Hunting down the elusive Mercenary Convoy in Modern Warfare 3’s Zombies mode is no small feat – these armored trucks patrol the perilous ringroad highway, guarded by ruthless mercenaries ready to ambush at a moment’s notice. Arm yourself with rocket launchers and sniper rifles, and prepare for a high-stakes battle where every shot counts. Master the art of the ambush, claim the coveted Stronghold Keycard, and unlock some of the game’s most powerful loot in this thrilling guide to destroying the Mercenary Convoy on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
In this Modern Warfare 3 Zombies guide, we’ll teach you how to hunt down a Mercenary Convoy and collect its keycard.
How to find a Mercenary Convoy in MW3 Zombies
To find a Mercenary Convoy in Modern Warfare 3 Zombies, your best strategy is to drive along the main two-lane highway that circles the map, especially near the border between the low-threat white zone and the medium-threat orange zone. Convoys typically spawn when you get close, and you’ll often hear a radio call from Dobbs alerting you to their presence. They usually appear as three red vehicles traveling together on the minimap and can be found in various locations, frequently near suburbs or the northern and southern parts of the highway. Since their spawn is random and multiple convoys can appear in a single match, keep patrolling the highway and stopping at gas stations or clearing nearby aether nests to increase your chances of encountering one.
Mercenary Convoys are – as the name suggests – roaming bands of mercenaries in a convoy of three armored trucks. These are enemies with guns, and can take you out much faster than the shambling zombies, so be careful.
Running into a Mercenary Convoy is random in Zombies. However, there are ways to almost guarantee that you’ll encounter one. But, before you go hunting, you’ll want to make sure you have a long-range rifle. Any kind of rocket launcher is also very useful here, but isn’t nearly as important.
The Mercenary Convoys tend to patrol areas on roads, and they’ll appear on your map as three red cars driving along a street. (The in-universe NPCs will call you to let you know when a convoy is near, so you don’t need to stare at your map the entire game.)
I recommend just hanging out around roads, or driving along them if you’re looking to run into a convoy. The best spot to do this is on the two-road highway that bridges the lowest tier area of the map and the middle tier.
The highway is a loop in Zombies and you can continue to drive it around and around until you eventually find a Mercenary Convoy – just remember to get off and get gas when you need it. I found my highway convoy just north of Shahin Manor (as shown on the map above), so that’s a good place to start.
The only problem with the highway strategy is that you’re fairly likely to run into some medium difficulty mercenaries, who are much more difficult to kill than the low level ones on the outskirts of the map.
How to destroy a Mercenary Convoy and get a Mercenary Stronghold Keycard in MW3 Zombies
To destroy a Mercenary Convoy in Modern Warfare 3 Zombies, you need to locate the convoy, which typically consists of three red armored trucks patrolling the ring road highway around the map. Once you find the convoy, engage by taking out all the mercenaries inside and around the vehicles. It is recommended to use a rocket launcher or grenades to quickly dispatch them, as the convoy enemies are tougher than regular zombies. After eliminating all mercenaries, the convoy will drop a Mercenary Stronghold Keycard, which you must pick up to complete the Interceptor mission and gain access to a Mercenary Stronghold for powerful loot. Keep in mind that destroying the vehicles themselves is not required, but can make the fight easier. If the mission does not complete immediately due to a bug, killing nearby zombies or finding another convoy may help trigger completion.
Finding the Mercenary Convoy is the hard part of the Interceptor mission. Once you have one in your sights, all you need to do is take a few shots at it. Ideally, that first shot is with some kind of explosive, but the convoy will stop even if it’s just normal bullets.
Once you engage the Mercenary Convoy, you simply need to kill all of the mercs that come pouring out of the clown cars. This is where your long-range weapon is most useful, as it lets you hide behind some cover and take shots until all the mercs are dead. Keep in mind that zombies can and will attack you (and the mercs) while you’re fighting the convoy.
If you’re struggling to take down a Mercenary Convoy solo, you might want to toggle the squad mode on for this mission.
Once you’ve killed all the mercenaries, you should complete the “Destroy Mercenary Convoy” step of the mission. If it doesn’t work, try blowing up the convoy trucks themselves (which, again, is much easier with some explosives).
With the convoy good and destroyed, look for the body of their Sergeant or highest ranking officer. You’ll find a blue keycard floating around their corpse. Grab the Stronghold Keycard to complete the Interceptor mission.
The Tier 3 missions are far more complex than the Tier 1 missions, so now is a great time to extract and make a plan for the next time you go into Zombies.
For more Modern Warfare 3 guides, see how to switch to Tactical Stance, and check our guides on the best SVA 545 loadout, best Striker loadout, best MCW loadout, and best AMR9 loadout.
What’s the most effective way to take down a Mercenary Convoy quickly in MW3 Zombies
The most effective way to take down a Mercenary Convoy quickly in Modern Warfare 3 Zombies is to use a Rocket or Grenade Launcher. These explosive weapons allow you to deal massive damage to the convoy’s armored vehicles and the mercenaries inside, enabling you to eliminate them swiftly. Once you engage the convoy, the vehicles will stop, and the mercenaries will dismount to fight you, so keeping your distance and using long-range weapons like sniper rifles to pick them off while managing zombie threats is advisable. If you don’t have a launcher, pack-a-punching a gun to at least level 1 helps in dealing more damage efficiently. After killing all mercenaries, be sure to loot the Mercenary Stronghold Keycard from the leader’s body to complete the mission objective.
What’s the best weapon combo for quick convoy destruction in MW3 Zombies
The best weapon combo for quick Mercenary Convoy destruction in MW3 Zombies is using a Pack-A-Punched Rocket Launcher (RGL) paired with a high-damage, fast-firing secondary weapon like the WSP Swarm SMG or a sniper rifle for picking off dismounted mercenaries. The rocket launcher efficiently takes out the armored trucks and groups of enemies quickly, while the secondary weapon handles the mercenaries once they exit the vehicles. Alternatively, the Crossbow with thermite bolts is highly effective for solo runs, capable of dealing sustained incendiary damage and quickly eliminating bosses and mercenaries alike, especially when Pack-A-Punched. This combination balances explosive power for vehicle destruction and precision or rapid fire for clearing remaining enemies swiftly.
