Modern Warfare 3 Zombies: Trailer, map, gameplay features, & more

❘ Published: 2023-11-28T20:15:18

Activision

Modern Warfare 3 introduces the fan-favorite Zombies mode for the first time in the MW series through its innovative Operation Deadbolt. Here’s a breakdown of what this new mode brings to the table.

Following Call of Duty Vanguard, which also featured Zombies, MW3 takes a distinct approach. The previous game, developed in collaboration between Sledgehammer Games and Treyarch, had shifted from traditional round-based gameplay to objective completion, a change that sparked significant debate among fans.

In response to negative feedback, Vanguard returned to round-based maps at the end of the game’s life cycle, but some community members were still left with a sour taste in their mouths. And, to add insult to injury, MW2 did not include a Zombies game mode at all.

So, after one year off and an inconsistent year before it, Sledgehammer and Treyarch went back to the drawing board for MW3 and created Operation Deadbolt, an experience unlike anything we have seen before.

Operation Deadbolt trailer
Operation Deadbolt story and lore
Does Operation Deadbolt have round-based gameplay?
Operation Deadbolt map and squad size
How does gameplay work in Operation Deadbolt?
All Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Field Upgrades
All Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Ammo Mods
All Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Perks
Modern Warfare 3 rucksacks explained

Operation Deadbolt trailer

On September 19, Activision revealed the first cinematic trailer for the upcoming Zombies game mode.

Operation Deadbolt story and lore

Treyarch revealed a blog, detailing the story of Operation Deadbolt. The story starts with Viktor Zakhaev, the ultranationalist arms dealer and villain, discovering two vials with an unknown substance. The military police catch wind of Zakhaev’s actions and engage in a firefight before the arms dealer can escape.

Outnumbered and out of options, Zakhaev throws one of the vials toward the police, and the vessel shatters, and purple smoke engulfs the entire street, transforming everyone into zombies.

In the event’s aftermath, SSO Kate Laswell, Sergeant Johnny “Soap” MacTavish, Captain Sergei Ravenovand, and a fourth unseen operator launch Operation Deadbolt. Intel pointed to Zakhaev planning something, and it’s up to the team to find out what he is scheming.

The squad arrives at the Exclusion Zone a few weeks after Zakhaev creates the zombie outbreak. You are tasked with stopping Zakhaev and Terminus Outcomes, a private military company, from stealing more resources while also containing the zombie outbreak before its spreads any further.

Does Operation Deadbolt have round-based gameplay?

MW3 does not feature traditional round-based zombies gameplay. Instead, the game mode combines Modern Warfare map features with the familiar Treyarch gameplay loop fans know and love. The mode is PvE only. Every team works together to complete missions, collect essence, and extract.

Operation Deadbolt map and squad size

The game mode supports eight teams of three up to 24 players. Players have the option to assimilate together and team up. Just like Warzone and DMZ, Zombies uses proximity chat to make it easier to communicate with teammates.

Zombies matches take place on the new Warzone map Urzikstan, which has 11 POIs and is inspired by classic COD.

How does gameplay work in Operation Deadbolt?

As previously mentioned, MW3 Zombies follows an extraction shooter loop instead of traditional round-based gameplay. There is a 45-minute countdown until exfil begins. Once the countdown ends, players have 15 minutes to get out.

Completing exfils contributes to finishing the story. To help make the process easier, teams can earn essence via in-game contracts, killing zombies, and looting. They can then use that essence on ammo depot, buy stations, pack-a-punch, perk machines, wall buys, and mystery boxes.

Fans will be happy to know that mystery boxes improve over time in a match.

As for other classic Zombies features, the Pack a Punch has a lower cost to start, but the amount of times you can upgrade a weapon is gated based on the threat zone you are in. And perk machines are random. There are nine perks, and PHD is back. Zombies also introduces six Field Upgrades and five ammo mods.

Additionally, Zombies’ health depends on the Zone: Low threat, medium threat, or high threat. The devs explained the three different zones should feel like varying degrees of challenging rounds of round-based zombies. And the trailer revealed there will be a boss battle requiring the help of all teams.

All Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Field Upgrades

Here is every MW3 Zombies Field Upgrade

Energy Mine (Medium Recharge): Spawn an explosive, dealing massive damage to enemies who set it off.

Frenzied Guard (Slow Recharge): Repair armor to full and force all enemies in the area to target you for 10 seconds. Enemy kills repair armor during this time.

Healing Aura (Slow Recharge): Heal all players immediately (and in last stand).

Frost Blast (Medium Recharge): Damage enemies with the initial blast and slow those that enter the area of effect.

Aether Shroud (Medium Recharge): Become invisible to zombies.

Tesla Storm (Slow Recharge): For 10 seconds, lightning connects to other players, stunning and damaging normal enemies.

All Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Ammo Mods

Following their introduction in Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies mode, Ammo Mods are back in MW3, and players can either find or craft them.

The Ammo Mods are passive changes to your ammunition, which means you can give your bullets different effects to best take out the undead hordes in the game.

Brain Rot: Zombies are turned into allies when struck by the bullet, and after they take down another zombie they explode, causing damage to nearby foes.
Cryo Freeze: Applies freeze damage to enemies and slows them down.
Dead Wire: Enemies explode as soon as they get hit, creating a much larger damage radius.
Napalm Burst: Sets enemies on fire causing damage for as long as the flames persist.
Shatter Blast: Causes electric-based damage and stuns enemies while small arcs of lighting hit nearby enemies. As soon as one of them dies, a surge of energy is released, generating extra damage.

All Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Perks

Here is every Modern Warfare 3 Zombies perk.

Deadshot Daiquiri: ADS (aiming down sight) moves to enemy critical location. Removes scope sway.
Death Perception: Obscured enemies, chests, resources, and item drops are more easily spotted.
Elemental Pop: Every bullet you fire has a small chance to apply a random Ammo Mod effect.
Jugger-Nog: Increases maximum health.
PHD Flopper: Diving to prone triggers an explosion. The explosion increases the higher you fall. Immunity from fall damage while diving. Immunity from area-of-effect damage from weapons you are using.
Quick Revive: Reduce the health regeneration delay time by 50%. Reduce the time it takes to revive an ally by 50%.
Speed Cola: Drink to reload and replate armor faster.
Stamin-Up: Increases run and sprint speed.
Tombstone Soda: On death, you create a tombstone stash at that location, containing your backpack inventory in the next game.

Modern Warfare 3 rucksacks explained

Like DMZ, Modern Warfare 3 Zombies use contraband stashes and insured weapon slots. Sledgehammer Games explained how the features work in a blog post.

Primary and Secondary Weapons: All MWII and MWIII weapons are available to use in Zombies. Any that are “XP Recommended” are denoted by the small fire icon, and grant you more XP if used.
Insured Slots: These are weapons you’ve leveled up, added attachments to, and come from the weapon pool of over 100 MWII and MWIII weapons. If you fail to exfil with an Insured Weapon, it only becomes available again after a Cooldown period. You have up to three Insured Slots, and two of them are unlocked after completing Zombies missions.
Contraband Stashes: These are weapons you’ve found and exfilled with and are permanently lost if left behind during a mission. Keeping a stash of up to 20 of these weapons, which may or may not have attachments added to them, is helpful when augmenting your Loadout.
Tactical and Lethal Equipment: A selection of Multiplayer Tactical and Lethal Equipment can be equipped as part of your Loadout.
- Tacticals: Stun Grenade, Smoke Grenade, Scatter Mine, Decoy Grenade, Shock Stick, Stim, or Experimental Gas Grenade.
- Lethals: Frag Grenade, Claymore, Throwing Knife, Thermite, Proximity Mine, Drill Charge, Sticky Grenade, C4, Molotov Cocktail, Breacher Drone