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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3(2023) has made some small yet meaningful changes to the weapon meta. This game’s selection of new Gunsmith attachments has made it easier than ever to make aggressive CQC builds, hipfire builds, and other off-meta options that simply weren’t possible in MW2.
MW3 offers an unprecedented amount of customization for a modern CoD title, giving players access to hundreds of attachments across a massive roster of weapons. For those just starting out or veterans of the franchise, learning how to use the Gunsmith is critical to getting the most out of your weapons. This guide will showcase how the Gunsmith works, cover the unique changes made to weapon builds this year, and explain what every weapon stat does in Modern Warfare 3.
What Is The Gunsmith?
The Gunsmith is how you customize weapons in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Once you’ve unlocked a weapon and the Create-A-Class feature at Level 4, you’ll be able to install attachments for your favorite weapons through the Gunsmith menu. While creating a class, hover over the weapon you wish to customize and select the “Gunsmith” option under the weapon to open the customization menu.
Weapons that accept attachments may install up to five attachments simultaneously,similar to Modern Warfare 2 (2022). Weapons have many attachment categories to choose from, ranging from muzzles to ammunition types. Modern Warfare 3 has also introducedConversion Kitsthat completely transform a weapon. Some kits allow you to transform a pistol into an SMG or give an LMG a bullpup configuration. The Gunsmith is also where you can apply weapon cosmetics such as camos, stickers, and charms.
Affects damage falloff, bullet velocity, and muzzle attachment options.
Lasers
Affects aiming stability, aim down sights speed, and tactical stance accuracy.
Affects recoil control and bullet velocity.
Includes suppressors and flash hiders.
Affects recoil control, aiming stability, and hip-fire performance.
Includes underbarrel launchers and bipods.
Affects magazine capacity.
Ammunition
Affects nearly every stat on a weapon, usually bullet velocity and flinch.
Some weapons can use different ammo types entirely, adjusting their RPM and damage.
Affects recoil control, aiming stability, and sprint to fire time.
Affects movement speed, aiming stability, and recoil control.
Unlocking Weapons And Attachments
Weapon attachments have undergone some much-needed simplification in this year’s Call of Duty.As you level up a weapon, you’ll start to unlock attachments for it and similar weapon types.For example, unlocking 9mm High Velocity ammunition for a weapon will unlock it forallweapons that use 9mm ammo, not just that specific weapon.For Modern Warfare 3, weapons are unlocked by leveling your account, and attachments are unlocked by leveling weapons; nested weapon unlocks have been removed this year.
Modern Warfare 2 Unlocks
Weapons and attachments from Modern Warfare 2 have been brought forward in MW3. You can unlock these weapons by completing a weapon challenge listed in the Create-A-Class menu, and attachments are unlocked by leveling the weapon as usual.
All weapon and attachment progress from MW2 has been carried over to MW3, including weapon unlocks and camo challenges.
Nested attachment unlocks are still present in Modern Warfare 3, but there is a way to bypass some of the grind this year. Leveling your account will unlockArmory Unlockchallenges starting at level 25.Armory Unlock challenges unlock specific attachments when completed.If there’s a specific attachment or perk you want, check the Armory Unlock menu to see if your desired attachment has an available challenge.Armory challenges require you to complete three daily challenges.If you complete all three daily challenges, a fourth repeatable challenge will appear so you’re able to keep progressing through your Armory Unlocks.
In other words, there are always two methods of unlocking an attachment in Modern Warfare 3:
Aftermarket Parts
A select number of weapons in Modern Warfare 3 include Aftermarket Part attachments.Aftermarket Parts are game-changing attachments that fundamentally shift a weapon’s identity.For example, the Aftermarket Part for the Renetti pistol turns it into a full-auto carbine that fits in your secondary slot. Equipping an Aftermarket Part costs one attachment point, the same as any other attachment.
Aftermarket Parts are unlocked by completing challenges.Some of these challenges are unlocked upon reaching max level with a weapon, but a few Aftermarket Parts are tied to the Weekly Challenge system. New challenges will be added to the Weekly Challenge pool each week, one of which might contain an Aftermarket Part as an award.Weekly Challenges must be completed before the Season ends; you don’t have to finish the challenge the week it appears. Should a new Season begin, any Aftermarket Parts you missed will be obtainable by completing a new, permanent weapon challenge.
Weapon Stats Explained
Every firearm in MW3 features a multitude of stats that range from damage to recoil control. Most of these stats are displayed with bars with minimal information. Each weapon stat represents the following:
Affects bullet damage and target flinch
Affects how quickly your weapon fires
Affects bullet velocity and damage falloff ranges
Affects hip-fire and tac stance spread
Affects the weapon’s horizontal and vertical recoil while firing
Mobility
Affects your strafe and sprint speeds while this weapon is drawn
Affects draw, stow, ADS speeds, and your sprint-to-fire delay
Affects your magazine capacity
Reserve
Affects how much additional ammunition you spawn with
Generally, we donotrecommend trusting these bars when accessing a weapon’s performance,as each stat gives a false representation of how your weapon actually works. For example, using an ammo attachment that increases target flinch will increase your damage bar despite having zero impact on your gun’s damage output, giving a false impression that ammo types affect weapon TTK (time-to-kill) values.
Most attachments in MW3 affect substats within each bar.Focus on what the attachment says it’s doing, not the white bars.you’re able to always enter the firing range to feel the stat differences yourself. Alternatively, you can open the detailed stats menu.
Detailed Stats Menu
Modern Warfare 3 has added a detailed stats screen that displays numeric values for your weapon’s core stats and the attachments you install.While installing an attachment, press “1” on M&K or “LT” for controller users to bring up the detailed stats menu.This will showcase every major stat tied to your weapon, including ADS speed, sprint-to-fire time, and weapon recoil. Hovering over an attachment will showcase numeric changes in each stat with that attachment installed. This screen works for both MW2 and MW3 attachments.
Weapon Attachment Modifiers Explained
Now that a detailed stat screen exists, it’s possible to preview every notable weapon stat in MW3, yet the game doesn’t explain what each stat does. The table below covers what every attachment modifier does, categorized by stat type.
Damage dealt to the abdomen and neck.
Damage dealt to the stomach, arms, and legs.
Range Stats
Effective Damage Range
How far a bullet can travel while dealing the damage listed in the “Damage” section.
Minimum Damage Range
The distance at which the weapon will experience maximum damage falloff.
Recoil Control Stats
Aiming Stability
How violently the weapon sways while ADS. More stability means less sway.
Recoil Gun Kick
The visual recoil experienced while firing a weapon. Measured in degrees.
Horizontal Recoil
How much the weapon kicks to the side with every shot. Measured in degrees.
Vertical Recoil
How much the weapon kicks upward with every shot. Measured in degrees.
Accuracy Stats
Hipfire Spread Min
Your hipfire bullet spread while idle and not firing. Measured in degrees.
Hipfire Spread Max
Your hipfire bullet spread while moving and firing. Measured in degrees.
ADS Speed
How quickly you can aim down sights with this weapon.
Aiming after jumping or tac sprinting will greatly increase this value.
The time it takes to reload this weapon.
Sprint to Fire Speed
How quickly you may fire this weapon after exiting the sprint animation.
Swap Speed
How quickly you ready and stow this weapon.
Certain weapon attachments state that they affect your Recoil Stabilization and/or Recoil Steadiness.Recoil Steadiness is a blanket term for recoil gun kick, horizontal recoil, and vertical recoil.If an attachment says it improves your recoil steadiness, it will reduce all three recoil vectors.Recoil Stabilization doesn’t seem to do anything based on limited testing.It doesn’t affect any stats displayed in the detailed stats sheet or have any noticeable impact on recoil.
The Best Attachments
Attachment Balance
Excluding lasers, all attachments in MW2 remain the same in MW3. Most MW3 attachments don’t have ADS penalties, replacing them with nerfs to damage falloff or recoil control.
The only notable disparity between MW2 and MW3 attachments are underbarrels. MW3’s angled grips are substantially stronger than MW2’s grips for nearly every build.
