Full MW3 & Warzone Season 3 roadmap: Five new perks, Rebirth Island, more

Declan Mclaughlin

MW3 and Warzone Season content has been revealed and will come with new maps, perks, and more across both titles and their various modes. Here’s the full breakdown of what to expect.

Season 2 of MW3 and Warzone is coming to an end soon and Season 3 will bring a host of new content for players to explore and use. This new season promises to bring the biggest multiplayer map drop ever, with six new core 6v6 locations and one variant, along with five new perks, and the return of Rebirth Island in Warzone.

This content season will also be connected to Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile and will drop in just a few days.

Here’s everything you need to know about Season 3’s content coming to MW3 and Warzone.

Contents

Modern Warfare 3 & Warzone Season 3: Release date

MW3’s Season 3 goes live on Wednesday, April 3 at 9 AM PT across all platforms. Once the patch goes live, you can hop in and experience all the new content across Warzone, MW3’s multiplayer, and the Zombies mode.

Modern Warfare 3 Season 3: New multiplayer maps

Sledgehammer is dropping six new maps across Season 3, with two of them coming from a collaboration with Beenox. The new 6v6 maps coming at launch are:

  • 6 Star
  • Emergency
  • Growhouse
  • Tanked

The following 6v6 maps will join the game mid-season:

  • Checkpoint
  • Grime

Modern Warfare 3 Season 3: New multiplayer game modes

Two new modes will be added to the game on launch, with three coming later in Season 3. The modes coming to the game are the following:

  • Capture the Flag (Launch)
    • Capture the Flag (CTF) pits two competitive teams against each other, with eliminations being only part of the plan: The real tactics involve stealing the opponent’s flag and returning it to their home base, while simultaneously defending that same base and their flag from the enemy. As a flag won’t be scored as “captured” until a team’s flag is safe in its base, squads must bring both impressive offensive and defensive capabilities to win the match.
  • One in the Chamber (Launch)
    • The party game mode rewards those with impressive aiming and ammunition discipline. Each player in this free-for-all gets a single bullet to start with and one additional bullet every time you achieve a kill. You also start with three lives, and the bullet you’re firing is extremely potent, dropping foes no matter where you hit them. Enemies who succumb to this one-hit kill lose a life, while the successful marksman gains another bullet. Out of bullets? Fancy your chances at close-range combat? Then melee attacks are also an option; bring a knife to a gunfight if you (or your foes) run out of ammo.
  • Minefield (Mid-Season)
    • Minefield is multiplayer but with mines. Currently applicable to almost any current game mode, Sledgehammer Games will be switching on this game variant in a variety of modes, like Kill Confirmed, Domination, and Hardpoint. Minefield uses the same rules as the mode in question, but with one important addition: When you defeat a rival player, a Proximity Mine is dropped at the enemy’s corpse. This mine cannot be picked up and remains deadly to the enemy team (but not to any friendly teammates). As the action heats up, the scattered mines across the map ramp up the action to a cacophony of chaos!
  • Escort (Mid-Season)
    • Those Call of Duty: Warzone veterans who remember playing the entertaining, limited-time mode known as Payload know what to expect here as two teams — both with unlimited respawns — face off on a variety of maps, with one side protecting a MAW as it maneuvers across the map. Meanwhile, the opposing force has enemy takedowns and the grand prize of vehicular destruction on their minds! The attacking team’s overriding goal is to ensure the vehicle reaches its destination. The defending team’s plan of attack is to disable the vehicle by any means necessary. Once the first game of the match is completed, the teams swap objectives and the side with the quickest vehicle takedown wins.
  • Vortex Playlist (In-Season)
    • The preternatural map variants – Airborne, Satan’s Quarry, Skidgrow, Sporeyard, and Tetanus – return in a special limited-time Playlist coming later in Season 3. The familiar Vortex Mosh Pit will be available, along with a new Arcade Mode, with several gameplay modifiers to add yet more variety to your game. Expect the “Vortex Vir.Rus Mainframe” Event to launch alongside this limited-time Playlist. More information on this event is available later in this blog.

Modern Warfare 3 Season 3: Ranked

The update included a look at the new Ranked rewards that players can earn for their play throughout the season and the game’s lifespan.

MW3 Season 3 Ranked Rewards.

Modern Warfare 3 Season 3: New perks & equipment

Sledgehammer has added three new Perk Vests, new boots, and gear in Season 3 for MW3’s multiplayer alongside a new Tactical Mine and Enhanced Vision Goggles.

  • New Perk (Vest): Gunslinger Vest (Launch)
    • Secondary Weapon specialist.
      • Weapon Slots: No Primary Slot, Secondary Weapon Slot (2)
      • Equipment Slots (4): Tactical (2), Lethal, Field Upgrade
      • Gear Slots (4): Gloves, Boots, Gear (2)
    • The following benefits apply to Secondary Weapons only:
      • Refreshes stamina on kill.
      • Improved reload speed.
      • Reload while sprinting.
      • Increases weapon swap speed by a minimum of 40% (swap speed bonus differs between weapons).
      • Spawn with maximum Reserve Ammo.
    • Duplicate effects do not stack. If equipped with Quick-Grip Gloves or Commando Gloves, gain the effects of Marksman Gloves. If equipped with Mag Holster, gain the effects of Mission Comlink.
  • New Perk (Vest): Modular Assault Rig (Launch)
    • Lethal and Tactical scavenger.
      • Equipment Slots (5): Tactical (2), Lethal (2), Field Upgrade
      • Gear Slots (3): Gloves, Boots, Gear
      • Start with maximum Reserve Ammo. Resupply Lethals and Tacticals from dead players.
  • New Perk (Vest): Compression Carrier (Launch)
    • Assisted healing and gas protection.
      • Equipment Slots (1): Lethal
      • Gear Slots (3): Gloves, Boots, Gear
      • Immediately regenerate health after a kill or objective capture. Reduced effects from gas grenades.
  • New Perk (Boots): Reinforced Boots (Launch)
    • Immune to movement reduction effects.
  • New Perk (Gear): High-Gain Antenna (Launch)
    • The minimap is zoomed out for you and nearby allies.
    • Enemies remain on radar longer for you and nearby allies if a nearby ally has the CCT Comms Vest Perk.
    • See nearby ally radar pings from Intel Jacker and compass indicators from nearby ally Signal Jammers.
  • New Tactical: EMD Mine (Mid-Season)
    • Proximity-triggered mine that sticks to surfaces. Once triggered, the mine shoots out tracker devices that reveal the enemy’s location and direction until removed.
  • New Tactical: Enhanced Vision Goggles (EVG) (Mid-Season)
    • Toggle between normal vision and enhanced vision with integrated target highlighting. Has a limited battery.

Modern Warfare 3 Season 3: Zombies

The Dark Aether Story Continues: Take a chance on Jansen as a full-scale rescue mission is launched after the doctor enters a new and terrifying region of the Dark Aether.

Take on the Third Rift: An ethereal voidscape houses insanity-inducing horrors within, including a new and diabolic Disciple variant. Provide fire support for Ravenov, and find Dr. Jansen before she’s consumed by darkness.

Season 3 Challenges and Schematics: Unlock Prestige levels to acquire Zombies Challenges, and gather three new Schematics to aid your progress, including a way to disguise yourself among Mercenaries, Dead Wire your explosive weaponry, and outlast the gas.

  • Prestige Challenges
    • Unlock new Prestige Calling Card Challenges at each level of prestige reached, and select up to five challenges to track, including any from across the game.
  • Camo Challenges
    • With four new weapons comes over a dozen new unique Camo challenges to grind through – play to access the new challenges for the Gladiator Melee weapon and multiple unique Camos for the BAL-27 (Assault Rifle), FJX Horus (Submachine Gun), and MORS (Sniper Rifle).
  • New Schematics
    • In addition, some highly classified Schematics are located in deviously secretive locations, all available depending on your success during the Rift:
  • Dead Wire Detonators (Schematic): Are you still shocked at the impressive electrical damage the Dead Wire Ammo Mod inflicts? Then you might want to employ the Dead Wire Detonator, and attach it to all your explosive weaponry, including Lethals and Launchers!
  • Golden Mask Filter (Schematic): A prized schematic with a shiny hue and an impressive, long-lasting effect — gain a self-regenerating gas mask for the rest of the match. This comes in extremely handy for surviving zombie strongholds and any surprises in the rifts.
  • Sergeant’s Beret (Schematic): Your outcomes no longer need to be terminal when dealing with Zakhaev’s hired guns; simply don the Sergeant’s Beret to disguise yourself among the Mercs, and summon a trusty Merc Bodyguard who shadows you to the end.

Warlord Rainmaker: Holed up on Rahaa Island, this heavily armored psychopath makes it rain artillery fire and has little regard for his own forces. Though his compound is easy to reach, stepping foot on the island with your limbs still attached may be more of a challenge.

Warzone Season 3: Overview

Rebirth Island return

Rebirth Island Warzone.

Developed by Beenox, the return of Rebirth Island represents your new destination for Resurgence Matches, as well as your home for Season 3 Call of Duty: Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence developed by Treyarch and Raven Software.

New POIs

  • Bioweapons
  • Industry
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Dock
  • Control Center
  • Prison
  • Harbor
  • Headquarters (and Lighthouse)
  • Factory
  • Living Quarters
  • Stronghold

Warzone Season 3: Modes and events

Three new modes and multiple events are coming to Warzone at launch and in the middle of the season on Rebirth Island and Urzikstan.

  • Call of Duty: Warzone Bootcamp (Launch)
    • Refine your Call of Duty: Warzone tactics in a new training mode set on a randomized slice of Urzikstan. Expanding on the Modern Warfare III “Training Course,” which launched in Season 2, the all-new Call of Duty: Warzone Bootcamp is designed to help new players build confidence for their first official drop-in.
    • Call of Duty: Warzone Bootcamp is a Quad-only training mode (either partied up or fill-squad) providing players a snapshot of the real-deal Call of Duty: Warzone experience, featuring up to 20 players via mode-specific matchmaking and 24 bots to test their mettle. Warzone Bootcamp is the only mode for Call of Duty: Warzone featuring bots. If this changes in the future, we’ll ensure the community is informed ahead of time.
  • Rebirth Resurgence (Launch)
    • Rebirth Island is the perfect place for the faster-paced, more aggressive playstyle that Resurgence brings to Battle Royale. As you know if you’ve dropped into Urzikstan, Ashika Island, Vondel, or Fortune’s Keep, your squad is here for the win, but accomplishing this requires more frequent engagements and greater risks. The Gulag is closed, and any time you’re eliminated, you redeploy after a short respawn timer, providing you have teammates who are still battling across the island! Come for the loot, takedowns, and rapid combat, and stay for the frantic final moments and earn that Rebirth Resurgence victory!
  • Rebirth Resurgence Loaded (Mid-Season)
    • Ditch the ground loot in matches of Resurgence and bring in your preferred Loadout and custom equipment, meaning all players come fully locked and loaded right from the start of the match, enabling you to concentrate on the win without the need for ground cache collecting. If you’re taken out during a match, you redeploy using the same Resurgence rules, but with the possibility of changing to another of your custom Loadouts. If you’re out of ammo or equipment, the higher ratio of legendary and reusable loot boxes means you’re never far from a fully kitted out Operator, though you’re here to bring the firepower, and the victory!
  • Rebirth Lockdown (Mid-Season)
    • Lockdown comes to Rebirth Island with multiple squads tasked to capture and control zones across the map, scoring points for each zone successfully held, like a large-scale Battle Royale version of Hardpoint. Total player count is adjusted due to the smaller nature of the map, allowing for balanced but chaotic combat: Drop in with your favorite Custom Loadout — or bring a new weapon you want to quickly level up — and learn the new rotations so your team occupies as many zones as possible, accruing more points to ensure victory, rather than being the last squad standing. Respawns are active, and toward the end of a match, so are High-Value Zones that offer the chance for greater point acquisition, as well as the fiercest fighting yet experienced in this mode!
  • Rebirth Infil Strikes (In-Season)
    • Rebirth Island has numerous landmarks you utilize in almost every game, but what if one of those locations was leveled by an airstrike, just prior to infil? Keep your wits about you and learn new tactical movement across the rubble-filled scenery, should an Infil Strike occur during a match. These explosive infil elements occur rarely and randomly adding new gameplay experiences to that match.
  • Gulag: Climb and Punishment (Launch)
    • A duel to the death isn’t the only option if you find yourself in a Gulag during a Battle Royale; if this public event is announced at the start of your Gulag confrontation, it’s worth keeping your comms on and negotiating with your opponent. Two ladders will drop from the roof, providing an easy escape route, and it’s up to you both to trust each other and ascend to redeployment. Or you can engage in combat as normal and ignore the ladders or pretend to agree to escaping and then double-cross a well-meaning rival during their climb. . . .
  • Heavy Armor (Mid-Season)
    • Announced during infil, if this public event is activated, it allows you some added protection, enabling the equipping of an additional Armor Plate for the duration of the match. The extra plate slot is visible above your health bar where plate information is normally seen:
    • This increases your Operator’s Armor Hit Points from 150 to 200.
    • The extra plate slot is applied no matter the plate carrier type you have equipped (standard 3-plate, Communications Vest, Medic Vest, Stealth Vest, or Tempered Plate Carrier).
    • You begin the match with an additional plate equipped.
    • Except for the Tempered Plate Carrier, you have four filled plates at the start of a match. 200 Health, 50 Health per plate.
    • The Tempered Plate Carrier, if equipped, has three plates, with the third one partially filled at the start of a match. A full Tempered Plate Carrier has 200 Health, 66.7 Health per plate.
    • Adjust your tactics accordingly, as this Public Event allows you to last longer between re-plating and lengthens the TTK and ammo expenditure when downing foes.

Warzone Season 3: Mission contracts

Two new contracts are coming with Season 3 for Rebirth Island.

  • Spy Drones (Launch)
    • Confirmation that spy drones of unknown origin have been observed within the area of operations has resulted in a new Contract to undertake. You and your squad are to locate the drones, which appear to be gathering data at a specific destination. Head to the rendezvous point, and immediately destroy them. Expect additional rewards for neutralizing the swarm in rapid succession, and ensure you inspect the vicinity for dropped Armor Plates, Redeploy Drones, and possibly an Advanced UAV. Fair warning: Enemy Operators active in the area can steal these rewards if they reach the designated Drone zone before your team does.
  • Resurgence Champion’s Quest (Launch)
    • The ultimate contract mission is confirmed to be active on Rebirth Island once a certain number of consecutive wins, or a total number of wins, are achieved. Bring a game plan and some competent cohorts with you while you wait for, locate, and then defend three elements necessary to create an impressively explosive finale, and achieve complete domination over your enemies. Expect a variety of rewards, including an Animated Calling Card, Charm, Sticker, Weapon Camo, and Operator Skin for those elite enough to complete the quest.

Warzone Season 3: Ranked

Ranked play will remain largely unchanged in the new season, with only new rewards being added to the game.

Warzone Ranked Rewards.

Warzone Mobile overview

Warzone Mobile launched just a few days ago and according to the Season 3 notes, players can connect their accounts across the PC version of the game and MW3. When connected, players can claim new base weapons, aftermarket perks, and Operators.

The developers have also added a fan-favorite map, Verdansk, to the map pool.

Warzone Mobile Season 3: Unified content

Players can expect to access these pieces of content with the shared Battle Pass:

  • Three of the four new Base Weapons (Free Tiers in the Battle Pass)*.
  • Eight new Aftermarket Parts (Free in the Arsenal Store throughout the season).
  • BlackCell content (purchase in MWIII, WZ, or WZM, and progress in any of those games).
  • Battle Pass content (purchase in MWIII, WZ, or WZM, and progress in any of those games).
  • New Operators (Stasis, Makarov, Snoop Dogg, Banshee, Hush).
  • New Store offerings and Bundles.
  • Four Weekly Events, designed for WZM.
  • Season 3 Prestige Levels (10, 11, 12, and 13) as well as past Prestige Levels.

Modern Warfare 3 & Warzone Season 3: New weapons and Aftermarket perks

Sledgehammer is adding a new submachine gun, melee weapon, and rifles for players to play around with, however, only a few will be available at launch.

The FJX Horus submachine gun will be available at launch and can be unlocked in the Battle Pass. The MORS, a one-shot sniper rifle, is also coming at launch and can be unlocked in the fourth sector of the Battle Pass. The final launch addition will be the Gladiator which is a small punch knife.

The BAL-27, an assault rifle, will be added mid-season and is a fast-firing weapon that can hold a horde of bullets.

The eight new Aftermarket perks will be unlockable by completing weekly challenges. They are as follows:

  • JAK Revenger Kit
    • Compatibility: BP50 (MWIII) (Assault Rifle)
    • This conversion kit turns the BP50 into a CQC legend. A 9mm caliber conversion with shortened receiver and high-capacity magazine.
  • JAK Jawbreaker
    • Compatibility: KV Broadside (MWII) (Shotgun)
    • Converts this Shotgun into a hard-hitting, automatic Battle Rifle.
  • JAK Shadow Titan Kit
    • Compatibility: Bruen Mk9 (MWIII) (Light Machine Gun)
    • Converts the Bruen Mk9 into a compact and integrally suppressed light support weapon chambered in 300 blackout.
  • JAK Patriot
    • Compatibility: M16 (MWII) (Assault Rifle)
    • Converts the M16 into a fully automatic rifle with a heavy ported barrel built to provide superior recoil control and firing aim stability.
  • Wardens
    • Compatibility: Lockwood Mk2 (MWII) (Marksman Rifle)
    • Relive the glory days, stir up the hornet’s nest, and take down your enemies, leaving no loose ends with these museum-worthy akimbo lever-action Shotguns.
  • JAK Atlas Kit
    • Compatibility: AMR9 (MWIII) (Submachine Gun)
    • Converts the AMR9 into an extremely lethal and accurate 5-round burst carbine chambered in 556.
  • Photonic Charge Barrel ([[REDACTED]] Unlock)
    • Compatibility: MORS (MWIII) (Sniper Rifle)
    • This hyper-advanced barrel is more than simply a barrel. Holding the trigger charges the rifle and releasing fires a single, high-power energy projectile.

Modern Warfare 3 & Warzone Season 3: New operators and store offerings

The Season 3 update is not as packed as Season 2 Reloaded, but will still bring a host of new cosmetics for players to unlock.

Cheech and Chong in Call of Duty.

Here’s what to expect:

  • Vladimir Makarov (KorTac, Launch)
    • Dominus Skin: Instant Reward Sector
    • Fenrir Skin: Completion Sector: Tier 100
  • Snoop Dogg (SpecGru, Launch)
    • Snoop Dogg II Skin: Instant Reward Sector
  • Banshee (Orla Murphy (KorTac, Launch)
    • Operator and Skin: Sector 13
  • Hush/Bashiir Shirwa (KorTac, Launch)
    • Operator and Skin: Completion Sector: Tier 100
  • Free Gift — Call of Duty: Warzone 4th Anniversary Pack

The cosmetic bundles for Season 3 include packs for Cheech & Chong, Godzilla x Kong: New Empire Bundles, and the Emperor Pack. Other store offerings will include Tracer Pack: Stoney Sloth, Tracer Pack CODasaurus Ultra Skin, Tracer Pack: Big Brain Ultra Skin, and Tracer Pack Horseman: V1.Rus Ultra Skin, and more.

About The Author

Based in Indiana, Declan McLaughlin is an esports reporter for Dexerto Esports covering Valorant, LoL and anything else that pops up. Previously an editor and reporter at Upcomer, Declan is often found reading investigative stories or trying to do investigations himself. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Indiana University. You can contact him at declan.mclaughlin@dexerto.com.