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player firing gun in cod mw3
Image via Activision

The fastest way to level up guns in MW3

Gotta go fast.

Modern Warfare 3’s list of weapons is massive, and to get through all of them, you will need to use the fastest ways to rank up guns in MW3 so you can knock them all out.

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MW3 added 36 weapons to Modern Warfare 2’s already-giant arsenal at launch, with even more coming through seasonal drops, so players are looking for the fastest ways to rank them up to reach max level and acquire all the attachments and camos. We’re here to help with some fast weapon XP farming methods.

Here are the fastest ways to rank up weapons in MW3.

Fastest way to level up guns in MW3

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 characters shooting in the snow
Rank ’em up quickly. Image via Activision

The fastest ways to level up guns in MW3 are to use double weapon XP tokens, use guns you want to level in Zombies mode and play Invasion mode.

Here’s all you need to know about these MW3 weapon XP methods.

MW3 double XP tokens

A screenshot of MW3 Double XP tokens in the in-game menu.
Hopefully, you’ve saved some up like me. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Make sure to use double weapon XP tokens while playing anything in MW3 if you want to rank up guns quickly.

To use XP tokens in MW3, click the left stick (L3) while at the main multiplayer menu to bring up your XP token inventory. Here, you will find any XP, weapon XP, and battle pass XP tokens you have accumulated.

XP tokens have carried over from MW2, so if you played the old version of CoD, you likely have XP tokens waiting for you to use. Don’t be shy—use them up and rank up your guns quickly.

All of these weapon XP methods in MW3 are helped greatly by using weapon XP tokens. To get weapon XP tokens, rank up battle passes, get them from special promotions like at Little Caesars or Burger King, and get them as viewership drops for watching MW3 on Twitch or YouTube.

MW3 Decoy Grenade XP

Equip the weapon you want to use and then equip Decoy Grenades in your tactical slot. When you spawn in, throw a Decoy Grenade, and when an enemy is killed you will see something pop up that says “Decoy Distract” and earn free XP for the gun you’re using.

Tip:

Play on small maps like Meat, Rust, or Shipment, and spam Decoy Grenades while using the weapon you want to rank up for the easiest XP you will ever find. Use double weapon XP tokens to make it even stronger.

Continue to use the gun as normal, killing enemies while using a double weapon XP token, but always spam your Decoy Grenades near objectives and other enemies to get free XP for your weapon.

Zombies mode XP farm in MW3

mimic enemy in cod mw3 zombies
This guy gives a lot of XP. Image via Activision

MW3 Zombies is a great way to farm XP for weapons. Equip or find the gun you want to rank up while in MWZ and use it to mow down hordes of the undead for easy XP without having to really worry about sweating too hard, like against enemies in multiplayer.

But once you have the gun you want to rank up, head to an exfil location. Zombies will swarm you, so here’s your chance to kite them and kill as many as possible. When the exfil chopper leaves, don’t get on. Instead, continue the process to farm as many zombies as you want.

Exfils have been nerfed, so the current best way to farm XP is to pick up contracts for Spore Control or Outlast. Stay near the objectives, but do not complete them, and Zombies will continuously spawn and allow you to farm them for neverending XP.

Invasion mode XP in MW3

Just like in MW2, Invasion mode is great for farming XP. In Invasion mode, there are AI enemies as well as players, and killing either one of them will reward XP for the weapon you’re using. It’s basically Ground War but with AI enemies running around for more XP.

You can farm AI enemies pretty easily, and although they don’t give as much XP as killing an enemy player, they’re worth killing and the mode is less sweaty than normal multiplayer modes. I like to relax by turning on some music, mowing down enemies, and ranking up guns.


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Author
Image of Scott Duwe
Scott Duwe
Senior Staff Writer
Senior Staff Writer & Call of Duty lead. Professional writer for over 10 years. Lover of all things Marvel, Destiny 2, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. Previous bylines include PC Gamer, Red Bull Esports, Fanbyte, and Esports Nation. DogDad to corgis Yogi and Mickey, sports fan (NY Yankees, NY Jets, NY Rangers, NY Knicks), Paramore fanatic, cardio enthusiast.