How to find and destroy a Mercenary Convoy in MW3 Zombies

Modern Warfare 3’s Zombies mode comes with an array of missions you need to complete to progress, though the task of destroying a Mercenary Convoy is a tad confusing.

Unlike other objectives in MW3 Zombies, the location of Mercenary Convoys is not immediately clear on the minimap as they are not featured in the list of markers shown on the right-hand side when you view the map screen.

However, we have some tips to help you locate exactly where you need to go and what you need to do to complete the task.

How to complete the Interceptor mission in MW3 Zombies

The Interceptor mission in MW3 Zombies occurs in Tier Two of the Act One mission list and requires you to have completed all of the Tier One missions before it is unlocked.

There are two tasks to complete with the Interceptor mission in MW3 Zombies, which are listed below:

• Destroy a Mercenary Convoy.
• Collect a Stronghold Keycard dropped by Mercenary Convoy.

For your efforts, you’ll be rewarded with a bunch of XP—3,000 to be precise—and the Bone Rattle Weapon Blueprint.

An enemy from the Mercenary Convoy will also drop a Stronghold Keycard, which you should consider holding onto as you’ll need one to complete the Infiltrator mission in Tier Four of Act One.

How to find a Mercenary Convoy in MW3 Zombies

The first task of the Interceptor mission is to find and locate a Mercenary Convoy, which can be found as random events across the MW3 Zombies map, but some can be identified immediately at the start of the game on the minimap by looking for a moving vehicle.

I spotted the same Mercenary Convoy in several matches moving in an anti-clockwise position around the map, starting near the northeastern portion of the map. However, this isn’t the only Mercenary Convoy you can find.

Weirdly, others don’t seem to show up on the map consistently, but you don’t need to worry about working your way to the aforementioned Mercenary Convoy if you are on the other side of the map—especially as other players could get there first.

Best way to find Mercenary Convoys: Tips and tricks

Follow the main highways on the map and train tracks, as this seems to be where Mercenary Convoys are most likely to appear. I happened to stumble across one to complete the challenge while I was making my way across a highway to the Medium Threat Area.

Players will know they are close when audio triggers informing you that enemy vehicles are active in your area so, when you hear this audio cue, pay close attention to your surroundings as it means a Mercenary Convoy is nearby.

You’ll know when you’ve found one, as there will be three vehicles in a row, and enemies will exit their vehicles and start to shoot you. 

How to destroy a Mercenary Convoy in MW3 Zombies

It seems that many people were getting stuck on the ‘Eliminate all Convoy Mercenaries’ aspect of the Interceptor mission. It turns out that this difficulty was actually caused by a bug that was confirmed by Sledgehammer Games in the latest patch notes.

To destroy the Mercenary Convoy, you’ll need to eliminate all the Mercenaries that appear in the convoy, but you don’t need to destroy the vehicles. Correctly doing so will drop a Stronghold Keycard next to the convoy, and you will finally have completed the Interceptor mission.

If the mission still bugs out and it doesn’t appear as completed immediately after you’ve killed the Mercenaries, stick around and kill a few Zombies nearby, and it should pop after a short while. If not, you may have to locate another Mercenary Convoy and try again.

Once you have destroyed the Mercenary Convoy, make sure to pick up the Stronghold Keycard that is dropped by an enemy. It should be automatically pinged by the game to make it easier to spot but, if not, search the bodies of the enemies.