Leveling Up and Progression
Prestige
Earn Player XP and level up while playing Multiplayer and Zombies to unlock new features, base weapons, Perks, Field Upgrades, Scorestreaks, and more. Plus see our cheat sheet for the Military Ranks unlocks and dig into the Prestige system.
Prebrief
When you begin your journey in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6, you will first choose from a variety of preset Loadouts. Try them all out to get an idea of how different items and abilities affect your playstyle.
At Level 4, you gain access to Custom Loadouts. As you continue to rank up, you will unlock more Loadout items for even greater customization. Now the fun really begins. To help guide you through the leveling-up process, we’ve included a cheat sheet for the items you’ll unlock from Levels 1 – 55 plus a review of the Black Ops 6 Prestige system.
// INTEL CARD
- BO6
Leveling Up
// TRAINING // LEVELING UP AND PRESTIGE
Drop in and play: Start earning Player XP right away by dropping into your favorite Multiplayer and Zombies playlists. Eliminate enemies, follow the objective, and the levels will follow.
Knock out challenges: Optimize your Player XP gain by completing Daily Challenges, Calling Card Challenges, and Mastery Badges. Check the Challenges tile in-game and start checking them off to accumulate thousands of additional XP.
Permanent unlocks: Earn one free Permanent Unlock for each new Prestige Level. Consider unlocking items higher in the Military Ranks, such as the Perk Greed Wildcard which normally unlocks at Level 54!
Within Black Ops 6 or the pre-game Call of Duty user interface, select the Progression tile to view all of the unlocks you will earn across Multiplayer and Zombies, including the required Player XP to reach the next level plus info on Prestige rewards.
Your Progression Cheat Sheet
At game launch, all players begin their progression journey in the Military Ranks, starting from Level 1 through Level 55.
Earn Player XP to progress through the 55 Levels and gain access to Weapons, Equipment, Scorestreaks, Operators, and more.
Your actions across Multiplayer and Zombies earn Player XP, which unlocks:
- Additional default Loadouts
- New features like Custom Loadouts [Level 4] and Augment Research [Level 11]
- New Base Weapons
- New Operators
- Emotes
- Lethal and Tactical Equipment
- Perks, Field Upgrades, Wildcards, and Scorestreaks
- Ammo Mods
- Additional one-time activations of certain GobbleGums
While progressing through levels, you will incrementally unlock all of the base features available at launch. At Rank 55, you will gain access to Prestige, which we’ll go into detail on below.
For a quick summary of exactly what you’ll unlock throughout the initial levelling process, see the following table. Note that some unlocks like Emotes and Operator Skins will not need to be earned again when entering Prestige.
Earning XP
The first rule of earning Player XP is simple: Play the game. Jump into any match of Multiplayer or Zombies, and start slaying and completing objectives and other actions to acquire Player XP. Winning matches awards a greater amount of Player XP, so be active in the match, work with your team, and pursue the objective.
Challenges
Progress through the Military Ranks more quickly by completing a variety of in-game Challenges. Challenges are a prime source of Player XP. Complete as many as possible to help level up while becoming a more well-rounded Operator in the process.
Complete all three Daily Challenges to earn a hefty Bonus XP payout, Calling Card Challenges to earn XP and new Calling Cards, and Mastery Badges to earn XP and prove your skill with a variety of armaments. Head to the Challenges tile in-game for more details.
Guide to Prestige
The classic Prestige system returns at launch for Black Ops 6! Complete Level 55 and reach Max Level for the option to enter Prestige. For newer players or those used to the seasonal level system used in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® III, the “Classic Prestige” system works as follows:
Choosing to Prestige
Unlike Modern Warfare III, where additional player levels were added every season, Black Ops 6 starts off at launch with 10 Prestige Levels plus an additional 1,000 Prestige Master levels. There are some trade-offs as well. Choose to enter Prestige and encounter the following:
- Reset to Level 1
- All Level Unlocks will be relocked and must be unlocked again with the exception of Base Operators and Emotes, as well as anything Permanently Unlocked (more on that later)
- Your Loadouts will be reset
- Lifetime stats will remain viewable in the Combat Record, but your stats elsewhere in the game will only show stats for your current Prestige
The following items will not be unlocked or reset:
- Weapon Progression, Camos, & Reticles
- Weapon Builds - your favorite Weapon may be relocked but all the Builds you’ve created for it will be waiting for you when you reach the level needed to unlock it again
- Challenge Progress & Unlocks
- Store & Battle Pass Content
- Operator & Emote Unlocks
- Owned Weapon Blueprints & other Skins
Prestige Leveling
When entering a new Prestige Level, your level resets to Level 1. The date you entered Prestige is recorded and you’ll receive an instant reward as well as a unique Prestige reward ever 10 Levels at Level 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50.
Permanent Unlock: Each time you enter a new Prestige Level, you’ll earn one free Permanent Unlock! Use this bonus to unlock a single item of your choice within the Player Levels.
Prestige Mastery
Complete all 10 Prestige Levels to access Prestige Master, featuring 1,000 Levels with additional rewards at every 100 Levels. When entering Prestige Master, you will no longer need to reset your unlock process. You’ve got permanent access to all the basic unlock content at this point; it’s all about perfecting the grind now.
Prestige Master: Legacy Prestige Icons
Players who reach Prestige Master Level 100 can customize their Prestige via Legacy Prestige Icons from past Call of Duty titles. Equipping one of these Legacy Prestige Icons replaces your Prestige Master icon and changes the way your Prestige Master status appears to other players. At Prestige Master Level 100, access to Legacy Prestige 1 icons become available. Access further Legacy Prestige Icons after every 100 Prestige Master levels.
Level Up
The more you play and level up, the more content you’ll unlock for your Loadouts. Use Custom Loadouts to cater to your favorite playstyles; keep experimenting and you might even find new ways of playing that you hadn’t considered before. The options are nearly endless.
Remember that you can change your Loadout on the fly in the middle of a Multiplayer match, an excellent tool that allows you to change up your tactics for different combat situations. Pick the right tools for the job, adapt, and win.
© 2024 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X.
