Armory unlocks and challenges in Modern Warfare 3 explained

Modern Warfare 3 armory unlocks is a system that essentially lets you choose the order in which you unlock specific weapons, attachments, killstreaks, equipment, and more.

However, it gives a confusing first impression. It’s not clear at first how it works, and it seems a bit inconsistent with when the unlocks happen.

Here is an explanation how arsenal unlocks work Modern Warfare 3how it compares to challenges, and the best arsenal you can unlock to finish first.

How to unlock armory in Modern Warfare 3

First, you don’t have to worry about unlocking the arsenal until you reach level 25, as they are not available until then. When you reach level 25 you get a brief overview, but even then it’s still somewhat confusing.

How do weapon unlocks work in Modern Warfare 3?

Essentially, some specific weapons, attachments, killstreaks, and equipment are unlocked via armory unlocking instead of the usual leveling process, and it works like this:

1. You can unlock the arsenal by simply completing daily challengesand each armory unlock has a set number of daily challenges you must complete to unlock the item in question.
2. You can pick and choose which armory you are working on next by navigating to the armory you unlock challenges and choose three to join your queue.
3. As you complete one, the next one will be selected automatically. If you don’t queue any up, the game will assign them seemingly at random. (One thing to also note is that Zombies mode also has its own daily challenges, so you can also contribute to unlocking the arsenal by defeating some undead.)

So when it comes to unlocking individual items via the Armory Unlock system, choose which Armory Unlocks you want to work on and then start completing your Daily Challenges.

Image: Activision via Polygon

How to get bonus armor challenges in Modern Warfare 3

Once you’ve completed three daily challenges, you might think you can’t complete any more until the next day, but that’s wrong.

After completing three daily challenges, you unlock the daily bonus challengewhich is essentially infinite. All you have to do is win a competition. This earns you one point for unlocking an armory, but since it doesn’t expire, you can earn as many armory unlock points as you want in a single day, provided you can win enough matches.

The easiest way to win matches is much the same way you level up quickly: make sure you play the goal and contribute to your team’s victory.

Make sure you fulfill the goal and contribute to your team’s victory, just as we explain in our guide on how to level up quickly.

Best armory unlocked in Modern Warfare 3

Image: Activision via Polygon

With a total of 58 arsenal unlocks available – not including weapon attachments, which you can find via the gunsmith for your selected weapon – you might be wondering which items to focus on first.

Here are some of our recommendations:

• Aftermarket parts: This is a broad category, but Aftermarket parts can only be unlocked via Armory unlocks or Weekly Challenges, and since you can set the pace of the former, this is highly recommended.
• Marksman gloves: These are perhaps the best gloves in the game, especially for those of you who use a mid-range build like our best MCW gear or best BAS-B gear, because they help you stay accurate.
• Hidden sneakers: If you’re tired of people knowing where you are because of your footsteps, these are what you need because they block out the noise.
• Trophy system: For anyone playing the objective in respawn-based modes like Domination and Hardpoint, having a trophy system to destroy incoming throwables or equipment is a huge help.
• VTOL jet: The VTOL Jet is essentially Harrier’s old Killstreak MW2 2009 and is one of the best killstreaks in the game, so highly recommended.
• Semtex: The Semtex, a sticky version of a Frag grenade, is a classic of the series and often preferred over its sibling with a five-second timer.
• Rival-9: It didn’t quite make our list of the best guns in the world MW3but the Rival-9 is a very capable SMG that you’ll want to have in your arsenal when you’re sprinting.