After a launch weekend that ended with two days of Double XP, you’re probably well on your way to your first Prestige, or you might have a few of those Prestige Levels under your belt already.

If not, then let this Primer help you bank a whopping 22,500 XP toward getting to your first Prestige and one step closer towards unlocking this badass shotgun Weapon Blueprint:

Ready to add this to your arsenal? Then let’s level up:

This Week’s Featured Operator: Stone

Out of all the Operators that we’ve seen this past week, one stood out among the pack: Harry Stone, the ex-SAS Operator with the Warsaw Pact division.

This shadowy mercenary not only boasts one of the more difficult Operator Challenges on offer, but also has an extensive background in CQB training, making him a perfect fit for this Prestige Primer’s featured Operator.

If you’ve already unlocked this Operator, then show him off in-game as a symbol of Operator Challenge mastery. Otherwise, we have the tips for you to get him, as well as a ton of XP, in short order:

Caption: An example of a Combat Record after one weekend of play.

Top Tip – Operator Challenges

With just under 14 hours of playtime and 87 games played over launch weekend, we’ve already achieved Prestige 1. Although the Double XP period at the beginning of this week helped us power through the final five Military Ranks, much of that progress was made through Operator Challenges.

Each one of these nine objectives, which involves playing both Multiplayer and Zombies, offer two rewards upon completion: a new Operator to show off in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, and a nice bonus of 2,500 XP. Of course, that sizable XP boost doesn’t come easy. These objectives require a bit of pre-planning and skill to complete, and these tips will come in handy for both phases.

Here’s how you can unlock all Operators and gather 22,500 XP through the Operator Challenges, starting with the NATO Operators:

Adler: Get 10 kills with Scorestreaks in Multiplayer

Tip: If you have trouble getting plenty of score quickly, try playing the objective, running the Combat Bow or RC-XD, and taking down enemy Scorestreaks. You might also want to use the Care Package, which has a chance at giving you high-end Scorestreaks that can easily put you over the required kill count.

Baker: Get 100 eliminations with a Sniper Rifle in Multiplayer

Tip: Aim for the head and upper chest; no matter the sniper rifle, you can guarantee an elimination by taking the time to adjust your aim above center mass. When you complete this objective, you’ll also get an additional 500 XP boost by way of the Hunter challenge for the Sniper Rifle class, if you hadn’t already.

Park: Successfully exfiltrate the map in Zombies three times

Tip: The hardest part of exfiltrating is ensuring that every last zombie is dead before you hop on the helicopter for freedom. If you’re having trouble dealing with a few stragglers, try scavenging enough Salvage to craft Cymbal Monkeys, which will draw them in and send them flying, or collect enough materials to get a Chopper Gunner to mow down every last undead creature in style.

Sims: Destroy 10 enemy vehicles or Scorestreaks in Multiplayer

Tip: The first launcher you unlock is phenomenal against Spy Planes and Counter Spy Planes, which can populate the skies frequently in Multiplayer. Against the biggest Scorestreaks, such as Attack Helicopters, try using an LMG with a barrel that buffs Vehicle Damage to make short work of them without triggering their launcher-countering flares.

Woods: Get five kills without dying 15 times in Multiplayer

Tip: Intel and positioning are crucial to going on these five-kill streaks, more commonly known as Bloodthirsty medals. The Spy Plane Scorestreak, Field Mic Field Upgrade, and Forward Intel Perk can give you more information about enemy positions on your minimap. Use these recon tools to spot enemies on the map and position yourself behind cover with a great sightline to cut off their approach, then reposition when the coast is clear to set up your next target.

And now the four Warsaw Pact Operator Challenges:

Beck: Get 200 eliminations using Pack-a-Punched weapons in Zombies

Tip: You’ll want to follow the in-game instructions to unlock Pack-a-Punch as early as possible, given that zombie health scales up with later rounds. If you do this, you could Pack-a-Punch your starting loadout weapon and decimate those undead waves while spending as few points as possible.

Garcia: Detonate or help your team detonate five dirty bombs in Fireteam: Dirty Bomb

Tip: While teamwork makes this challenge a lot easier, speed and planning are also essential to avoid a 10-squad pileup for a detonation. Note where squads are dropping out of the plane during the initial flyover – or after all five sites are detonated – then head for the site with the least action. You also might want the whole squad on the site at the same time, since that will make a sizeable cut in the time it takes to detonate a dirty bomb.

Portnova: Kill 50 enemies revealed by Scorestreaks or Field Upgrades in Multiplayer

Tip: Spy Planes and Field Mics are your friends in this challenge. One quick way to rack up these kills is to use the Field Mic on or near an objective location, such as a Domination zone. That way, you can spot enemies moving in for a capture and bounce them off the objective where it overlaps with the Field Upgrade.

Stone: Perform 15 finishing moves in Multiplayer.

Tip: Finishing moves are done by holding the melee command behind an enemy player. In order to get in this position, you might want to use the Ghost and Ninja Perks to shield you from Spy Planes and Field Mics respectively, and crouch walk to make as little noise as possible while moving.

Gunsmith Weapon of the Week

In line with our Combat Record, our star weapon this week is the M16, unlocked at Level 10 within the Military Ranks.

This three-round burst tactical rifle is featured in both the Confrontations Weapon Pack, granted to those who pre-ordered the game digitally, and the Call of Duty Endowment Challenger Pack as “The Stripe” Weapon Blueprint. Along with getting that awesome Blueprint, which comes with multiple attachments as well as five other items and a Double XP token, you’ll be helping the Call of Duty Endowment. One hundred percent of Activision’s net proceeds received from sales of the Challenger Pack goes toward finding high-quality employment for veterans*.

“The Stripe” is great to use when levelling this weapon family up. Because there are over 50 attachments to unlock, mix, and match on this weapon family within the Gunsmith, having a few attachments available to use at Weapon Level 1 can go a long way toward reaching its max level.

Near the end of that journey, there’s one configuration you could use to make the M16 break the mold of the tactical rifle category and have it become a devastating force in close quarters.

First, we’re maximizing this weapon’s fire rate. By default, it’s faster than any other three-round burst primary weapon, but with a 16.3” Titanium Barrel, it can be overclocked to a blazing-fast 1,111 rounds per minute. Because this hampers its effective range, we’ll go all-in at close quarters with an Agency Silencer, which will wind up sacrificing bullet velocity, though that’s not too important inside 20 meters. On the flip side, it’ll leave us completely off enemy radars when firing while helping us control a bit of the weapon’s vertical recoil.

The final three attachments are all about buffing speed and handling statistics. The Infiltrator Grip is the only attachment that boosts raw movement speed, while the Airborne Elastic Wrap gives us an Aim Down Sight Time boost and the ability to aim while dropping into a prone position. Then there’s the Buffer Tube, which remedies that wrap’s sprint to fire time debuff with a 30% boost in the category, leaving us with a net gain of 15%.

Use this configuration in tandem with perks like Ghost and Ninja – either through the Law Breaker or Perk Greed Wildcards – and you’ll be ready to burst to the top of the leaderboard with aggressive, yet covert play. Even if you aren’t going for more silent play, this configuration can be great for smaller maps where close-quarters engagements are more frequent, like Nuketown ’84, which is set for launch in just a matter of days.

With that in mind, there’s still plenty of time to Prestige and show off that hard-core icon ahead of Nuketown’s launch, so we’ll see you online for the road to Prestige Level 3.

Execute the mission.

*The Call of Duty Endowment Challenger Pack is available until $5 million USD is raised for this cause.

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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