If you think earning Battle Pass XP is a chore in Modern Warfare 3, you’re not alone and there’s actually a reason why it feels like that. Call of Duty developer Treyarch admits Battle Pass XP gains have been inconsistent since launch and, following the release of an update to address that, is planning to compensate any affected players with refunds. If you’ve been using MW3 to grind out the Season 6 Battle Pass, and claiming double Battle Pass XP tokens during that, then you’re in luck; you should have some free MW3 double Battle Pass XP tokens on the way.
We know Call of Duty is leaning a little too heavily on nostalgia for everyone’s tastes, but Modern Warfare 3 is still a fantastic game; it’s one of the best FPS games available right now, without a doubt. And, as long as you go into the campaign with minimal expectations and focus on the multiplayer modes on offer, this is one of several new PS5 games and new Xbox games worth sinking some time into. If you want to take full advantage of the Battle Pass system in place, though, time is exactly what MW3 demands. Even when everything is working as intended, the Battle Pass system in place can feel like a grind and get quite frustrating. So, when something like the rate at which you gain Battle Pass XP breaks, it can be truly infuriating – and quite demoralizing to see your efforts and time playing go unrewarded.
Thankfully, whether you were actually aware of any issues with Battle Pass XP gains or not, Treyarch has known about this issue for a little while now and it looks like it’s finally resolved.
As the Modern Warfare 3 Trello Board explains, Treyarch “rolled out a fix for Battle Pass XP” last week and, following that, it’s going to “retroactively grant players the XP they would have earned for time played in matches from launch” – up until around November 17, which is when the initial fix was introduced.
So, if you have been playing a lot of Modern Warfare 3 recently, you should find yourself earning a huge chunk of Battle Pass XP after an upcoming match – this being Treyarch’s refund for all the Battle Pass XP you missed out on. This amount does depend on how much you’ve actually played, though, so don’t necessarily expect to earn the same amount as others. You might still feel like you’re being cheated out of progress, but we just have to trust that Treyarch’s fix is accurate and fair – not that we have any reason to think otherwise.
That isn’t the only bit of good news, though, as the title of this article suggests. If you spent and used any double Battle Pass XP tokens at all in that same period, you’ll be pleased to know that Treyarch is also going to refund those. This isn’t something we expected to see, but we’re not complaining. The issue was with the initial Battle Pass XP gains, not the tokens themselves. However, as compensation, Treyarch is just refunding the lot – Battle Pass XP and double Battle Pass XP tokens alike. In Treyarch’s own words, just to clarify, “double Battle Pass XP tokens used between the launch and the fix window will be refunded after Battle Pass XP has been refunded”.
With Treyarch noting that this is an automatic, but not instantaneous, process, you might have to wait a couple days before you see your bonus Battle Pass XP and refunded double Battle Pass XP tokens pop up in-game. However, it’s certainly going to be worth the wait – especially if you’ve been playing a lot of MW3 (or Warzone, for that matter) over the last few weeks. If you’ve already received a huge Battle Pass XP dump while playing, then your refunded tokens should be right around the corner.
The Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 release date is almost upon us, so saving any refunded double Battle Pass XP tokens for the new season of content should help you make light work of the first few tiers and make excellent progress towards unlocking the new Modern Warfare 3 Season 1 guns when they arrive – several of which will be free rewards for specific Battle Pass tiers. Of course, though, you can always use these tokens to see off the rest of the Season 6 Battle Pass.
We might not know what the MW3 meta will look like after the Season 1 update, but we can make an educated guess – and we have if. This effective pre-season period is the perfect place to check out all the best MW3 guns and best MW3 loadouts – it’s important to find a set-up that works for you, as well. The fact you can do all this while finishing off the old Battle Pass without needing to play the old game is a plus, and Treyarch’s refund makes the whole thing even sweeter.