Modern Warfare III is getting a ranked mode in early-2024. Here is everything we know about MW3 Ranked Play so far, including the release date, current comp settings, and seasonal rewards.
Modern Warfare III will get a competitive mode called Ranked Play at some point in early-2024. As you would imagine, this mode includes an ELO system and will follow the official Competitive Settings used in the CDL.
If you're interested in playing a "sweatier" version of CoD, you can find all the details we know so far about the MW3 ranked mode below.
MW3 Ranked: Release Date
Call of Duty have now officially confirmed that they were aiming to bring out the MW3 Ranked Play mode with Season 1: Reloaded, on January 17, 2024, but they f'd up and so Ranked has been delayed (we think to January 24). This is exactly what always happens in CoD.
In both Vanguard and MWII (the last two games), they delayed the release of Ranked Play by half a season (about four weeks). And so at least we can be thankful that this should only be a one-week delay.
Don't worry about having to level up all the best weapons in MW3 before Ranked Play is released. Everything you are allowed to use is automatically unlocked for all players in Ranked Play.
MW3 Ranked: Competitive Settings & Map-Pool
Competitive CoD is very different to the normal game; it's 4v4, you only play SnD, Hardpoint and Control, and a ton of items are banned. Here is a comprehensive overview of the ruleset.
Competitive Settings
So many items are restricted in Ranked Play and the CDL that it's far easier if we just show you what you actually can use, these are the only items that aren't banned:
Primary Weapons | Secondary Weapons | Tacticals | Lethals | Field Upgrades | Perks | Streaks |
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The pros have also separately GA'd the MTZ, FR 5.56, DG-58, SVA 545, Snipers, every pistol except the Renetti, all melee weapons, smokes (only 1 per team), Scatter Mines and Battle Rage. If these prove to be good GAs for competitive play, then we could also see the devs implement those bans officially.
A "GA", or Gentlemens Agreement, is a kind of truce, in which the pro players agree to not use certain items that they consider too powerful. If a player breaks the truce and uses one of these GA'd items in an actual match, their team are blacklisted from scrims (practice) for a month.
Map-Pool & Modes
Here are the maps that will come up for each mode:
We are getting three new 6v6 maps in Season 1, so perhaps one of them will be added to the comp rotation, but we wouldn't count on it.
CoD's ELO-System
They have now confirmed that they will use a similar same ELO system as they did in the last couple of ranked modes, which makes perfect sense as this mode is once again being led by Treyarch.
You play ten placement matches at the start of the season, and then the game places you in the rank it thinks you belong in. From there, you can rank up or down depending on whether you gain or lose SR (Skill Rating) in matches. A win will always give you SR and a loss will always cost you.
Ranks in MW3
Here are the ranks and the SR required to enter each new rank:
- Bronze – Starting Division
- Silver – 900 SR
- Gold – 2,100 SR
- Platinum – 3,600 SR
- Diamond – 5,400 SR
- Crimson – 7,500 SR
- Iridescent – 10,000 SR
- Top 250 – 10,000+ SR
All Divisions except for Iridescent have 3 Tiers - Tier I, Tier II & Tier III. Climb into higher Tiers as you advance your way through each Division.
At the end of each Season, your ending Skill Division and Skill Division Tier will determine where you start the following season: Bronze through Crimson I Players are set back three Tiers below where they finished in the previous season. Players Crimson II and above will start Season 2 in Diamond I.
MW3 Ranked: Rewards
Apart from your SR and Skill Division in the game, there's something called Rank. Your Rank stays with you through different Seasons and shows off how many wins you've collected in Ranked Play over time.
Everyone kicks off at Rank 1 and can climb all the way up to Rank 50. To boost your Rank, you need to win matches and earn Stars. Every win gets you one Star, and if you keep winning, you'll get enough Stars to move up to the next Rank.
Every 5 Ranks, you'll get a new Rank icon, and you'll unlock some cool rewards that are special for that particular Rank. Plus, you'll also snag a Calling Card that shows off your Rank.
Lifetime Rank Rewards:
- Rank 5: MWIII Ranked Competitor Skin for use with both 2024 CDL Male & Female Operators on both Factions.
- Rank 10: MWIII Ranked Play Rank 10 Weapon Camo
- Rank 15: ‘Iced Out’ Animated Emblem
- Rank 20: ‘Bomb Squad’ Weapon Charm
- Rank 25: ‘Lock it Down’ Weapon Sticker
- Rank 30: ‘Full Stack’ Animated Emblem
- Rank 35: ‘Never Chalked’ Large Weapon Decal
- Rank 40: ‘Top Fragger’ Weapon Charm
- Rank 45: MWIII Ranked Play Rank 45 Weapon Camo
- Rank 50: MWIII Ranked Veteran Emblem & Operator Skin for use with both CDL Male & Female Operators on both Factions.
Season 1 Rewards:
Besides your Rank Rewards, each Ranked Play Season throws in some time-limited goodies. During Season 1, you can earn these awesome rewards:
- 5 Wins: ‘MWIII Season 1 Competitor’ Weapon Sticker
- 10 Wins: ‘Pro Issue Gutter Knife’ Weapon Blueprint
- 25 Wins: ‘Script Writer’ Weapon Charm
- 50 Wins: ‘Built Different’ Large Weapon Decal
- 75 Wins: ‘MWIII Ranked Play Season 1’ Loading Screen
- 100 Wins: ‘MWIII Season 1 Ranked Veteran’ Weapon Camo
When a Season wraps up, you'll also get Division Rewards based on your highest Skill Division achieved during that Season. There are cool skins and stuff to show off your skills.
And lastly, for the competitive folks, if you finish Season 1 as the top dog in the Top 250 Leaderboard, you'll score a unique Calling Card and Emblem for ultimate bragging rights!
And there you have it, everything we know about the MW3 ranked mode. Hopefully it really does come soon, but as we said, a delay is likely.