Nothing’s worse than realizing you’ve missed a trophy/achievement after completing a lengthy campaign Mission. To save you from constantly replaying levels, we’ve put together this spoiler-free guide for every missable achievement/trophy in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaign.
- Open Combat Missions
- Operation 627
- Precious Cargo
- Reactor
- Payload
- Deep Cover
- Crash Site
- Flashpoint
- Oligarch
- Highrise
- Frozen Tundra
- Gora Dam
- Danger Close
- Miscellaneous
Every Missable Achievement/Trophy in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Campaign
There’s one level-specific achievement to earn in every campaign Mission in Modern Warfare 3, except ‘Passenger’ and ‘Trojan Horse.’
There are also several achievements that require objectives completed across multiple Open Combat Missions, such as collecting every Supply Box for the Gearhead achievement.
Open Combat Missions
- No Such Thing as Too Many — Find and use all Armaments in Open Combat Missions.
- Dialed In — Customize your loadout in every Open Combat Mission.
- Gearhead — Collect all Weapons and Field Upgrades from Supply Boxes in Open Combat missions.
- Bulletproof — Find all Plate Carrier Upgrades in Open Combat Missions.
- Sample Platter — Use five different armaments in Open Combat Missions.
- Tag, You’re it! — Use the Spotter Scope to tag 60 enemies or items in Open Combat Missions.
To earn No Such Thing as Too Many, Gearhead, and Bulletproof, you must collect all Supply Boxes, use every Armament, and find all Plate Carriers across all six Open Combat Missions. You also need to customize your loadout at least once in every OCM for Dialed In.
Finding all those orange boxes is no easy task, but we’ve got you covered. There’s a link to the location of every Supply Box and Plate Carrier under the heading for each Open Combat Mission.
As you go through OCMs, try and tag as many enemies and items as possible to work towards the Tag, You’re it! Achievement. If you plan on completing No Such Thing as Too Many, you’ll automatically earn Sample Platter partway through.
Miscellaneous Achievements
- Have You Tried Turning it Off and On? — Use a Shock Stick to disable an enemy Sentry Gun.
- I Call Shotgun! — Drive a vehicle with a Sentry Gun on the back and have it kill five enemies.
- That’s One Way to Do It… — Destroy an airborne enemy helicopter with a Mortar Strike.
- Hey, Catch! — Throw and hit an enemy directly with a Flammable Cannister, then blow them up with it.
- Frequent Flyer — BASE jump and travel more than 150 m with your parachute.
- High Wire Act — Kill ten enemies while using a zipline.
All of the achievements above can be completed during (almost) any point of Modern Warfare 3’s campaign. Keep them fresh in your head as you make your way through each Mission.
Mission 1 — Operation 627
- Death Row — Kill 12 enemies while descending the panopticon in ‘Operation 627.’
Partway through the first Mission in MW3, Operation 627, you’ll rappel down cell blocks in a Gulag. Kill twelve guards before reaching the fourth and final window to earn the Death Row achievement.
Mission 2 — Precious Cargo [OCM]
- Floater — Parachute off a Gantry Crane onto the roof of the Harbormaster’s Building in ‘Precious Cargo.’
- Gearhead (1/6)
- Bulletproof (1/6)
- Dialed In (1/6)
In the southeast corner of the map, jump from the Gantry Crane onto the roof of the Harbormaster’s Building to earn the Floater achievement. Visit our guide here for the precise location.
As the first OCM in Modern Warfare 3, you’ll need to locate every weapon, item, and Plate Carrier to work towards Gearhead, Bulletproof, and Dialed In.
Related: MW3 Precious Cargo: All Weapons, Field Upgrades, and Plate Carrier Locations
Mission 3 — Reactor [OCM]
- Helo Hat Trick — Destroy each objective helicopter in ‘Reactor’ with a different Armament.
- Gearhead (2/6)
- Bulletproof (2/6)
- Dialed In (2/6)
The initial objective of Reactor is to destroy three helicopters. Rather than using an RPG or C4, use a different Armament (killstreak) to blow up each bird for the Helo Hat Trick achievement. I used Bomb Drones, Cruise Missile, and a Precision Airstrike, all of which were found within close range of the helicopters.
Related: MW3 Reactor: All Weapons, Field Upgrades, and Plate Carrier Locations
Mission 4 — Payload
- 2-fer — Using the EBR-14, kill two enemies with one bullet five times in ‘Payload’ without sounding the alarm.
The EBR-14 is the weapon you start with in Payload, able to kill two enemies with a single bullet when positioned correctly. Do this five times without being detected to earn the 2-fer achievement. There are plenty of troops that conveniently stand in front of each other, so you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with this one.
Mission 5 — Deep Cover
- Back in the Field — Acquire the Major’s keycard in ‘Deep over’ within 90 seconds without being detected.
Back in the Field took me several attempts, but it’s far easier than it sounds once you know the route. I recommend following Maka91’s video guide below, which uses a similar route to my attempt. If you fail, restart the Mission rather than loading a checkpoint.
Mission 7 — Crash Site [OCM]
- Gearhead (3/6)
- Bulletproof (3/6)
- Dialed In (3/6)
There are no mission-specific achievements to earn in Crash Site, but you will need to contribute toward Gearhead, Bulletproof, and Dialed In. Halfway there!
Related: MW3 Crash Site: All Weapons, Field Upgrades, and Plate Carrier Locations
Mission 8 — Flashpoint
- Shot Blocked — Shoot the gun out of the air in ‘Flashpoint’ before a terrorist catches it.
Partway through Flashpoint, you’ll reach a room full of enemies posing as paramedics. Ignore their call for help and wait until the paramedic in the back right corner throws a weapon, then shoot it in midair. If you miss, like I did, reload your checkpoint and try again.
Mission 9 — Oligarch [OCM]
- Think She’ll Notice? — Destroy all of the cars in the mansion garage in ‘Oligarch.
- Gearhead (4/6)
- Bulletproof (4/6)
- Dialed In (4/6)
In the second half of the Mission, you’ll enter a fancy house. There’s a garage to the left housing plenty of even fancier cars. Use any explosives to destroy them all and earn Think She’ll Notice?
Related: MW3 Oligarch: All Weapons, Field Upgrades, and Item Locations
Mission 10 — Highrise [OCM]
- Elevator Out of Order — Reach the roof in ‘Highrise’ in under 45 seconds.
- Gearhead (5/6)
- Bulletproof (5/6)
- Dialed In (5/6)
I recommend completing Elevator Out of Order after you’ve completed Highrise; otherwise, you need to restart the Mission partway through. Once you have the Ascender, you can use it on the elevator at the beginning of the Mission to skip to the 5th floor, then use it again at the end of the hallway to zipline to the 11th, and then climb to the roof.
Equip a pistol to make sure you can sprint as fast as possible. You won’t need to do anything beyond getting to the roof, so earning this achievement should only take a few minutes if you don’t earn it on your first attempt.
Related: MW3 Highrise: All Weapons, Field Upgrades, and Item Locations
Mission 11 — Frozen Tundra
- Snow Angel — Execute the forest sniper in ‘Frozen Tundra’ with a takedown.
Early in Snow Angel, you’ll be attacked by a sniper wearing white while in the woods. Rather than firing at him, throw a Flash Grenade and sprint up to him for a takedown.
Mission 12 — Gora Dam
- Hitchhiker — Defuse the bomb on the truck in ‘Gora Dam’ while it is in motion.
- Gearhead (6/6)
- Bulletproof (6/6)
- Dialed In (6/6)
From the very beginning of Gora Dam, parachute down to the moving truck and disarm the bomb to earn Hitchhiker.
If you’ve been keeping up with the multi-Mission OCM achievements, you’ll earn Gearhead, Bulletproof, and Dialed In during this Mission.
Related: MW3 Gora Dam: All 21 Weapons, Field Upgrades, and Plate Carrier Locations
Mission 13 — Danger Close
- Your Tax Dollars at Work — Use a missile to take out a single enemy in ‘Danger Close’
At the start of Danger Close, find a lone ground enemy, switch to a missile, and launch it at them to earn Your Tax Dollars at Work. Other than the achievements for completing MW3’s Campaign and completing it on Veteran, there are no more mission-specific achievements.
This guide was written while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox Series X.
