MW3 Invasion Map - Modern Warfare 3

Tactical Overview

In team-based game modes, teams will either spawn at the Convoy (northwest) or the Parking Lot (south).

Between the two starting spawns lies a desert city occupied by tanks and littered with the evidence of battle. Danger lurks in the streets and surrounding buildings, with elevated positions all around.

We’ve divided Invasion into seven sections based on key areas around the map:

- MAIN SPAWN POINT: Convoy (+ Checkpoint)

- MAIN SPAWN POINT: Parking Lot (+ Gas Station, Shops, West Street)

- ADDITIONAL AREA: Embassy (+ Embassy Courtyard, Embassy Fountain, East Street)

- ADDITIONAL AREA: Park

- ADDITIONAL AREA: South Street (+ Offices, Construction, Destroyed Apartments)

- ADDITIONAL AREA: Center Street (+ Courtyard, Electronic Shop, Hookah Lounge, Rug Shop, Hotel Lobby)

- ADDITIONAL AREA: North Street (+ Bus Station, Hostel)

MAIN SPAWN POINT: Convoy (NORTHWEST)

Jutting west over the dried-up river, the Convoy consists of a line of military vehicles facing the battered city. Climb into the back of any of them for a greater view of the surrounding area, crouching down for partial cover when engaging enemy Operators.

A portion of North Street along the river is visible through the chain link fence, including the Bus Station windows overlooking the riverbed. To the east, a road stretches out between the Embassy and Park, and through the nearby Checkpoint a ladder gives access to the upper level of the Embassy.

MAIN SPAWN POINT: Parking Lot (SOUTH)

Like the Convoy spawn, the Parking Lot is a fairly small location, though it’s a strong starting point into the rest of the map. Head through the nearby Gas Station for quick access to the North Street riverside, using the destroyed tank for cover as you check for movement down the lane.

When you need to defend the Parking Lot, climb the ladder by the 4x4 or mantle onto the dumpster to reach the Shops’ rooftop, which provides views of all three lanes leading into the area. Move into the Shops below for a less commanding though more concealed view. When engaging enemies coming from the east, stand by one of the concrete barricades for cover.

ADDITIONAL AREA: Embassy

The Embassy looms over the north end of the map. This two-story structure is surrounded by sturdy walls, making it a powerful defensive position. The arched windows throughout provide multiple vantage points over East Street and beyond, making it easy to back off and reposition when taking fire.

Inside the Embassy, the lower floor consists of tightknit rooms where close-quarters combat reigns, so be ready to engage the moment an enemy appears. There are plenty of CQB opportunities upstairs as well, though the longer hallways there extend battles into the midrange.

The outer balcony may be the strongest power position in the area, providing sandbags for cover with a full view of the Park and partial views of the adjacent lanes. A skilled sharpshooter can inflict a lot of damage from up there.

ADDITIONAL AREA: Park

The Park takes up the north central portion of the map, and most of the skirmishes within its bounds become close-quarters fights. Its low walls, however, open sightlines in a nearly 360-degree view around the location. Use the section of high wall and the side of the building to protect your back when covering the area.

Whether defending or just passing through, the Park’s location between North Street to the west and South Street to the east makes it a crucial passage. Going up against the northern Embassy is a risky maneuver — just look at all those vantage points peering down into the Park — but with a decent Optic and fast aim, an assault on the fortification is possible.

ADDITIONAL AREA: South Street

Having taken the brunt of the battle, the South Street section lies in rubble. This is one of the most dangerous areas on the map, with several buildings offering access to their upper level, including the Destroyed Apartments and the upper floor of the Hookah Lounge on the other side of the street.

It's not just the vantage points you need to look out for. The alleyways between the buildings can hide enemy movement until they’re right on top of you, in addition to offering a valuable means of escape. If you need some breathing room, move up to Construction north of the area, where sightlines open up and the adjacent Offices provide views to the north and south.

ADDITIONAL AREA: Center Street

Except for the Hookah Lounge near the Destroyed Apartments, there’s no upper-level access to the Center Street buildings. This lets Operators focus on what’s in front — and behind, and to the sides — of them, at least keeping things on an even level.

The challenge here lies in the number of traversable interior spaces, providing plenty of ambush points against players moving in the area. Close-quarters Loadouts excel inside the buildings where spacing is tight, while midranged fights break out across the long lanes running between them. A sniper might even set up on either end of this road to eliminate enemies as they pass through the marketplace.

If you’re not sure where the enemy is located, take a moment to scan the area, waiting for them to make the first move. Once they reveal their position, you’ll have the initiative.

ADDITIONAL AREA: North Street

North Street runs down the map’s left flank, and its open road caters to long-distance brawls. As opposed to the rest of the map, there aren’t many traversable buildings along this line. The power positions available include the Hostel patio, the Bus Station, and the bridge for its view over the area. The Bus Station’s rear windows provide a great counter against enemies at the Convoy.

Watch your sides when engaging opponents down North Street; you don’t want to stand wide open at a crossroad if you can help it. Instead, keep close to the building’s walls as you search for an opening into the fight.

Objective Overview

Overall Tactics

Invasion is a classic urban environment where battles break out over the streets and from building to building, their close proximity a sign that danger can emerge at any moment.

Communication and intel gathering is key to your success to minimize surprises. Move carefully through the map and mark dangers as they appear.

Team up with squadmates to improve your odds when skirmishes break out. An extra Operator on your side makes all the difference in determining the outcome of crucial fights.

Sticking with a teammate doesn’t necessarily mean moving side by side, either. When approaching objectives, fan out and move to the same target from different angles to divide the enemy’s attention, whether that’s engaging in a pincer movement around a location or sending one Operator to an upper vantage point while the other moves on the ground.

Domination

The Domination flags run down the center path of the map, from the Embassy through the Park and Center Street and down to the Parking Lot.

The B flag is visible from both A and C, so a sharpshooter can protect their home base flag while also eliminating enemies on B, making an early middle map capture of vital importance.

Therefore, when capturing B, watch for incoming fire from the enemy flag. If an opposing sniper has it locked down, bring your own rifle to countersnipe or move up and flank their position so your teammates can cap the objective while you’ve got them occupied.

Don’t neglect to use the side routes, either. While it’s tempting to rush straight down the middle for the shortest path possible, a flank route through the riverside or South Street can throw off your opponents’ balance. Because capturing B is of such paramount importance on this map, anything you can do to disorient the enemy will work in your favor.

Hardpoint

The Invasion Hardpoints test every playstyle, often challenging players with mid- to long-ranged battles on the way to the objective while close-quarters attacks determine the outcome of the point itself.

Success relies on anticipating the changing sightlines as you approach each Hardpoint as well as picking the best route there to compliment your playstyle and Loadout.

You have options on the point as well. In the initial Hotel Lobby Hardpoint, midranged weapons perform best near the windows, eliminating enemies on approach. Close-quarters weapons perform best by the desk, away from the windows and focused on the two entryways there.

Construction caters more to mid- and long-ranged combat, so CQB players may want to switch up their Loadout to better compete in the flat, open area. This is a great Hardpoint to drop an aerial attack over due to the lack of nearby cover unless enemies abandon the objective for the nearby Offices.

In the final Embassy Hardpoint, try mantling up the white sedan, over the wall, and into the second-level window leading right to the point, thus skipping the need to battle through the ground floor first. Stay on the lookout for opportunities across all five Hardpoints and the victory will be yours.

Cutthroat

A balance of positioning and speed is necessary for winning rounds of Cutthroat. Do you rush straight for the central Courtyard looking to engage right away, or seek one of the map’s many vantage points in hopes of setting up the perfect angle? Or maybe set up in the lower level of a building ready to race after passing enemies?

The position of the overtime flag will largely determine your general area of combat, as you don’t want to get pulled too far off course. Hunting down the last remnants of a squad on the other side won’t matter if an enemy on the third team nabs the flag and wins the round. Thus, your strategy should take into account the environment around the overtime flag as well as the abilities of the other two squads.

If they’re running in gung-ho for the eliminations, let them duke it out while your squad fires from well-defended positions. If they’re taking it slow, equip some Smoke Grenades and cut off their sightlines while you approach from an unexpected angle. The more you can throw the enemy off balance, the better.

Be willing to change up your Loadout each round as well. Fights on the riverside are a whole different game than battles in Center Street, and the same goes for the Embassy. Use the first round to get a feel for your opponents so you can pick the best tools for the job.

Search & Destroy

Invasion’s urban layout adds a lot of risk in Search & Destroy, whether going for the A bomb site between the Park and North Street or the B bomb site in Construction.

Either path presents plenty of danger for both teams, each alleyway and building en route a potential hot spot of activity. Keep your eyes sharp, communicate intel, and move with intent.

Invasion’s density works to the attacking team’s favor, as there are many opportunities to change tactics on the fly. Try a full squad rush to B, or fan out and distract the enemy while sneaking in an A plant. Generally, close-quarters Loadouts perform better at A while longer ranged Loadouts excel at pushing toward B.

Starting by the Embassy, the defending team has the advantage of proximity to the bomb sites. Sharpshooters can really shine here, moving out to the sides of the map to utilize the long sightlines down North and South Streets. Pair them with midranged Operators moving through the Park for strong map coverage.

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.