Call Of Duty: MW3 Zombies - All Field Upgrades And Best Picks

Treyarch's Zombies mode returns in Call of Duty, reimagined as a large-scale extraction mode decorated with the undead in Modern Warfare 3. Instead of using the standard field upgrade equipment found in multiplayer, Zombies mode uses its own unique set of field upgrade options. Here we list all the available field upgrades found in MW3 Zombies and recommend some of the best options for your match.

Field upgrades explained

Instead of the typical multiplayer options, field upgrades in Zombies provide a temporary elemental ability that goes into a brief cooldown. These will be familiar if you played Black Ops Cold War Zombies. There is only one field upgrade option to start with at launch, and more upgrades are unlocked by leveling up through the player ranks.

All field upgrades

Energy Mine

The Energy Mine field upgrade spawns an explosive, dealing massive damage to enemies who set it off. This field upgrade has a medium recharge rate.

Frenzied Guard

Frenzied Guard will fully repair your armor and force all enemies in the area to target you for 10 seconds. Additionally, enemy kills will repair armor during this time. This is perfect for aggro playstyles. This field upgrade has a slow recharge rate.

Healing Aura

Healing Aura immediately heals you and all your teammates, and it will pick up any players knocked into last stand. This field upgrade has a slow recharge rate.

Frost Blast

Frost Blast is a field upgrade that damages enemies with the initial freeze blast and slows those that enter the area of effect. This field upgrade has a medium recharge rate.

Aether Shroud

Aether Shroud is a field upgrade that lets you temporarily become invisible to zombies. This field upgrade has a medium recharge rate.

Tesla Storm

Activating the Tesla Storm field upgrades connects a chain of lightning to you and other players, stunning and damaging the normal enemy types around everyone affected. This lasts for a duration of 10 seconds. This field upgrade has a slow recharge rate.

Recommended field upgrades

Some of the most powerful and useful field upgrades in Zombies are Healing Aura, Aether Shroud, and Frenzied Guard. Whichever you choose might depend on your playstyle and if you're going into a match solo or with teammates.

Zombies is designed as a trio mode, so it can be helpful to mix and match field upgrades with your friends for the best team composition. For example, Healing Aura is great for healing you and your allies, so you'll want at least one friendly equipped with this pick.

Frenzied Guard is great for the aggressive and trigger-happy playstyles, but it doesn't have to be just some selfish ploy to lure all the zombies to you. It can be useful in boss fights, where you might want one aggro player taking the attention of all the normal enemy types to let the others give their focus to dealing damage to the boss. It can also help by temporarily taking the heat off of a friendly who is in trouble or maybe working out an Easter egg step.

As a solo player, you might consider using Aether Shroud to keep you alive instead of Healing Aura. Neither is a bad option, but Aether Shroud's brief period of invisibility is great if you find yourself stuck or overwhelmed by the undead. It can really get you out of a pickle, and it recharges faster than Healing Aura.

For more on Zombies, make sure to check out our guide on how weapon loadouts work. Additionally, we have a guide on how to level up faster, including both player rank and weapon progression in Modern Warfare 3.