How to enter a Mercenary Stronghold in MW3 Zombies

A Mercenary Stronghold is an easy gateway to goodies and good times in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies. Use our guide to conquer these ironically named locations as we look to enter and destroy them.

At first, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the activity-filled map of Urzikstan in CoD MW3 Zombies. To be honest, even now, I’m in awe of how much there is to do. From simple side missions like Bounties to fully-fledged assaults in the Legacy Fortress, MWZ is stacked.

A middle ground between these two is the Mercenary Stronghold. Anyone who’s dabbled in MW2‘s DMZ mode will be all too familiar with these AI-populated bases of operations. If the world of the Mercenary Stronghold is an unknown one though, let’s talk you through it.

How to access a Mercenary Stronghold in MW3

A Mercenary Stronghold requires a Stronghold Keycard to enter in MW3 Zombies.

Without a keycard, the building will remain locked, and you will be unable to complete it. Fortunately for you, dear reader, MWZ offers a handful ways of to get Stronghold Keycards.

I’m going to go with the way that I found to be the most effective, and easiest, which is using a Buy Station. Round up 2,000 Essence by either finding it, looting it, or earning it, and head to your nearest Buy Station on the map.

There, as shown in the picture above, you can procure a Stronghold Keycard for the sum of 2,000 Essence. You’ll now be able to go and use it on the Mercenary Stronghold of your choice. I recommend you have one of the MW3’s best guns, especially if you’re running Zombies solo.