You’re running through a burning Baghdad, bullets snapping past your head, and honestly, the last thing you're thinking about is a glowing blue laptop tucked behind a crate. But that’s the grind. If you’re playing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, those 45 intel items aren't just collectibles for the sake of completionism. They are the lore. They’re the background noise that makes the Atlas Corporation feel like a real, terrifying entity rather than just a bunch of pixels with Kevin Spacey's face.
Most people blast through the campaign in six hours and never look back. They miss out. Every mission has exactly three pieces of intel. Finding all of them isn't just about the "Greatness Deferred" or "Ferrum Absum" achievements; it’s about the upgrades. You need that intel to max out your Exo suit. Without it, you’re basically bringing a knife to a drone fight.
The Early Game Scavenge
Let's talk about Induction. It's the first real mission after the intro, set in Seoul. You’ve got the swarm of drones overhead—which, by the way, was a technical marvel for Sledgehammer Games back in 2014—and you’re trying to stay alive. The first piece of advanced warfare intel locations is actually inside a restaurant. Look for the "Black Lotus" sign. It’s right there on the counter. It’s easy to miss because you’re usually focused on the giant walking tanks outside.
Later in the same mission, after you jump down from the balcony, don't just follow Gideon like a lost puppy. He’s fast, but he doesn't care about your trophies. There’s a second laptop behind a bar area in the next building. If you reach the street with the heavy traffic, you’ve gone too far. Backtrack.
The third one in Seoul is near the end. When you're heading toward the extraction point, check the back of the ambulance. It’s sitting right there. Simple. But if you’re sprinting because the screen is flashing red, you’ll walk right past it.
Why the Atlas Mission is a Headache
Atlas is the second mission, and it’s basically a guided tour of Jonathan Irons’ ego. It’s also where the intel locations get a bit more tucked away. You’re doing the training course, right? After the grenade range, there’s a small office. The laptop is sitting on a desk inside.
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The real annoying one is later in the mission when you’re escorting the President. Well, the simulation of the President. There’s a security checkpoint. Instead of rushing through, look to the right in the guard booth. It’s cramped. It’s dark. It’s classic Sledgehammer level design.
Traffic and Overboard: The Mid-Game Hunt
Mission 4, Fission, is a chaotic mess. You’re in a nuclear power plant, everything is exploding, and the game is screaming at you to move. Honestly, this is where most players give up on finding advanced warfare intel locations.
- Near the start, after you fast-rope down, look inside the first laboratory on the right. It’s on a computer desk.
- In the central turbine hall, there's a catwalk. You have to jump up there. Most people stay on the ground floor because that’s where the cover is. Big mistake.
- Near the end, during the escape, check the small control room right before you board the hoverbike.
Then you get to Mission 5, Aftermath. It’s a complete change of pace. Slow, methodical, and creepy. The first intel is in the hospital area. You’ll see a room with a lot of medical equipment; the laptop is on a gurney. The second is in the stadium. You have to go up into the stands. It feels counter-intuitive because the game wants you to stay on the field, but the intel is waiting in the nosebleed seats.
The Complexity of Late-Game Intel
By the time you hit missions like "Utopia" or "Sentinel," the developers started getting clever. They knew you were looking for laptops. In "Sentinel," which is the stealth mission where you’re sneaking around Irons' private estate, the intel is actually easier to find if you’re playing the game "correctly"—meaning, staying in the shadows.
One laptop is on a desk in the library. Another is in the security room where you hack the drones. The third is in the underwater lab area. If you get caught and start a massive shootout, it becomes much harder to grab these without dying. Stealth is your friend here.
Bio Lab and the Forest Grind
Bio Lab (Mission 9) is a fan favorite because of the sniper section and the hover-tank. But the intel? Kind of a pain.
There’s a section where you’re moving through the woods. It’s easy to get disoriented because every tree looks the same. Look for a small outcropping with a lone guard. The laptop is sitting on a crate near him. Later, inside the facility itself, check the observation rooms. They are usually above the main path. You have to use your Exo jump to reach them. This is a recurring theme: if there’s a second floor that looks inaccessible, there’s probably intel up there.
What Most People Get Wrong About Upgrades
Here is the thing. People think intel is just for show. It’s not. In the "Exo Upgrade" menu, your progress is tied to these pickups. If you want more battery life for your shield or faster reload times, you need these points.
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- Intel Points: Every laptop gives you a point toward an upgrade.
- Kill Counts: You also get points for headshots and grenade kills.
- Total Completion: You need all 45 laptops to fully "max out" the suit in a single playthrough.
If you miss a piece of intel, you can go back via Mission Select. You don't have to restart the whole game. The game saves your progress the moment you pick it up. You can literally grab the laptop and quit to the main menu. It counts.
Crash Site and the Ice Level
Mission 11, Crash Site, is beautiful but deadly. You’re in Antarctica. The first intel is right at the start, near the crashed plane. Check the cockpit area.
The second one is trickier. It’s hidden inside a shipping container. You have to knock the doors open or find the one that’s already slightly ajar. Most players are too busy fighting the Atlas PMCs in the snow to notice.
The final piece is in the cave system. When you reach the part with the thermal scanners, look for a small side-path. It leads to a dead-end with—you guessed it—a glowing blue laptop.
Captured and the End Game
In "Captured," you’ve lost your Exo suit. You’re vulnerable. It’s one of the best missions in the game because it strips away your power. The intel locations here are actually a bit more obvious because the levels are more linear.
The first one is in the room where you find the first weapon. The second is in the hangar. Check the control room overlooking the fighter jets. The third is near the exit, right before the final cinematic transition.
Why This Still Matters in 2026
You might wonder why anyone is still hunting for advanced warfare intel locations over a decade after the game launched. It’s simple: Advanced Warfare was the turning point for the franchise. It introduced the movement mechanics that defined an entire era of CoD. Going back to play it now feels like a history lesson.
Plus, with the rumors of a potential sequel or a remaster always floating around the internet, people want to have that 100% completion badge on their profile. It’s a mark of a dedicated player.
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Specific Tactical Advice for Completionists
If you are going for the full 45/45, do it on Recruit difficulty. There is zero benefit to hunting intel on Veteran. You’ll just end up frustrated because you died while looking at a computer screen.
Also, turn up your brightness. Some of these laptops are tucked into dark corners of the map (looking at you, Mission 13 "Throttle"). The blue glow of the screen is your only indicator. If your monitor's blacks are too deep, you’ll walk past a laptop that’s three feet away from you.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
- Check the corners: Sledgehammer loved putting intel behind desks, under stairs, and in the very last room of a hallway.
- Exo Jump everywhere: If there is a ledge, jump on it. The developers used verticality to hide items.
- Listen for the hum: The laptops have a very faint electronic hum if you’re standing right next to them.
- Mission Select is your friend: Don't stress if you miss one. Finish the mission, then go back later.
- Focus on the Atlas laptops: These are the primary advanced warfare intel locations. They are always blue, always laptops, and always in sets of three per mission.
Get into the habit of clearing a room of enemies first, then doing a "sweep" of the perimeter before moving to the next objective marker. The game often triggers a point-of-no-return (like a door closing or a building collapsing) that will lock you out of an area. Once you see the "Follow" icon move significantly far away, that's your cue to stop and look around one last time. Missing a single laptop means replaying the entire mission, and nobody wants to do "Induction" for the tenth time just for one collectible.