(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Anger, frustration and depression. Well, maybe not that bad, but sometimes it’s hard to keep a good mood while playing Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) Multiplayer. The reason is that it seems to be so damned hard to get a good kill-to-death (K/D) ratio in this game.

And I’m not the only one struggling. I recently received an email from one of my readers who was wondering if I could help him improve his K/D ratio.

Instead of answering him by e-mail, I have written this post.

The reason you and I Struggle
There may be several reasons why many players (myself included) are struggling in Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer. Here are some of them:

MW3 is a Different Kind of Beast
MW3 Online is faster than the other Call of Duty (CoD) games – or at least it feels that way. It may be that the maps in this game are not smaller than in other games, but they feel significantly tighter and more complex.

It also seems as though the players spawn closer to each other than in other CoD games. This helps to strengthen the feeling that MW3 is a more intense game.

As a result, it may take some time before you get used to the game. Some players have no problem going directly from one game to another, while other players, like me, need some time to adapt.

Lag Compensation (Claim)
I think that lag compensation has ruined the game for quite a few players in the first few weeks. From what I understand, this mechanism functions like this:

You are “punished” if you have a good Internet connection. MW3 Multiplayer is designed so that it reduces the advantage of having a fast connection. The purpose is to even out the differences between players, because not all players have an equally good connection.

This is great in theory, but many have argued that the compensation in MW3 online has been too effective in disfavor of players with fast connections. It is said to have been particularly bad for those console players who have ended up as match hosts.


I can only speak from my own experience, of course. At home we have two Internet connections: A pretty good one (25 Mb / 5 Mb), and a slower one (12 Mb / 0.6 Mb).

When I played on the faster connection, I could often empty a magazine into an enemy character without seemingly getting a single hit marker. When I have played on the slower connection, the hit rate was much higher…

I think Infinity Ward has been good so far at supporting Modern Warfare 3. From what I can judge, they have also tried to solve this problem, and have been successful to some extent

So, How Can I Improve My K/D Ratio?
Be Patient


Recognize that it may take some time before you become accustomed to the game. There is much to learn: Maps, weapons, specializations, modifications, and game modes. Give yourself time to take everything in and understand how the game works.

Adjust The Sensitivity

Try adjusting the sensitivity in Options. Adjust it gradually and find out how it affects your performance. Also, consider using different settings for different weapons; I play with a sensitivity of “4” when I’m playing with assault rifles. When I use submachine guns, however, I set the sensitivity to “3”.

Go Silent, Go stealthy

Make your character as little-noticeable as possible. Equip your weapon with a silencer; and use Blind Eye, Assassin and Dead Silence as your perks, when they become available. Do everything you can in order to attract as little attention as possible to your character.

The Alternative

Choose a submachine gun; equip it with Rapid Fire; and select the following perks: Sleight of Hand, Quick Draw and Steady Aim. Overall, this means you’ll be faster in everything you do with your weapon. This option may require you to have a pretty good Internet connection, however. Good knowledge of the maps is also an advantage.

Discover The Enemy

Pick the Support strike package. In this package, select the UAV, Counter-UAV and Advanced UAV when they become available. This will often make it easier for you to see where all (or most) of your opponents’ characters are on your mini map, and thanks to the Counter-UAV, you will also make it harder for opponents to discover both your own position and those of your team.

Know the maps, With a Twist

Learn the maps so that you know the less traditional routes and more obscure paths from A to B. Learn what you can jump up onto or down off, and find out which windows you can move through, and so on. With such knowledge, you will be a less predictable player.

Scan a Lot

Move in stages. Walk to a corner; scan the surroundings; look straight ahead, and left and right. Take out possible opponents; move to the next corner; do a new scan. Walk up some stairs; scan again… (you get the idea).

Walk, Do Not Run

When you choose to walk instead of run, you will usually catch more of what’s going on around you. It will also be easier for you to kill characters who hide behind corners, and you will be able to draw your weapon slightly faster.

Be Careful With Corners and Buildings

Walk around corners. Walk when you are entering or exiting buildings, and always be ready to fire your weapon. Aim down sight when you round a corner or walk into or out of buildings. Use the Stalker perk, which will allow you to move faster in any direction while aiming. Grenades, concussion grenades, flash bangs and the like, do two things: They disable opponents to a certain extent; and they reveal the opponents’ approximate locations. Throw a grenade or a flash bang into a house. If your on-screen reticle expands when the explosive goes off, you can be fairly sure that someone or something (claymores, bouncing Bettys, sentry guns, and stuff like that) are waiting for you.

Do Some Soft Camping


Take control of a small area of the map. Find a location and wait for an enemy character to come to you; take it out. Find a new location nearby and wait for the next character; kill it. Once again, switch to a new nearby position. Every now and then, you should move to a completely different area, so that you do not become a victim of your opponents’ shifting spawn points.

Reload Safe, Reload Often

You do not want to run into an enemy character with a magazine that is almost empty. Make it a habit to reload your weapon quite often, but never reload in the enemy’s line of sight. Find some cover and make sure it is reasonably safe before you reload your weapon.

Practice Strafing

To strafe means to move your character from side-to-side in front of the opponent’s character while firing your weapon. At the same time, keep your weapon’s sight on the opposing character all the time. You can also move in a circle around the character; by doing this you will become a target that is harder to hit. This technique is even more effective when you use Stalker as one of your perks.

Hug The Walls

Do not move in the middle of the road; move along the walls instead. This should make it harder for opponents to discover your character, and your character will often be closer to cover.

Think Cover

Move behind cover as much as possible, and move from cover to cover as often as possible. The bullets in MW3 online can penetrate your cover, but some cover is always better than no cover at all.

Go Where No one Goes

Most players I’ve met (regardless of which game) move in herds against the other team, which also moves in a herd. Break out of your group, go another way, and try to attack the opposing players from one side. Better yet, try to move around them, so you can attack from behind.

Train Your Reflexes

You should look at this advice from a longer-term perspective. How quickly you are able to react will always affect your performance in Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer. Here is an article with some simple exercises you can do to improve your speed: How to have faster reflexes.

I would also like to quote “Oxygene”, who wrote this in a comment:

A couple of things I’ve found that helped me in the “early learning” phase were to change my button layout to tactical, that way you can go prone by pushing the right stick and adjust your aim at the same time, definately quicker than holding B (xbox) and then adjusting, because you’re probably dead by then. I used this tactic when I came one on one in mid to close quarter combat before I got to grips with strafing effectively.

HOPE THAT HELPED

Its trippy but cool, hope im aloud