cutthroat requires cunning and tactical genius to survive and win, as players must eliminate their opponents with just a single life. Will they lead the charge, or pick apart who remains like vultures? Either way, if the time runs out, players need to capture an overtime flag to win the round and get one step closer to victory.

6 Hardpoint

Hold The Hardpoint

In Hardpoint, players will need to rush forward to locate the titular Hardpoint Zone. In this area, players need to stay within the zone to secure it and earn their team points. However, there’s a catch. The Hardpoint Zone rotates around the map every so often, meaning that players will need to follow it and secure the area from the opposing team.

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Some players use Hardpoint as a game mode to just get kills, as it can be a lengthy process if a team is not working together to secure the Hardpoint. However, to those who actually engage in the objective, it can be a lot of fun for solo players, especially those in a group of 6.

5 Domination

Capture The Zones And Defend Them

Loading into Domination for the first time, players will find three points: A, B, and C, all scattered around the map in even and secure spots. Players are tasked with fighting alongside their teammates to secure and control these objectives. They gain a point for every objective that they have claimed, and they will need to defend it with their lives in this Sledgehammer Games-led COD title.

Domination can be rather intense, and teamwork is essential to ensure victory. Players must try and divide their numbers evenly to claim dominance over 2 or more objectives, all whilst the opposing team tries the same. This game mode is very much about camping and securing the ground and leaving no enemy standing.

4 Search And Destroy

Protect/Destroy Targets A & B

Search and Destroy is Call of Duty at its most tactical. Players can enjoy this Counter-Strike-esque game mode, in which one side defends, and the other attacks. There are two bomb sites, A and B, which players will need to defend or attack with the bomb. These designated zones do not change with each game, leaving players immersed and experienced with their clutch points and leveled-up weapons.

Players will only have one life per round, and if the enemy team dies, victory is assured. However, if the enemy team plants the bomb, then players need to try and locate where and disarm it, without having an enemy shoot them to deter them from their sabotage in this short campaign-length title.

3 War

Attack or Defend A Set Of Objectives To Complete The Mission

War is a classic that first originated in Call of Duty: WW2. This game mode returns in triumphant fashion after a sad absence from previous titles, and it involves two teams of 6 fighting against each other. One team is tasked with defending their objectives, whilst the other team is tasked with attacking and destroying the same objective.

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War is very much a lengthy game of tug-of-war, with both sides pushing and pulling to progress through to the next stage. These objectives can be as simple as defending a command station or escorting a tank. Communication, teamwork, and a functioning loadout is essential to winning War.

2 Free-For-All

Eliminate Other Players

Free-For-All is a simple classic for Call of Duty fans. To those who enjoy being a lone wolf, with no reliance on a team to showcase their skills, then Free-For-All is the best multiplayer mode in MW3 simply because it entails them vs 11 other players, all in the same playing field. There are no teams, no objectives outside of kill and try not to be killed.

Players are on a timer to get the most kills they can. Reaching the score limit before this time runs out ensures victory. Free-For-All has zero teamwork involved, and players can flex their skills and their best MW3 loadout among their competitive foes.

1 Team Deathmatch

Eliminate The Enemy At All Costs

It doesn’t get more classic than this. Team Deathmatch is a staple of PvP gameplay and one that returns to the core vanilla modes for Modern Warfare 3. Team Deathmatch may not be anything flashy, but it is certainly one of the best game modes in MW3, and there’s a reason all Call of Duty games and even all PvP games have a form of Team Deathmatch.

Victory is not always ensured, as players must fight each other to earn points per kill and reach the score limit to win. With unpredictable teams, enemies, and maps, Team Deathmatch stays fresh with each game, as winning or losing can easily be defined by one death.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PS4 , Xbox One

Released

November 10, 2023

Developer(s)

Sledgehammer Games

Publisher(s)

Activision

Genre(s)

First-Person Shooter