MW3 Sub Base Map - Modern Warfare 3

Tactical Overview

In team-based game modes, teams will either spawn by the Dry Dock (west) or the East Dock (east).

A deadly Loading Bay separates the two, surrounded by multiple entry points above and below, with buildings along its sides featuring frenetic interior battles.

We’ve divided Sub Base into six sections based on key areas around the map:

• MAIN SPAWN POINT: Dry Dock (+ Control Room, Maintenance Yard, Catwalks)
• MAIN SPAWN POINT: East Dock (+ Crane)
• ADDITIONAL AREA: North Dock
• ADDITIONAL AREA: Loading Bay (+ Base Entrance, Tank)
• ADDITIONAL AREA: Garage Bay (+ Fueling Station)
• ADDITIONAL AREA: Helipad Roof (+ Warehouse, Tunnel, Power Station, Server Room)

MAIN SPAWN POINT: Dry Dock (WEST)

From the left border, the Dry Dock comprises a tight rectangle with bulky crates and other large cover pieces, including the small Control Room with openings on all sides. Combat within the area caters to close-quarters fights, though its east-facing openings offer longshot opportunities toward the middle of the map.

The area opens up by the docked submarine, surrounded by pulleys and low railings. A central bridge provides a walkway over the docked sub, and Operators can get on top of the sub and the metal platforms around it.

There are multiple paths east, but the staircase leading up to the Catwalks makes for a great starting route. The Catwalk wraps around the two closed off buildings and extends along the front, overlooking the central Loading Bay. Land precision shots up and down the middle of the map and across to the opposite rooftop. Keep an eye out for enemies near the doorways to either side of the front walk.

MAIN SPAWN POINT: East Dock (EAST)

The East Dock presses right up against the eastern buildings with a single traversable pier protruding over the water. Midranged fights tend to dominate play when moving west, while longer-ranged skirmishes break out along the extended north-south corridor. Use the available cover to keep out of this long sightline as much as possible unless you’re utilizing it yourself for its sniping opportunities. If you need to get out of sight fast, dive into the water.

Watch out for enemies up high on the far north and south ends as well, where upper-level vantage points provide a means to fire down into the East Dock. Push up against the central building to cut off their lines of sight.

When moving toward the middle, consider your route based on your Loadout. The North Dock path offers the longest sightlines, while heading through the Tunnel or Power Station keeps the fight up close. For a more balanced approach, head through the southern Warehouse.

ADDITIONAL AREA: North Dock

This narrow route provides the most direct access between the Dry Dock and the East Dock, managing to avoid passing through the middle Loading Bay. However, an opening into at center provides Operators a means of entering and exiting the area. Thankfully, some well-placed supplies face the opening, providing a solid point from which to attack and defend against enemies within.

An Optic with a high-powered zoom can help Operators eliminate enemies along the North Dock from deep within the Dry and East Docks. If an enemy sniper pesters your forces in the area, try equipping your own Sniper Rifle and countering them from the other end; you might also take another path entirely to flank them in their own territory.

As with the East Dock, the water is navigable here for those times when you need to make a stealthier crossing.

ADDITIONAL AREA: Loading Bay

You’d better be ready to engage when entering the Loading Bay; entry points surround the area from above and below. In addition, its length gives rise to longshots from end to end with room for every other playstyle in between.

Midranged Loadouts perform well on the Catwalks and Helipad Roof, as well as on the ground floor, provided you’re smart about using cover to cut off longer sightlines. Short-ranged Loadouts can do well around the large containers in the south near the Tank or by trawling through the Loading Bay’s adjacent buildings in search of prey that’s focused on the middle.

Map awareness is of critical importance here, so use your intel-gathering capabilities and communicate the position of enemy Operators. And when enemy aerial streaks threaten from above, get under cover fast.

ADDITIONAL AREA: Garage Bay

The Garage Bay marks a critical juncture between the western Dry Dock and the Loading Bay. Within its confines, watch the upper walkway as well as the more hidden back office, which makes for a great location when defending the interior.

In addition to its large windows overlooking the Dry Dock starting spawn, the Garage Bay also provides a view over the Helipad Rooftop and access to the Catwalks that opens up a wide view over the middle.

The Fueling Station south of the Garage Bay leads to the Tank end of the Loading Bay. This is an ideal location for snipers and other Loadouts using magnified scopes. The area contains several large containers and other useful cover pieces, which are great points from which to launch an ambush against nearby enemies.

ADDITIONAL AREA: Helipad Roof

The building block sandwiched between the Loading Bay and East Dock features several interior locations and an accessible rooftop.

The southern Warehouse is the largest building in the area. It’s filled with midranged sightlines and a catwalk that wraps around the upper level, giving access to the Helipad Roof and providing vantage points toward the East Dock, the Loading Bay, and over the parked Tank. There’s sparse cover on the rooftop, so use what’s available to avoid standing out in the open.

Across the rooftop to the north is the Server Room, a tight building where close-quarters engagements break out from within. There are also midranged sightlines outside the Server Room. Descend the stairs to the Power Station to reach the ground floor with access to the Loading Bay and East Dock.

Lastly, there’s the Tunnel underneath the Helipad Roof connecting the east and center of the map. Though it’s a mostly wide-open space, some stacked barrels and the small Office present possible ambush points against Operators hurrying through.

Objective Overview

Overall Tactics

Sub Base is an intense, highly tactical locale where fights break out over control of the center in addition to frequent skirmishes in and around its buildings and docks.

The map’s layout packs a lot of movement options in the environment, so Operators who move with purpose can improve their odds by outflanking and outsmarting their less-informed opponents.

The Loading Bay tends to draw the most attention, with the Catwalks and Helipad Roof pulling in Operators looking for a full view of the middle. For greater success, however, keep in mind all the various views over this area, some offering greater concealment than others.

Try sniping from the southern Tank, or firing down from the northern Server Room, using its staircase to quickly move between the upper and lower floors. Use the angled views outside of the Garage Bay and Warehouse; it’s far more difficult for enemies to react when getting fired on from here, and it’s easy to back off into cover when they do.

Put these principles into action when engaging opponents around the rest of the map, always keeping in mind the various routes to your current target. By utilizing less prominent sightlines, you improve your bag of tricks and keep the enemy guessing.

Domination

The battle for the middle intensifies in Domination, with B sitting wide open in the Loading Bay and A and C not far off on the sidelines.

Use the tactics described above to overtake the middle by attacking from multiple angles. Fan out for better map coverage, take B, and defend it with everything you’ve got.

While forgoing the B flag works on some maps, Sub Base usually requires taking it as one of your two objective priorities. The A and C flags are easily accessible from the two main spawn points, so attempting to capture both can be an uphill battle unless you’re doing it as a temporary tactic to pull the enemy out of the center.

Don’t be afraid of moving within the Loading Bay when approaching B. Though getting up high certainly has its advantages, there are a good number of midsized cover objects surrounding the flag; take your time moving from cover to cover and then jump on the objective when the timing is right.

Hardpoint

Teams rush for the center as the first Hardpoint starts in the Loading Bay in a small boundary around the north half of the zone. Several midsized cover pieces offer some protection against the surrounding environment, but with this many eyes on the spot, you’ll want backup to ensure a firm footing.

The remaining four Hardpoints are a mix of indoor and outdoor locations, with the final objective returning to the center around the Tank.

With three out of five Hardpoints exposed to the skies, aerial streaks can help get enemies off the point. Choose the air-to-ground Streaks that suit your preference, and once earned, wait for the enemy to stack up in or near the point before letting loose.

Use smart positioning when the objective moves to the Garage Bay or Tunnel, each offering their own means of protecting the point. In the Garage Bay, set up in the lower office if someone’s already on the point; in the Tunnel, scoring players should remain near the stacked supplies while someone in the Office provides much needed cover fire.

Cutthroat

Though many rounds are bound to evolve into frenetic firefights, Sub Base offers enough complexity and breathing room for teams to adopt a more tactical approach in Cutthroat as well.

Improve your chances of winning the match by using a variety of strategies to keep the enemy off balance or by finding the one tactic that exploits their biggest weaknesses.

Though it’s tempting to rush to the Loading Bay to find the action, remember that you have the full run of the map for the opening minute of the round. Equip a Sniper Rifle and seek enemies along the North Dock; take on enemies up close in the Garage Bay and Fueling Station, or work your way into the eastern buildings and hunt down Operators at their vantage points.

Once the round timer nears completion, pivot to the overtime flag. If your team has the most overall health, you simply need to cover it to ensure another squad doesn’t capture it for the round win; if your squad is lower on health than another squad, get after that flag.

Search & Destroy

Opportunity for tactical play really opens in Search & Destroy. You can take it slow, evaluating every angle and pathway, or break out at top speed, getting in position without a moment to lose. Both tactics have their place, with a mix of the two working to throw off the enemy.

Whatever your approach, remain vigilant and communicate with your teammates. With so many possible angles of attack, every bit of intel becomes crucial to winning the round.

Whether approaching the A or B bomb site on the attacking team, it’s probably best to minimize your exposure to the Loading Bay. With one life per round, the risk is too high. For A, consider moving south through the Warehouse. Send some Operators to the second level for its long view over the bomb site, with the rest moving over the ground floor to approach the objective.

For planting at B, approach from the North Dock or, if enemy snipers have locked down that route, move up through the Power Station, sending one or two squad members up the stairs to the Server Room for overhead protection.

On defense, try taking up more general central positions to cover a wider view until you spot the enemy, fanning out so that you can attack from multiple angles.

Modern Warfare III Multiplayer: History Modernized

What’s your favorite Call of Duty Multiplayer map?

As Call of Duty nears its 20th anniversary, veteran fans could have over 100 potential answers to that question, and that’s not including the 16 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer maps that debuted in 2009 — one of the greatest Day One Multiplayer offerings of all time.

Afghan. Derail. Estate. Favela. Karachi. Highrise. Invasion. Quarry. Rundown. Rust. Scrapyard. Skidrow. Sub Base. Terminal. Underpass. Wasteland.

As previously revealed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® III will launch with meticulously crafted, modernized versions of these 16 Core Modern Warfare 2 (2009) maps, constructed to maintain the authenticity and accuracy of the originals.

Multiplayer Maps: Then and Now

Fourteen years later, Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward have a wealth of game engine and design tech advancements at their disposal, such as variable-rate shading, and numerous runtime systems for better enemy visibility, to name a few.

These new, ever-advancing technological tools are vital in faithfully re-creating the Modern Warfare 2 (2009) classic maps just as fans remember them.

“There are places where the metrics of the level are adjusted to fit more modern gameplay,” Zach states, “but for the most part, it’s going to feel incredibly similar. The biggest changes are in a fidelity sense.”

In other words, those who played Favela, Terminal, or Scrapyard in 2009 may expect a wave of nostalgia as they encounter the visual updates, and more experienced veterans may appreciate the modernization updates for gameplay flow purposes.

One example is the vehicles lining the streets in various locations throughout the map pool; these are different models compared to the 2009 versions. As you explore these newly modernized maps, you’ll notice other areas have received touches that both improve gameplay and enhance scenic detail and visibility.

Buildings and other features may be a different color or material entirely, such as the old dirt-and-grass soccer pitch in Favela, which is now paved over with blue acrylic-coated blacktop.

And when it comes to lighting, this revision of the game engine truly shines.

The game’s in-game illumination techniques noticeably brighten areas like Favela’s central alleyways, allowing players to see enemy Operators more clearly, rather than have targets blend into the shadows.

However, the most important changes to the 16 Multiplayer Maps aren’t how they look but how they ultimately play.

Because of technological advancements in Call of Duty’s animation and movement techniques over the past 14 years, Operators can Tactical Sprint and leap between rooftops, mantle, and navigate alleyways with Tac-Stance, giving players more confidence during these frenetic, close-quarters engagements.

Essentially, a “modernized” Modern Warfare 2 (2009) map means an authentic Multiplayer experience with learnings from the Call of Duty franchise’s rich history.

Memorable Map Areas Modernized for Modern Warfare III

Many other updates and features are coming to all the maps, though each still retains its authenticity and core design. To that end, all the Modern Warfare III launch maps were built from the ground up (rather than being taken from existing points of interest in other maps, like Al Mazrah).

Prior to more Multiplayer map revelations at Call of Duty: Next on October 5, here’s a brief glimpse at some of the memorable areas contained within a few of the other Modern Warfare III launch maps. Sledgehammer Games’ careful and considerate modernization is set to offer the same maps you remember, but with a refreshing multiplayer experience:

Estate

The lake behind the boathouse is now accessible for wetworks. Operators can now maneuver in and under the water and can swim out to a platform overlooking the area. There’s also a greater military presence on the Estate grounds than there was before. While the original lodge offered a luxurious getaway, this one features intel posted on the wall and a tank sitting on the main road outside.

Skidrow

The bookshop is now a movie store, and the ceiling has been repaired; the lights are back on for greater visibility when passing through. Further lighting improvements to areas like the hallway and tunnel ensure that Operators are clearly visible against the environment.

Rust

Remember that open pipe jutting out in a corner that many a camper took roost in? It’s been replaced by a small building, keeping the fight out in the open. Also, be sure to take advantage of Rust’s verticality by climbing the center tower and the surrounding containers with greater agility than ever before.

Highrise

The standard office layout from 2009 has been updated for the new tenant, a company whose arcade machines, movie posters, and video game systems profess their love for entertainment. Though the occupants are different, both buildings retain their most notorious power positions. The crane still provides a killer view from the northern building, while those willing to scale the front of Actibase will be rewarded with an unmatched rooftop position.

20 Maps at Launch, All-New Core Maps Come to Live Seasons

As detailed in the Modern Warfare III Reveal blog, in addition to these 16 authentic modernizations of Modern Warfare 2 (2009) maps, Modern Warfare III Multiplayer will also include four massive environments comprising three brand-new Battle Maps — where Ground War and Invasion game modes will be fought against monumental backdrops. There will also be a gargantuan War map as Modern Warfare III marks the welcome return and evolution of the legendary War Mode.

Expect the flow of free post launch content including Core 6v6 Maps and additional Multiplayer content to continue after launch. As previously stated, we’ll have over 12 all-new Core 6v6 Maps in our seasons, with three all-new 6v6 maps hitting in Season 01 and three all-new 6v6 maps hitting in Season 02, along with additional maps and modes throughout future seasons.