Welcome to Season Three of Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty®: Warzone^TM.

This update delivered plenty of new items, gameplay changes, and a handful of new maps… including a fresh version of Verdansk set back in the Cold War era. If you haven’t already checked out the past week of blogs, or the Warzone Official Strategy Guide that received plenty of its own updates, then we recommend you do so when you’re not dropping into Season Three.

Today’s Prestige Primer is only the tip of the spear when it comes to this new content, but of course, that’s why you’re here: to be the sharpest Operator in the lobby, ready to save Adler from Stitch and take advantage of the newest Call of Duty League Bundle that just came out.

With that said let’s level up:

This Week’s Featured Operators

With so many badass Operators in Season Three, including one whose newest Skin debuted this week, we had to expand our featured image to include not just two, but three of the finest soldiers ready to shift the balance of the Cold War in Verdansk.

First up is Wraith, the dangerous Perseus infiltration and sabotage specialist who helped gather some important intel for Stitch at Mt. Yamantau. You saw what she can do the second Season Three began – now, she’s ready to bring her cutthroat aggression to Warzone, Multiplayer, and even against the undead threats of Zombies. 

Next is Rivas, who is the subject of the Call of Duty League’s Midseason Pack. Reminiscent of the Miami map’s neon beach-inspired design, this pack includes “The Boss” Operator Skin for Rivas, a perfect fit for a free agent looking to rise through the ranks of League Play.

We’ll get back to this pack when breaking down our featured Blueprint for this week, as that deserves its own showcase.

Last and certainly not least, at the dead center of our Operator trio is the core of Task Force 141 himself: Captain Price. Yes, this legendary former “Leftenent” from the Modern Warfare® universe is now in Black Ops Cold War, and he can be yours just by logging into the game right now!

This free – not to mention badass – Operator is also available to those who pick up Black Ops Cold War following the Season Three update, so if you haven’t played yet, try it out during this weekend’s Free Access period, then own it to bolster NATO’s forces with Captain Price.

You might want to channel his elite skills to complete this week’s Top Tip, which is the limited-time kickoff event for Season Three:

Top Tip – The Hunt for Adler

After weeks of investigations and scouring the globe for intel, NATO knows Russell Adler is being held captive in Verdansk, and it’s up to you to bring him home.

The Hunt for Adler is a limited-time Seasonal Event where you can either complete challenges in Black Ops Cold War OR Warzone to unlock a brand-new Legendary Operator Skin for Adler and rescue him from Stitch’s clutches. Remember: you can complete all six of these challenges to collect all individual rewards, but you must at least complete a set of three within Warzone or Black Ops Cold War to unlock Adler’s exclusive Operator Skin.

Here’s what you can look forward to across these two games, including the names of each reward you can earn for completing these challenges:

Warzone

All these challenges are similar, and they revolve around a temporary contract type:

In Warzone, complete the Intel contract at Summit. – “Rebel Rivas” Sticker

In Warzone, complete the Intel contract at Factory. – “Close Call” Weapon Charm

In Warzone, complete the Intel contract at Farms. – “MISSING” Calling Card

These three Intel Contracts are key to pinpointing Adler’s whereabouts with Verdansk as the three Supply Boxes it marks contains part of his exact coordinates.

In the Summit, Factory, and Farms locations – all of which contain new Points of Interest – there will be a new Contract type that has a different icon than all others. Unlike normal Contracts, these specifically respawn after a short period of time, allowing multiple squads to complete them.

After picking up an Intel Contract, it functions similar to a Scavenger Contract. You will have to open one marked Supply Box after another, ultimately landing on the third and final one which rewards Cash and in-game items, in addition to the permanent reward and XP. Note: you can only earn the Sticker, Charm, or Calling Card once, but if you want Cash, items for your loadout, and XP, you can complete these Contracts as many times as you wish.

All strategies you have for Scavenger Contracts should apply here, and if you have none, click here to read this section of the updated Strategy Guide for Warzone.

Outside of these general tactics, we recommend being aware of where the Circle Collapse may lie during Battle Royale modes and planning your Intel gathering accordingly. Because these Contracts respawn, it may be a good idea to wait for one squad to complete it right off the infiltration, as there could be several squads all dropping in directly to be the first to finish one.

However, you may want to watch out for squads that want to “stick around” to pick off those wanting to gather Intel. Be on guard whenever travelling into these three named areas, especially near those Intel Contract drops, and don’t be surprised if one squad decides to keep gathering all this Intel for themselves!

Black Ops Cold War

While NATO’s finest work to find Adler in Verdansk, they need reinforcements across Mt. Yamantau and the rest of the world. This is where you, the elite Operator, come into play as the game-changer in Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer.

In Cold War, play and complete 7 matches on Yamantau. – “Head Comrade” Sticker

Yamantau is one of two new maps available at Season Three’s launch, so you should become familiar with the new locale quickly through this challenge.

Treyarch cooked up a special 24/7 playlist for Yamantau during week one of Season Three, so spend some time playing some matches there and get this challenge done and dusted.

In Cold War, kill 25 enemies who have been revealed by your Spy Plane, H.A.R.P., or Field Mic. – “Pager” Weapon Charm

Remember to equip both these Scorestreaks in Multiplayer, in addition to a Field Mic within the specific Loadout you are using.

Other than watching out for players who use Ghost, which counters Spy Planes, and Spycraft, which counters Field Mic, we recommend using Gearhead to earn Field Mics faster in-game, in addition to carrying two maximum. Place them in non-descript locations in high-traffic areas, and consider using CQB weapons to deal with enemies who travel within their range.

In Cold War, kill 25 enemies on a killstreak while using the Assassin Perk. – “Vengeful Commando” Calling Card

This boils down to equipping the Perk to your loadout and doing your best to cool off some hot hands.

Enemies who appear on the mini-map – as in, anyone firing a non-suppressed weapon and using Ghost during Spy Plane sweeps – will have a crosshair over their red dot, indicating they are a target to be eliminated for increased score.

Our advice? Don’t fret trying to hunt them down specifically. You’ll most likely find these enemies on killstreaks naturally, and when you do, take pride in knowing you may have prevented the squad from getting steamrolled by a powerful Scorestreak!

Gunsmith Weapon Blueprint of the Week

When playing Multiplayer to complete the Hunt for Adler, you may need a weapon that can do some damage at mid-range. Enter our Gunsmith Weapon Blueprint of the Week: the “Beach Vibes” from the Call of Duty League Mid-Season Pack.

We already broke down a version of this weapon before in a previous Prestige Primer, but this specific Weapon Blueprint is already configured with the weapon’s optimal attachments as chosen by the pros.

It includes the Ranger Barrel, which boosts Bullet Velocity speed significantly to ensure shots hit their target quick down range, instead of the often-seen Optic attachment on the weapon’s usual “Call of Duty League pro” five-attachment set-up. However, you can either deal with the weapon’s iron sights, which aren’t too obtrusive with all things considered, swap out the Barrel, or decide to run the Gunfighter Perk and slap on an Optic in addition to a 40 Rnd Magazine.

Those who followed the Primer so far know why these attachments are great, but how do you play with them? This weapon is built for accurate fire, so long as you know where to shoot and can handle the weapon’s recoil, it can get the job done. Map knowledge is absolutely key to succeeding with this weapon, as knowing which sightlines there are across maps – even down tight alleyways or over barrels, windows, and other obstacles – are your building blocks to winning engagements.

You may not want to get close to players with CQB weapons, such as the AK74u, while using this assault rifle, but if you do, you could try to go prone quickly or jumping to try and throw off their aim. Just don’t let your own movements throw you off!

As for how this weapon can fair in Warzone, it may be better to swap its attachments for more longer-range play. Think about using the Agency Suppressor, as it boosts range (only with Warzone) and Bullet Velocity, in addition to a mid-range Optic and/or an Extended Magazine in place of the Wrap and Stock. However, you may want to keep one of those and sacrifice a better sight picture or more mags, if you want to be able to snap down sights quickly or have fantastic Sprint to Fire speeds for aggressive play.

No matter how you kit this weapon for Warzone, use it for good: bring our agent Adler home.

Execute the mission.

For more information on Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War, check out: www.callofduty.com, www.youtube.com/callofduty and follow @Treyarch, @RavenSoftware, and @CallofDuty on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 

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