MW3 Campaign Difficulty Levels: Which Difficulty Should You Choose?

Which difficulty is best for you in Modern Warfare 3?

by Christian Bognar
Which Difficulty Level Should You Choose in Modern Warfare 3?
Image: Activision

The latest Call of Duty includes fourteen missions for the campaign, each offering a challenge for players. If you need help choosing the difficulty for the Modern Warfare 3 campaign, we have you covered with this guide.

Which Difficulty Should You Choose in Modern Warfare 3?

The Modern Warfare 3 campaign features four difficulty levels: Recruit, Regular, Hardened, and Veteran. The in-game descriptions for these levels are as follows:

  • Recruit: For players who are new to Call of Duty.
  • Regular: Your abilities in combat will be tested.
  • Hardened: Your skills will be strained.
  • Veteran: You will not survive.

The difficulty you choose boils down to the amount of experience you have with Call of Duty games. If you are new to the franchise, and Modern Warfare 3 is your first, then it would be best for you to start at the Recruit or Regular difficulty level. These difficulty levels make the enemies less intense, easier to kill, and creates a more relaxing playthrough.

Related: MW3 Mission List: How Long is the Modern Warfare 3 Campaign?

As for experienced and highly skilled players, you’ll have the most fun by choosing the Hardened or Veteran difficulty level. These levels offer the most demanding challenge, where a couple of shots from the enemy can kill you very quickly. Additionally, there are more enemies spread throughout the combat encounters, making it more difficult to find cover and prevent taking damage.

I recommend choosing Regular as it provides the most balanced experience for the Modern Warfare 3 campaign. But then again, I’m not a very good COD player!

Can You Change Difficulty in Modern Warfare 3?

The good news is that you can change the difficulty level whenever you like, meaning you won’t have to start the campaign over if you chose the wrong one. To change the difficulty, press the pause menu, scroll down to “difficulty,” and select the new difficulty level. You can make it harder or easier, depending on your preference. You can do this however many times and whenever you want. The difficulty level will be saved after you unpause the game.

- This article was updated on November 2nd, 2023

About The Author

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Christian has been a writer of Attack of the Fanboy for over a year and has covered Shadows of Rose, Lords of the Fallen, Remnant 2, Lies of P, and more; his favorite genre is Survival Horror. He has a business degree but felt the need to take his love for video games to the gaming community. Outside of writing, you can find him listening to all types of podcasts, especially Always Sunny Podcast and Morbid True Crime.