Modern Warfare 3’s new Tac-Stance mechanic explained

With Modern Warfare 3’s official announcement comes all-new mechanics to the iconic FPS franchise. Chief among them being Tac-Stance, so here is your explainer of what it is and how it can help you. 

Activision just officially revealed Modern Warfare 3 and revealed a great deal of what we can expect in the upcoming sequel. 

From including all 16 maps from the original MW2 (2009), to creating new open-ended Campaign missions in contrast to older entries, to even bringing back slide canceling, there’s plenty to be excited about.

And with many new additions, Sledgehammer has seen fit to bring in a new mechanic, Tactical Stance, or Tac-Stance for short. One of several new mechanics being introduced with MW3 to give players more freedom in combat gameplay.

So what exactly is Tac-Stance and how does it all work? Here’s what we know.

Tac-Stance balances mobility and accuracy, allowing for evasive maneuvers and aggressive engagements. It’s available on most weapons, including those carried forward from #MW2, and can be dynamically toggled anytime during gameplay.

— Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) August 17, 2023

What is Tac-Stance in MW3?

As explained aptly by a CoD blog post, Tactical Stance is a “perfect middle-ground between hip-fire and aiming down sights.” Meaning you get some of the mobility of hip-fire and some of the accuracy of ADS. 

Although there is still bullet spread when firing, it’s not quite as uncontrollable as when hip-firing. The devs did not reveal how much movement is lost when in Tac-Stance, but they revealed you can slide in this in-between state.

As described by the devs, Tac-Stance is ideal in close-quarter combat situations when close to enemies, specially designed to be used in an aggressive manner.

Tac-Stance can be toggled while aiming down sights, meaning you can quickly switch to Tac-Stance when the situation calls for it.

Additionally, by default, you fire in Tac-Stance while sliding, making shooting while sliding a more viable strategy, especially since slide canceling is now back in an official capacity through a perk. 

As Sledgehammer themselves put it, “Tac-Stance balances mobility and accuracy, allowing for evasive maneuvers and aggressive engagements.”