Best Maps Tier List

All the best maps ranked in this map tier list for multiplayer in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (MW3 2023). Read on to see the best maps tier list, as well as the best maps for each game mode!

Best Maps Tier List

Overall Maps Ranked

Tier	Maps	Explanation
	Rust	・Quick and fast gameplay due to it being a small map. ・Lots of cover despite being a tiny map.
	Highrise	・Well-balanced map design featuring three attack lanes. ・Hidden passageways for flanking opportunities. ・Helipads for camping and sniping playstyles.
	Skidrow	・Perfect mix of Close-Quarters Combat to Long-Range Battles ・Balanced gameplay for all game modes.
	Estate	・Log cabins to provide cover and indoor combat. ・Perfect blend of Sniper and Assault playstyles.
	Popov Power	・Features Tanks, Armored Vehicles, and Helicopters ・Tactical and Slow-paced Gameplay
	Favela	・Rooftop Combat ・Catered to advanced players due to rooftop advantages. ・House-to-house indoor battles. ・Different ways to engage opponents. ・Difficult to play as you'll need to consistently check a lot of corners.
	Orlov Military Base	・Features Tanks, Armored Vehicles, and Helicopters ・Tactical and Slow-paced Gameplay ・Difficult for beginners due to the large presence of buildings and facilities scattered around.

Rust and Highrise are the best maps in MW3 (2023) for gameplay speed and balance between beginners and long-time veteran players. You can enjoy fast-paced matches on these while improving your skills as a COD player. Make sure to vote for these during map voting!

List of All Maps

S-Tier Maps

Rust

Rust is famously known as one of the smallest maps in Call of Duty history. Players love the fast-paced action that this map offers as there's chaos and turmoil almost immediately everywhere they go.

In this small-scaled map, it's not uncommon for players to consistently engage in harrowing firefights with the enemy team, and to witness killstreaks hailing from the sky every few seconds.

Rust Map, Hiding Spots, and Strategies

Highrise

Highrise has an overall balanced map design with players spawning in their own team's buildings opposite of each other. There are also three lanes in-between the two spawn points filled with enough cover to traverse to the other end of the rooftop safely.

In addition, a helipad is also present for snipers to camp at, as well as an underground passage for those looking for a sneaky way to get behind enemy lines.

Highrise Map, Secret Spots, and Strategies

A-Tier Maps

Skidrow

Skidrow is a perfect mix of close-quarters engagements and long-range combat due to its tight alleyways that serve as chokepoints and a small compact war-torn building featuring long narrow hallways.

On top of all those mentioned, there are also open areas such as a cargo loading area and a playground park to outclass your opponents with your marksman rifle skills.

Skidrow Map and Strategies

B-Tier Maps

Estate

Estate features several log cabins that players can use as cover or potentially a sniping position to pick off enemies running across the open ground at the middle of the map.

The cabin at the top of the hill provides a clear vision of almost the whole map, therefore players constantly fight for it as it gives a huge advantage for the team who controls it.

Estate Map and Strategies

Popov Power

Popov Power is a new Ground War and Invasion map introduced in Modern Warfare 3 and features an industrial power plant which houses numerous facilities and buildings, thus making it a sniper's dream as they could sit there all day preying on players who are unlucky enough to step into their crosshairs.

The map is purposely designed for large-scaled conflicts with armored vehicles, tanks, and helicopters involved as it's pretty much balanced with a fair amount of open spaces and several structures for cover.

C-Tier Maps

Favela

Favela's main highlight are the rooftops that players can jump onto to give themselves an unfair combat advantage to those on the ground. It also has a lot of buildings sprawled all over the place that hosts a fair amount of indoor house-to-house fighting.

Whether it's fighting through the tightly compact slums or the perilous rooftops, Favela provides a lot of opportunities to engage the opposing team in different ways.

Favela Map and Strategies

Orlov Military Base

Orlov Military Base is another large-scaled map, and seemingly features more buildings and facilities than Popov Power, making some battles a bit difficult for beginners of the game as it provides a huge advantage for advanced players as they can come up with some smart tactical strategies.

Nonetheless, it's still a fun Ground War and Invasion map that'll keep you on your toes as you watch for snipers and aerial attacks from enemy choppers.

Best Maps Tier List Criteria

Full Criteria

Category	Evaluation
Map Balance	Determined by giving no major advantages to a team by exploiting a feature included in the map's design.
Gameplay Speed	Determined by the overall pacing and speed of engagements happening around the map.
Difficulty	Determined by how hard or easy it is to get around different locations in the map.

The criteria for how the maps are ranked are based off on their overall map balance design, gameplay speed, and difficulty in getting around different areas.

Best Maps for Each Game Mode

Domination

Best Maps for Domination
Estate	Skidrow	Favela

The best maps to play for Domination are Estate, Skidrow, and Favela due to how well spread out each of the control points are across the map.

In Estate, the A, B, and C sites are positioned beside cabins that provide enough cover when clearing the area of enemies that are attempting to capture the point.

For Skidrow, it has a hotly contested middle area where you could run and gun from any direction, but balances it out with the cornered off A and C sites, which you have to approach more tactfully and strategically.

Favela allows players to scale up on rooftops which gives a bird's eye view of the capture points which they can watch over. This is balanced out by also having a lot of houses that players can enter in order to hide from potential threats shooting from above.

Domination Tips and Best Strategies

Team Deathmatch

Best Maps for Team Deathmatch
Rust	Highrise

Teams will be tasked with quickly reaching the score point cap by getting kills, so fast-paced maps like Rust and Highrise are the favorable picks here as both maps have a high chance of players engaging one another due to the limited spawn points of the maps.

Team Deathmatch Tips and Best Loadouts

Kill Confirmed

Best Maps for Kill Confirmed
Rust	Skidrow

Rust and Skidrow are two maps you'll likely breeze through for Kill Confirmed as both consistently have close-quarters combat which leads to an easier time in collecting the dog tags as you can pick them up almost instantly after killing an enemy at close-range.

Hardpoint

Best Maps for Domination
Highrise	Estate	Favela

For Hardpoint, maps like Highrise, Estate, and Favela all have numerous ways to engage and outflank the enemy, leading to a lot of opportunities to recapture the objective for your team.

Hardpoint Rotations, Spawns, and Best Strategies

Search and Destroy

Best Maps for Search and Destroy
Favela	Estate

Favela and Estate are the best maps for Search and Destroy since they offer strategic and tactical gameplay which are both required to succeed in this game mode. Both maps have different ways to attack and defend the objective, leading up to a high skill-ceiling when playing in one of them.

Ground War and Invasion

Best Maps for Ground War and Invasion
Popov Power	Orlov Military Base

When it comes to Ground War and Invasion, the two maps from the beta, Popov Power and Orlov Military Base, are already good picks for the game mode as they both have large open ground areas for on-foot combat and vehicular battles, as well as a wide variety of buildings for indoor fights.

Best Map Poll

What's Your Favorite MW3 2023 Map?

Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) Related Guides

List of All Maps

All Map Guides

Map Guides
Best Maps Tier List

All Maps in MW3

All Core Maps
Afghan	Derail
Estate	Favela
Highrise	Invasion
Karachi	Quarry
Rundown	Rust
Scrapyard	Skidrow
Sub Base	Terminal
Underpass	Wasteland
All Season 1 Maps
Meat	Greece
Rio	Training Facility
All Season 2 Maps
Das Haus	Departures
Stash House	Vista
Operation Tin Man	-
All Battle Maps
Popov Power	Orlov Military Base
All Zombies Maps
Urzikstan	Dark Aether