The Complete Guide To Modern Warfare 3's Killstreak Rewards

We're less than a week from the massive Modern Warfare 3 launch, and FPS fans are sure to be dumping dozens (if not hundreds) of hours into the game's multiplayer in its first few months. While Black Ops focused on a new currency system, some of Modern Warfare 3's biggest tweaks are coming in the form of its killstreak reward system. For the first time in the series, players will assign a "strike package" to their custom classes that governs what rewards you can expect. Read on to decide which one sounds best for you.

Assault Strike Package

This package will feel more familiar to series fans than either of the other options. Like in previous games, this package will reward you with a variety of (mostly) offense-based attacks, but your streak count resets upon death. If you're good enough to rack up several successive kills without dying, here are some of the tools of destruction you can look forward to:

3 Kills - UAV. One of the oldest killstreaks in the series, this sweeping radar will reveal enemy locations on your HUD's minimap.

4 Kills - Care Package. A random assist item dropped from a helicopter at a location of your choosing. Just make sure you're not under a bridge when you throw the beacon.

5 Kills - Intelligent Munitions System (I.M.S.). This deadly proximity-based weapon looks like a giant land mine, but it's more sophisticated than that. Once an enemy steps within its detection radius, the I.M.S. launches an explosive at them. Great for defending flags or hiding near bottlenecks.

5 Kills - Predator Missile. Controllable death from above, which the player views as a first-person missile cam.

5 Kills - Sentry Gun. A turret that you can pick up and place in strategic locations on the battlefield.

6 Kills - Precision Airstrike. Once activated, the player chooses the location of the initial strike as well as the direction of the jets. Great for taking out clusters of enemies.

7 Kills - Attack Helicopter. An A.I.-controlled chopper that fires on enemies until its designated time runs out or it's destroyed by enemy fire.

9 Kills - Strafe Run. Five helicopters perform quick sweeps of the battlefield, taking out enemies that don't get to cover quick enough.

9 Kills - AH-6 Overwatch. A small chopper acts as your guardian angel, hovering near you and taking out anyone who means you harm.

9 Kills - Reaper. Call in several targeted missile strikes from an overhead view.

10 Kills - Assault Drone. A remote-controlled drone that can drive around the battlefield and take out enemies with its on-board weaponry. Lets you take out enemies while staying out of harm's way.

12 Kills - AC-130. The feared air support reward is back, and it once again puts you in the gunner's seat of the massive AC-130 aircraft. Sure to get your enemies running for cover.

12 Kills - Pave Low. A stronger version of the attack helicopter, featuring more powerful missiles, better armor, and flares that deflect incoming missiles.

15 Kills - Juggernaut Armor. A personal suit of Juggernaut armor that also grants the wearer a light machine gun and the Scavenger perk. Allows players to take far more damage at the expense of mobility.

17 Kills - Osprey Gunner. A combination of chopper gunner and multiple care packages, it allows you to lay down fire while delivering helpful packages to your team.

Support Strike Package

If you're a team-minded player who has trouble racking up successive kills without dying, then this strike package is the perfect fit for your play style. Being rewarded with the bigger items in the Assault strike package can be tough since the count resets upon death, but that isn't the case with Support. All of your kills during a round count towards your next killstreak, and you won't lose any progress if you catch a bullet to the head. These rewards are more defensive in nature, but they're not all for pacifists:

4 Kills - UAV. Identical to its Assault version, this returning reward shows enemy positions on the minimap for a limited time.

5 Kills - Counter-UAV. Scrambles enemy radar for thirty seconds, making your team's location undetectable from the sky.

5 Kills - Ballistic Vests. A pack of vests that can be placed, allowing teammates to suit up for additional defense.

5 Kills - Airdrop Trap. This makes your enemy think they're about to snag one of your care packages from under your nose, but delivers a deadly explosion instead.

8 Kills - SAM Turret. If the other team's airborne rewards are causing you trouble, you can place this to knock them out of the sky.

10 Kills - Recon Drone. A remote-controlled helicopter that briefly stuns enemies and tips off your teammates to their location.

12 Kills - Advanced UAV. A much more handy version of the standard UAV. Instead of just showing location, this also lets you know which way enemies are facing.

12 Kills - Remote Turret. A deployable sentry turret that can be aimed and fired from any location on the map.

14 Kills - Stealth Bomber. A payload of bombs is dropped from an undetectable stealth aircraft.

18 Kills - EMP. Temporarily shuts down enemy electronics, including sentry guns, red dot sights, and air support vehicles.

18 Kills - Juggernaut Recon. A heavily-armored suit is delivered from the sky, along with a riot shield and pistol.

18 Kills - Escort Airdrop. Several care packages are dropped from an Osprey, which then hovers and protects them for your team.

Specialist Strike Package

This selection is significantly different than Assault and Support, and should appeal to the more hardcore MW3 players. Rather than making a laundry list of offensive and defensive weapons available to the player, Specialist instead rewards you with perks. Tactical players should be able to tweak this strike package to make it ideal for specific game modes.

Let's say you wanted to affix a Specialist pack to the class you usually use for Domination. You could set it to unlock Extreme Conditioning after a few kills, which will allow you to run faster from flag to flag. By the time your next perk is unlocked, you've probably burned through a good deal of ammo. Not a problem, as you can set Scavenger to be your next perk. Up to three perks can be set to unlock at 2, 4, and 6 kills. If you make it to eight, you'll become a killing machine with almost every single perk active at once (excluding only Overkill). Specialist won't be for everyone, but the fans that prestige time and time again should love tweaking this package to its optimal effectiveness.