CoD MW3 Tactical Stance: How to Use It, What It Is, and How to Disable It

Every new game in a franchise is expected to add something new. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Tac Stance is a new way to use your weapon that sits somewhere between ADS and hipfire. Here’s everything you need to know about how to use Tactical Stance in MW3.

How Tactical Stance Works in Modern Warfare 3 and How to Turn It Off

Tactical Stance (or Tac Stance, for short) is a new way your Operator holds their weapon with some very impactful effects. It does the following:

• Allows for faster movement than when aiming down your sights but more accuracy than when firing from the hip.
• Turns your weapon into a canted position, giving you a visual cue for when it’s active.
• Automatically activate if you aim down your sights while sliding.

As the middle ground between ADS and hipfire, Tac Stance does a decent job out to a middle range and is especially helpful if you want to be more accurate in close quarters.

Here’s how to activate Tac Stance outside of a slide:

• On mouse and keyboard, press your ADS button (right mouse by default) and your melee hotkey (V by default) at the same time. Press them again to return to regular ADS.
• On controller, press left trigger/L2 and the down button on the D-Pad to activate Tac Stance. Press it again to turn it off.

Personally, I can’t stand the additional input, especially in a game as fast and chaotic as Modern Warfare 3. That’s why I’m glad it’s possible to turn off Tac Stance entirely.

How to Change How Tac Stance Works

You can also change the input required to activate it, should you choose to do so.

• To change Tac Stance on mouse and keyboard:
  • Go into the Keyboard and Mouse settings.
  • Scroll down to Combat Behaviors in the Gameplay section.
  • Open the dropdown labeled Tactical Stance Activation. To turn Tac Stance off, simply choose “Off” in this dropdown.
  • There are three other options:
    • ADS + Armor,
    • ADS + Alt Fire, and
    • Tactical Stance. (This last one allows you to set a completely custom keybind.)

• To change Tac Stance settings on controller:
  • Go to Combat Behaviors in the Gameplay Section of the Controller settings.
  • Select Tactical Stance Activation.
  • The dropdown offers five options:
    • Off
    • ADS + Sprint
    • ADS + Melee
    • ADS + Down Button
    • Double Tap ADS

You can also choose how Tac Stance functions with the Tactical Stance Behavior dropdown. If you want it to stay on once you make the input select On Toggle. On Respawn keeps it active permanently, and Once keeps it on until you release your ADS.

I’m a purist and washed-up Call of Duty player, so I won’t be using any of these settings. If you have the dexterity and inclination, then Tac Stance can be another powerful tool in your toolbox. That’s all you need to know about how to use Tactical Stance in MW3. For more content on the latest in the long-running franchise, see our guides on all the Mastery camos, how to turn off Crossplay, and more in our MW3 guides hub.