The infamous ACR from past CoD titles has made its return inCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, featuring a wide range of customization options to suit any playstyle. This weapon is well known for its minimal recoil, great range, and ease of use. Thankfully, the MCW lives up to that legacy.

But as with most weapons in MW3, a weapon’s base performance doesn’t tell the full story. By experimenting with various attachments, you can morph the MCW into a monstrous long-range dueling weapon or a close-quarters SMG. This guide will showcase how to create both types of builds, using some of the MCW’s exclusive barrels, stocks, and aftermarket part attachments.

Updated Jun 17, 2025, by Charles Burgar:Since we first wrote this article, the MCW has received multiple balance changes, and the overall meta in Multiplayer has changed. We’ve updated this list with new attachments and loadout recommendations, utilizing attachments from recent seasons to make the MCW as strong as its pre-nerf version.

Pros And Cons

Accuracy is the single most important stat on the MCW for ranked play. Due to limited attachment options, you won’t be able to make the MCW compete with SMGs, so you’ll want to focus on mid-range gunfights. TheSecond Line Mammoth Heavy Barrelis a good start, giving us a boost to range and aim walking steadiness.

The Cyclone barrel gives aiming stability stats, but we get that elsewhere.

TheRB Regal Heavy StockandRB Claw-PSL Gripare a classic pairing on the MCW, substantially decreasing the weapon’s recoil across the board. This does come at the cost of the MCW’s aiming idle sway. To fix this, we run theFTAC SP-10 Angled Grip.This lowers the gun’s horizontal recoil and grants a sizable boost to aiming idle sway. Throw on theT51R Billeted Braketo lower your vertical recoil.

Recoil plots are much tighter with this build, and your mobility stats are still acceptable for an assault rifle. You won’t be able to compete with SMGs due to the gun’s poor sprint-to-fire speed, sostick to mid-range gunfights when possible.Aim for the head.

Field Upgrade

Trophy System

You don’t have many loadout options in ranked.The Infantry Vestis your only option, offering you Running Sneakers for free. We useCovert Sneakersto muffle our footsteps andMarksman Glovesto lower all incoming flinch while dueling. Since the MCW has a fairly slow reload, we recommendMag Holsterfor most situations. For equipment, we recommend running aTrophy Systemfor anchoring in modes like Hardpoint.

This variant of the CDL build aims to be a jack-of-all-trades assault rifle. We use theQuartermaster SuppressorandRB Claw-PSL Gripto reduce the MCW’s recoil. Both attachments are good enough to make the gun virtually recoilless. TheSecond Line Mammoth BarrelandDR-6 Handstophelp with strafe speed, while theMCW Ironbark Tactical Stockgives us some much-needed ADS speed.

With all five attachments, you’re looking at a solid 248ms ADS time and a similar sprint-to-fire delay. We also have a solid ADS strafe speed of 3.2 m/s,which is above most AR builds. You still want to hang back for most duels, but peak shooting with this gun should be much easier.

We recommend the same loadout as our CDL build. Since Multiplayer gives you an extra gear slot on the Infantry Vest, we recommendGhostin the second gear slot. This keeps you off the radar, making it easier to reposition and take your enemies by surprise. Once again,equipment options are down to preference.

The Jak Raven Kit aftermarket partconverts the MCW’s ammo to .300 BLK. This makes the weapon fire significantly faster but comes at the cost of overall accuracy. As such,you’ll want to treat the conversion kit like an SMG.Build the gun for high mobility and handling, and you should be able to dominate close-quarters engagements.

Once you install the conversion kit, you’ll first want to add theQuartermaster Suppressor.This greatly cuts down on the MCW’s recoil and suppresses your shots, making it easier to track targets with iron sights. We also run theParacord Gripto lower the gun’s horizontal recoil while also buffing our strafe speed. TheSecond Line Mammoth Barrelgives us even more strafe speed alongside a much-needed boost to our range. We finish the build with theSL Razorhawk Laser Lightfor more ADS speed.

Altogether, you’re looking at an assault rifle with a fairly low ADS speed of 236ms and a great sprint-to-fire delay of 149ms. We also have excellent mobility for an assault rifle, featuring 7.2 m/s tactical sprint speed and 3.4 m/s strafe speed.attempt to aim for the head, as a single headshot within 23 meters will drop the gun’s optimal TTK to four shots, making it competitive with most SMGs.

Med Box

An aggressive build can make great use of theInfantry Vest, granting you Running Sneakers for free. We equipCovert Sneakersto muffle our footstep audio,Ghostto hide from enemy UAVs, andMag Holsterto greatly reduce the MCW’s reload speed.Assault Gloveshelp with jumpshots, but feel free to use any glove perk.

For gear, we highly recommend theMed BoxandStims.Both items help offset the lack of Compression Plate and allow you to heal in a pinch. For your lethal, run theThrowing Knifefor one-hit melee kills.