Earlier today, details pertaining to the multiplayer aspect of MW3 were leaked and released by gaming blog Kotaku. As well as multiplayer details, players will be excited to hear about an official November 8th release date, maps, perks, and killstreak information.
Most of has have seen the Modern Warfare 3 Revealer, but this really only gives insight to the single player action of the game, not the multiplayer action. Most of us play these franchise games because of the multiplayer, and while the single player campaigns can be amazing, the multiplayer is what keeps players sticking around. Luckily, details pertaining to this portion of the game have been to released for all of you eager beavers out there who want to see some details.
To begin with, a direct quote, and very important one, from Kotaku:
Do keep in mind that while the details of the game’s single player campaign, first reported by Kotaku via inside sources and later seemingly verified with the official release of a trailer and matching levels, are likely mostly locked in stone, what is delivered with multiplayer could easily shift as the team works to polish and balance the game in the months leading up to release. Multiplayer is also often tweaked after the game hits. It also receives a number of downloadable content packs post launch. With the advent of Elite, that’s even more likely.
The game is said to be broken down into two different playing modes for multiplayer; cooperative Special Ops maps as well as traditional multiplayer maps. Unfortunately, it appears that Zombies will not make an appearance in Modern Warfare 3, but in my opinion this is fine; let Treyarch worry about that and perfect it yet again, rather than have Infinity Ward mess it all up. Special Ops will feature some Survival type missions and a mix of objective-based missions. These survival missions are said to be waves and waves of enemies that the players must fend off, somewhat similar to zombies, though no exact details about the objective-missions have been given.
For maps, there are a reported 20 maps to be released with the game, though it is unclear if all of these maps will be included with release, or have some of them be sold as add-ons. The maps are as follows:
Multiplayer Maps
- Alpha
- Alps
- Bootleg
- Bravo
- Brooklyn
- Carbon
- Coast
- Dome
- Exchange
- Hardhat
- Interchange
- Lambeth
- Meteora
- Mogadishu
- Paris
- Plaza 2
- Radar
- Seatown
- Underground
- Village
Spec Ops Modes
Survival
- Carbon
- Dome
- Radar
- Seatown
- Village
Mission
- Civilian Rescue
- Flood the Market
- Invisible Threat
- Little Bro’s
- Out of Africa
- No Fly Zone
- Wing Man
Perks will also make a reappearance into the multiplayer aspect of the game, presumably showcasing some of the ever favorite perks, as well as some new ones. It is expected that perks will be tweaked once again, as well as kill streaks. One of the bigger leaks is the Team Perks that will be accessable. While it is unclear as to what this would entail, four have been leaked, and these are:
- Stopping Power: Increased bullet damage.
- Blast Shield: Unknown.
- Health Regen: Regenerate health over time.
- Stun Protection: Prevent stunning from flash grenades.
These perks will activate for the entire team that one is playing on, though it is unknown how the will be given out or acquired, or whether or not this would force players to play in a more team-based/clan-based mode. There are also some new perks to make a debut into Modern Warfare 3, and these include:
- Blind Eye: This makes you immune to computer-controlled and player-controlled killstreaks. The pro version makes your launchers lock on faster and gives you extra bullet damage to vehicles.
- Assassin: This makes you immune to UAV, thermal, and heartbeat sensors. The pro version also makes you immune to CUAV, EMP and no longer shows your name in red or the crosshair in red when you’re targeted.
- Point Guard: Every two assists count as a kill towards your killstreak (I personally really like this one as as in-game feature rather than a perk).
- Dead Silence: You make no noise.
- Recon: Unconfirmed as to exactly what it does, but most likely gives you a special kind of radar to spot enemies.
Players will also see the return of many killstreaks to use in multiplayer, and so far, 11 have been leaked. These are:
- EMP Grenade: Temporarily takes out all area electronics.
- Littlebird: A small-manned helicopter that can controlled and used to gun down enemies.
- Precision Airstrike: Calls in an airstrike on a targeted area.
- Stealth bomber: Calls in a B2 Spirit to carpet bomb along a line designated by the player.
- Remote Turret: A remote controlled turret.
- Directional UAV: A UAV that can be directed into areas to scan for enemies.
- Remote Mortar: Direct a mortar team using a zoomable camera view of the map to call in strikes.
- Airdrop Trap: A booby-trapped airdrop.
- Ammo Resupply: An ammo reloading airdrop.
- Escort Airdrop: A protected airdrop.
- Specialist Strike Package: Unknown
I hate to be the bearer of bad news to all of you Nuke fan-boys out there, but it appears the the Tactical Nuke will not be making a reappearance in Modern Warfare 3. It has also been said that things like exploding barrels will not count towards your killstreaks anymore, leading me to believe that getting kills with killstreaks that count towards more killstreaks, which one was able to do it Modern Warfare 2, will not be possible anymore either. It seems the unlocking perks, abilities, and equipment will also be in Modern Warfare 3, though it is unknown whether this means a system such as the one in Black Ops will be in place, or the old system of simply leveling up to unlock.
In a response to this leak of information, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said in an interview with Joystiq that “…while it’s definitely not cool to steal other people’s intellectual property, and while it’s definitely not cool to leak stuff that’s not yours, there are ways that you can respond that actually turn the lemons into lemonade,” and this is exactly what Activision will be doing with this information, building up even more hype for this unbelievably successful franchise. Modern Warfare 3 will be releasing right around the same time as other hit titles like EA’s shooter Battlefield 3, Bethesda’s RPG Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and, the increasingly popular, Mojang Studios’ Adventure-type Minecraft (PC) making the month of November a month we can all look forward too.
Read more about Modern Warfare 3 in Call of Duty Elite Subscription Service and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Revealer!