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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’smassive roster of weapons is both a blessing and a curse. Having dozens of weapons to choose from leads to an unprecedented level of loadout flexibility, yet the sheer number of weapons you need to level can get tedious to even the most dedicated CoD fan.
But as with MW2, there are certain XP farming strategies you may use to quickly level your weapons in Modern Warfare 3. And thanks to MW3’s new MWZ mode, it’s easier than ever to fully level all of your weapons and account rank. This guide will briefly go over how to maximize your XP gains in MW3 and cover the best XP farm in the game.
Updated Jul 18, 2025, by Charles Burgar:Sledgehammer has drastically nerfed the number of zombies that spawn during an MWZ extraction event, making this a far less effective XP farming strategy. We’ve updated this guide to include the next best XP farming strategy: MWZ Contracts. We also added a note that explains how XP gains work in Modern Warfare Zombies.
Earning XP Tokens
Before you spend hours leveling your account and weapons, you might want to consider using some XP tokens first.In the main MP,Zombies, or pause menu, you can activate XP or Weapon XP Tokens you own to temporarily boost your XP gains.These tokens count down in real time, so be sure you activate them when you’re certain you can play for the token’s listed time.
As for earning these tokens, you have a few options:
Your best bet is tocomplete the MW3 campaignif you haven’t already done so. Past that, we suggest leveling the Battle Pass and claiming any XP token rewards you find.
How To Fix The Locked XP Tokens Bug
There is a potential bug that causes the XP token menu to become locked, preventing you from redeeming XP boosters from any MW3 menu. Fortunately this is quite easy to fix.There are two potential fixes:
Sledgehammer has released a hotfix that should prevent this issue from occurring, but if this bug ever appears again, these are two potential solutions that should work.
The Fastest XP And Weapon XP Farm
By far the best way to level in Modern Warfare 3 is byfarming Contracts in MWZ.Zombies awards huge XP payouts for completing contracts, Act objectives, and MWZ-exclusive challenges. If you spend most of your time completing contracts and killing any zombies that spawn, you should be able to max a weapon after a couple of matches.
MWZ XP Gains
Due to the way MWZ works, XP gains taper off throughout the match. After you earn roughly 6-7 weapon levels, your XP gains will dramatically decrease until the end of the match.
If you use an XP token, you may consistently earn 12-14 weapon levels per match.
The ideal contracts to farm areBounties, Escort Missions, Spore Disposal, and Safes.Bounty contracts are arguably the fastest once you acquire a strong weapon with multiple Pack-A-Punch tiers, followed closely by Escort contracts.Only complete the Spore and Safe contracts when a match starts, as these tend to spawn a high number of zombies. Once your XP gains start to taper off, both contracts become much less efficient.
