Activision has made it clear that it’s got some big plans for the November release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. However, one particularly interesting tidbit of related information comes from the recent pre-order announcement. Featuring an admittedly substantial selection of skins, weaponry, and additional Season 1 goodies, the special Vault edition of MW3 also signals the grand return of the Weapon Vault system. Which was, by all accounts, seemingly forgotten for an entire year now.
Modern Warfare 3‘s Carry Forward functionality means that Modern Warfare 2 players can effortlessly transition over to the new title with all of their gear and cosmetics included. This is good news, broadly speaking, even if it will inevitably complicate the new title’s meta and balancing. But this is also the first time that Activision transitioned anything from one CoD over to the next. That includes last year’s FJX Cinder Weapon Vault, which poses a curious question about the new pre-order offering.
What is up with Weapon Vaults in CoD?
Players that spend a whopping $99 on the Vault Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will get exclusive access to the arguably tacky FATE Weapon Vaults. This isn’t strange in and of itself, being an extremely expensive upsell option for a AAA shooter. But what is a bit strange is that Modern Warfare 2‘s FJX Cinder Vault never did get a successor up until now. Many in the community expected to see one at some point during the previous game’s production cycle.
Modern Warfare‘s Weapon Vaults are, essentially, pre-unlocked weapon families. They feature full modification platforms and their respective attachments, providing a big leg-up in the early days of the game. Activision hyped the concept of Weapon Vaults with the FJX Cinder Vault’s release, calling them the “Ultimate Weapon Blueprint”. However, the feature appears to have panned out to become strictly a pre-order upsell.
The Modern Warfare games have emphasised their gun customization, so the paywall for Vaults may sadden some fans. For those who’ve got money to spare, though, $99 will now earn them two Vaults on top of everything else. They’ll focus on some variant of the legendary AK platform and possibly the MCX Spear/XM7. The full details on what’s included are still pending.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will launch on November 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
