How to get Stronghold keycards in MW3 Zombies

Like in MW2‘s DMZ, Stronghold’s are back in MW3 Zombies. Like before, you need a Stronghold keycard to gain access, and our guide has all the known ways to get one.

Stronghold’s are as tough as their name suggests. They’re fortified buildings filled to the brim with feisty, flesh-hungry Zombies that guard a treasure trove of goodies and resources. MW3‘s Zombies mode has a lot of them dotted around Urzikstan, but you need a Stronghold keycard to enter.

Thankfully, Modern Warfare 3 offers several main ways to procure one, so let’s take you through them now.

How do you get Stronghold keycards in MW3?

I’ve found you can obtain a Stronghold keycard in one of three ways in MW3 Zombies: Buy stations, random drops for killing enemies, and caches.

Buy Stations

You can find a litany of Buy Stations scattered around Urzikstan. They are clearly marked on the map, and you can access them on foot or speed up the journey by hitching a ride in an abandoned vehicle. In my experience, I’ve had a Stronghold keycard as an option each time I’ve used one—costing 2000 Essence each time.

Killing enemies

We’ve found at Dot Esports that human enemies will most likely drop a Stronghold keycard at random if you kill them. Again, this does seem to be up to chance, but always make sure to check the body after a kill to see if they have a keycard on their person.

Caches

A less aggressive means of obtaining a Stronghold keycard is to quite simply explore and pry open a smorgasbord of caches. Big or small, all sizes matter, don’t forget that. Check everywhere, listen out for the audio cues of nearby caches, and you should eventually come across your coveted prize.

Combine your Stronghold keycard hunt with Double XP tokens for quicker leveling, and maybe find a Mercenary Convoy to increase your chances of landing the rare consumable.