Every Perk in Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer

The Perk system in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer is completely different than the one currently used in Modern Warfare 2. The developers at Sledgehammer Games are going a completely different way with Perks, but the system will be easily recognizable to longtime fans of the series.

In short, the Perk system is returning to normal. You won’t have to wait several minutes to unlock certain Perks in multiplayer and instead start the match with three preset Perks. However, what’s changed is how the Perks are identified in multiplayer. They are no longer called Perks and are split up differently than how they have been in years past.

In the guide below, I’ll explain exactly how the Perk system works and all of the ones coming at launch in MW3 multiplayer.

The Perk system in Modern Warfare 3

As I previously mentioned, you still get to pick three “Perks” on each of your loadouts in multiplayer. These Perks are available right from the start of a match and give you a different ability depending on what you pick. In MW3, you will likely be familiar with many of the available options, as most of them are returning from previous games.

However, MW3 does not call these abilities “Perks.” Instead, they are labeled “Gloves,” “Boots,” and “Gear.” These are basically your Perk 1, Perk 2, and Perk 3 slots. In each of these categories, you select one option to use on your loadout, giving you three total. The options inside each category are labeled as different types of equipment you’re using. So for example, in the Gloves category, you see different types of Gloves that your character wears to give you a different ability.

While the standard loadouts in MW3 will have three “Perks” on them, you can use something called “Vests” to give you more or fewer choices. For example, by selecting a specific Vest on your loadout, you can add another Gear slot or take away a slot entirely in exchange for something else. There’s always a tradeoff when using a Vest, so you need to take that into account when designing your loadout. Also, not all Vests change how the Perk slots work, others alter different aspects of your loadout.

Every Perk in Modern Warfare 3

In total, there are 24 perks across the three different categories within the loadout menu. These perks are split up strangely, though, so check out the lists below to see where each one falls:

Gloves

• Quick-Grip Gloves – Increased weapon swap speed.
• Commando Gloves – Reload while sprinting.
• Scavenger Gloves – Resupply ammo and throwing knives from dead players.
• Ordnance Gloves – Throw equipment farther. Reset fuse timer on thrown back grenades.
• Marksman Gloves – Reduced sway and flinch while ADS.
• Assault Gloves – While jumping, accuracy and time to ADS is improved.

Boots

• Lightweight Boots – Increases movement and swim speed. Reduces noise while swimming.
• Climbing Boots – Increased climbing and mantling speed. Reduces fall damage.
• Stalker Boots – Increased strafe and ADS movement speed.
• Tactical Pads – Increases slide distance and allows for full ADS while sliding. Increases stance transition speeds and crouched movement speed.
• Covert Sneakers – Eliminate footstep sounds.
• Running Sneakers – Increases Tac Sprint duration and reduces refresh time.

Gear

• EOD Padding – Reduces damage from non-killstreak explosives and fire.
• Tac Mask – Reduces strength of enemy flash, stun, and gas grenades. Immunity to shock, EMP, and Snapshot Grenades.
• Mission Control Commlink – Reduce killstreak by 1. Reduce scorestreak cost by 125.
• Bone Conduction Headset – Reduces combat noise, allowing improved identification of enemy footsteps and gunshots.
• L/R Detector – Warns of hostile laser and radiation sources.
• Ghost T/V Camo – While moving, blocks detection by UAVs, enemy radar sources, and Heartbeat Sensors.
• Mag Holster – Improved reload speed.
• Blacklight Flashlight – Shows recent enemy footsteps.
• Threat Identification System – While ADS, automatically pings enemy locations in crosshairs.
• Data Jacker – Enemies you kill drop a smartphone. Collecting the smartphone generates a radar ping from that location.
• Signal Jammer – Emits a signal disrupting placed enemy claymores and mines. Warns of nearby enemy equipment.
• Hijacked IFF Strobe – Undetectable by AI targeting systems and thermal optics. Does not highlight in enemy Tactical Cameras or Recon Drones.

The one strange element about the launch perks is how they are split up. For some reason, there are only six Gloves and Boots while there are a whopping 12 pieces of Gear. I believe the developers did this for balancing reasons, but it’s still a weird decision to give one category so many more options than the other two.

It might take some time to get used to the new system, however, I think most players will agree this is far more user-friendly than the one currently in Modern Warfare 2.