In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, you can no longer play sniper rifles in Ranked, which means that almost 92% of the weapons are excluded from this mode.
Why are sniper rifles being removed? The Ranked mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 aims to provide you with the same gaming experience that the professionals of the Call of Duty League (CDL) have.
This means that the Ranked mode is oriented towards the rules of the CDL. The players of the League come to an agreement in the form of a gentleman’s agreement on certain restrictions that then also apply in Ranked.
So if the e-sports players do not want to use a certain weapon, for whatever reason, they ban it, and this ban is then also adopted for Ranked by the developers. This is what has happened to the sniper rifles, which have not been playable in Ranked since February 13, 2024.
92% of all weapons from MW2 and MW3 are missing in Ranked
Which weapons can you play in Ranked? In CoD MW3, there are a total of 121 weapons, 77 of which come from MW2. However, only 10 of these weapons are playable in Ranked and the CDL.
The allowed weapons are:
- MCW – Assault Rifle
- AMR-9 – Submachine Gun
- Rival-9 – Submachine Gun
- Striker – Submachine Gun
- Striker-9 – Submachine Gun
- WSP-9 – Submachine Gun
- WSP-Swarm – Submachine Gun
- Renetti – Pistol
- Combat Knife – Melee Weapon
- Karambit – Melee Weapon
This means that a total of 111 weapons (i.e., 92%) are not available to you in Ranked.
“Pro players ruin the game for everyone else”
What does the community say about it? The removal of sniper rifles from Ranked is viewed with mixed feelings by the community. Some players find it quite reasonable, while others complain about the CDL players and regret that many weapons are not playable in Ranked.
- aenstars via Twitter: “I’m a big fan of the CDL, but the fact that the same weapons and equipment pools are used in Ranked play is so boring.”
- Debilniks via Reddit: “Well, now I’m not dying after 3 seconds in a round on Highrise.”
- Rolan via Twitter: “Pro players ruin the game for everyone else.”
- YourBoyLoops via Reddit: “Why are people upset about this? The pros don’t use sniper rifles and this mode is supposed to imitate that as closely as possible.”
- OpTic Hitch via X.com: “Spawning on Highrise and Terminal and not being able to have a sniper rifle… Damn boring CoD pros, man.”
Activision recently revealed new details about the matchmaking of Modern Warfare 3 and how it works, emphasizing that not the skill of the players, but their connection is prioritized the most: Your skill is not the most important factor in the matchmaking of Call of Duty, says Activision
