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Nov 28

MW3 10th Prestige Leveling Guide – How to level up fast in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3

Categories:

Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 3

by oTradeMark

MW3 10th Prestige Leveling Guide – How to rank up quickly in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 – Version 1.5

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

Welcome to the MW3 10th prestige leveling guide.  I started making leveling guides for call of duty back in MW2 because I needed a way to level quickly.  I have a wife, 2 kids and a full time job so I don’t have as much time as I used to have back in college to devote to video games, but I still wanted access to all the extra bonuses that come with prestige in call of duty so I began researching and applying techniques to help me level quickly.  This guide is a collection of information and tips to help you level quickly in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Modern warfare 3 has been out for 8 weeks now and I am currently half way through my 8th prestige with 98 hours (4.08 Days) of in game time played.  That means I am leveling at a pace of about 7.05 levels an hour, or 169 levels for an entire day of in game time played.  Now while that is not the fastest that I have seen someone level (a friend of mine is 10th prestige with just over 4 days played), I feel that I move through the prestige levels at a faster than average pace, so here it is.

Why should I prestige?
Let’s start things off with asking ourselves why we should prestige.  Other than increasing your e-peen size, prestiging in MW3 gives you prestige tokens that you can use to purchase in game rewards through the prestige shop.

In the prestige shop, you can spend your tokens on the following rewards:

  • Extra custom class slots
  • Double XP (2 hours in game time)
  • Double Weapon XP
  • Regular Package (unlocks an extra callsign title & emblem)
  • Hardened Package (Requires prestige 5: unlocks an extra callsign title & emblem)
  • Veteran Package (Requires prestige 10:  unlocks an extra callsign title & emblem)
  • Unlock Gear (choose one weapon, equipment or perk to unlock permanently on every prestige from that point forward)
  • Reset All Stats (resets everything, including your prestige level)

Now, the only one in this list that I don’t really consider a “reward” is the reset all stats option.  But if you are dedicated enough to do that then more power to you.

NOTE: If you prestiged in any of the previous call of duty games (xbox 360 and PS3 only) you will automatically receive one bonus token for each COD game you have already prestiged in.  You can only receive one token per game, regardless of your prestige level in that game, for a total of 4 potential prestige tokens (COD 4, COD WaW, COD MW2, COD Black Ops)

You will also unlock a special emblem that appears next to your gamer tag after each prestige that are shown below.  My recommendations for you is to look at the emblems and in game rewards that you can purchase with the prestige tokens and decide if it is worth it to you to prestige.  I personally like entering prestige mode because I enjoy the satisfaction of leveling up and unlocking things as I play, but a lot of people don’t care about extra class slots, titles and emblems, in which case I would recommend just staying at level 80 or staying at whichever prestige icon you like the most. (I am staying at 8th prestige because I like it’s icon the most and I have already unlocked all my custom classes)

How much experience is required to prestige?
The maximum amount of experience you can earn in MW3 is 1,746,200 per prestige.  The maximum player level in MW3 is level 80.  This is quite a bit different from Modern Warfare 2, which had 70 levels and a maximum experience of 2,516,000.  So while MW3 has 10 more levels to go through than MW2, the total amount of experience necessary to prestige is over 30% less.

Leveling scales up as you level up, which means that the later levels will take much longer to get through than the early levels.  Experience wise, half way through a prestige is around level 60.

Here is a breakdown of each level in MW3, and how much experience is required to reach it:

Level XP Required % Complete XP to Next Level
1 0 0.00% 800
2 800 0.05% 1100
3 1,900 0.11% 1200
4 3,100 0.18% 1800
5 4,900 0.28% 2200
6 7,100 0.41% 2500
7 9,600 0.55% 2800
8 12,400 0.71% 3200
9 15,600 0.89% 3600
10 19,200 1.10% 3900
11 23,100 1.32% 4400
12 27,500 1.57% 4900
13 32,400 1.86% 5400
14 37,800 2.16% 5900
15 43,700 2.50% 6400
16 50,100 2.87% 6900
17 57,000 3.26% 7400
18 64,400 3.69% 7900
19 72,300 4.14% 8400
20 80,700 4.62% 8900
21 89,600 5.13% 9400
22 99,000 5.67% 9900
23 108,900 6.24% 10400
24 119,300 6.83% 10900
25 130,200 7.46% 11400
26 141,600 8.11% 11900
27 153,500 8.79% 12400
28 165,900 9.50% 12900
29 178,800 10.24% 13400
30 192,200 11.01% 14000
31 206,200 11.81% 14600
32 220,800 12.64% 15200
33 236,000 13.52% 15800
34 251,800 14.42% 16400
35 268,200 15.36% 17000
36 285,200 16.33% 17600
37 302,800 17.34% 18200
38 321,000 18.38% 18800
39 339,800 19.46% 19400
40 359,200 20.57% 20000
41 379,200 21.72% 20600
42 399,800 22.90% 21200
43 421,000 24.11% 21800
44 442,800 25.36% 22400
45 465,200 26.64% 23000
46 488,200 27.96% 23600
47 511,800 29.31% 24200
48 536,000 30.70% 24800
49 560,800 32.12% 25400
50 586,200 33.57% 26150
51 612,350 35.07% 26900
52 639,250 36.61% 27650
53 666,900 38.19% 28400
54 695,300 39.82% 29150
55 724,450 41.49% 29900
56 754,350 43.20% 30650
57 785,000 44.95% 31400
58 816,400 46.75% 32150
59 848,550 48.59% 32900
60 881,450 50.48% 33650
61 915,100 52.41% 34400
62 949,500 54.38% 35100
63 984,600 56.39% 35950
64 1,020,550 58.44% 36670
65 1,057,220 60.54% 37380
66 1,094,600 62.68% 38150
67 1,132,750 64.87% 38900
68 1,171,650 67.10% 39650
69 1,211,300 69.37% 40400
70 1,251,700 71.68% 41150
71 1,292,850 74.04% 41650
72 1,334,500 76.42% 42650
73 1,377,150 78.87% 43150
74 1,420,300 81.34% 44150
75 1,464,450 83.86% 44650
76 1,509,100 86.42% 45650
77 1,554,750 89.04% 46150
78 1,600,900 91.68% 47150
79 1,648,050 94.38% 47650
80 1,695,700 97.11% 50500
MAX 1,746,200 100.00%

How long is this going to take?
If you have weighed the pros and cons of entering prestige mode and want to get through your prestige levels as fast as possible let me outline the time it is going to take to reach max prestige.

Leveling is based off of experience earned while playing the game. Every time you do something that helps your team you are rewarded with experience. For example getting a kill, capturing a point, or defusing a bomb will all earn you experience.

Aside from the things you do in game you are also rewarded for completing specific in game challenges and gives you a bonus for finishing each match you start.

Leveling up in Call of Duty even when using the tips in this guide is still a lengthy process. Depending on the skill of you and your team it could take anywhere from 12-24 hours of in game time played to prestige.

If you can complete 80 levels within 12 hours of game time played you are leveling at a pretty fast pace. I am currently half way through my 8th prestige with 98 hours (4.08 Days) of in game time played.  That means I am leveling at a pace of about 7.05 levels an hour, or 169 levels for an entire day of in game time played.  While this is not the fastest I have seen, it is up there.

Leveling basics
As I mentioned earlier, leveling is based upon experience earned while doing in game tasks such as kills, assists, captures, calling in pointstreaks or destroying enemy poinstreaks.  So the number one way to level up quicker is to get better at the game.  This guide isn’t really meant to help you get better at COD, but if you would like some tips on getting better at MW3 click here.

Aside from active in game tasks that earn you experience, the 2 other main ways you earn experience is through your match bonus and your challenges.

Match Bonus
Match bonus is experience earned at the end of each game as a bonus for staying until the game ends (rather than quitting out or twatboarding).  The scaler for your match bonus is twice as big if you win than if you lose.  So that brings me to my first leveling tip of the guide:

Leveling Tip #1: Win

And what’s the easiest way to win consistently?  Play with a competent group of players that communicate and go for the objectives.  If you usually play solo, try getting a group together of people you can play with.  If you don’t have any friends that you play with already, checkout hupitgaming.com to find some players you can play with.

If you would like to see exactly how match bonus is calculated read below (thanks to Pozzuh @ reddit)
Scaler = 1 if you win the match, 0.5 if you lose
spm = (3 + ( YOUR_RANK * 0.5 ) ) * 10
//maxmatchLength in seconds, YOUR_MATCHTIME in seconds:
matchBonus = Scaler * ( ( maxmatchLength/60 ) * spm )  * (YOUR_MATCHTIME / maxmatchLength)

So let’s say my rank is 65. I’m playing FFA which has a max game length of 10min and I won the match after 7 min and 46 seconds (=471 sec)
spm = (3 + ( 65 * 0.5 ) ) * 10 = 355
matchBonus = 1* ( ( 600/60 ) * 355)  * (471 / 600) =  2788

And let’s say my rank is 80. I’m playing Kill confirmed which has a max game length of 10min and I lose the match after 10 min. (=600sec)
spm = (3 + ( 80 * 0.5 ) ) * 10 = 430
matchBonus = 0.5* ( ( 600/60 ) * 430)  * (600 / 600) =  2150

Leveling Tip #2: Play the game types which cater to you and your teams play style while still being able to enjoy the game.

Gametypes
Now in previous Call of Duty games there has always been a few gametypes that offered a strategic advantage to leveling (SnD/HQ in COD4, Demolition in MW2, HQ in Black Ops).  However I think that in MW3, there isn’t one universal game type that offers the best leveling potential, but that the best game type to level up is going to vary greatly depending on what kind of player you are.

Headquarters has gotten a big nerf in MW3, so I don’t recommend playing it to level up quickly.  Demolition is also not as strong as it was in MW2, so that one went out the window for me.  As it stands now I think the 4 best game types for leveling in MW3 are Search and Destroy, Team Defender, Domination and Kill Confirmed.

Search and Destroy is a 1-life per round, bomb plant based game.  The winner is the team that wins the best of 7 rounds, or first to 4 round wins.  SnD has always been a strong way to level up for players who can get kills.  SnD offers a whopping 500 XP per kill and bomb plant, which turns into a huge 1000 XP per kill when used in conjunction with double XP.  For players that are strategically sound and can get a lot of kills in SnD, this is a great way to level up.  But if you are impatient like me and find yourself running straight into the nearest enemy claymore at the start of each round, you are instead just going to spend most of the games watching your teammates, earning absolutely no experience.

Team Defender is a new game type to MW3.  It is similar to Halo’s oddball.  The game is TDM based, first team to 7500 score wins, but the catch is that there is 1 flag on the map at all times.  Whichever team possess’ the flag also earns a bonus score towards the team whenever they earn kills.  Most people dislike Team Defender, as the spawns are very tightly bunched, sporadic, and lead to a lot of hectic deaths and score changes.  But a solid group of players will learn how to camp one area and rack up kills very quickly on the enemy team.  The reason these games are so quick to level up is because it is basically a TDM game where the enemy team is constantly running towards the flag (rather than camping like usual TDM games).  Just make sure that you play this game type with a team of competent players, because if you play against another team that is well organized you will figure out that it is very difficult to break a 6 man defense all camping a couple of choke points on the map.

Domination is my next recommendation for game types and by far my most played game type.  Domination earns you +50XP for a kill as well as +150XP for a flag capture and +50XP for a flag defend.  If you play aggressively in a game like this you can easily rack up a lot of points and kills.  Out of the 80 hours I have spent playing MW3, 63 of those hours have been spent playing Domination.  Because it is my favorite game type I am partially biased towards it, but statistically it offers a lot of advantages too.  If you strictly compare Score Per Minute on gametypes you will see that SnD offers a huge advantage versus other traditional gametypes, as it takes 10 domination kills to equal 1 SnD kill.  But what most players don’t take into consideration is that when you are playing SnD, you are going to have a very difficult time earning in game challenges, as most of them are based around kills or other actions that do not happen nearly as much in SnD.  Through one prestige I will earn hundreds of thousands of experience points on challenges alone, which I believe trumps the leveling potential of SnD.  Although I will say that challenge XP is not doubled when you are using double XP, so technically a good player playing SnD while on double XP will be getting massive amounts of experience should he be good enough to get a lot of kills and bomb plants/defuses while playing SnD.

Kill confirmed is my final game type recommendation.  Kill Confirmed is another TDM based gametype which rewards you for kills and collecting dog tags (confirming or denying a kill).  The reason why kill confirmed is a great game type to level up quickly is because it’s faster paced than TDM and at the same type offers more leveling potential.  When you kill a player you get +50 XP.  When you deny a kill you get +50 XP. When you kill a player and collect their dog tag, you earn +100 XP.  When you kill a player AND A TEAMMATE collects that dog tag, YOU STILL EARN +100 XP.  Then last but certainly not least, when you die and recover your own dog tag you get +250 XP, the equivalent of 5 objective kills!  Kill confirmed is a great way to level up for these reasons.  Even if you aren’t the best slayer, you can collect and deny dog tags all game and earn more XP than the highest killing person on your team!

To sum it all up, the best game type for leveling depends on what type of a player you are as well as who you play with and what type of players they are.  And remember that you should be playing this game to have fun, so if there are certain gametypes that you dislike, simply don’t play them.

Challenges
The next major way of earning experience is through completing in game challenges.  MW3 challenges are specific tasks that you need to complete in order to earn a set amount of experience.  There are two basic types of challenges in MW3: Static challenges and progressive challenges.

Static challenges are challenges that you only need to complete once and you will earn the experience for that entire prestige. For example you get 1000 XP the first time you shoot down an enemy helicopter for completing the Flyswatter challenge.  You also get 500 XP the first time you jump off something tall enough that you die upon impact (the seatown well works good for this)

Progressive challenges on the other hand are challenges that you complete in tiers over time, such as the marksman gun challenge. The marksman gun challenge is a challenge for every gun in the game that earns you experience as you get kills with a particular weapon. There are different tiers levels of this challenge which earn you more XP for every level completed.  For example you get 250 XP for getting 10 kills with a primary weapon, and then another 1,000 XP when you reach 25 kills with that same primary, and then another 2,000 XP when you reach 75 kills with that same primary weapon.

MW3 challenges are almost identical to MW2 challenges, so don’t expect to be doing anything like contracts from black ops.

No matter who you are, as you play the game you will complete challenges.  But if you want to maximize your leveling efficiency, you want to plan out your challenges in a way that maximizes your experience gain during the time you spend playing.  The next few sections are dedicated to all the different challenges in the game,

Leveling Tip #3: Complete your primary and secondary weapon challenges as efficiently as possible.  Get 500 kills with a primary before moving on, and earn the mastery challenges for your best secondaries.

Primary Weapon Challenges
 Let’s take a look at a typical set of challenges related to a primary weapon:

Challenge

Description

Value

XP

XP Per Tier

Marksman 1

10 kills

10

250

25.00

Marksman 2

25 kills

25

1,000

66.67

Marksman 3

75 kills

75

2,000

40.00

Marksman 4

150 kills

150

5,000

66.67

Marksman 5

300 kills

300

10,000

66.67

Marksman 6

500 kills

500

10,000

50.00

Marksman 7

750 kills

750

10,000

40.00

Marksman 8

1000 kills

1000

10,000

40.00

Expert 1

5 headshots

5

500

100.00

Expert 2

15 headshots

15

1,000

100.00

Expert 3

30 headshots

30

2,500

166.67

Expert 4

75 headshots

75

5,000

111.11

Expert 5

150 headshots

150

10,000

133.33

Veteran Gun 1

500 Kills

500

10,000

28.57

Veteran Gun 2

1000 Kills

1000

10,000

20.00

Veteran Gun 3

2500 kills

2500

10,000

6.67

Master 1

250 headshots

250

10,000

40.00

Master 2

500 headshots

500

10000

40.00

Master 3

1000 headshots

1000

10000

20.00

As you can see, in order to maximize your XP per tier, you want to try and work towards 500 kills for a primary weapon before moving onto another gun.  There are a few reasons you want to use the same gun until you get 500 kills.  First off, you earn around 8,000 XP more for your first 500 kills than you do for your next 500 kills.  Secondly, there are prestige challenges for each weapon that do not reset when you prestige.  They are listed above as “Veteran Gun Challenge 1-3”.  As you can see the first 2 veteran challenges are at 500 and 1000 kills, but then jump dramatically to 2500 kills for level 3.  So getting 500 kills and then moving onto another weapon allows you to take advantage of as many of those veteran gun challenges 1 & 2 as possible.  Last of all, getting 500 kills should earn you the mastery achievement for the weapon that nets you another 10,000 experience.

Keep in mind that the veteran gun challenges are only rewarded at 500, 1000 and 2500 kills… so I only get the veteran gun challenges for 2 prestiges before moving onto a new weapon.  That might be a little difficult to understand so let me explain.

Let’s say that during your first prestige you get 500 kills with the M4.  You will get just over 28,000XP from the marksman challenges alone, along with an additional 10,000XP from your first veteran challenge for a total of 38,000XP for 500 kills.  Then if you got 500 kills with the M4 again on your second prestige, you would also earn 38,000XP (28,000XP for marksman challenges + 10,000XP for the second veteran challenge).  But if you got another 500 kills with the M4 on your 3rd prestige, you would only get 28,000XP from the marksman challenges and miss out on the extra 10,000 veteran XP, as the next veteran challenge requires 2500 kills and you will only have a total of 1500 kills from the 3 prestiges.  For this reason, I suggest using a primary weapon until you reach 500 kills for a maximum of 2 prestiges.

DISCLAIMER: now, that being said… don’t use a weapon if you suck with it.  If you are getting frustrated and not getting any kills with a gun just because you are trying to get the veteran challenge, you are just going to end up missing out on more experience than you would have if you just stuck with a gun you are good with.  It’s better to play well with guns that aren’t helping you level up than it is to play poorly with guns that are “supposed” to be helping you level up but aren’t.

Secondary Weapon Challenges
The next set of challenges you need to be aware of are the secondary weapon challenges.  Now secondary weapons for the most part are slower to level with because you usually don’t get as many kills, but what they lack in killing ability they make up for in mastery.  The mastery challenge for all secondary weapons gives 10,000 experience, just like a primary weapon.  The difference is that the mastery challenge is completed at level 10 for secondary weapons rather than level 30 for most primaries.

Getting a secondary weapon to level 10 only requires 75 kills for a machine pistol and 50 kills for certain pistols, at which point you will earn 10,000 XP for the gun.  Earn the mastery challenge for all of your favorite/best secondary weapons.  I usually get the mastery challenge for every machine pistol and revolver in the game, a total of 60,000 XP for 400 total kills.

Also within the secondary challenges is a little hidden gem that a lot of people don’t take advantage of: the stinger.  The stinger is a secondary launcher that is vehicle lock only, meaning it is worthless to get kills with.  But stingers are a great secondary to use for 2 reasons: The first reason is that shooting down enemy air support will earn you a lot of XP and earn you points towards your pointstreak.  The second reason the stinger is so great is because the marksman challenges are so low for the stinger.  You only have to shoot 40 enemy streaks out of the air for your first 10,000 XP bonus.

I run a stinger on almost all of my classes as soon as I finish the machine pistol challenges (at least mastery and sometimes the 300 kill marksman challenge).  Use a stinger as your secondary weapon and be conscious of shooting down all enemy pointstreaks when you have a chance.

Leveling Tip #4: Complete the attachment and proficiency challenges for your weapons without decreasing your combat efficiency.

Weapon Attachment & Proficiency Challenges
The next set of challenges that can help you level up quickly are the weapon attachment challenges and the proficiency challenges.  The weapon attachment challenges are static 750-1000XP challenges that are earned for getting kills while using specific attachments on a weapon.  The proficiency challenges are 6 level progressive challenges earned by completing specific tasks related to a proficiency while using that proficiency on a weapon.

Both of these challenges offer a lot of potential experience to be earned during a prestige, but you need to use caution when completing these challenges.

When it comes to attachment challenges, some players do really bad with certain attachments (ie thermal or acog sights).  The amount of experience you earn for these challenges is between 750-1000XP, the equivalent of 15-20 kills on domination/kill confirmed.  So if you end up struggling with a weapon attachment and could have earned more than 15-20 additional kills during the time you were using it, it ends up being slower leveling than if you had just used your favorite attachment.  Let’s take a look at some standard attachment challenges:

Challenge

Description

Value

XP

XP/kill
AR Red Dot Sight Get 60 kills while aiming down sights with an attached red dot sight 60 1,000 16.67
AR Silencer Get 15 kills with an attached silencer 15 750 50.00
AR Grenade Launcher Get 20 kills with the attached grenade launcher 20 750 37.50
AR ACOG Get 20 kills while aiming down sights with an attached ACOG sight 20 750 37.50
AR Rapid Fire Get 40 kills while using rapid fire 40 1,000 25.00
AR Heartbeat Get 40 kills while using an attached heartbeat sensor 40 1,000 25.00
AR Shotgun Get 40 kills with an attached shotgun 40 1,000 25.00
AR Holographic Get 40 kills while aiming down sights with an attached holographic sight 40 1,000 25.00
AR Extended Mags Get 40 kills while using extended mags 40 1,000 25.00

As you can see most challenges will earn you 25 XP per kill.  This is a nice bonus (50% increase for dom/kc) as long as you are decent with the attachment.  But if you struggle with an attachment then it’s not worth the effort.  I personally get the RDS, Silencer, ACOG, RapidFire, Heartbeat, Holographic and Extended Mags challenges out of the above attachments.

One thing to note is that you can actually stack attachment challenges by using the attachment proficiency, allowing you to attach 2 attachments to your weapon.  And while we are talking about proficiencies let’s take a look at a standard proficiency challenge list:

Challenge

Description

Value

XP

XP Per Kill
Proficiency 1 15 Proficiency Kills/tasks 15 500 33.33
Proficiency 2 30 Proficiency Kills/tasks 30 1,000 66.67
Proficiency 3 60 Proficiency Kills/tasks 60 2,500 83.33
Proficiency 4 120 Proficiency Kills/tasks 120 5,000 83.33
Proficiency 5 300 Proficiency Kills/tasks 300 10,000 55.56
Proficiency 6 750 Proficiency Kills/tasks 750 10,000 22.22

As you can see, proficiency challenges take 2 giant dives in XP per kill during the proficiency V & VI challenges.  Also some proficiencies are earned for straight kills while other proficiencies require you getting kills in certain ways (for example Impact requires you to get kills through objects).  For this reason I only level up the following proficiencies and only work on the first 5 challenges of a tier: Kick, Attachments, Stability, Range (smgs), Damage (shotguns). Depending on your play style and preferred weapons, you might never use a proficiency at all during a prestige (ie speed which is only available on snipers and lmgs)

So what do all these challenges mean in terms of leveling?  Basically, you are trying to maximize your XP per action/kill without hurting your overall combat effectiveness.  If you equip an attachment/proficience and consequently do really poorly for 10 games in a row, you will probably earn less XP earning the challenges than you would have just using your best class setup.  So it all boils down to how diverse you are as a player and how well you do with different attachments/proficiencies.

Leveling Tip #5: Complete the perk and pro-perk challenges for all perks that offer a high XP per task reward.  If the tasks are easy, complete all 6 challenges.  If the tasks are hard, avoid all challenges together.

Perk Challenges
The next set of challenges that can help you level up quickly is the perk challenges.  Each perk challenge has 6 tiers or levels to complete and when you unlock the pro version of that perk you also unlock 6 tiers or levels of a new challenge related to that pro perk.  The amount of XP you earn for each of the 6 tiers in the perk challenges is as follows: 500 XP -> 1,000 XP -> 2,500 XP -> 5,000 XP -> 10,000 XP -> 10,000 XP.  So as you can see, each perk has the ability to earn you 29,000 XP for the default challenge and another 29,000 XP for the pro perk challenge.

In order to help you understand how perk challenge XP works let’s take a look at the challenges associated with the Scavenger Perk:

Challenge

Description

Value

XP

XP Per Task
Scavenger Pro I Resupply X times while using Scavenger 10 500 50
Scavenger Pro II Resupply X times while using Scavenger 25 1,000 66.67
Scavenger Pro III Resupply X times while using Scavenger 50 2,500 100.00
Scavenger Pro IV Resupply X times while using Scavenger 100 5,000 100.00
Scavenger Pro V Resupply X times while using Scavenger 250 10,000 66.67
Scavenger Pro VI Resupply X times while using Scavenger 500 10,000 40.00
Hoarding Ammo I Get X kills while using Scavenger Pro 15 500 33.33
Hoarding Ammo II Get X kills while using Scavenger Pro 30 1,000 66.67
Hoarding Ammo III Get X kills while using Scavenger Pro 60 2,500 83.33
Hoarding Ammo IV Get X kills while using Scavenger Pro 120 5,000 83.33
Hoarding Ammo V Get X kills while using Scavenger Pro 300 10,000 55.56
Hoarding Ammo VI Get X kills while using Scavenger Pro 750 10,000 22.22

As you can see, after you resupply 10 times while using scavenger you earn 500 XP, then you earn 1000 XP for your next 15 resupplies.  Following your next 25 resupplies, you earn 2500 XP.  As you can see up until Scavenger Pro V, every challenge results in a higher XP yield per task.  Then at Scavenger Pro V and VI you see large XP drop offs.  Your final challenge requires 250 resupplies to net you 10,000 XP, that’s only 40 XP per resupply, less than you get per resupply for your first 10.  The same thing happens with the hoarding ammo challenge.  In fact if you look at every perk challenge in the game, the XP per task always drops off at the 5th and 6th challenge.

From this information, we can conclude that in order to get the best per task experience gains from these challenges we would complete only the first 4 levels of each challenge before moving on.  But certain perk challenges are so easy that it’s worth it to complete all 6 challenges, and other perk challenges are so hard that it’s not worth completing any of the challenges.

Every player has different strengths and weaknesses, so exactly what perk challenges you go for is up to you.  If you struggle to get kills, don’t go for the really big 750 kill 10k challenges.  Instead work towards the support challenges like blind eye and sit rep.

That being said, I am going to list the challenges for all of the perks below as well as my tips on how to complete them in the least amount of time possible.

Leveling Tip #6: Use the specialist or support strike package to quickly gain additional XP bonuses each game.

Strike Packages
The 2 best strike packages to utilize when trying to level quickly is the Specialist and Support strike packages.  The specialist strike package earns you specialist bonus XP for every perk reward you earn and also allows you to work towards all of your perk challenges at the same time.  The support strike package on the other hand allows you to rack up a lot of XP through taking down enemy kill streaks and getting assists.  If you tend to get more kills than deaths each game I recommend running specialist, otherwise support is for you.

Specialist strike package
When you reach level 20, you unlock the specialist strike package.  Unlike the other 2 strike packages, the specialist strike package rewards you with extra perks for chaining points together instead of killstreaks.  When you run the specialist strike package you unlock an extra perk every 2 points you score in a game and when you hit 8 points you unlock every perk in the game and you become a one man army.

The best thing about unlocking one man army (earned by getting 8 points) is that you can work towards completing challenges for every perk in the game at the same time.  OMA resets upon death, so running the specialist strike package is not recommended for people who struggle to stay alive.  But if you consistently post high scores in the game and play smart you can really rack up XP fast through completing a large amount of perk challenges at the same time.

The best part about the specialist strike package when it comes to leveling is that it also gives you extra bonus XP for every perk that you unlock.  I have received varying reports as to how much XP you earn for your specialist bonus, but after reviewing a lot of my own game footage this is what I think happens.  Your first 3 perk rewards earn you an additional 150 bonus XP as a specialist bonus, followed by a 200 XP bonus for earning all the perks in the game (one man army @ 8 kills).  Once you have unlocked one man army you will also earn an additional 50 bonus XP for every other kill that you get past 8.

When using the specialist strike package I always recommend that you equip Hardline Pro as your custom class red perk.  The reason that you should use hardline as your red perk is that the first point you get of each life results in your first perk reward being unlocked.  If you were running Assassin or Quick draw as your red perk it would require 2 kills for you to unlock your first perk reward and you miss out on potential specialist bonuses.  Another advantage of running hardline pro is that every other assist you get counts as a kill and a point towards your specialist streak.  Let’s say that you have 1 assist and you throw a flash bang at an enemy before you die.  If that enemy is killed by your teammate while still flashed and you earn your second assist, you will respawn with your first perk reward automatically unlocked, since your second assist counts as a point.  If you were running another red perk you would not get credit for that assist, even if you unlocked hardline as a perk reward because you would lose hardline upon death.

Support strike package
The support strike package is the best way to level up if you find yourself dying a lot while playing call of duty.  It is also the most beneficial strike package to your entire team and will help your team win which equals a bigger match bonus.

The reason the support strike package has so much leveling potential is because your point streak does not reset upon death.  So even if you are dying just as much as you are getting points, your streak remains intact.

The secret to earning a lot of experience while using the support package is to combine hardline pro with perks and pointstreaks that get a lot of assists.  I recommend using this class:
Perk 1: Recon
Perk 2: Hardline Pro
Perk 3: Marksman / Sitrep
Primary: Anything (Grenade Launcher attachment is nice if using Recon)
Secondary: Stinger
Lethal & Tactical: Semtex & Flashbangs if using Recon, tac inserts if playing kill confirmed, otherwise anything is fine.
Support Streaks: Ballistic Vests, Sam Turret, Recon Drone -OR- Recon Drone / Stealth Bomber / EMP

Ballistic vests are good because you earn XP for your teammates picking them up.  Not only do they help you, your teammates get 150% health for picking them up.  The vests are timed and are not affected by how many teammates pick one up.  You can earn hundreds of XP for a well placed ballistic vest (try to place it out in the open near where your teammates spawn)

Sam turrets are nice because they are basically an automated launcher.  If the enemy team is earning a lot of air support or UAV/CUAV’s then a sam turret can get you a lot of XP.  But be careful to not just throw a sam turret down anywhere.  The enemy team earns a point for killing your sam turret, so they will kill it if it is just sitting out in the open.

Stealth bombers are the only offensive pointstreak in the support package.  Personally,  I think it was retarded of the developers to put stealth bombers in the support strike package, but that’s another story.  This is one of the best pointstreaks available.  Not only can it clear an entire section of the map, you can easily get hundreds of XP in kills by placing a bomber in the correct location.

Also, EMP’s are a great pointstreak.  A lot of players opt to use the escort airdrop but I feel that is a mistake.  Escort airdrops will earn you kills or XP depending on if you pick them up or your teammates do, but they take forever to drop and a good team will shoot it down before it gets a chance to drop the care packages.  EMP is a pointstreak that instantly kills all enemy air support AND prevents the enemy from calling in any pointstreaks for an entire minute.  I can’t tell you how annoying it is to run into a team that is using multiple EMP’s… 60 seconds feels like forever in one round of MW3.  EMP’s won’t help you earn that much XP (aside from whatever you destroy when calling it in), however they are game changers and they will help your team win games.

And last but certainly not least, the majority of your XP will be earned using the Recon Drone.  The recon drone is a remote controlled helicopter that allows you to “spot” enemy players that will show up constantly on your teammates radar UNTIL THEY DIE!  That’s right, until they die.  In other words, when you tag an enemy player you basically give them a death sentence.  Tagging a player earns you +50XP and when that player dies you earn an additional +20XP.  Since all players are likely to die after being tagged you are basically earning +70XP per tag.  I have seen people get over 30 assists in a single game running this support streak layout.  That is over 2000 XP per game from your assists alone.  Not to mention that every other assist of yours counts as another point towards your point streak.

That is why I recommend setting up your support streak in one of 2 ways.  The first way is to put recon drone as your last earned pointstreak… With hardline, that is only 9 points.  If you are constantly helping your team with objectives you can get over 3 recon drones in a single match.  The other method of setting up your support streak is to use the recon drone as the first unlocked streak, followed by higher reward streaks like the EMP or Stealth Bomber.  This makes it so your assists while flying the drone will count towards your higher pointstreaks.  Either way you should be earning a lot of assists and XP using one of these support strike package setups.

Leveling Tip #7: Be aware of unique static challenges that can be completed with as little effort as possible.

Static Challenges:
There are a few static challenges that should be specifically mentioned in this guide.  They are challenges that can be completed within 1-2 games and the XP that is rewarded for completing them is worth taking the time to do them.

WARNING: One thing to note about static challenges is that a lot of them are odd challenges that could directly affect your statistics, so if you are a K/D or W/L stat whore completing these challenges can affect your stats.

NOTE: Not all static challenges are available when you first prestige.  Each set of challenges requires a certain level to unlock.

Anyways here are is a break down of all the static challenges I have deemed worth “considering”.  They aren’t challenges I completed in every prestige but are ones that I feel reward enough XP to consider doing them.  Keep in mind that a challenge that rewards even 500 XP is equivalent of getting 10 kills in an objective game type or 5 kills in TDM.

  •  Basic Training (Lvl 4)
    • Flyswatter (1000 XP) – shoot down an enemy helicopter.  Grab a launcher and earn the easiest 1000 XP you will ever get.
    • Goodbye (500 XP) – fall 30 feet or more to your death.  A good place to do this is on the map “Sea Town” by the “C” domination spawn there is a big well you can jump down to complete the challenge
    • Base Jump (750 XP) – fall 15 feet or more and survive.  Just find a ledge and jump off it… most people get this unintentionally
    • The rest of the basic training challenges are just ones you will earn as you play… don’t worry too much about them.
  • Operations (Lvl 15)
    • Bomb down (1000 XP) – Kill a bomb carrier in Sabotage or S&D.  Pretty much just play Sabotage for a minute and camp a bomb and you will get this.
    • Last man standing (1000 XP) – This is the easiest to do playing S&D solo.  Join a game then just wait in your spawn while on the attacking team… If your team is bad you will guaranteed be the last man standing.
    • Saboteur / Defuser / Bomb Defender (2 tiers on all 3 challenges for 1500 XP a piece) - I don’t enjoy sabotage and have only played it a couple of times in MW3, so this is mostly hypothetical.  But in Blops there used to be a great way to earn defuses and plants and that’s by playing Sabotage with a team.  Basically you plant then bomb then everyone hides near the point and lets the enemy team defuse the bomb.  Then you kill the enemies and replant the bomb.  Rinse, Repeat.  You would be surprised how many enemy players will continually run to the bomb and defuse it, like lambs to the slaughter.  The defuser is exactly opposite in that you let the enemy plant the bomb then kill them and defuse.  Rinse, repeat.  Then bomb defender is basically the same as above except you kill the enemies while they are defusing instead of letting them defuse.  If you completed both tiers of all 3 of these challenges you would earn 4500 XP and these can all be completed in one match of sabotage (although bomb defender is the hardest)
    • FFA Victor (3 tiers for 4000 XP total) – Place 1st, 2nd or 3rd at least 10 times in FFA.  If you are decent at playing free for all.  Quickly play 10 matches for a total of 4000 bonus XP from this challenge.  While you are playing FFA, try to complete the finishing move challenges at the same time.
  • Proficiencies (Lvl 20)
    • Talked about earlier in this guide next to weapon attachment challenges
  • Precision (Lvl 30)
  • Finishing Moves (Lvl 40)
  • Humiliation (Lvl 50)
  • Payback (Lvl 60)
  • First Class (Lvl 65)
  • Intimidation (Lvl 70)

Daily & Weekly XP Challenges:
Daily & Weekly challenges are IW/Sledgehammers failed attempt at Treyarchs contracts.  In concept, they are a good idea, but they are poorly implemented.  The issue with challenges is that all daily challenges earn you 1000 XP, and all weekly challenges earn you 5000 XP (at least they do right now).  Some challenges are super easy (call in Assault UAV 2 times) while others are pretty difficult (get direct impact kills with a launcher, etc).  These challenges do not reward you with more XP for completing more difficult tasks.  In some ways this is good because you can get 5000 XP for some really simple weekly challenges.  But in other ways it’s bad, because there are some difficult challenges that just aren’t worth the effort to complete.

Leveling Tip #8: Complete all challenges as efficiently as possible by using class setups that compliment each other.

Class Setups:
Creating class setups that compliment each other in order to maximize your experience gains is probably the most important tip to leveling quickly, but it can be a little confusing.  The idea here is that you want to setup your classes in a manner that will allow you to work towards multiple challenges at the same time.

Consider the following scenario:
Completing the first 5 marksman challenges for an Assault Rifle by getting 300 kills earns you 28,250 XP. That is over 94 bonus XP per kill.
Completing the first 5 kick proficiency challenges by getting 300 kills aimed down sights earns you 19,000 XP.  That is over 63 bonus XP per kill.
Completing the first 5 SoH challenges for getting 300 kills with SoH earns you 19,000 XP.  That’s another 63 bonus XP per kill.
Completing the first 5 Quickdraw challenges for getting 200 kills within a few seconds of aiming down sights earns you 19,000 XP.  That’s a bonus 95 XP per kill.
Completing the first 5 Stalker challenges for getting 300 kills while aiming down sights earns you 19,000 XP.  Again that’s over 63 bonus XP per kill.
Completing  the red dot and holographic sight attachment challenges for getting a total of 100 kills while aiming down sights earns you 2,000 XP.  That’s a bonus 20 XP per kill.

All of these challenges are great bonus XP when looked at individually.  But now consider this.  You can complete every single challenge I listed above at the same time with 1 custom class.  If you were to get 300 kills while aiming down sights with a custom class that had an Assault Rifle + Kick proficiency + Red dot sight (and holographic at some point), plus Sleight of Hand, Quickdraw, Stalker… you would earn an astounding 106,250 experience through your challenges alone.  That means that for those 300 kills, you would be earning an incredible 354 bonus XP per kill!  The leveling potential is outstanding!  Keep this in mind when creating your custom classes.

DISCLAIMER: Certain challenges are not unlocked until certain levels.  For example proficiency challenges are not unlocked until level 20, so the above class would lose out on some potential until you reached level 20.  In order to maximize your leveling efficiency keep this in mind when working towards each challenge.

I am going to list out all of the custom classes I have personally used to efficiently help me earn experience.  If I did not mention a weapon class or perk that means you can use anything you want.  For example the class above focuses on your primary, so it doesn’t matter what secondary weapon you use.  Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any good ideas to add to this section.

Aim Down Sight Custom Class
Primary: Assault Rifle + Kick proficiency + Red dot, Silencer, Acog, Heartbeat, Holographic (as the attachments become available)
Perks: Sleight of Hand, Quickdraw, Stalker
Tips: Remember that most of your challenges are earned by getting kills while aimed down sights, so always be prepared to ADS before a kill.

Hip-fire Custom Class
Primary: Any sub-machine gun
Secondary: Any machine pistol (use akimbo once unlocked)
Perks: Extreme Conditioning, Hardline (if using specialist) or Blast Shield, Steady Aim
Streaks: Specialist

Leveling Tip #9: Utilize as many double XP sources as possible within MW3.

Double XP:
Double XP has always been a good way to level up quickly in the COD series.  Up until MW3, the only way to earn double XP was to play during double XP weekends or events, that usually happened after a map pack release.  But MW3 has really gone above and beyond with double XP, adding numerous ways to earn double XP as well as basing XP time on in game hours rather than actual time.

There are 5 methods that I know of that you can use to earn Double XP in MW3:

  • Double XP Weekends
  • Prestige Token Double XP
  • DewXP.com Mtn Dew / Doritos Double XP
  • Elite Clan Double XP
  • MOAB Double XP

First off, double XP weekends haven’t started yet.  I imagine the first double XP event will be after the first DLC map pack is released.  Double XP weekends are a great way to level up.  Not only are they available to anyone that plays the game during the specified time frame, they are also one of the only methods that stacks onto your barracks double XP.  They are real time based, which means that you want to pack in as many games during the event as possible.

Prestige token double XP is a waste of a token in my opinion.  I used one of my 4x bonus tokens on 2 hours double XP and I have regret that decision ever since.  2 hours of double XP is just not enough to justify spending a token on.  I would recommend unlocking gear or a custom class instead.

Dewxp.com is a great way to earn double XP.  The promotion ends on December 31, so you will want to act fast.  But basically you can buy specially marked mountain dew or doritos bags and redeem the double XP codes on the dewxp.com website then push double XP to your gamertag.

Elite clans are probably the best way to earn double XP.  Elite clans earn double XP hours for all members when you reach a certain level.  Your clan earns 2/4/6/8/24 hours of double XP for reaching level 10/20/30/40/50 respectively.  My elite clan just hit level 30, and I was able to claim our first 12 hours of double XP all at the same time.  Elite clans level up by completing clan challenges and clan competitions, or through the 500 bonus XP given to elite founders.

Finally, one method of double XP which is not very well known is M.O.A.B. double XP.  If you don’t already know, a M.O.A.B. (Massive Ordinance Airblast Bomb, Mother Of All Bombs) is an easter egg killstreak which you earn when you get 25 consecutive gun/knife/grenade kills, or 24 consecutive kills while using hardline. (pointstreak kills don’t count toward this total).  When you or someone on your team calls in a MOAB, your ENTIRE TEAM will earn double XP for the rest of the round.  The great thing about MOAB double XP is that it actually stacks with barracks double XP.  So if you have mountain dew or elite clan double XP in your barracks and you get a MOAB in game, you will earn 4x experience for the rest of the game.  I’m not sure how double XP weekends will work with MOAB XP, but it is possible that it will also stack onto MOAB XP, giving you 8x experience for getting a MOAB during double XP weekend while also using barracks double XP.

Leveling Tip #10:  Get better at the game, visit youtube.com/oTradeMark and GamingUpgrade.com for help!

Getting better at MW3
As I mentioned right at the start of the guide, the number one way to level up faster in MW3 is to get better at the game.  But getting better at the game takes knowledge and practice.  I think one of the best ways to get better is to watch or play with some players that are noticeably better than you.  If you would like you can check out some of my games, I post videos at youtube.com/oTradeMark and occasionally stream my games on twitch.tv/oTradeMark.   I have won quite a few competitions playing Call of Duty and won all sorts of cool prizes including t-shirts, hoodies, a water bottle, an iPad, a USB flash drive and even a Brand New 2011 Black Ops Jeep Wrangler, so hopefully I can help you get a little better at the game.

Summary of the Top 10 Tips to help you level up faster in MW3:

  1. Win as many games as possible by playing with a team that communicates and goes for the objective.
  2. Play game types which cater to your play style while still being able to enjoy the game.
  3. Complete your primary and secondary weapon challenges as efficiently as possible.  Get 500 kills with a primary before moving on, and earn the mastery challenges for your best secondaries.
  4. Complete the attachment and proficiency challenges for your weapons without decreasing your combat efficiency.
  5. Complete the perk and pro-perk challenges for all perks that offer a high XP per task reward.  If the tasks are easy, complete all 6 challenges.  If the tasks are hard, avoid all challenges together.
  6. Use the specialist or support strike package to quickly gain additional XP bonuses each game.
  7. Be aware of unique static challenges that can be completed with as little effort as possible.
  8. Complete all challenges as efficiently as possible by using class setups that compliment each other.
  9. Utilize as many double XP sources as possible within MW3.
  10. Get better at the game, visit youtube.com/oTradeMark and GamingUpgrade.com for help!

To Be Added after version 1.4:

  • Perk challenge suggestions
  • Support strike package leveling
  • Static challenge suggestions
  • Custom Class loadouts

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278 comments

  1. AJ

    December 20, 2011 at 4:59 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey this guide is very useful so thank you for taking sharing it.

    I was just wondering if there as any point in going for Master III on any weapon (1000 headshots), because it took me the best part of 2 prestiges to get 250 headshots with my UMP45. I would only do it if there was an emblem/callsign to obtain.

    Thanks again for the guide, I only found it now so I’m going to start using your tips.

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 2:40 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hey the master challenges are great XP but I find that I don’t specifically go for them… If I get them I get them, otherwise I don’t worry about it.

      1. qq

        April 19, 2012 at 9:09 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Goodbye challenge is sea town domination A flag not C flag

        1. oTradeMark

          April 30, 2012 at 7:10 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          thanks

  2. austin tingelstad

    December 21, 2011 at 2:52 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    hi i have mw3 and i did not know many of this however it would be better to add some stuff, and use less words to describe your guide i however am currently working on a guide…i have no tips yet but i will soon and i will write them down in a notebook……..then i will post them and we can combine our tips to make a mecca of tips for leveling up i personally would go for domination, regular perks=slight of hand,assassin,and marksman or steady aim then my unlocks =hardlie first then quickdraw,then blind eye this way you start out invisible (just use a silencer) and you can reload faster, then you get hardline and unlock killstreaks and perks faster then quickdraw to help aim faster which basically puts you in the right position to look for enemies, then blind eye this blocks you from the rest of things that enemies plat……then you have your occasional challenge completions. all this together can rack up sme serious xp.

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 2:41 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      I don’t mind if you write a guide and use information from mine, but please add a link to my guide somewhere within yours.

      Thanks

  3. Ryder THE BEST9

    December 22, 2011 at 1:49 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    why i need modzzz

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 6:51 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      what?

      1. tristan

        May 1, 2012 at 10:44 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        thanks man i owe u one….

        1. oTradeMark

          May 2, 2012 at 3:55 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          no problem thank you for reading

  4. monkeyboy448

    December 22, 2011 at 3:56 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    You put the link to hupit wrong, it’s http://hupitgaming.com/

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 2:42 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks I didn’t even realize that.

  5. Blessit

    December 22, 2011 at 10:19 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I appreciate the breakdowns in this guide
    Even if its stuff I may have already know,n it was explained very well. Thanks!

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 6:52 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      You’re welcome, thanks for reading. I had to make a decision to include information that would cater only to average/experienced player or explain everything for even the new players. I figured since it is a leveling guide some players might have never played COD before so the basics need to be outlined.

      Stay tuned for the next few revisions, the class layouts and specific static challenges are usually the tips that most average/advanced players do not know about.

  6. RJ

    December 24, 2011 at 4:05 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Awesome guide man, thanks a lot for the tips, it didn’t occur to me to switch weapons at 500 kills, based on that you could still use the same weapon (say, ACR 6.8) over the course of 5 prestige tiers so that you get maximum XP for it and also complete the 2500 kill challenge… does that make sense?

    My favorite way to level up is playing Kill Confirmed using the Specialist perk and Hardline. Each odd kill up to 7 (1, 3, 5, 7) gets me 100XP (not including the tags). Also, I usually rack up between 10-15 assists with the recon drone, which are awarded at 50XP each (same as a kill).

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 2:43 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      The issue with going for the 3rd vet challenge is that it takes you 3 prestiges to earn that 10,000 XP… If you are decent with other guns it is better to rotate them as you would get to 10th without having to go 3rd vet challenge on any gun.

  7. PLEASURPROVIDER

    December 26, 2011 at 8:44 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    BEST INFO EVER!!!! WOODYSGAMERTAG SENT ME…

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 2:42 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Glad it helped, how did woody send you over?

  8. Brandon

    December 26, 2011 at 10:57 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    This is so awesome informative too nice

    Woodysgamertag sent me here

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 2:36 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Woody did? How did he send you?

  9. waxy

    December 27, 2011 at 1:01 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Nice guide but you should put in class loadouts like you did in your black ops guide
    Thanks for going through the trouble of making it though

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 2:36 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks, they will be added eventually… trying to revise it as I get time

  10. MattW

    December 27, 2011 at 2:30 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Wow, great article. Well written, in depth analysis of the xp reward system. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. Bookmarked for future reference.

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 7:54 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks glad it helped

  11. Sam

    December 27, 2011 at 5:20 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I think you should add Kill Confirmed to those game modes to level up fast. Not in a boosting sense either. If you are playing with a group that sticks together it,s easy to stay alive and communicate about collecting your own red dog tags. I have friends who are truth to this. 10th prestige with only 6 days of gameplay.

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 2:21 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Yeah I mentioned it in my update, thanks for reading.

      10th Level 1 in 6 days is a little less than 2 prestiges in 1 day of game time… which is fast but I am still a tad bit faster using domination… which leads me to think that they are both good ways to level depending on the type of player you are and the team you are playing with.

  12. TJ TEMPER

    December 28, 2011 at 5:44 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    great advice mate, used your advice and im on prestige 2 now after just under 2 days playing. Only began playing cod games when black ops came out and i reached 11th prestige on that.

    keep up the good work and happy new year!

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 7:54 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for reading, glad it helped

  13. Peter U

    December 29, 2011 at 6:33 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey I was wondering how FFA ranks up with the other game modes if your gonna play solo? I’ve heard its one of the worst but I can get kills almost twice as fast as in other game modes and I win more then 1/3 of my FFA games. This means I would get the same xp as TDM but I would get a lot more kills towards the 500 for my gun until I get the 10000 bonus. Thanks for this great page and I will hopefully prestige faster than my first 2 which took 2 days and 3 hours.

    1. oTradeMark

      December 29, 2011 at 7:03 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Good question. I enjoy FFA as well but haven’t ever directly compared the gametype to others for XP. Is it 100XP per kill in FFA? If so then yeah it would be better than TDM if you are good at it. Make sure that you win most of your games though as the match bonus will play a factor as well.

      If you use double XP in conjunction with FFA, I can see it being very quick to level.

  14. _W3L5HY

    December 30, 2011 at 5:05 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Woody posted it on his Facebook wall.

  15. Robert Ybarra

    December 30, 2011 at 11:03 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I heard the recon drone killstreak reward offers great xp. 100xp for each tagged enemy and a bonus when a team member kills that person of 40xp i believe ..

    1. oTradeMark

      December 31, 2011 at 4:18 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Yeah I will add the support strike package and recon drone eventually, thanks for commenting

  16. Ripp

    December 30, 2011 at 11:57 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Im kind of lost. Im on level 50. Can I level up on the one player ” special ops” gameplay? I started doing the levels on harden. Am I wasting my time? Do I need to be in multiplayer mode???? My main purpose of leveling up is to unlock all the good equipment to use on survival mode.

    1. oTradeMark

      December 31, 2011 at 4:17 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Survival/Co-op mode has an independent leveling system than multiplayer so don’t play multiplayer if you want to unlock equipment in survival. I’ve never played survival mode so I can’t comment on how to level up quickly there.

    2. Riley

      January 20, 2012 at 11:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      LOLOLOL i just started reading this when looking for tips on XP efficiency, anyway ripp if you wanna level up really fast in Survivial use Dome, as this map contains the catwalk around the rotted out sphere, and is much easier than Outpost. Lay prone at the top of the ladder facing away from the concrete bunker, and aim through the grate at the ladder. Adjust your aim to target the head as the enemies run up and begin to climb. This is very easy with a handgun the first 3 levels, as the African Militia enemies don’t fire until seeing 100% of your body. Each shot kills instantly the first 3 levels from the neck up. Therefore, this means 0 damage, 0 loss of the Body Armor you start out with, and a consistent Head Blast achievement every 5 head shots. With each successive Head Blast achievement, the payout increases by 500 XP/dollars, not counting the Kill Streak achievement that you earn as a result of no damage. The first 5 head shots you get will give you 500 XP for each individual kill, 500 for the Head Blast achievement AND 500 for the Kill Streak achievement. If the enemies are being really thick and climbing that ladder one after the other as fast as possible (i’ve seen it happen sometimes), then you’ll also get 500 XP for the Rampage achievement. So, that’s 1,500-2,000 XP/dollars with the first 5 kills depending on how thick they’re being.
      *For clarification, the payout increase mentioned above means 1st time achieving it, 500, 2nd time 1,000, 3rd time 1,500 and so on.

      1. oTradeMark

        January 23, 2012 at 6:47 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Thanks for the input, I’ve never played spec ops but if I do I will take your tip into consideration.

    3. burnvictim

      April 3, 2012 at 6:29 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      if you wanna level up in survival quickly. just play and try to survive.
      I only use guns computers drop save my points and use preds to get maximum points
      utilze getting kills one after another for more points
      also c4 if used correct can get multipal kills
      try using it on resistance on the stairs by A in domination use all ten then herd them like in zombies on blops and huge point can be achieved
      in doin so i went from 1 to 60 in a few short hours of solo

      1. oTradeMark

        April 30, 2012 at 6:58 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Thanks, I don’t play survival but I will leave this here for any readers that do.

  17. InsaneLegend614

    January 1, 2012 at 7:55 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Nice guide! It’s really good, and I plan on using it soon!
    Woodysgamertag sent me here from Facebook BTW!

    1. oTradeMark

      January 2, 2012 at 1:47 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for reading

  18. Ripp

    January 1, 2012 at 8:27 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Do you know how many levels there are in the survival/co-op mode?

    1. oTradeMark

      January 7, 2012 at 9:39 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Sorry, I’m afraid I don’t… I’ve never played the survival/co-op mode aside from trying to complete “Stay Sharp” in under 20 seconds.

  19. DJ

    January 2, 2012 at 2:12 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    First and foremost, thank you sooooo much for making this leveling guide!! I wasn’t even going to prestige until i read this. Now I am at level 27 on my third prestige with 56 hours of game play! I left a comment on your YouTube channel but never mind that. I have a couple of questions that i hope you don’t mind answering. First, I usually run blind eye in all of my classes but previously ran sleight of hand. I am stuck in the middle on these two perks and was curious about which one you would recommend. Second, I am having trouble with the concept of the not moving on to another gun until you get 500 kills with the weapon. I tried this and felt like i was having more success using separate guns at the same time. Will you please attempt to explain this in further detail (might be impossible lol) so I can utilize the weapon challenges better? Finally, should i go with a silencer or no silencer? Thanks again!

    1. oTradeMark

      January 3, 2012 at 2:07 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hello, thanks for reading, glad it helped. In regards to your blue perk it depends what type of player you are. If you get a lot of kills sleight of hand is the better one to go for as it’s challenge is purely a kills challenge. SoH’s pro perk challenge is hard though so I don’t recommend it. If you are a more support type player equip a stinger and focus on blind eye. The nice thing about blind eye pro challenge is that it is practically the same challenge as the regular one when using a stinger. So if you have a stinger and shoot down 40 enemy streaks then it’s worth getting 100 more enemy streak kills with the striker as it will earn you a lot of XP for the tasks. (Around 38,000 XP for completing the 5th challenge of both blind eye and blind eye pro)

      In regards to getting 500 kills for the weapon challenges, it has to do with your prestige challenges. All marksman challenges reset when you prestige, however your veteran challenges do not. They roll over to the next prestige. Let me give you an example.

      Let’s say that I use the M4 for my first prestige. I get 500 kills on both weapons and complete all the attachment challenges. I would get around 8,000 XP for the attachment challenges of the M4, 10,000 XP for the mastery challenge, around 26,000 XP for the marksman challenges of the M4 and 10,000 XP for the 1st veteran challenge of the M4. A total of 54,000 XP for the M4. If I did the exact same thing with 4 other Assault Rifles I would earn another 54,000 XP per gun, a total of 270,000 XP in 1 prestige from those 5 weapons. (not including headshots or related challenge XP). This is based upon getting around 2500 kills per prestige. Some players get more (I averaged around 2800 kills per prestige) while some players will get less.

      Now let’s say that instead of working towards 500 kills I switched weapons after 150 Kills. I would earn a little over 8,000 XP for the marksman challenges 1-4, plus maybe a few of the attachment challenges, let’s say for an additional 3,000 XP. If you did that for 2500 kills you would have worked your way through 16 and a half weapons, earning you around 182,000 XP total in 1 prestige.

      You see in the second scenario, I would have missed out on 5 veteran challenges at 10,000 XP a pop and 5 mastery challenges at 10,000 XP a pop, a really big chunk of 100,000 XP would be lost. Even if you did the same thing with your weapons for several prestige levels, you would never land exactly at 500/1000/2500 kills as required by the veteran challenges.

      So if you want to maximize your XP per kill for your weapons, you would use a weapon for 500 kills after which you would immediately switch to another primary weapon.

      In regards to your question about silencer vs no silencer… I always try to complete attachment challenges. One thing to keep an eye on is that there is a prestige challenge for silencer kills… so if you complete your attachment challenges and want to know what attachment is best, I would have to say that the silencer attachment is indeed the best for leveling.

      1. DJ

        January 5, 2012 at 4:36 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        omg thank you so much for your time!! I cant wait for tenth prestige now and its thanks to you! Thanks again!!

        1. oTradeMark

          January 5, 2012 at 6:13 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          You’re welcome

          1. jayson

            March 14, 2012 at 8:21 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

            yo trademark in ur newest vid 3/14/12 why did u keep backing out of FFA matches an joing new ones?

          2. oTradeMark

            March 15, 2012 at 12:57 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

            once I win I back out to get in a new game… those 3 were recorded during a lone wolf ffa operation.. it’s to maximize the games I get into.

      2. Oompa Loompa!!

        March 2, 2012 at 6:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Dude you type a lot and in paragraph form…..Ooooooooo!!!

        1. oTradeMark

          March 6, 2012 at 1:05 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          lol =) thanks for noticing.

  20. PHIL

    January 3, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    GREAT GUIDE, one quick ?? how do u use the attachments ( RL , shoutgun ) for Ps3

    1. oTradeMark

      January 3, 2012 at 6:08 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      It should be a d-pad button, at least it is for the xbox. The d-pad is used to select things like pointstreaks, equipment, and certain attachments.

  21. PushyPancake

    January 3, 2012 at 7:05 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    hey! your guide is SO HELPFUL!! I have it bookmarked on my computer, and as a page on safari on m iPhone. Like you have recommended, I have been playing domination. I was just wondering, what would be the average score of a good domination game? Like how many points should I be getting per domination game if I want to prestige in like say 15 hours? 2500?3000? Also, I didnt understand the part of the perks. should I just change all the perks that are pro to perks that are not? like when is it a good time to change? I know you said to change it when it’s insanely hard, but can you give me some examples of perks that I should make pro to the max level? I would really like answers to these questions. I know they are confusing and long but it would really help me out. thanks once again for your time and this guide. I’m so lucky I found it. btw I saw ur MOAB on YouTube. I’m gonna sub tomorrow!

    1. oTradeMark

      January 5, 2012 at 6:09 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hey pankcake, I’m not sure how many points I get on average… “Points” don’t give you an accurate reading of how well you did each game. Let’s say that both of us get 4000 points in a domination game… But along the way I earn one man army on specialist 4 times, pick up 50 scavenger packs, shoot down 5 enemy streaks… and you only get your points through capping and defending points.

      Well we would earn the same amount of XP that match but in the long run I would have earned the perk/oma challenges faster, which equals more XP for me in the long run.

      I would say on average I probably get 30 kills and 5 captures per game… all while trying to maximize any challenges I can during the round… (like pick up scavenger packs or shooting down enemy air support)

  22. Arjay

    January 4, 2012 at 4:45 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I’ve been playing COD since the first MW but I wasn’t in the US and its not practical playing online due to connection speed. So I spent most of the time playing campaign and just very few online.

    Now I started playing online and just reach level 50+. I am a total noob in this. My average kill per game is maybe just 5, most I got is about 12:( Do you know a site where I can join a group and can help me improve my game play? Is hupitgaming.com one on those sites? Thanks.

    Great guide too. Especially for new ones like me.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 5, 2012 at 6:17 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      If you want a group to play with, hupitgaming.com is a great resource.

      If you just want basic tips on how to get better at the game, youtube is the place. That allows you to watch better players and learn from them

  23. Cy

    January 4, 2012 at 9:41 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    1st of all, thanks for the guide. Well done.

    This is basically a well thought out and beautifully detailed version of what goes through my mind, while I go through my COD prestiges (currently 8th/60), but with an ample amount of tips and tricks. One thought, is a section on “class make strategy” to combined ones beautifully orchestrated 10K XP bursts, i.e. running SCAV/OVERKILL/SITREP for example + specialist package; take the gun you wish to level up and place it as your second weapon – @ the start of each match/life immediately switch to your secondary weapon (which is actually a favorite primary) and go through the challenges mentioned above. I do not have the time to go through an excel spread sheet of XP @ the moment, but earning 2.5/5/10K bursts for a primary weapon, an attachment, proficiency, 3 regular and Pro Perk variation challenges (SCAV and SITREP pro variations are just kills – no other requirements), and specialist simultaneously will astonish you. Seeing 25K – 40K bursts on your screen when you hit certain levels is amazing. When you reach your 300/500 kills, switch weapons and perks (leaving Overkill as the only static perk), maybe RECON and Dead Silence next, but believe me it is a great feeling when you get one kill and jump (2) levels.

    I do have a few questions for you in regards to Clan leveling though;

    (1.) How is your clan LVL 30?
    (2.) How do you level your clan other than Founder Status XP?
    (3.) How many members does your clan have vs. how many of them are founders?
    (4.) If you add someone to your clan now, will they have access to the 12 HRS of DBL XP (and no I’m not asking to be added, just would like to know the info for my clan)?

    … and thanks again for the time and effort you put into this guide, glad I’m not the only guy who loves spread sheets for gaming and MW3.

    Cy

    1. oTradeMark

      January 5, 2012 at 6:16 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hey Cy, thanks the section that talks about class loadouts is not complete but it will definitely be added.

      In regards to clan leveling:
      1. Our clan is level 30 by recruiting founders (500 XP founders bonus per member)
      2. You currently can’t level your clan up any other way than founders XP
      3. We had 100 members (maximum) and now we are at like 96 members. I would say 90 out of 100 had founders XP.. You can find out the exact number by dividing our current clan XP by 500.
      4. Once you claim the double XP (which we have already done) then adding members to your roster will not reward them with the double XP. So if you are your clans leader I recommend hanging onto the double XP until you have a full roster before claiming it. This allows all members to benefit from the double XP

      1. Cy

        January 6, 2012 at 4:07 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        …again great info, thanks for the detailed response, but now I have a few more questions:

        (1.) Where did you recruit founders? Is there some special forum that I should be a part of or is this some massive conglomerate of YouTube/machinima partners?
        (2.) What is the name of your clan (if you don’t mind), so that I can peep it on Elite?
        (3.) Do you GB/MLG and if so, how often do you scrim vs. play matches?
        (4.) If you do if fact GB/MLG, do you post those videos somewhere, and if not, is there a source to watch competitive play other than MLG streams and Holiday Doc’s channel?

        Thanks in advance,

        Cy

        1. oTradeMark

          January 7, 2012 at 9:43 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          1. I used gaming forums like hupit, denkirson, iplaycod, etc
          2. Elite Win (Casual): https://elite.callofduty.com/connect/clan/view/310602
          New Breed (Competitive): https://elite.callofduty.com/connect/clan/view/172920
          3. I am a self proclaimed pub star and have never done GB… but I just started scrimming with some clanmates as they are very strong MLG players
          4. I don’t post competitive vids, but I suggest you take a look at youtube.com/mlgindy, he is the best pub/competitive player that I play with.

          1. Cy

            January 8, 2012 at 12:59 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

            You sir are a gentleman and a scholar. Thank you!

      2. Oompa Loompa!!

        March 2, 2012 at 6:08 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        I wanna join your clan…..

        1. oTradeMark

          March 6, 2012 at 1:06 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          register at gamingupgrade.com/strategize, if you are a premium member you can join either clan there.

  24. carlito

    January 5, 2012 at 11:52 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    What if you get like 5 guns at 299 (MArksman V = 10,000) kills then use double weapon XP. will that make it 20,000 for one gun challenge?

    1. oTradeMark

      January 5, 2012 at 6:13 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Unfortunately no, double weapon XP only applies to the weapon level, not actual player experience. And I’m pretty sure that even with double weapon XP you would not get 20,000 weapon XP for a challenge, since just like when you are using double XP your challenge XP isn’t doubled. For example if I’m using double XP and I unlock Marksman V challenge I still only earn 10,000 XP, not 20,000.

  25. lylifield

    January 5, 2012 at 6:13 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hello, first of all: thanks for taking the time to write this guide! I love this game, although to be honest i’m a mediocre player :) . (k/d 0.83). One question tho: i was surprised you don’t recommend the double XP -prestige reward. To me it seemed like the most obvious method to level up faster. Could you explain why it is not and also why unlocking gear would be a good choice?
    Thanks,
    (o and also for the record: i am a girl, my tag in mw3 says so, you wouldn’t believe how many messages i get from guys that accuse me of lying… i wonder why)

    1. oTradeMark

      January 5, 2012 at 6:52 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      I didn’t mention it mostly because I just forgot to be honest… and because I think using double XP for a token is a waste of a token.

      I used 5 tokens for custom class unlocks, 4 tokens for gear unlocks, 2 tokens for titles/emblem packages, and 2 tokens for double XP… (8 tokens for prestiging, 4 bonus tokens for prestiging in previous games, and 1 bonus token I got for being a premium elite member)

      I feel like the 2 tokens I spent on double XP early were a waste. For 2 reasons. First I feel that 2 hours in game double XP is not really that much… That’s only 12 games at 10 minutes a piece. Secondly, double XP only counts for in game actions, and most of your XP will actually be earned through challenges, which aren’t doubled for double XP time.

      I would rather unlock gear, perks, etc because not only are they available for every prestige right at level 4 (when you unlock custom classes) but the challenges associated with that gear is also unlocked.

      So for example, when you first prestige usually you only have a few weapons to choose from… but if you unlocked a high level unlock weapon like the MP7, you could use that right after prestiging. Also perks like Dead silence that take a long time to unlock can be used right at level 4.

      I unlocked the MP7, AK47, MK14 and Dead Silence with my tokens. If I started over I would have used 6 tokens for unlocking gear (assuming you have 4 bonus ones from previous games) to unlock the following:
      1. dead silence
      2. MP7
      3. Portable Radar or Trophy System
      4. AK47
      5. Striker
      6. ACR

      1. natstar

        March 17, 2012 at 3:53 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        is the FAD any good?

        1. oTradeMark

          March 19, 2012 at 6:49 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          Well, “good” is subjective. The FAD has the fastest rate of fire in the game for Assault Rifles and the biggest head shot multipler as well. It’s capable of a 2 shot head shot and so it’s capable of a really fast time to kill if you can get headshots consistently. I personally don’t use it though because I like consistency like the ACR and T95 over a “chance” at getting quick headshots.

  26. Frank

    January 6, 2012 at 7:34 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    What gun would you suggest I use my one token on. I am prestige Level 1 and about to level two but have one token. I use the SCar and type 95 alot cause i play kc and drop zone

    1. oTradeMark

      January 7, 2012 at 7:37 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Well, personally I would unlock the MP7.. it’s the best SMG in the game in my opinion and is a late unlock. I don’t worry about unlocking weapons you normally unlock before level 50, as you can get to level 50 relatively quickly when compared to the last 30 levels.

      If you don’t like SMG’s then unlocking the ACR or AK47 would be a decent choice as well. I wouldn’t unlock the scar or type 95 as they are unlocked relatively early in the leveling process.

  27. jdiggydogg2003

    January 6, 2012 at 10:19 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thanks for putting a lot of effort into this guide; it has proven very useful for me. I am brand new to online gaming but have been playing offline since the nintendo days.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 7, 2012 at 7:37 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      You’re welcome, glad it helped

  28. VinTheDean

    January 7, 2012 at 7:03 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I was curious about something. you did not mention any differences between hardcore and core modes. I was wondering if you can provide your input. I basically play HardCore Kill Confirmed. I am already at Prestigue 6 Rank 51. Just wondering if I should switch back to Core rank up faster.

    Also, I recently started using the Specialy Kill Package. I debating about using specialist or support. I do use HardLine Pro with specialist so I get 200xp for the first kill instead of 50xp. For Support I normally run UAV, Ballistic Vest, and Recon Drone. I will probably switch to Ballistic Vest, SAM, and Recon Drone.

    Which setup will get me to rank up faster? Which setup is best for Hard Core game modes and Core game modes?

    1. oTradeMark

      January 7, 2012 at 7:42 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      XP gains should be the same regardless of you playing core or hardcore. Hardcore tends to be a little more campy in my opinion so I don’t play it but it should give you the same leveling potential as core, especially if you have quick reflexes as hardcore is all about getting the first shot off…

      One thing that can help you get more kills and level up quicker in hardcore is to always use weapons that have a high min damage value… The ACR and MK14 are both 1 hit kills regardless of range or attachments (with the exception of shooting through objects like walls)… so they can be really deadly.

  29. Hiloka

    January 7, 2012 at 8:10 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I would also like to know more about your clan.
    1) ps3/xbox
    2)are you recruiting still
    3) what are requirements

    I am at fitst prestife lvl 72 with a 1.91 kd. 1.18w/l. And 26.06 acurracy.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 7, 2012 at 9:32 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      1. Xbox
      2. Not actively recruiting but since clan challenges and competitions haven’t started we don’t really do anything either
      3. No requirements… I am still trying to figure out what I’m going to do as far as clans are concerned. Elite Win was just a clan I created to earn double XP and meet new people

  30. Leon

    January 7, 2012 at 8:24 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Great guide, man! Can’t say that it really helped me because I’ve known most of this stuff since the launch of MW3, but the potential for newer and less experienced players to improve using this guide is definitely there.

    I’m not exactly fussed about W/L or K/D stats, but my win/loss is around 1.3 and my ratio is somewhere around 2.1. I tend to play competitively only against my friends. I currently am 7th prestige, level 47 with 3 days, 32 minutes played, but most of that is thanks to a tip from a friend of mine. I usually run SoH, Assassin and Marksman for my Assault classes and SoH, Hardline and Steady Aim for my specialist rushing classes, but I have turned onto a new method of earning quick XP and that is to use machine pistols and handguns as primaries as soon as you unlock them until you reach weapon level 10 with each one. All in all, you get 10,000 XP times the amount of viable secondaries in the game (10), which equals to a hefty 100,000 XP. Yes, it may be slightly unconventional and a little hard to get used to for the average Joe, but I find that I zoom through each secondary in roughly 2.5 games of free-for-all. That’s 100,000 XP in 25 games if you’re a decent player! And that’s not mentioning the specialist bonuses that you earn whilst using them.

    To summarize, you have written an awesome guide but I believe you should include the secondary challenges in your guide for the more experienced players who find them a viable option. My recommendation is to only use them in free-for-all and on maps you feel comfortable with, otherwise you might run into some trouble beating the stubborn SMG users and such.

    Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you found this tip helpful.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 7, 2012 at 9:31 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Secondary challenges are already listed under tip #3 in the section labeled “Secondary Weapon Challenges”…

      Did you miss that or were you just saying to go into more detail about the challenges themselves? I agree that getting secondary mastery challenges are a great and often overlooked method of racking up a lot of 10k challenges.

      1. Leon

        January 7, 2012 at 10:24 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Oh, my bad. I just realized that I missed the second part of #3 entirely. It’s not too easy skim reading on an iPhone, haha.

        Also, do you think I’m progressing through the prestiges at a decent rate? I’m finding it hard to fit Call of Duty into my daily life without losing focus on some of the other, more important things.

        Once again, great guide and thanks for replying to my other comment so quickly :)

        1. oTradeMark

          January 7, 2012 at 11:29 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          =) yeah that’s a lot of content for a smart phone..

          In regards to your leveling rate, 7th prestige in 3 days is extremely quick… that’s faster than I level. The fastest I have seen someone hit max 10th prestige was just over 4 days in game time played, I think you might be on track to hit that!

          Good job keep up the good work… and good job keeping your priorities straight.. leveling quickly can be fun and help you get through the prestiges quickly, but at the end of the day COD is just a game and needs to be prioritized accordingly.

  31. Temple Fugate

    January 8, 2012 at 4:40 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Just tested the recon drone with hardline pro. Tagged assists don’t count towards your point streaks. Still good XP and damned useful but not as nice as your strategy suggests.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 8, 2012 at 11:13 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for the information, for some reason I thought they did since assault streaks stack. I will adjust the guide accordingly.

  32. Connor112

    January 8, 2012 at 8:57 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Do you have to have the paid version of elite to make a can or join one.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 8, 2012 at 11:11 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      You can join a clan as a free member of elite but you can’t participate in clan competitions

  33. Woobie

    January 8, 2012 at 11:46 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Great guide, some awesome tips here! Thanks and well done.

    Question if you don’t mind. I’m considering prestiging for my first time on MW3, I have no more unlock tokens left since using my only one earlier in the game, but do I get another one for prestiging, and can I unlock a weapon straight away?

    1. oTradeMark

      January 9, 2012 at 11:47 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for reading. You get 1 token per prestige, so you will get another token. You can use that token to unlock gear at level 4 (when create a class becomes available). That’s why I recommend only unlocking weapons that are usually unlocked after level 50… since you get a big advantage out of them having them available right away.

  34. Sandman1882

    January 10, 2012 at 11:46 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey TradeMark,

    First, Thanks for this guide. I am a lot like you (married, 2 young children, a full-time job and a full-time student) so COD time is extremely limited compared to what many people do each day. So it is nice to read a guide by a competent player that understands that dropping life to play a video game for 10 hours straight is not a viable option.
    I do have just a few questions that I would like to know the answers to if you (or anyone) has time:
    1. When you use a Prestige token to unlock a weapon for use in future prestige levels, is it just the early use of the weapon that is unlocked, or is it the weapon as is? For example: I am at level 75 of my first run (normal still, no prestige yet) and I am hoping to get that first token in the next few days, I want to make the best use out of it so I was planning on unlocking a weapon. I have a few ARs that I like alot (ACR is the best), so I was planning on unlocking that. If I do, when I hit level 4 on my prestige run, will it be a bare bones ACR or will it be what it is now (level 30 everything unlocked except gold camo)?
    2. I have noticed that many people play Kill Confirmed a bit unusually: They will find a spot and take out enemies and leave the tags, even if they are just a few feet away (as opposed to someone sniping from across the map and leaving tags). The reason seems to be to set a ‘trap’ that enemy players will fall into by seeing red tags and rushing to them to deny enemy kills. Is this a leveling strategy that works by essentially creating a sort of grinder that kills an enemy then turns that one kill into two and two to four and so on? If so, is it more efficient than simply trying to win by getting the tags as quickly as possible?
    3. Are there any maps/gametypes that require unique styles of play to be better at? I have noticed that people will talk about which loadout they are going to use in the lobby. I am guessing that when you update your class selection section you will talk a little about this, but can you add in a bit about when and where to use each type as well as what the class should look like.
    4. Is there a particular order that you typically unlock perks/weapons that is out of the normal order? Or do you just do 500 kills as they become unlocked and then move on?
    5. Any idea when the ‘class setups’ section update will come out? That is probably the only area I still can’t figure out on my own.

    Again, thanks for taking the time to put this together in a way that is easy to understand and helpful to people that cant afford 80 hours of MW3 in a week. And thanks for taking the time to respond to each and every comment/question as well.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 11, 2012 at 1:16 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hey, thanks for stopping by, to answer your questions:
      1. Unlocking weapons only unlocks the bare weapon at level 4. No attachments or skins are carried over. As far as leveling goes this is actually advantageous to you though since using that weapon early allows you to get the marksman, mastery, and veteran challenges for the gun every prestige instead of just the first prestige you use it within.
      2. Kill confirmed gives you +50 XP credit for killing an enemy, then +50 XP for you OR your teammate recovering that tag. So sometimes leaving a tag for your teammate to recover is the best strategy for helping both yourself and your teammates level up quickly. The same goes for your teammates killing enemies in that you should recover the enemies fallen tags when possible. In regards to leaving tags on the ground to setup “traps” for the enemy I would say this is more a tactic than an actual leveling strategy. Yes leaving tags on the ground can be a good way to bait several enemies to the same location and rack up some kills. But as far as leveling quickly, both kills and recovering tags is important. The only leveling “strategy” that kill confirmed has is that recovering your own tags earns you +250 XP. Some players will go out in the open and lay a tactical insertion down, then when they die they immediately respawn and recover their own tags, effectively giving them 5 tags worth of XP. This strategy destroys your K/D and in my opinion is not that effective so I don’t use it.
      3. Certainly, I can give recommendations based upon game types, but this also has a lot to do with your play style. If you are an aggressive player then an SMG runner class paired with an objective game mode like domination or Kill Confirmed will suit you well. If you are a defensive player then an AR or sniper class paired with a slower game mode like TDM or SnD will suit you well. So I guess a lot of it depends on what type of player you are, where your strengths are, and what guns/perks you enjoy using the best.
      4. I work on perk challenges to try and maximize actions per XP. In other words I try to make classes that have perk challenges that cater to each other. For example Sleight of Hand, Quickdraw, Stalker, Kick, Red Dot can all be completed at the same time by getting kills while aiming down your sights. You can get exponentially more XP using perks that compliment each other. As far as guns go, I use prestige tokens to unlock the late unlock guns (MP7, ACR, AK47) and use them at the start of a prestige, then I use the medium unlock weapons as they become available as you level up.
      5. Working on it now, It should be done by the weekend.

      1. Sandman1882

        January 11, 2012 at 1:26 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Thanks! One last question: Is it worth purchasing an Elite membership? Is the DLC included in the membership or does it just become available for purchase to elite members first? And what other worth while benefits do you get? I dont think i would use it for too much other than DLC and maybe the prestige token (you do get 1, right?) so would it still be worth $50 in your opinion?

        I guess that was more than one question….

        1. oTradeMark

          January 11, 2012 at 6:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          I got a prestige token but I don’t know if anyone who signs up gets a prestige token after signing up. Because of the message I got from beach head it sounded like the prestige token was a “Christmas Gift” for all elite premium members…

          Maybe it is retro-active though I’m not sure.

          Elite Premium gives you a years worth of DLC, from December 2011 to December 2012. It doesn’t matter when you sign up for elite you can download any DLC that launches during that time frame. If you choose to cancel your membership next year you always own the DLC content.

          Basically elite premium is worth it if you plan on buying the map packs. In fact you get a discount for signing up for elite instead of buying the packs individually.

  35. chase

    January 10, 2012 at 11:32 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey, great guide and i will sub to your You Tube channel. I had a question though, what is the best shotgun for leveling up and what smg is best for leveling up? btw im 3rd prestige level 62 and i hope we can play together on xbox live. my gt is: k1ll3r705 if you would freind me that would be great :)

    1. oTradeMark

      January 11, 2012 at 1:05 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      The best shotgun overall is the striker. But it’s not really a “good” gun until you unlock extended mags which is the last attachment. Using extended mags gives you 1.5x pellets per shot, effectively increasing your damage by 150%. Add onto that the damage or range proficiency and you have a pretty good weapon. Second best shotgun is the Spas. I personally don’t level shotguns at all as it’s a frustrating grind to unlock extended mags but that’s what I would use if I were you.

      As far as SMG’s go my favorite is the MP7. It’s a late unlock though so unless you use a prestige token to unlock it then you might not get to use it much. You could also opt for the PP90 as it is a good SMG as well. If you run rapid fire on the pp90 it is arguably better than the MP7 (for CQC it is at least)

      My xbox friends list has 99 friends, I leave 1 spot open so people can add me and send party/chat invites. I am currently working on a method that will allow all of my subs to add a gamertag and then I will just send game invites out accordingly.

  36. Jesse

    January 12, 2012 at 12:44 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I get called a hacker and stuff because I have 6 days 20 hours and 39 minutes gameplay at 9th prestige. Is it even possible for someone to get as high as I am in the same time I did or did I just fluke it?

    1. oTradeMark

      January 12, 2012 at 10:18 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Yeah, it’s very possible… I hit 8th with 4 days played and I have a friend who hit 10th prestige in 4 days played… Just be good and maximize challenges.

  37. Richard P

    January 12, 2012 at 2:29 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Bookmarked this guide after about 2 mins of reading. I haven’t gotten the kids as yet but a wife+work alone kills CoD playing time. The best part is that you don’t simply say “Play SnD, it’s the best for leveling” and stop….you explain the premise for your statement – that shows Maturity.

    Why is it that women keep asking “you not tired of playing??”…..just because you’ve been playing for 5 or 6 hours ;)
    It must be a rhetorical question IMO :)

    I notice you haven’t made any notes about Drop Zone. It became unlocked sometime in December and it seems to do well in the XP department but if you get a chance to analyze it as you’ve done other game types, let us know and update.

    Thanks again for this guide – much appreciated.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 12, 2012 at 10:23 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hahaha, yeah women definitely have their own “subtle” ways of letting us know that they are receiving our undivided attention.

      I’ve been told that dropzone has a glitch or perhaps intended effect in that you don’t get XP for getting points while holding the dropzone… If that’s true that the only XP you get from dropzone is from kills… while even though the spawns are always close to the action is still not that great.

      Couple that with the fact that dropzone does not have streaks so you can’t use specialist at the same time and I still feel that other gametypes offer better leveling potential.

      1. Richard P

        February 21, 2012 at 4:10 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Well, since taking on your strategy, I’ve moved quickly from Prestige 2 to 7 in a short time. Close to level 60 now…and my dilemma is that most guns already have Marskman past 1000. So very soon – i won’t get that Double 10,000 XP.

        I know this strategy works well because my friend and I were at level 52 at the same time. Next couple of games, i’m at 54 and he’s still at 52. As we play, every time he levels – I’ve leveled twice already. and we get the same kills – many times he more than me :)

        Just writing to say thanks – really helped. I’ve never maxed out Prestige in any of the CoDs b4 – but i’m sure i’m going to reach Level 10 this time around.

        Hey – Infected is out – scoring is really slow so not even worth anything. Just destroys K/D (if it matters to people) BUT is LOADS of fun when you have several people running you down as you try to take them down.

        1. oTradeMark

          February 22, 2012 at 12:01 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          Yeah if you already have Veteran II on your favorite guns then you have 2 options, work towards veteran III on a weapon you like or discover a new weapon that you enjoy using. I find that there are several guns in the game I haven’t used very much that I do pretty good with when I pick them up off the ground.

          Thanks for reading

          1. Richard P

            May 11, 2012 at 1:58 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

            Drop Zone strategy is the new way to upload fast….
            50pts per kill
            20pts per sec in Drop Zone
            300pts per Care Package Helicopter Shot down
            Extra Points for shooting down Killstreaks

            You don’t even need to hold the drop down – just sit back with Blind Eye Pro and use LMG/AR to shoot down the Care Package Helicopters. The Average XP gained is twice that of Kill Confirmed and most of any other game type.

            Check it out.

  38. Spenarama(PS3)

    January 12, 2012 at 4:27 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey, Love your guide,

    It basically set me off into a whole new method of playing. I kinda wanted to check in with you about it.

    I made an excel spread sheet with all of the guns(other than the ones I had already used too much) and coded them with their attachments, kills, and headshot challenges. Also, I included proficiency’s and perks that I use on the next two rows.

    Basically, its a printed check list for all of my challenges, so I can check them off easily in real time, while playing a round. I find it to be an extra level of satisfaction, and I don’t waste as much time looking back and forth at the barracks screen.

    I am completely willing to e-mail it to anyone that wants to test it out. Super easy to plug in your own favorites. Just e-mail me, and I will send it when I can.
    :)

    1. oTradeMark

      January 12, 2012 at 10:30 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Great idea, I sent you an email if you want to send me the spreadsheet I will look it over.

    2. colton

      January 23, 2012 at 4:18 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hey can u send me that spread sheet thanks

      1. oTradeMark

        January 23, 2012 at 6:00 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        I will upload it once it’s done being edited

  39. JoJowarrior9

    January 15, 2012 at 6:51 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    hey can u tell me what the experience per each game is

    1. oTradeMark

      January 16, 2012 at 8:58 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Depends on your match bonus and how much you do in game… Also if you have double XP and if you complete challenges during the game then that is ended to your end of game total

  40. Jayy

    January 18, 2012 at 8:53 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Awesome guide, thanks very much for the time and effort you’ve put into it. It didn’t teach me anything new i don’t think but like a few other comments have said, its a great guide for newer players in the community and something I wish was around in the first couple of weeks I was playing the game.
    With regards to the guy a couple of comments ago about the excel spreadsheet (again awesome idea btw, you must have been very bored at work ;o) ). I’m a VBA code writer, which to cut the geek speak means I automate and do weird and wonderful things to spreadsheets for a living, If you wanted to send me the spreadsheet I could combine it with the gun/perk unlocked at level “X” “, XP and gun XP per kill per game type, XP rewards per attachment and XP required per level up to pretty easily write some coding script to outline the most optimum stratergy based on given variables (for example, average K/D per game, W/L ratio, preferred game types yes/no double XP etc etc).
    You could even recruit pretty low level page designer friend if you have one and you could link the info onto your page and make it completely intereactive. I have no online audience and such things don’t interest me so if you have a use for it I don’t mind occupying myself for a couple of hours to do it for you.
    Happy Hunting

    1. oTradeMark

      January 18, 2012 at 12:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for reading, hopefully the last few sections I add will help you out, as they are the most in depth and most advanced strategies for leveling up quickly.

      I will send you an email with the spreadsheets… I’m not sure exactly what you are going to do with them but it sounds cool =)

  41. gamer519pjhtty

    January 18, 2012 at 11:48 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Your a fucking nerd. You need to start fucking the ole lady some more. Does she know your a gammer nerd? Do you have a pic of her? Sounds like she needs a good fuck.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 18, 2012 at 12:38 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Cool story bro… Yes I’m a nerd, yes she knows I’m a nerd… Yes I have many pictures of her… Yes, she is absolutely beautiful… No, I’m not going to post a picture of her so you can jack off to the idea that a hot woman would actually marry a gamer.

      Now run off and keep dreaming that some day you will be half the man / boyfriend / husband / father that I am…

    2. pakman7313

      January 24, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Don’t mind this pre-pubescent child oTM. It’s kids like these that give a bad rep to gaming.

      gamer519pjhtty …. you’re not a gaming nerd? then why are you at this site reading his posts? I believe YOU, son, are the lonely loser that needs a good ram up your ass. Like you’ve probably heard many times from your mommy and daddy…”if you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” No one cares about your opinion!!! Now run along child with your magazine and relieve yourself.

      BTW…Great info oTM. Read every word and learned a lot. Thanks for spending time to share your knowledge. You probably don’t get paid to do all this but I know many benefited from it. GREAT JOB!!!!

      1. oTradeMark

        January 28, 2012 at 2:57 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Thank you very much for the comments, I’m glad it helped.

  42. OhioSmoka330

    January 18, 2012 at 12:09 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    how good is kill confirmed compared to domination? Also do you know of a way to rank up your guns fast?

    1. oTradeMark

      January 18, 2012 at 12:41 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Kill confirmed is on par if not better than domination. The more I play it the better leveling potential I see within it. I think it’s a matter of preference if you prefer TDM based games or objective based games.

      No real way to rank up guns fast… Weapon XP is only earned from kills and weapon challenges. One strategy I have heard but never tested was to use a prestige token for double weapon XP then play Search and Destroy. You “should” get 1000 weapon XP per kill, although I haven’t confirmed this

  43. corey

    January 18, 2012 at 10:35 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    it didint work for me

    1. oTradeMark

      January 23, 2012 at 5:14 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Can you be a little more specific? what didn’t work for you?

  44. enyxiel760

    January 19, 2012 at 10:47 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    hi, great guide. i knew alot of these tips already but its great for beginners/amateurs. One thing im anticipating are the custom class layouts. I never really felt like working out any optimum classes. Any idea on when they might be available and is there a way to subscribe or something to let me know when the guide gets updated? Also would it be possible to send me that spreadsheet, would like to take a look at that too, sound like it could save some time going back and forth in the barracks. Thanks for taking the time and effort in making this guide.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 23, 2012 at 6:47 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Custom classes will be launched with version 2 of my guide in a content locker portion of my site… it’s to help cover the costs of hosting the site due to the traffic this guide is receiving.

      You can follow me on twitter.com/oTradeMark, subscribe at youtube.com/oTradeMark for updates on when I post things.

  45. Lily

    January 23, 2012 at 2:16 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thank you for making such a fantastic guide. I just started playing COD in October so I’ve had a ton to catch up on, and I appreciate how you made this guide usable for less experienced players. I probably would not have tried to prestige at all if I hadn’t read this since I had no idea how the XPs were calculated (the one-line explanation of a bonus that pops up during a match after you complete a challenge is pretty much impossible to read, and COD Elite’s challenge tracker isn’t very descriptive either), it seriously just felt like numbers such as the match bonus were being generated at random. I also probably would have just stuck with TDM, but you sold Kill Confirmed and Team Defender so I tried them out and wow, they are way more intense and fun.

    Thanks again for all of the time you put into this & I’m looking forward to checking out more of your YouTube videos. I would definitely be interested in a Path to Prestige series for MW3 which you mentioned in your most recent video, that would be amazing. And lastly, I’m glad you mentioned that you’re not going to prestige past 8 because you like the icon… I thought I was the only one who thought about things like that (though I like the way 7 looks the best).

    1. oTradeMark

      January 23, 2012 at 5:17 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      I’m glad you enjoyed the guide… I like the 7th prestige icon as well… in fact if you look at the 8th prestige icon you will notice that in the center of the gold cross the 7th prestige icon is actually embedded inside of it… the best of both worlds =)

      1. Lily

        January 29, 2012 at 4:59 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Hey, thanks for taking the time to reply to all these comments. I’m still trying to get the first prestige, and had a question about the weapons challenges. Do you know why there is a discordance between the # kills counted under the Marksman and Veteran challenges? I thought they would be the same since I’m still at Prestige 0, but for example, my M4A1 Marksman lists 519 kills while the M4A1 Veteran has 501, and my G36C Marksman has 560 kills but the G36C Veteran only has 168. Or is that only happening to me for some reason…

  46. cellousxd

    January 23, 2012 at 7:59 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hello, your guide is absolutely amazing the in-depth breakdown is phenomenal and i just started using this tonight at level 62 and by morning i was already 21 levels into my 2nd prestige. I’m currently experimenting while also following your guide as my core resource, i never really got into COD until after Halo 3 but ive loved it ever since i started playing. I wanted to know a couple things, First off is your clan recruiting at all i would absolutely love to join and be around more players such as yourself that way i can learn and show other people tips like these. Second do you have any tips when it comes to sensitivity what ive come to realize is a lower sensitivity is more accurate and a higher setting is more alert, what is your preference? Lastly could you post some classes you have made that have customized for quicker leveling. Thank you i would really appreciate :D

    1. oTradeMark

      January 23, 2012 at 6:08 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      1. Our clan is at a stand still right now… Elite has a 100 member limit so I am trying to figure out a way to split the clan into multiple clans under 1 general leadership… details will come soon I hope

      2. I recommend playing at whatever sensitivity you do good at… 90% of pros play on 2-4 sensitivity.. A few exceptions play 5-6. No one really plays above that unless you are sniping or run and gun like an smg with steady aim.

      3. Custom classes and other content should be done shortly… I’m working out some details with a content locker to pay for the hosting costs I accrue.

      1. cellousxd

        January 23, 2012 at 8:37 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        How could i begin a clan of my own? is there a cost or anything? …and i do play at 5. or 6 but sometimes i find myself moving so quickly i shoot next to the enemy instead of at him.

  47. atackofthemilf

    January 23, 2012 at 8:02 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    super nifty guide, kinda cool to see that i am smart enough to level up on my own fairly quickly by doing what you, as a seemingly “pro” has done. for the things i hadnt thought of doing already, your guide was quite informative. it was actually worded well, tho long, and i appreciate the time you took to make this, thanx!

    1. oTradeMark

      January 28, 2012 at 3:57 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      thanks for reading!

  48. Scott

    January 24, 2012 at 4:23 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    So when you shoot down a helicopter for example it pops up saying +200… Is this straight XP? Does it reflect air support shot down in the post game overview thing that shows how you got all your xp? Doesn’t seem like it sometimes when I shoot down alot of air support I don’t notice it making much of a difference anywhere.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      It should be direct XP but I’ve never confirmed it. The post game overview will reflect all XP earned but it won’t break it down and say how you earned that XP.

  49. papadontpraech

    January 27, 2012 at 6:27 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Excellent info for a poor aimer like myself. Thanks for the breakdowns, they really shed light on what’s worth doing and what’s not.

    Now if only I could complete all the hard challenges .

    1. oTradeMark

      January 28, 2012 at 3:59 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thank you

  50. Dave

    January 27, 2012 at 11:56 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    So I have to purchase tokens to get past rank 80?? What’s up with the different colored tokens. Sorry for such a noob question but I’m at level 80 and wondering if my rank will return to 1 with a different colored token?? Or am I finished with promotions??

    Thanks

    1. oTradeMark

      January 28, 2012 at 4:00 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      If you choose to enter prestige mode you will reset your level to level 1 and earn a prestige token to use in the prestige shop. Then you can continue through the 80 levels again and you get a different emblem next to your name. There are 10 prestige levels and emblems to unlock before maxing out, at which time you can choose to reset your stats with your final token and start all over again, if you are crazy enough to do that…

  51. Kyle w.

    January 28, 2012 at 1:28 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Just watched your awesome YouTube video, that’s where I got you website and was wondering I u would tell how u have your class set up in those vids, I’m a run n’gun player but your setup looks easier then what I run…any help/info would be great.

    1. oTradeMark

      January 28, 2012 at 4:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hm, well setting up classes for leveling is different than setting up classes to do good.

      If I want a run and gun class that I own with I will setup this:
      Primary: PP90 rapid fire/ext mags or MP7 Range Silencer
      Secondary: Akimbo fmgs or mp9s
      Perks: Sleight of Hand, Hardline, Ninja
      Streak: Specialist rewards: Steady Aim, Assassin, Scavenger

      If I want to level quickly I would use a run and gun class that I can complete multiple challenges for at the same time. Something like
      Primary: whatever smg and attachment I’m working towards on the challenges
      Secondary: whatever machine pistol I haven’t gotten the mastery challenge for
      Perks: Ext Conditioning, Hardline, Steady Aim
      Streak: Specialist rewards: whatever perks I can compliment steady aim kills with (scavenger pro kills, sleight of hand kills, recon pro paints, etc)

  52. Michael

    January 30, 2012 at 9:29 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    You can also track your challenges on the mobile Elite app in addition of selecting up to 50 challenges to track. This is a great and easy way to see your current status “on the fly”.

    Great article oTM!

    1. oTradeMark

      January 31, 2012 at 1:01 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for the tip, do you have the iOS app or the droid app? I downloaded the droid app but it seemed very basic to me.

      1. Michael

        January 31, 2012 at 1:12 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        I have the Android app. Yes, its basic in a sense, but you have to select the challenges on the PC in order to see it on the mobile. However, it still is a neat little app, but needs more functionally, and user preferences. Hoping the developer will add and improve this app.

        Again, great article!

  53. BigTex

    January 31, 2012 at 1:27 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    6th prestige and 5 days played, first prestige took forever just trying to figure out the game. Anyways, I’m on my elite page right now changing classes and checking my challenges to maximize what I’ve been wasting. I’ve tried to in a way do what you’ve pointed out in this guide but no true research or thought really put into it.

    I’ve always worked at shooting down air support using the sam turrets and such. I have a specialist class that i use at the beginning of a dom game – SMG, ext cond,hard line, sit rep. pick up blast shield after the first flag and while dropping a trophy system and knifing it for my sit rep challenge. then i’m set up to speed to B. afterward i’ll switch to a class with assassin just because I hate showing up on the radar, makes rushing a lot more fun.

    500 kills seems perfect per gun plus the secondaries i never though about that. I used to tell everyone in BLOPS to shoot down air and to use money to buy all the guns they can, I used to run out of ammo not running scav, so I would pick up a fallen gun and if i bought that gun i’d get credit for the challenges even if not mine.

    Thanks again, I watch youtube vids all the time, I’ll definitely be subscribing.

    1. oTradeMark

      February 1, 2012 at 11:51 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for reading, have a good day.

  54. Matt

    January 31, 2012 at 6:41 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I found your chart of level/xp% quite useful to know about where I am in my prestiging.

    You say ” Experience wise, half way through a prestige is around level 60.” which is correct in terms of XP numbers but not quite in terms of time played since you get smaller xp bonus in the beginning and larger xp at the end. I don’t know enough math to figure it out, but can you look into it?

    1. oTradeMark

      February 1, 2012 at 11:50 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Yeah good point, I’m not sure exactly, but I plan on doing a path to prestige series on my youtube where I record every game necessary to prestige. That would allow us to determine where the half way point would be.

  55. Leconian

    February 1, 2012 at 10:18 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Very good guide. Thank you and I hope to stay up on future changes (although prest 10 is only a couple weeks away so I might get there before much more is added). Seriously the best straight-talking dollars & cents approach to leveling. It took me a few weeks to figure this stuff out on my own and you still managed to add some new things to my leveling strategy. Much of the playing time on my account is used up by my kids so my KD & WL is always shot but I try and build it back up for the 2 or three hours I get and I am able to get through each prestige in about 10-14 days (playing 2-3 hours a night) so I like my current pace.

    I never used specialist package before. I run assault packages until I get the bonuses for UAV, Care Pack & Pred because they are super easy – even without Hardline. Then I switch to support so I can get more of the higher rewards. After reading you guide a few days back, I am running a specialist package so all those bonuses are kicking in now while I am running through the last 300k exp of Prest 6. I think I will still do the easy (3,4,5) support & assault bonuses early but will be using specialist a lot more now once I pass the initial levels.

    A couple of comments:

    First is a “quick start” twist to your thinking. I also like the career weapon bonuses and they have helped me a lot but I do them a little differently. I like to get one of the lesser used weapons just to the edge (245-249 or 495-499) then let it sit until AFTER I prestige. My rationale is simply that when you are in the last 15 levels of a prestige (L65-80) you get a lot of experience just from game bonuses because your Scaler variable is so much higher, 5-10k exp per game. While you are in the first 15-20 levels of a prestige your game bonuses suck, less than 1k usually. So there is a significant benefit to passing through them in as few games as possible. The sooner you increase the Scaler the sooner you can get the higher game bonuses and your leveling will be much more efficient as a result. If Rule #1 is to win game for the bonuses then you have to also prioritize your current level as well.

    So the start of every prestige is basically: Get to level 4 in your first game (3100 exp).. Then complete all the BT challenges (save the sniper one) in the next game or two (they are all very easy – just ignore the ghille one) and get at least one 10k bonus from a weapon. Just with these few targets you get (18k for the 8 BT challenges + 10k for weapon bonus + 3100 for L4) about 31-35k exp (lvl 13-14) after just 2 or 3 matches. And this doesn’t include any of the other bonuses which should net you a few thousand on their own. At this point your other bonus tiers start kicking in so you can really get going quickly!!! Even for a mediocre player like me this is very doable!!!

    Secondly: You gave a really good class outline for a leveling class. But I almost feel like you are teasing us because I know you really need a few classes to get through 80 levels rapidly. And if you continue your reliance on challenges they pretty much should be completely different (to expose new bonus tiers). I am very curious to know what #2 and #3 are in your little bag of tricks when it comes to classes… Because this, I think, is what separates guys like you from the rest of us (that and a much better K/D and the fact that you don’t suck like we do)

    :)

    1. oTradeMark

      February 1, 2012 at 2:46 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thank you for reading.

      In regards to your first comment, getting quick starts on your leveling definitely helps you out as your match bonus is in part determined by your level. The only issue that getting veteran challenges to 290-299 or 490-499 before you prestige is that you are also going to miss out on that marksman challenge, since your marksman challenge will never be ahead of your veteran challenge. For example let’s say that during your first prestige you get 6 starting weapons to 299 kills, and then prestige. Your next prestige will start out with a huge jump start, since you are going to be able to get 6 kills with those 6 weapons and instantly jump up 60,000 XP. The issue is that you also missed out on 60,000 XP from the previous prestige, when you reset your marksman challenges during the prestige. For this reason I always recommend achieving both the marksman and veteran challenges during a prestige.

      One thing you can do however is line up your prestige challenges (separate challenge section that is not veteran challenges) to be able to complete them immediately after you prestige for a nice little early prestige boost.

      In regards to your second comment, yes I have several revisions that I am done with that I have not uploaded to the website yet. My entire website is going to be completely revamped with a new design and several new sections, to include more information than just the leveling guides. I also have had offers from people trying to purchase my guides to include on their own websites. I won’t be selling my guides but one thing I am in the process of doing is trying to upgrade to a dedicated server for my website and I want to somehow give people an incentive to support me through contributing to the website.

      More details will be released shortly. Thanks for stopping by.

      1. Leconian

        February 1, 2012 at 3:55 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        The logic of matching up the veteran & marksmen is good.. but I think it’s a bit late for that for me. I didn’t really start managing this until the 2nd or 3rd prestige so it was really off by then for too many weapons – plus my kids playing on my account screwed up a bunch of my favorites as they were overused. And I only do it with one or two bonuses per prestige. I am kind of rationing them as based on the 6 weapons I typically use for leveling (4 SMG / 2 AR). I have to assume a lot of others players are in my shoes in that respect and didn’t start their MW3 career with a managed plan and are now trying to make the best of their current situation. So I guess you could consider my tactic more of a “Plan B” – what to do if you didn’t do what you were supposed to do the first time through…

        The prestige challenges are a nice touch that I have not incorporated yet. I’ll have to figure them out tonight as I am L76 and will probably need to do something to prep one or two of them in the next few levels.

        Your guide caused me to look at another stat I wasn’t paying much attention to. Exp/Kill. I will start tracking this (as well as exp/day) as a way to determine my leveling efficiency..

        One more tip I would suggest: Don’t play large or problematic maps… at all!! If I’m soloing and the group picks a problem map I just leave because I know my kill & cap totals (domination almost exclusively) will be lower and therefore my exp/game will be lower. I know this upsets some people but time is precious and I would rather get my 20 kills and 5-6 caps in a small-medium map then spend the whole time running around for 3 captures and come away with 11 or 12 kills. For me this includes Interchange, Outpost and Mission; the first 2 because they are just too big and the last because it is too often abused by teams who can exploit the spawns down by position “A”. Liberation and Seatown are larger maps too but both have very playable close-range strategies for nubs like me and you can still get 4-5 caps a match. My vote will always go to the map where I typically get the most points (not necessarily the most kills). In domination, small maps mean more caps and usually more defends/kills as well..

        Thanks again for the great article and I look forward to more…

        1. oTradeMark

          February 2, 2012 at 11:57 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          Thanks for the input

      2. brad savage

        March 4, 2012 at 8:50 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        how many miles do you have to run to get extreme conditioning pro?

        1. oTradeMark

          March 6, 2012 at 1:12 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          http://callofduty.wikia.com/wiki/Extreme_Conditioning

          Extreme Conditioning returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as a Tier 1 perk. It allows users to sprint for eight seconds instead of the usual four. The Pro variant allows users to climb obstacles faster. It is unlocked at level 22, and the Pro version being unlocked after sprinting 20 miles.

          It seems like forever though… They really need to make Extreme Conditioning 4x sprint duration or Unlimited like Black Ops and then allow you to regenerate stamina faster. As it is now it is such an under powered perk.

  56. Gamezblog

    February 2, 2012 at 4:04 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    thanks for the awesome guide mate . Am stuck on the 80 not going up why is that ?

    1. oTradeMark

      February 2, 2012 at 11:15 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      When you max out at level 80 you need to go into barracks -> prestige mode -> more info -> prestige to actually move onto the next prestige. Be aware that this resets you to level 1 and takes away all your unlocks (as well as giving you a new prestige icon and prestige token). So only do it if you want to repeat the leveling process through 80.

  57. Henrik

    February 3, 2012 at 9:01 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    When will you update it to 1.4? :)

    1. oTradeMark

      February 6, 2012 at 6:02 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Next version will come out with the site redesign and will be version 2.0

  58. Steven Mucci

    February 4, 2012 at 6:32 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thanks for taking the time to make such a great guide. Reading this and watching the videos gave me a new perspective on playing MW3. BTW, what is your kill death ratio?

    1. oTradeMark

      February 6, 2012 at 6:05 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      If you have an xbox and elite account you can check out my stats and custom classes here:
      https://elite.callofduty.com/career/xbox/54d10030cc86b1b9fbc9f0d2bbcf8c80#/playercardmw3

      Right now my KD is 2.26 and WL is 85%… Although statistics like KD and WL are pretty poor variables to judge skill and are skewed drastically according to how you play and who you play with.

  59. Retro

    February 4, 2012 at 6:46 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thx for the guide can u personally train me to get better plz I really need a coach

    1. oTradeMark

      February 6, 2012 at 6:06 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hm… I used to do paid training sessions but don’t really do that anymore… I would recommend watching livestreams or youtube videos.

  60. dustyh

    February 6, 2012 at 1:39 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Quick question…. Do silencers affect the damage dealt by the gun. Let’s says it takes 4 hit markers to take down an enemy at so many yards. Will it take 5-6 hit markers to take down that enemy with a silencer attached to your gun?

    1. oTradeMark

      February 6, 2012 at 6:26 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Silencers make it so that your weapon damage drop off begins at a shorter distance. For example the ACR does 45 damage up close and 30 damage at long distance. The damage begins to drop at a range of 1000 units (~25 meters using the XM25 distance) and then at 1500 units the gun hits it’s minimum damage value of 30 damage. If you put a silencer on the ACR the damage will begin to drop off 25% sooner, at 750 units and reach it’s minimum damage value at a shorter distance as well. The range proficiency gives you a 25% longer distance before damage drop off begins, so range + silencer cancel each other out..

      In other words, adding a silencer to any weapon will make it the same amount of hits required to kill up close and at a long distance, but at mid range there are going to be certain distances where your weapon requires 1 more shot.

      1. dustyh

        February 6, 2012 at 9:18 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Thanks for the reply. That’s what I was thinking, but I thought I’d ask the cod expert. Awesome article, thanks for taking the time and putting it together!

        1. oTradeMark

          February 7, 2012 at 11:26 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

          Reply

          you’re welcome… also about range + silencer on SMG’s… I was wrong.. After reading some things I think it’s multiplicative and the silencer is calculated first before the range… so a silenced SMG + range would have about 94% of it’s original drop off range. (which is pretty good considering the advantages of a silencer)

          1. xX_SHINOBI_Xx

            February 9, 2012 at 5:04 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

            First things first – Thank you very much for this massively helpful and substantial article! Also I did know a lot of stuff already – it´s a great overview!
            When it comes to the loadouts: SMG + range + silcencer is beast, especially with the MP7 equipped (no secret I guess).

            Sometimes I got the feeling that the damage drop off varies… strange thing. :D hahaha
            One more time – I´m really excited to see your loadout recommandations ;)

            Personally I love to play different styles with different loadouts – makes it more challenging and keeps the game interesting IMO… My k/d suffers though (1,53) beacause of that playstyle -> anways as you mentionef before – It´s all about the fun you´re getting out of the game. And it is a real huge load of fun to track down dozens of enemies with the Model1887 or to build up a makeshift assault rifle with the RSASS e.g. :D

            thx again
            Greetz from germany!

          2. oTradeMark

            February 9, 2012 at 10:53 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

            Thanks for stopping by! I will post on my youtube channel when the site redesign is launched so feel free to subscribe at youtube.com/oTradeMark

          3. xX_SHINOBI_Xx

            February 9, 2012 at 12:47 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

            Yes bud – did it seconds ago ;) love your “How to win stuff…” vid and the message along with it. Maybe it´s the age (I´m 28 myself) but I got the feeling that´s it´s getting more rude from version to version. If you´re good player you are getting loads of negative mail (same in the pen btw). Well let´s hope your vids change some mind ;) greetz

  61. Im Bakes ONC

    February 9, 2012 at 3:47 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Dear Otrademark,
    I Have a tip (if this is in your artical im sorry i just wanna tell u) Have a great gun in a class, with a stinger, an EMP and a Frag, Scavenger, Sitrep, and somthing else. Use the stinger to take down aircrafts, use emp on Pave lows, and a Frag if you run out of ammo. Sitrep will make you unstopable from Claymores, Bouncing bets. Ect
    If you want, My gamer tag is Im Bakes Irl

    1. oTradeMark

      February 13, 2012 at 6:55 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for the tip, you sound like a very helpful teammate, your class setup is extremely beneficial for your team.

      Send a friend request to the gamertag “GamingUpgrade”. It is a gamertag I made for all the people who find me through this website.

  62. Amir

    February 10, 2012 at 5:36 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thank you for detailed information. I have been playing games since pacman ! FPS’s since Unreal, but with online games I find it hard to stay alive long. MW2 was terrible for me and I never reached higher than Lv 30 (although I didn’t play it for that long), MW3 is a bit better since at least I can see red names over enemies. I am in level 50 and it has taken me quite a bit of time (24 hours or so of playing it) to get to that. Although I am better than before because I know where enemies can emerge and I have better guns, my reaction time is not as fast as my days playing Unreal Tournament online and normally being on top. Since you are married with children, I am wondering how old you are and whether my slower reaction time can be associated with my age, or I will have better skills once I reach level 80. I am 35.

    1. oTradeMark

      February 13, 2012 at 6:54 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      I am still in my 20′s so I don’t think my physical speed has degraded at all but I do think that staying alive has a lot more to do than just reaction speed.

      To me, how good you are or “skill” in Call of Duty or any FPS for that matter is broken down into 5 areas:
      1. Reaction speed – This is pure physical and mental reaction speed. How quick can you react when seeing someone… How fast can you pull the trigger. Twitch reflexes. This area will obviously be affected by your physical condition and age as well as factors like eyesight, general health, etc.
      2. Controller skills – Controller skill or skill on “the sticks” is the physical ability to manipulate the controller you are using. This is similar to reaction speed but different. This is how well your hands do what your mind is telling them to do. How long can you keep your gun on target of the enemy, how well can you manipulate the controller to do what you want. For example jumping into a prone drop shot 180 requires a lot of controller skill.
      3. Game knowledge – game knowledge itself is broken down into a ton of areas and this is in my opinion the biggest area for most people to improve on. Game knowledge includes map layouts, spawn manipulation, weapon statistics, game physics, etc. The best way to improve your game knowledge is reading, watching and practicing. Reading guides like this one, watching streams and videos on youtube, then taking that information and applying it to in game practice.
      4. Mental awareness – mental awareness is the ability for your mind to absorb all of the information being given to you in the game and then your capacity to react and adapt to that information. Inexperienced gamers have static mindsets. They watch only what is happening right in front of them and they have a very narrow focus. Very experienced gamers are able to absorb everything going on around them. They hear their teammates, they see the dots on their minimap, they know approximately how many shots are left in their current magazine and how much ammunition they have in reserve, they know the score of the game and how much time is left in the game, they hear footsteps, gunshots, equipment, and explosions, they see the edges of enemy weapons and equipment poking out around a corner. They are absorbing everything that they see, hear and feel within the game and then reacting to that information. Mental awareness works hand and hand with game knowledge. If you see a dot on the mini-map but can’t envision in your mind where that person is located, your mental awareness goes to waste.
      5. Intuition – Intuition is the ability to sense or feel what is going to happen. Intuition separates good players from great players. I know that this area can sound silly but this is essentially your gamer instincts so to speak. It is the ability to sense what is going to happen based upon your previous experiences and current premonitions. Intuition without being strong in the above 4 areas is useless, but this is how champions are born. It is a players ability to go beyond their practice, and sense what is necessary to win.

      If I had to suggest an area to work on in order to generally get “better” at a game I would suggest starting with game knowledge. That is the most basic thing you can do to improve your skill in a game. After that work on your mental awareness. Reaction speed is inherent and controller skill is just developed over time. Intuition isn’t really something that can be taught but just something you learn to recognize over time.

  63. alpha

    February 13, 2012 at 8:09 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    thank you for doing this but what guns should i use if i want to be hidden from enemies. for example i use the scar-l with acog and and silencer with assassin pro, blind eye pro and stalker pro. is that a good setup

    1. oTradeMark

      February 13, 2012 at 6:18 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Well as far as being “hidden” on radar any gun with a silencer does the trick. If you want one that is relatively quiet sound wise I’m not sure which gun results in a lower dB… I like the PP90m1 or the MP7 silenced. ACR is beast silenced but it is still kind of loud.

      Also, Blind Eye and Assassin are good for hiding from enemies but Dead silence is better for stealth than stalker… especially combined with a surround sound headset.

  64. prosteel85

    February 13, 2012 at 5:53 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    hey mate, all good stuff in here, just wanted to let u know that wen u play demolition after level 60 or so u get a savage amound of xp, if u win and the game goes on for quite a bit u can end up with 5-6000 xp just for winning and then 2-3000 if u lose, so thats a total of 9000xp which is almost as good as getting 300 kills with a weapon, its only good to play in later levels tho

    1. oTradeMark

      February 13, 2012 at 6:56 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for the info, I will have to do a direct comparison of gametypes at some point.

  65. SmileWhenUHeil

    February 14, 2012 at 6:02 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    great guide dude. very usefu; information and all your math seems to be perfectly in line with my calculations i did on my own. bravo

    1. oTradeMark

      February 14, 2012 at 6:00 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for reading.

  66. Hello

    February 14, 2012 at 11:38 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    What do you think about S&D, it gives you lots of xp if u destroy a objective and around 1500 round xp, round xp not match xp, and usually i get 10 kills so in total i get 10000-12000 xp per match, and tell what you think about sabotage as well.

    1. oTradeMark

      February 14, 2012 at 6:00 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      S&D is great if you can consistently do well in it. The only issue is that you are going to complete very few barracks challenges since most of them are kill/task related. If you did S&D throughout an entire prestige you would see that almost all of your XP comes from in game actions and very little of it comes from challenges. That being said, double XP with S&D is great leveling potential.

      There are certain methods in sabotage that would allow high point and XP gains but they require the co-operation of your team.

  67. Scott

    February 15, 2012 at 12:49 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Just wanted to let you know I was able to cut down my time to prestige from ~24 hrs when not paying attention to XP to ~18 hrs when following your guide and watching weapon/perk XP. Also I found a good Support setup that I think gives pretty good XP and helps the team alot. I run UAV and Ballistic vest leaving the 3rd spot open. With Hardline on it takes only 4 points to get your 100xp for UAV and 200 + pickups for vests. Also this means your team always has UAV and vests litter the floor everywhere. I play mostly Domination which has a more predictable spawn pattern so it works well for this method as your team spawns near your vests more often.

  68. snook

    February 15, 2012 at 3:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    1. thanks a ton oTradeMark. great info. I’m at prestige 7 and went from lvl 12 to 16 in one match. this is easily faster than what I was doing prior.
    Wish I would have found your site before unlocking the FAD, lol.

    2. your youtube channel needs more MW3 videos, unless I just don’t understand how to view them?

    3. questions about the one gun at time to 500 kills. even at my prestige is it still the best way to go?
    and is it like this; ACR to 500 kills then M4 etc. excluding using other guns until I reach 500 kills for ACR?
    or can it be AR, SMG, LMG, trying to get them all to 500 in different match settings?

    4. again, many thanks. you’re a credit to the COD family.

    1. oTradeMark

      February 16, 2012 at 1:44 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      1. Thanks for reading, glad it’s helping.
      2. Yeah stay tuned I have quite a few series I will be launching when I start the youtube channel growth contest
      3. Check your current marksman challenges compared to your veteran challenges. There are 2 veteran challenges that are key. Veteran 1 at 500 kills and Veteran 2 at 1000 kills. This is for every primary gun in the game (atleast AR’s and SMG’s). You want your marksman challenges to line up to those veteran challenges before moving onto another weapon to be most efficient.

      For example let’s say your ACR has 200 kills in your current prestige… but your veteran challenge is up to 750 kills. If you get 250 more kills you will get 10k experience for veteran 2 (1000 kills) but you would only be at 450 kills for marksman. If you were to prestige at that point you miss out on the 10k marksman challenge for the ACR to hit 500 kills on the marksman.

      So to be most efficient you want to be getting the following challenges each prestige for the primary weapons you choose to use during that prestige:
      1. Mastery challenge (unlock all attachments) = 10k XP
      2. Marksman challenge VI (500 kills) = 10k XP, or if your veteran challenge is not aligned go at least to Marksman V (300 kills) and make sure you get mastery.
      3. Veteran challenge I (500 kills) = 10k XP, or if you already have veteran I from another prestige get to veteran challenge 2.

      As you can see… If you were to get 2500 kills per prestige, you would go through 5 weapons each prestige for a total of 2 prestiges before moving onto 5 new primary weapons. If you were to do this same thing for all 10 prestige levels then you would use approximately 25 primary weapons by the time you maxed out.

  69. KASANOVA PRIME

    February 15, 2012 at 7:12 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    so i die alot my KDR is like 0.80..any tips on staying alive long enough to level up …would i have to resort to camping..or finding a solid team

    1. oTradeMark

      February 16, 2012 at 1:45 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Team play is important to getting big match bonuses. As far as strategy goes I think camping is actually a slower leveling method. But my playstyle caters to fast paced rushing and it’s what I enjoy so that may play a factor in my decision as well.

      Subscribe to my youtube channel: youtube.com/oTradeMark.

      I’m going to be posting a video series to help people that are struggling with the game and want to get better.

  70. snook

    February 16, 2012 at 5:48 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    thanks for the response oTradeMark., (oTM after this to save typing. lol)
    I’m really impressed by your commitment to respond to my and others questions.
    as an older man, I understand time, family and life are important and this steals some of that time.
    so thanks again.

    ok, enough smoke blowing :P

    so I can make sure I have the logic correct; current levels of two primary weapons,

    1. ACR: 15/500 for marksman 10,000 xp bonus
    2500 kills already achieved.

    2. MP7: 180/300 for marksman 10,000 xp bonus
    1828/2500 veteran 10,000 xp bonus

    so, the ACR is really only good for 10,000 xp in any further prestige and actually robs me
    of xp that can be gained by say the M4A1 that I have very few kills using.

    the MP7 is out of whack as far as timing of marksman and veteran but the same can be said once I hit 2500 kills

    Your post was clear on this I think. I’m just confirming my understanding.

    I think prestige 9 has the best emblem to me, so I’ll probably stop there…then it’s just better my aim as much as I can.

    thanks oTM
    -snook

    1. oTradeMark

      February 16, 2012 at 6:57 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Exactly, the ACR is essentially hurting you at this point because no veteran challenges are being rewarded. Usually when a gun hits 500 kills in line with a veteran challenge you earn 20k exp while with your ACR you would only be earning 10k exp.

      The MP7 is out of line of the veteran challenge but at least there is still something there to be earned. You could get the Marksman V (300 kills) this prestige then work towards 550 kills the next prestige which would get you both Marksman VI and Veteran III on your next prestige.

      The M4 as you have already pointed out, is the best of all 3 weapons since it has it’s full potential for 2 prestige levels. Marksman, Mastery, and Veteran for 2 prestiges.

      If you need weapon suggestions, these are the guns I used while leveling up. I used each of them for at least 2 prestiges, getting them to 500 kills for the Marksman/Mastery/Veteran combo. A few of the guns: MP7, ACR, PP90 were used in 5 prestiges to get all the way to veteran III.

      Primaries:
      MP7, ACR, PP90m1, G36, P90, Type 95, M4, MK14, Striker

      1. snook

        February 16, 2012 at 8:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Cool, you can teach an old dog new tricks!
        I look forward to your upcoming info/videos.

        I’ll have to sub something for the MK14. I can’t hit a dead cat with that thing, lol.

  71. Matt

    February 18, 2012 at 5:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Which levels Hardline faster to pro, specialist or assault with 3, 4, 5?

    1. oTradeMark

      February 20, 2012 at 4:09 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Well assault will get hardline pro faster, but specialist has better leveling potential so I use specialist almost exclusively once I get to level 20.

  72. john

    February 19, 2012 at 1:01 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    If you want to get brutal then get a guide or some on to teach you how to play. *edited by admin*

    1. oTradeMark

      February 20, 2012 at 4:11 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      I agree that reading guides and watching videos can help you get better at the game… but don’t post your affiliate links on my site thanks

  73. nice guide

    February 19, 2012 at 3:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    nice guide but.. i cant use it.. *not anymore :( ((( * i got stuck on prestige 1. i cant go 2 prestige 2… when i get a screen that i go 2 prestige 2. it does nothing. it just reset the xp with 3k each time. but i still get the prestige tokens.. im sick of it . got around 7 prestige tokens. when im still on prestige 2 mode. + i hope i dont get banned for it because its a stupid glitch and i dunno how 2 fix it… its just sad that this happend 2 me. 2 much glitches in mw3. like : the time of playing = wrong. when i look on the main page i saw i did 1 day and 11 hours. *barrack screen , multiplier : 2 days 13 hours* :( ((

    1. oTradeMark

      February 20, 2012 at 4:12 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hm, that’s very strange. I’m guessing if you contacted iw/sh support they could reset you completely to level 1… It’s not the best “fix” but at least you could level normal again.

  74. Aaron

    February 21, 2012 at 12:30 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey, really nice guide. Thanks for taking the time to put it together! Now this may be a silly question, but I have seen people on the lobby leaderboard who have 500 kills and they are prestige level 6 and up. Their score is equal to the amount of kills they have. How could they be prestige 6 and have such a low score?

    I don’t want to call anyone a cheater, but this seems strange to me. It doesn’t bother me, just curious. As long as they’re not lag switching and using an aimbot, then I really don’t care.

    1. oTradeMark

      February 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hm, I’m not sure about kills but Elite is not very accurate in regards to a lot of things. For example HardCore hours are not counted on Elite. That’s why you can see people prestige 10 with only like 10 hours played because they play mostly HardCore gametypes.

      I’m guessing it’s just a glitch like that. But you can always report people via in game function and on the elite support section and they will look into players like that. Thousands of players have been reset for boosting or cheating in MW3 already so they do look into it.

      1. Aaron

        February 25, 2012 at 3:14 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Thanks, I have noticed that Elite is not very accurate in my recent match stats, but I didn’t know that Elite doesn’t count Hardcore hours. I wonder why there is such a disconnect between Elite stat tracking and the game stat tracking? Anyway, thanks again.

  75. FaZe_CaMo

    February 23, 2012 at 1:32 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey man I have a question you must know alot about what’s going on with mw3 and I have heard from several people now that it might be going to prestige 20???! Is this true?!!

    1. oTradeMark

      February 23, 2012 at 11:38 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      The latest update unlocked 5 new prestige levels. Some people supposedly cracked the game files and found prestige icons for 10 more prestige levels but the final 5 probably won’t be unlocked until a later DLC drop.

      I think it’s a great idea except all of the icons from 11-20 are identical except for a roman numeral change above the icon… which to me is ridiculous… It would have taken them 30 minutes a piece to make some minor changes to each icon.

  76. MDC

    February 23, 2012 at 6:08 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Great post and some excellent tips. Nice to see others in my age range (early 30′s) in this forum. Im going to post about how I play, and levelling tips for MW3 later (not that Im amazing, just a few useful tips for some maybe), but I wanted to point something out that I noticed yesterday. I entered into my 6th prestige yesterday, and while working through my 5th prestige I got the MP5 to 496 kills so I could use it after lvl 4 in a custom class and get the 10,000 XP bonus when it hit 500 to give me a bit of a ranking boost right out of the gate. This worked fine, but the unintended effect that I got was that after the game, the MP5 which I had about 8 kills with was a weapon level 9 or maybe 10. The same result happened with the MP9, I used it after it is unlocked at lvl 16 (I think) I got about 10 kills with it and after the game it was at lvl 10. So Im guessing that the levelling of weapons is actually tied to the XP earned with the weapon, instead of the kills with the weapon. Unless this is some type of glitch, maybe something to do with the 1.09 patch? Thoughts anyone? Thanks.

    -MDC

    1. oTradeMark

      February 23, 2012 at 11:48 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hello, thanks for reading. Weapon XP is earned by getting kills with a weapon and completing challenges for a weapon. So as you have stated completing a veteran challenge early in a prestige instantly jumps that weapon level up to a high level.

      The only issue with this as pointed out to a previous reader is that if you stop getting kills right before 500 kills, your veteran kills stay in place but your marksman kills get reset. So let’s say your MP5 had 495/500 kills for Marksman VI and 998/1000 kills for Veteran II. When you prestige you could get 2 kills with the MP5 and get 10,000 XP and a huge boost on your weapon level. But you also missed out on the 10,000 XP you would have gotten the previous prestige from the final 5 kills of the marksman VI challenge.

      So the only time I would recommend saving a veteran challenge for an early level in a new prestige is when your marksman challenge and veteran challenge are not aligned. Let’s say that you have 320/500 kills for Marksman VI and 495/500 kills for Veteran I (because you used that gun for 175 kills in a previous prestige)… In this case you have already gotten the 10k for the Marksman V challenge and are still 180 kills away from Marksman VI… so in this rare circumstance it would be okay to save that weapon for the next prestige when you could utilize that quick Veteran boost.

  77. BlackRaven46

    February 23, 2012 at 11:20 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thanks for the info. I was already using this kind of information to prestige in a fastrack way, but your extra information will help me more. What I do to prestige faster is to complete the challenges playing War Zone, where you can have either Kill Confirmed, Team Deathmatch or Domination, and playing with the different perks to obtain the challenges. I will change weapons as soon as I get the mastery (but avoid getting the challenge of the shotgun, I suck with it), and usually it will take me three to four weapons (asault rifles) to get the prestige.
    I have a question, a friend of mine told me that there is a way to finish a marksmen challenge so that you will see the others team red names without putting down the sights. Do you have any info on this?
    Thanks

    1. oTradeMark

      February 26, 2012 at 7:58 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Yeah, ground war is a good way to level up fast because there is always a lot of players to kill. In regards to seeing enemy names there is no “challenge” per se that allows you to see enemies names but the perk in tier 3 called “Marksman” allows you to see enemies from further away and you can see their names through smoke and other debris. I imagine your friend was referring to this perk. It’s a very underrated perk although I still prefer dead silence or sit rep pro in tier 3.

  78. Potato_Sniper

    February 24, 2012 at 10:30 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Such an informative, amazingly thought out, detailed and well-put together guide!!!!!! Do you have a youtube channel? If so, im definitely subscribing!!

    1. oTradeMark

      February 26, 2012 at 7:49 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thank you for the post. I do have a youtube channel it is youtube.com/oTradeMark

  79. matt

    February 25, 2012 at 12:28 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I was gonna stop leveling my pp90 as I had already maxed out on veteran points, but I noticed that I was 7/8 in mastery challenge which is 10k points. I’ll probably get the mastery (gun level 26) in few more kills then I’ll already hve 400 kills, so I might as well go to 500 for the next 10k points. Did you account for ther mastery 10k pts when you say you should not level weapons more than 2 prestiges?

    1. oTradeMark

      February 26, 2012 at 7:53 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      The 3 challenges you should complete for a primary weapon in a prestige is Marksman VI (500 kills), Veteran I or II (500 or 1000 kills), and then Mastery (all attachments unlocked). The reason I don’t use a weapon more than 2 prestiges is because Veteran III challenge is not reached until 2500 kill. So your first 2 prestige levels you would be getting 20,000 experience when you hit 500 kills, but the 3rd prestige you would only get 10,000 XP (Marksman VI).

  80. gamer 12

    February 26, 2012 at 9:06 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    hi i have like the game alot is there any point in me going for 2500 kills with my acr when i just got over a 1000

    1. oTradeMark

      February 27, 2012 at 4:18 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      If you really like the ACR and play much better with it than other Assault Rifles then you might want to take it to 2500 kills. But don’t get the rest of your 1500 kills in the same prestige. I recommend you split those 1500 kills up into 3 prestige levels at 500 kills a piece. That way you are still getting the Marksman and Mastery challenges for the weapon. Basically you never want to be getting kills on a weapon that isn’t working towards multiple challenges at the same time.

  81. zak

    February 27, 2012 at 11:53 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    just got mw3 why do you get so less xp than black ops

    1. oTradeMark

      February 28, 2012 at 1:33 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hm… I’m not sure what you mean. XP per action in MW3 is pretty similar to Black Ops. There aren’t things like contracts in MW3 but there is a lot of leveling potential through the various challenges in MW3.

  82. FNG Elite

    February 28, 2012 at 4:53 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Awesome guide mate!
    so profetional, great job!
    I will be using this method from prestige 10th to 20th (im sure they will release other 5 prestiges in couple of months

    1. oTradeMark

      February 28, 2012 at 7:44 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for reading, hope it helps.

  83. Beatspray

    February 28, 2012 at 4:58 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Great Guide! For people who are looking for xp, try Hardcore Search and Destroy. Just camp around somewhere good and kill enemies without dying. hardcore is because so u can kill people faster and not get spotted on radar.

    1. oTradeMark

      February 28, 2012 at 7:46 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Yeah HC S&D is a good mode for campers or people that are very patient/defensive. Overall HC is too boring for my tastes but it’s a good suggestion. Thanks for commenting.

  84. TG23

    February 29, 2012 at 3:32 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thanks for posting this guide. It’s very informative. Out of interest whats your average number of kills in a game of tdm? You must be getting a good number of kills In each game to rank up fast?

    1. oTradeMark

      February 29, 2012 at 1:56 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Well I don’t typically play TDM, but it will depend on if you are playing with a team or not. If I roll solo then I will usually get about 30-40 kills per TDM game. If I run with a team I usually only get 15-30 kills as my teammates are very good as well.

  85. matt

    February 29, 2012 at 9:14 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey I love the site and also made a MW3 calculator. check it out if you get a chance to its cool i think. Also i would like to mention this site in the description and was wondering if that would be ok with you.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ORyBq9X9PQ

    Thanks for taking the time to make this site.

    1. oTradeMark

      March 1, 2012 at 4:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hey Matt,

      That looks like a pretty cool spreadsheet/calculator you have.

      Feel free to link to this site anytime.

      I have another person who contacted me and showed me a spreadsheet that allows you to easily track your challenges.

      It would be cool if we could take all the spreadsheets and combine them into one public one online through google spreadsheets or a tool on this website.

      1. matt

        March 15, 2012 at 12:32 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        definetly, email me at matt.mows@yahoo.com and maybe we can merge them somehow.

  86. Micah M

    March 1, 2012 at 10:03 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Great guide! You seem to know a lot about score calculation. I have been trying to find out how to get your end score to be higher than your kills plus assists. I see it every once in a while where some one will have more points than what they would get from their kills and assists on the final scoreboard. Example: 10 kills and 4 assists would give you a final score of 1080. I have seen people with, say 10 kills and 4 assists, with a higher final score than 1080. This is on TDM, not an objective game. Any help would be great, I have tried everything and am completely stumpped. Thanks!

    1. oTradeMark

      March 6, 2012 at 1:18 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      That is strange. To be honest I don’t know the answer to your question. I have seen all sorts of strange things happen in regards to the score notifications. For example I posted a video on my youtube channel where I got 2 captures that said I got +37 points. +37 is not really a score you should ever get for any action in game but it happened twice. Everyone came up with all these wild conspiracy theories saying that I had some glitch or mod that allowed me to rack up dozens of captures at one time. lol, some people.

      Check it out here:

      1. Micah M

        March 7, 2012 at 9:23 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        The answer is use the recon drone. I happend to run into one of the top 100 recon drone users in the world online tonight who confirmed that the points you get from the recon drone show up in your final score. Next step is to test this out… next time since I didn’t unlock it yet.

    2. Leconian

      March 12, 2012 at 6:55 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Assuming TDM and therefore no objective points: I believe that things like multi-kill bonuses show in the game score (maybe because they are tied to actions which are part of the game score). I can’t confirm/deny the recon drone but that would make sense as well as it is tied to an event that is reflected in the game score (assists). Once I started seeing large increases in gamescores from multi-kills I started to watch it and it seems like they go to the game’s score. And these can get huge if you have a few triples in a match.

  87. UrbanBanana

    March 3, 2012 at 10:51 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thanks for the great guide! I am having trouble recruiting people for my PS3 clan on Elite. Have any ideas on recruiting people or other ideas?

    1. oTradeMark

      March 6, 2012 at 1:09 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Right now it’s very hard to recruit players because there are basically no founders left and Elite basically failed with their launch of clan ops, so clans don’t have a way to level up and promote themselves.

      First off, you need to define a purpose for your clan. Are you trying to win all the clan operations? Are you trying to unlock emblems, titles and double XP? Are you trying to meet new people and have a good time?

      Once people know what you can offer them as a clan they are more prone to joining. You usually want to define a demographic as well. Like clans that say 20 years or older or 2+ K/D put restrictions on what they allow and make the clan feel more exclusive to your prospective members.

      Other than that, just play with people on xbox live and get to know new people then ask them if they know about COD elite. Maybe explain to them what the benefits of joining a clan are and ask them if they want to join yours.

  88. Chris

    March 5, 2012 at 5:34 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Great Guide! I was able to reach tenth prestige in a little over 4 days of game time played thanks to this guide. What are your thoughts on prestige challenges?

    1. oTradeMark

      March 6, 2012 at 1:14 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Prestige challenges are nice but usually I don’t specifically work for them. They just happen. It’s always good to be “aware” of what challenges to go for but if you tried to get all the challenges in the game every game your mind would explode. There is just too much to do. And there are also challenges that have very difficult tasks to complete that don’t make it worth the XP you gain.

  89. MDC

    March 5, 2012 at 6:46 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Just to reiterate oTradeMark’s point on how important winning is to help you rank up faster: Im a big stats guy, so I have kept careful stats on each prestige so far, (just entered my 8th) so I can see how I have improved through each prestige. It had taken me, on average, about 27 hours to get thorought my last 4 prestiges, with a K/D of about 0.98 and a win % of 45. On my most recent prestige, it took me just under 23 hours, with a K/D of 1.05, but a win % of 52. I can also tell you that I did _not_ average a great number of more kills/game, nor did I complete a ton of extra 10K challenges. The only difference was the win percentage. So a 7% increase may seem small, but taking about 4 hours off prestiege time is pretty huge. I will also point out that it is more beneficial to win games while you are higher rank, as per the match bonus formula above. since your winning doubles your match bonus, which is based off your rank. I know everyone wants to win every game, Im just saying it is better to win 20 in a row at the end of your prestige than at the start, in terms of saving time to get you to the next prestige.

    1. oTradeMark

      March 6, 2012 at 1:14 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Good point, match bonus relates to your level… so the discrepancy in XP between a win and a loss is much more at higher levels.

      Thanks for commenting

  90. Nic

    March 7, 2012 at 10:40 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Hey, although I don’t play this, the info is really great for anytime I have questions, thanks alot man.
    Just a tip, if you were to remove maybe 1-2 words a sentence, or make a few things simpler, you may be able to get more people to read it since it would seem shorter.
    Just a tip, please don’t think im trying to tell you what to do like others probably would.

    1. oTradeMark

      March 8, 2012 at 3:18 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for the advice, when version 2 comes around I will try to simplify it. The videos should also help make it easier for people who want to listen rather than read the material.

  91. steveo

    March 8, 2012 at 4:40 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    If you can make a blog on completing challenges I’d be happy to submit the rationale on how to complete them all.
    The only two I have yet to do is ‘Dictator’, but there doesn’t appear to be a legit way to complete it and deflecting 50k bullets with the riot shield because it’s god awful time consuming…..

    p.s. Finishing Moves: Droppin Crates is super easy if you know what you’re doing on Free-for-all. Got it on my second try legit.

    1. oTradeMark

      March 13, 2012 at 12:08 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for the offer, I already kind of do something like that occasionally on streams where I hunt for specific challenges.

  92. Wenkster

    March 14, 2012 at 11:44 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Trying to get most of the emblems and titles unrelated to gun and prestige challenges… I am having a hard time getting the 10 kills while enemies are diffusing bombs. I have tried sabotage and search and destroy and have only gotten 5 out of 10. Sometimes I think I get another one but the enemy must let go of planting before I kill him all the way (if that makes sense). I also tried getting the kills while enemies are planting and managed to get 9 out of 10 and need one more. I am the 5th prestige level 65 and trying to do this before I can go to the next prestige because I don’t wanna waste XP just trying to get emblems. Any thoughts on how I can manage to get these more quickly??

    Thanks oTradeMark and good article!

    1. oTradeMark

      March 19, 2012 at 8:11 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Well, I wouldn’t recommend going for challenges that are difficult to complete until you are done prestiging. If you are trying to unlock a specific emblem or title that’s one thing but a lot of challenges are terrible for leveling and are only recommended when necessary.

      I will be doing a video series on how to unlock hard titles/emblems though so stay tuned.

  93. John

    March 14, 2012 at 2:43 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    My K/D is .085 is that terrible meaning i got to use support D: im also really great using specialist.

    Also what is the best game mode to get alot of exp!

    1. oTradeMark

      March 19, 2012 at 8:12 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      No, that’s not terrible. But I would definitely suggest running support as you will get more XP over time than specialist when you are dying more than killing.

      Best game mode for a support player is objective modes where you get points for doing stuff. Domination is a good idea or ground war allows you to shoot down a lot of stuff.

  94. jmpl37

    March 16, 2012 at 12:46 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Great info !!! very well done. I get killed a lot and finding it hard to level up as only starting now and everyone is a few prestige levels and im only 34 level very informitive, Thanks

    1. oTradeMark

      March 19, 2012 at 6:45 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for stopping by!

  95. snooknine

    March 18, 2012 at 3:03 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    update, what this guide did for my prestige time :

    prior to finding this site I was prestige 7 with most
    good/liked weapons used to the point they would not earn
    me max XP, per the formula oTradeMark laid out above .
    I used the ones that were left, that I liked, and could give me max XP.
    I didn’t track prestige 8 to 9 because I forgot.

    the math:
    prestige 1-9 took 329 hours total or 36.5 hours avg per
    prestige. 9 to 10 took 27 hours, saving me 9.5 hours on
    that prestige, I followed this information as well as I could.
    but, I play solo TDM 85-90% of the time so match win bonuses
    where infrequent, so it probably would have been faster.
    I’m prestige 11 as of now and feel that I got to it faster than 9-10.
    no numbers to back that up though.
    If you follow this guide even half the time (about what I did), you will
    see a major decrease in prestige time.

    My suggestion is to set at least 1 custom class aside and load it
    with your favorite weapons/perks etc. then use it when just lvlin up
    gets tedious, and it will, so you can remind yourself that MW3 is really
    freaking fun.

    Thanks again oTradeMark
    -snook
    XBL GT: snooknine

    1. oTradeMark

      March 19, 2012 at 8:05 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for the update, glad it helped.

  96. Breedlove

    March 20, 2012 at 10:34 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Fantastic guide!! I have played since COD2 but never took an interest in the prestiges, it seemed all to complicated to bother sorting out the best ways to rank up quickly. You knocked it out of the park, the Article is long becuse it needed to be and covered all the key bases for me it made it all make rational sense. KEEP IT UP!!!! this is why gaming communities rock :)

    1. oTradeMark

      May 2, 2012 at 3:50 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks for stopping by I really appreciate it

  97. dustin

    March 23, 2012 at 8:48 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    hahaha i am all ready a level 80 tenth prestige haha suckers

    1. oTradeMark

      May 2, 2012 at 3:51 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Too bad you will have to go to 15-20 now if you want to max out =)

  98. Max

    March 26, 2012 at 12:27 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    One good perk is dead silence, since its a high level perk, I unlock it with a token, and it’s easy to make it pro. After I have it pro, I just began falling from stairs or high floors so I get a bonus, it’s just 100 falls for 28k xp, also get extreme conditioning pro, and then do park our for easy xp.

    1. oTradeMark

      May 2, 2012 at 3:51 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Yep, I did a video about this… and it’s definitely worth a token if you have one to spare.

  99. Lee

    March 26, 2012 at 9:16 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Great guide BTW. I want tobuse hardline pro but then struggle as my reactions arent as quick as others so dropping say, quick draw or something like that affects my play. I also use kick as my aim is also poor and i find this helps so im not shooting every where and not the target. Any recommendations to what set up with perks and streaks i should try.

    1. oTradeMark

      May 2, 2012 at 3:53 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Hm… quickdraw is a strong perk 2 but it’s not great for leveling… But if it helps you do well then it will help the leveling process overall. Specialist is great in conjunction with hardline so maybe unlock quickdraw as your first unlock or something.

  100. P_G

    March 31, 2012 at 7:08 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    im 8th prestige and i usually prestige once a week. i play domination and SnD until level 50 then play Demolition and SnD until level 80.i only play demolition for the match bonus ( Avg bonus is 4250 points when i win the round). What can i do to increase my levels with less playtime(excluding the things in your guide) i have tried KC
    and didnt like it as i always got fustrated when i was about to pick up a tag an get killed)

    1. oTradeMark

      May 2, 2012 at 3:53 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Stay tuned for version 2

  101. Fred Salerno

    March 31, 2012 at 3:03 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    i have had a triple MOAB before… has anybody else my XBOX name is Fred9135 send me a message or friend request and we could play…

    1. oTradeMark

      May 2, 2012 at 3:54 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Yeah a few triples are up on youtube but it’s a great accomplishment good job.

  102. DJ Icyhot

    April 3, 2012 at 11:57 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    What’s twatboarding? Sounds hilarious.

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 6:56 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      lol twatboarding = dashboarding. Dashboarding causes an immediate disconnect and loss on your stats as well as loss of any xp in that game, while if a host just leaves it will migrate hosts

  103. COD PLAYAR

    April 5, 2012 at 5:22 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Thank for the help what gun do you think is best for kill confirmed.But i only use machine guns and i am looking for one which is fast killing but with hardley any recoil but for it to still be very powerful.Do u have any in mind?

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 6:57 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      denkirson.proboards.com is where I get all my gun stat information and make decisions on classes. Here is a spreadsheet from selarmor: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmWEaU8N7NeddEprUWFkQi1ZWFU0eGItNGwzZG1oSXc#gid=0

  104. Jay

    April 11, 2012 at 11:57 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    At this point in my cod career I feel like the fellowship of the ring entering the mines of moria, there is no turning back…
    A little history; the last game system I owned before February was a sega genesis. Through the years I’ve played at friends houses, but never that often. After playing mw3 a few times I was sold. Bought a ps3 and I’ve spent the last two months learning the game and just getting better.
    I just prestiged for the first time and though some readers may think it’s strange, I used my token to unlock the MK14 single shot AR. After hitting level 80 and unlocking everything, I started to play around with different guns, and fell in love with this one. Though my k/d ratio is around .4 I know that’s because I started with virtually no experience. Using the mk14 I’m getting a much better ratio. It makes me focus and aim which has helped my game with other guns as well.
    Now I’ve discovered this guide and I can’t wait to put it to use. The biggest fear of prestiging was a manor drop in game play and having to level up again. But starting again with a weapon I’m good at helps and your advice will add to that exponentially.
    Questions:
    1. Do you think the mk14 was worth my token? Tried it because I wanted to snipe quickly and repetitively without the recoil and low ammo that comes with a sniper rifle. When I got the acog scope and grenade launcher was when my productivity really increase.
    2. Now that I’m a much better player, but still not great, I feel like at some prestige I should reset my stats. I don’t care about extra classes, double xp seems like a waste, etc. Whatcha think? If I do it it will be on the next token or so.
    And, you haven’t talked about it much, but drop zone was en excellent way for me to learn the game. it’s still my favorite.

    Sorry if this is garbled or misspelled or downright gibberish at some points, iPhones are hard to type on

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 7:01 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      1. I unlocked the mk14 with my first token. I use red dot / rapid fire with attachments proficiency. It’s a great gun if you can fire quickly and be accurate. Most people would say the ACR is a more beginner friendly gun though.
      2. You can’t reset until prestige 10 I don’t think so it is a very big decision. I personally would never do it because of how much time it takes to get to that point, before you know it the next COD will come out and it won’t matter anyways.
      3. Dropzone came out after I wrote the guide, but it’s a decent gametype. My only dislike of it is that you can’t run specialist and level up your perks and overall it is a slower gametype to level in than most other gametypes.

      1. Jay

        May 4, 2012 at 11:29 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        I didn’t realize that the reset feature wasn’t available until later when I asked. Definitely not gonna do that.
        Glad to know you chose the MK14 as well. Most people would scoff at that buy it s a helluva gun. And lately I’ve noticed more and more people using it.
        Thanks for the response and the guide. It has helped me level much qui ker this time. I’m holding on 80 before I prestige again and testing some seldom used weapons to see which one I want to unlock this time. At this point I can see no advantage of any weapon over the ACR with my playing style. I’m finally getting to where I have a positive k/d ratio in most of my games, and that’s usually with the ACR.
        Though I love to have the smaw with most primary weapons because ts so effective, I may choose overkill with my third token just to have the power of MK14 and the ACR from early on. It’s an effective combo.

  105. Richard P

    April 11, 2012 at 5:09 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    With Prestige Levels 11-15 now available (and 16-20 speculating to come)…I suggest an update to the guide for persons who’ve reach 1000 kills with the weapons they find most useful.

    For me – I’ve reach 1000 kills with all Assault except MK14, Type95, M16 – simply because i’m not good with Burst fire weapons
    I’ve reach 1000 kills with all SMGs.
    I haven’t done Pistols or Machine Pistols challenges yet – I’m going to do those next….more Machine Pistols more than then Pistols to reach the 10,000XP goal
    I’m currently using shotguns USAS, AA12 and Striker to get the 10,000XP.
    I’m not going to try with the LMGs – my game style doesn’t work with LMG at all.

    I would suggest – if you find that you’ve reach 1000 Veteran kills with all the guns you like (and don’t plan to try another gun) – next prestige level, just stick with getting master up to the full 1000 kills. That will bring you Veteran to 2000 kills. Next prestige, your back to getting 10,000 + 10,000 as this Guide describes

  106. David

    April 11, 2012 at 7:54 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I too have a very efficient way to level up, here is how:
    1st: Set a class with a tactical insertion and preferably an AR or Sniper
    2nd: Go into a game of kill confirmed and use this class
    3rd: (Going into a building is a good idea for this) Put your tactical insertion down
    4th: Pick people off and when you die pick up YOUR tags which will result in you getting 250 xp per tag
    5th: Enjoy getting loads of xp;)

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 7:04 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      402 tweeted that this is a form of boosting and you will get reset if you get reported for it. I would say it is a relatively low risk tactic as not many people care if you repeatedly want to die and not many people would report you but I’m just letting you know that there is a risk.

  107. darwan

    April 12, 2012 at 10:58 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I WUNDER HOW CAN I GET THE WEOPAN OF BEST ONES

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 7:05 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      What? You unlock weapons as you level up.

  108. Andreas R Olsen

    April 12, 2012 at 11:35 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    How many moabs have you got? (I have 2)

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 7:06 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Around 100 by now… I lost around 25 of the recordings when I did a moab livestream and forgot to record the games from theatre.

  109. Noe(Noah in English )

    April 14, 2012 at 7:46 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I am sort of not that good like u at MW3 but I liked ur tips for rank up so thanks hit me up on xbox360 at xDrIvEby101x

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 7:06 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Thanks, send a friend request to gamertag: GamingUpgrade, I invite people to play that are friends with that account when I am just playing pubs

  110. Marco

    April 14, 2012 at 10:35 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    Can you earn title on survival like The one 4 gun for getting a amount of certain kill like Acr get 1000 kill but you get 1000 on survival do you earn the title on multiplayer

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 7:06 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Sorry I don’t know, I don’t play survival

  111. matt

    April 17, 2012 at 5:22 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    have you looked into strike package challenges? obviously recon drone will return max XP, but I noticed that calling in 150 UAVs return same xp as 150 AUAVs. So if you get 25 points per game and you use it on uav, it seems to be more efficent use of points than auav. Which streak setups will maximize XP?

  112. Emmanuel

    April 17, 2012 at 6:42 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    thanks 4 the info it helped a lot i just need help to get past level 70-80 in a day or 2 is that possible if u play alt least and hour or two a day? please help me!!!

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 7:08 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Sure, level 70-80 is possible in 4 hours but it’s going to require you to play pretty well during those hours as the last 10 levels are the hardest to get through.

  113. tonh

    April 25, 2012 at 11:31 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    if u dont have enough time to play mw3 wat wud be the best multiplayer game mode

    1. oTradeMark

      April 30, 2012 at 7:11 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      If you are good at S&D then that, otherwise domination or kill confirmed are solid choices for strong players. For weak players headquarters, domination, or game types where you can level up by supporting or playing objectives are good choices.

  114. tony

    April 25, 2012 at 11:34 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    sorry im tonh mess uped my name haha XD

  115. Tank

    April 30, 2012 at 9:24 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    I think there is a mistake when you are discussing the recon Drone you stated that for every two assists you get with the recon drone, you get an extra kill bonus when using hardline. I believe this is Incorrect, as I use recon drone frequently with hardline and do not seem to earn extra Kills

    1. oTradeMark

      May 2, 2012 at 3:55 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      That might be true… I think drone assists only count for your next streak up so if you are cycling drone then it won’t count towards your cycle. In other words using recon drone, bomber, emp your assists would count but using uav/vests/drone your assists would not count.

      1. Tank

        May 7, 2012 at 1:36 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

        Reply

        Nah Bro, I am pretty sure drone assists dont get ya Dick with hardline in terms of kills… they do get ya assists, and mad points, but dont add up to kills.

  116. tony

    May 6, 2012 at 8:19 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

    Reply

    wats an easy way to level up your guns fast

    1. Richard P

      May 11, 2012 at 2:00 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment

      Reply

      Kill people….

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