Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 arrives Friday, and Activision has unveiled all the details around the player progression system. This includes all the information on the return of the classic prestige system and all the prestige rewards available to earn. Here’s everything you need to know about leveling up in Black Ops 6.
How to level up in Black Ops 6
Players earn XP by playing multiplayer and Zombies mode at launch, with Warzone matches counting after the battle royale’s integration in Season 1. The player progression system features 55 player levels, and these levels will unlock weapons, equipment, scorestreaks, perks, additional operators, and more.
Players will be able to view their progress by accessing the Barracks tab while in the Black Ops 6 lobby.
The full list of loadout-type items unlocked through levels 1-55:
- Loadouts (Default) (MP)
- Loadouts (Custom) (MP)
- Weapons (Primary) (MP, ZM, WZ)
- Weapons (Secondary) (MP, ZM, WZ)
- Weapons (Melee) (MP, ZM, WZ)
- Tacticals (MP, ZM, WZ)
- Lethals (MP, ZM, WZ)
- Field Upgrades (MP, WZ)
- Field Upgrades (ZM)
- Perks (MP)
- Wildcards (MP)
- Scorestreaks (MP, ZM, WZ)
- Ammo Mods (ZM)
- GobbleGums (ZM)
- Operators (MP, ZM, WZ)
- Emotes (MP, ZM, WZ)
- Features (MP, ZM, WZ)
It’s worth noting that all GobbleGums are unlocked in Zombies from the start of the game. The ones Activision lists here in the level unlocks (1-55) are simply bonus GobbleGums that give you an extra one-time use item.
How prestige works in Black Ops 6
Call of Duty’s classic prestige system is finally returning. Unlike the last several years of having a seasonal prestige system, where everyone automatically prestiges once they’ve passed the level 55 mark, classic prestige is now a player’s choice.
Choosing to prestige in Black Ops 6 will reset a player’s level back to level 1, and content unlocked with levels 1-55 must be unlocked all over again.
However, there are a few exceptions. The following items will not be relocked or reset:
- Weapon progression, camos, and reticles
- Weapon builds – All the custom builds created for your weapons will be waiting for you when you reach the level needed to unlock it again
- Challenge progress and unlocks
- Store and battle pass content
- Operator and emote unlocks
- Zombies GobbleGums
Having to re-unlock all weapons and other loadout items can sound like a hassle, but rewards are given for each prestige level unlocked.
When entering Prestige 1, players immediately receive the following:
- Prestige 1 Icon: Your first Prestige icon, which slots into the center of your level insignia for all players to see
- “Nacht Raider” Weaver operator skin
- Access to the Prestige 1 multiplayer and Zombies calling card challenge sets
- One permanent unlock (To prevent one item from being locked next time you prestige)
Additionally, a unique Prestige reward is unlocked every 10 levels, meaning at 10, 20, 30, 40, and level 50.
There are 10 levels of Prestige, and once the 10th is completed, the player enters the rank of Master Prestige. For Prestige Master, a player’s level rises above 55 for the first time as they climb up all the way to level 1,000 and gain additional rewards in the process. A tease of the Prestige Master rewards can be seen in the image below.
Camos, reticles, calling cards, and mastery badges
Black Ops 6 will feature the traditional calling card and camo challenges to complete at launch. Reticle challenges return to unlock additional reticle styles for further gun customization. There are also the hidden “Dark Ops” challenges.
Camo challenges
The camo challenges work a bit differently this year. Each weapon has nine Military camos and two unique “Special Camo Swatches” that can only be earned with that weapon. Special camos can be unlocked in any order once a player has gained access to them, and each has a different unlock criteria.
Once unlocked, Special camos are universal and can be equipped to any weapon, as long as that new weapon has also completed the Military Camos and unlocked access to the Special category in at least one mode.
Once Military and Special camos are unlocked, a player can begin the Mastery camo grind. Black Ops 6 has four Mastery camos available to be earned in each mode: Multiplayer, Zombies, and — for the first time ever — Call of Duty: Warzone, which is added with Season 1.
Reticle unlock challenges
There are 10 reticles to unlock in each mode: Multiplayer, Zombies, and starting in Season 1, Call of Duty: Warzone.
Each of an optic’s available reticle unlocks can be unlocked simply by getting kills while aiming-down-sights in the applicable mode with the optic equipped.
Reticle challenges and unlocks are bound to each individual optic and not any specific weapon. This means that a player can make progress towards reticles for their favorite optic with any compatible weapon.
It’s worth noting that all weapons share optics, but some weapons such as sniper rifles have specialized optics that are only available for particular weapon types.
Calling cards
Calling cards and their challenges are grouped into categories, and each category has multiple sets of cards to earn and complete. Complete a challenge set by earning every individual card in the set to obtain the animated mastery calling card for that set.
Players who Prestige will also gain access to an additional challenge set for multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone (Season 1) each time they enter a new Prestige.
With 10 Prestiges and Prestige Master, that means an additional 11 challenge sets to complete in each mode.
Mastery badges
Another layer to the Black Ops 6 grind is the addition of mastery badges. Medals recognize and reward in-game feats with a medal pop-up celebration on the in-game HUD, and it includes a small XP bonus.
There are over 200 medals available to be earned in multiplayer and Zombies for Black Ops 6. Many of these medals are returning Black Ops favorites and staples, but Activision says some have never before been seen in Call of Duty. Players can view their earned medals in the After Action Report at the end of each match, as well as in the Medal Collection tab.
For more on Black Ops 6, make sure to check out all the maps available at launch. Here we highlight all the weapons and attachments announced for Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 releases on October 25 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Those planning on playing Black Ops 6 on PC can find all the PC-specific features and hardware requirements here. Black Ops 6 preload and release times can be found here.