MW3 players who shoot first die first, as CoD TTK is slower than ever

CoD TTK has frequently been a big point of emphasis within the community for each of Activision’s series installments, and MW3 is no different. During the release of 2022’s Modern Warfare 2, players often complained about the game’s fast TTK, making each match a haven for methodical gamers and campers. Now that it’s been reduced, however, fans are complaining that it’s too slow because those who shoot first die first.

Now that the first MW3 beta weekend has concluded ahead of the Modern Warfare 3 release date, those who were able to join in on the pre-release festivities have been able to get a feel for the latest series entry’s overall gameplay. Naturally, this means most players now know what the in-game TTK is like, further evidenced by content creator XclusiveAce’s aggregated CoD TTK stats.

According to XclusiveAce’s comparative graphic, MW3 is tied for the second-longest TTK in series history with 2020’s Black Ops Cold War. Even though Cold War is often praised within the community as having one of the best TTK durations in CoD, the latest installment isn’t being afforded the same praise due to the noticeable differences in weapon balancing.

According to a Reddit comment from Mlut541, they noted that “Some [weapons] are melt machines, and others are hitmarker machines.” “If both categories are adjusted closer to the actual average, it would be better,” they added. Another Redditor shared a similar sentiment in a later response, saying: “[TTK] felt widely inconsistent to me. Something’s definitely not right,” to which llll-havok replied: “I feel some guns definitely have higher above chest/headshot multipliers.”

Unfortunately, the “shoot first, die first” trend due to MW3’s TTK may not be addressed any time soon, as Sledgehammer Games is currently focusing on improving other in-game elements, like map spawns and slide timing. Though it will surely be addressed in a future patch, you’ll just have to make do with the hand you’ve been dealt for now.

For more on the latest CoD installment, take a look at our guides on the best Lockwood 680 loadout in MW3, the best AMR9 loadout in MW3, and the best Rival 9 loadout in MW3.