Modern Warfare 3: Zombies - Tips for Completing the Escort Contract

As players fight through the hordes of Urzikstan in Modern Warfare 3: Zombies, they'll need to efficiently work through contracts to earn essence to buy the most valuable upgrades in the game, like Pack-a-Punch level III. Of the eight contracts available in the first ever Call of Duty: Zombies experience to hit a Modern Warfare installment, veterans of the zombies mode may recognize the Escort contract from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Outbreak modes mission of the same name.

For players unfamiliar, the Escort contract will require an armored vehicle to be walked through the infected zone to three breaches in reality known as aether voids or aether tears. The ACV (the armored vehicle) is designed to close and dissipate these breaches. Players will simply need to fight off the zombies that spawn in massive numbers to try to destroy the vehicle and keep the aether slowly slipping through the void. One of the few contracts that will spawn in the Tier III Threat Zone, players will want to get familiar with the escort process before attempting the contract in more dangerous areas of the map. Once mastered, players can grind this contract out and earn reward rifts in the Tier III Danger Zone, possibly awarding rare acquisitions or the Ray Gun Wonder Weapon Schematic.

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Completing the Escort Contract

When players grab the contract phone to begin the Escort Contract, Operation Deadbolt headquarters will deploy an ACV nearby. Watch the skies for the airdrop, or just head to the blue indicator when the ACV touches down. Approach the ACV from behind and interact with the small computer console with the big red button to begin the escort.

Once the ACV is activated, the horde will begin to spawn and attempt to disable the ACV. Players will also have to deal with special/elite enemies like Manglers and Disciples. Almost always, players will encounter at least one Mangler during an Escort contract. Disciples spawn less frequently than Manglers during this contract, and Mimics spawn even less frequently. While players may encounter any of the special zombies during an Escort contract, they will most often have to deal with Manglers, so watch out for cannon blasts.

Escort contracts are broken into four sections - three sections that consist of escorting the ACV to an Aether Void and defending the AVC while it closes the void, and a final section after closing the third void where players must fight off the horde as the ACV launches the data collected while closing the voids.

Players can easily breeze through the escort sections by riding on top of the ACV and focusing on enemies approaching the ACV from behind - as long as the ACV is in motion any zombies that approach from the front or sides will be crushed by the tank treads fitted on the ACV. Be prepared to immediately depart from the ACV when it approaches a void, as the moment the vehicle stops it will stop eviscerating zombies, allowing for a crowd of zombies to gather and instantly down players with thrown chunks of flesh.

Since players will be forced to disembark from the ACV when pausing to deal with the aether tears, it is best to focus fire when the vehicle is in motion on dropping any special or elite zombies - taking advantage of the motion of the vehicle and killing any gathering horde. Drop as many of the pursuing special zombies and jump down from the ADV as it approaches the tear to avoid taking additional damage while stationary from Mangler arm cannons or Disciple drains. As the ACV works to close the tear, run in a loop to train up the zombies and either drop them quickly if weapon damage is strong enough - OR, wait until the ACV closes the tear and resumes its travel, then run the train of zombies into the front of the ACV, crushing the horde. Repeat this process until the ACV begins closing the third void.

Players will be forced to kill the horde while the ACV is working on the third void, as the ACV will not move any further after closing the tear, but will transmit all the gathered data back to Operation Deadbolt Headquarters. It will take a few moments for the rocket carrying the data to launch, so players will need to eliminate the horde as quickly as possible to keep the zombies from destroying the rocket, which will cause all data to be lost. If players can defend the rocket long enough for it to launch, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3: Zombies players will successfully complete the challenge and receive an essence bonus and a reward rift.

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Best Weapons and Equipment for Escort

Weapons with high mobility that can effectively eliminate enemies at short to mid-range will excel when attempting the Escort contract. Weapons to consider include Assault Rifles, Sub Machine Guns, Battle Rifles (modified with mobility and recoil stability attachments), or Shotguns with extended range and magazine capacity. Players should also consider hitting a buy station in Threat Tier II or III and stocking up on tactical Wonder Weapons - useful for getting zombies off of the ACV if the vehicle begins losing too much health, especially if attempting Escort in the higher danger areas. Decoy grenades can also be used to this effect, just less effective due to the significantly shorter duration of the decoy's alarm. The field upgrade Frenzied Guard can also be used to distract the horde and protect the ACV.

A really awesome trick players can take advantage of when tackling Escort missions is the fact that Sentry Guns can be deployed on top of the ACV, creating a portable turret as long as players stay near the vehicle. This is especially useful for solo players who need some extra backup - don't forget that Sentry Guns can be bought in the Medium Threat Area at buy stations.

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Best Ammo Mods for Escort

Since Manglers spawn pretty frequently when attempting this contract, Napalm Burst and Shatter Blast are incredibly useful. Fire damage is highly effective on Mangler, and triggering Napalm Burst will cause huge chunks of a Mangler's health bar to disappear. Additionally, players can quickly remove the threat of ranged attacks and create vulnerability by destroying a Mangler's arm cannon and armor when Shatter Blast triggers. Both mods are also equally effective at eliminating grouped-up zombies, giving players a useful defense tool for defending the ACV while closing tears or departing with the collected data.

Brain Rot and Dead Wire are also useful against zombies, although Dead Wire has an incredibly low activation percentage when firing on Manglers. Despite also having a low activation rate against Manglers, turning a Mangler with Brain Rot provides the added benefit of a temporary ally with a sonic blast attack that deals high damage with a knockdown effect on zombies.

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Best Perks for Escort

Since several ammo mods are useful when attempting an Escort contract, Elemental Pop is a great perk to have active. When combined with an ammo mod attachment, players will be able to activate all ammo mod types with the same weapon and trigger the equipped ammo mod at a higher frequency - activating multiple ammo mods can quickly suppress or eliminate a whole horde, making Elemental Pop a great choice, especially in more dangerous parts of Urzikstan.

Quick Revive should also be considered by players who tend to ride on top of the ACV during its transport sections of the contract, especially when trying to complete an escort mission in the Medium or High Threat Zones. Between Mangler cannon blasts and thrown chunks of flesh, there are lots of small ways that players can get caught off guard by damage. If these small bits of damage are allowed to add up, eventually, players will need to be revived.