Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Campaign order: acts, mission groups and playable teams
Follow the 2011 campaign from New York to the final pursuit.
Edition covered
Original Modern Warfare 3 (2011), with the complete 2012 DLC season. Multiplayer and Spec Ops references cover the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions and the Mac port where available. Wii includes Survival but omits Spec Ops Mission Mode and DLC; other features also differ. The separate DS game Defiance and Modern Warfare III (2023) are outside this guide.
The first act moves between several fronts
Black Tuesday and Hunter Killer introduce the New York operation. Persona Non Grata then returns to the pursuit of Makarov before the campaign opens further fronts.
| Act | Ordered missions | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Act I, opening | Black Tuesday → Hunter Killer → Persona Non Grata | New York and 141 |
| Act I, later | Turbulence → Back on the Grid → Mind the Gap | Expanding conflict |
| Act II | Goalpost → Return to Sender → Bag and Drag → Iron Lady → Eye of the Storm → Blood Brothers | War and pursuit |
| Act III | Stronghold → Scorched Earth → Down the Rabbit Hole → Dust to Dust | Final operations |
The second act connects the war and the hunt
The action alternates large military operations with Price’s smaller team. Pay attention to the name and unit shown at the mission opening to avoid mixing Frost’s orders with Yuri’s story.
| Task | Useful habit | Progress check |
|---|---|---|
| Infantry advance | Clear the nearest firing angle | Follow the objective marker |
| Breach | Identify threats immediately | Protect noncombatants when present |
| Vehicle or support sequence | Use the prompted controls | Track the designated targets |
| Intel cleanup | Search the chosen chapter carefully | Check collected intel totals |
The third act closes the linked threads
Later missions lead through the team’s discoveries, the rescue operation and the final pursuit. The table groups missions in order and contains location-level spoilers.
Use chapter replay for focused cleanup
Enemy intel is a collectible objective separate from completing the mission. Replaying a chapter is more efficient than restarting the entire story when only one stage needs attention.
Enemy intel is a collectible objective separate from completing the mission.
References
| Reference | Website |
|---|---|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 publisher listing | store.steampowered.com |
| Activision original MW3 PC manual | support.activision.com |
| Original Strike Package overview | www.shacknews.com |