What is strafing in MW3? How to get strafing kills, explained

Strafing is a basic concept seen in various FPS games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or Counter-Strike 2. It’s a valuable gameplay tactic everyone should learn.

Whether you’re trying to improve your movement, finish a weekly challenge, or unlock the Priceless camo for the DG-58 LSW, you’ll need to learn how to get strafe kills effectively. Here’s how to get strafing kills and how to strafe in MW3.

What are strafing kills in MW3?

In MW3 or any other shooter game, strafing is moving laterally while facing and firing at the enemy, meaning moving left or right while shooting. Naturally, there are weapons, strategies, and perks we recommend to make this challenge much easier to complete.

How do you strafe in MW3?

To strafe in MW3, all you need to do is move sideways while still aiming and shooting at your target. This can be done on keyboard and mouse by pressing the A or D keys, or if you’re on console, by moving the left analog stick right and left on the controller.

You can decide to either aim down sights or hip fire—although specific camos, such as the DG-58 LSW camo, require hipfire-strafing kills. Aside from rewards, strafing is a great movement tool to implement in your gameplay. Instead of simply standing in front of any enemy, you can make yourself a much harder target by moving instead.

How to get strafing kills in MW3

To get strafing kills, I recommend picking up the Stalker Boots for your loadout. This pair of boots can help immensely by increasing your strafe speed. I found these boots useful for peaking out behind vertical cover, either making it easier to swing out on enemies or retreat back.

For easy strafing kills, use one of MW3 multiplayer’s small map playlists with maps like Shipment, Rust, Meat, or Stash House for fast-paced combat and more gunfights than in typical maps and modes.

Simply aim down sights while moving laterally to your left and right and wait for enemies to appear in your sightlines and pick up the kill. Make sure to gun them down with your favorite weapon while still moving and the kills should rack up in no time.

If you’re looking to complete the strafe kills challenge for heavier weapons like an LMG or assault rifle, I recommend getting attachments that decrease aim down sights time, as well as reduce recoil. Seeing that you need to get these kills from the hip, you might want a more accurate LMG.

Use our tips above and you should be able to lock down your strafing kills in no time at all.