The prestige system of Call of Duty disappeared with Modern Warfare, and last year many players demanded a return. With CoD: Black Ops Cold War, you can rise to unprecedented heights again. MeinMMO shows you how the new system works.
With the prestige system, you could sacrifice your entire level progress in earlier CoDs to rank up a prestige level. You had to re-unlock all equipment and weapons, but you could shine with your prestige emblem.
Modern Warfare tried something new here and completely moved away from prestige levels. The CoD from 2019 focused on seasonal progress and allowed you to rise 100 levels per season. With each level, you unlock tasks that earn you experience points and special season emblems.
New Prestige System Allows 1,200 Levels Per Season
How does it work with Cold War? With the new Black Ops, the prestige system returns and offers you more levels than ever before. On the English Treyarch blog, the developers refer to it as “the best of both worlds”.
Because the new system is based, like CoD MW, on a seasonal rhythm and offers so many level-ups that you will likely need to invest a lot of time to even come close to the level limit. Because per season, you can rise 1,200 levels.
Across all “Cold War” seasons, you are expected to earn more than 25 prestige ranks compared to the previous system, which allowed you a maximum of 10 prestige levels. However, each season only brings a limited number of prestige ranks, and after that, a mastery system allows you to rise an additional 1,000 levels beyond the available prestige ranks.
Pre-Season Does Not Come with the Final System Yet
How does it work before Season 1? First of all: When you rank up to prestige ranks, you no longer lose progress. You can continue to use all your weapons and gear that you unlock in the first 55 levels. These base levels are called “Military Ranks”. Once you have completed them, no one can take them away from you.
Once you leave the first 55 levels behind, you get your first prestige badge. The system is already active with the release of Cold War, and CoD allows you to rank up to prestige level 3 before the start of Season 1, which corresponds to 100 levels – 50 levels represent one prestige level in the season prestige system.
Every 50 levels, you receive an emblem and a “prestige key”. The key belongs to a new reward system where you can earn additional items for your diligent level-ups. The prestige shop also starts with Season 1.
Before Season 1:
- 55 Military Ranks to unlock weapons and gear and reach Prestige Level 1
- After that, a maximum level 100 (Prestige 2 at 50, Prestige 3 at 100)
- All prestige ranks are associated with rewards
With Season 1, the Real Grinding Begins
What happens then at the start of Season 1? At the start of each season, the ranking system resets. However, you retain your Military Ranks and the number of prestige levels you have achieved. Let’s say you have fully achieved the 3 Prestige Levels of the Pre-Season, then this will also be shown in your prestige ranks.
However, your prestige season progress is then at 0, and with each season, you can unlock an additional 4 prestige ranks. Each rank requires you to complete 50 level-ups and rewards you. Once you have completed them all (200 level-ups), you will reach prestige level 7 along with the 3 ranks from the pre-season.
Additionally, each time you complete all 4 prestige ranks of a season, you receive the title “Prestige Master” for that season and move into the final system, allowing you to rise an additional 1,000 levels. Here too, you receive a reward every 50 levels.
With Each New Season:
- Resetting of level progress to 0 (you retain your 55 Military Ranks and achieved Prestige Levels)
- Each season offers 4 prestige ranks – one rank has 50 levels (max 200 levels)
- After completing the 4 season ranks, you become “Prestige Master” and enter the prestige master ranks (maximum 1,000)
- Thus, you can rise 1,200 levels per season
- Every 50 levels, there is a prestige reward – also for the prestige master ranks
4 Types of Rewards – Buy Emblems with Prestige Keys
What rewards can I expect? The system rewards you in 4 ways:
- Each season offers unique rewards upon reaching the first prestige level at level 50 (in the pre-season, for example, a weapon blueprint)
- For each prestige level achieved, you receive special prestige emblems
- You unlock a season challenge for every 10 levels of the first 200 season levels
- For every 50 levels of a season (up to max level 1,200), you receive a prestige key for the prestige shop
Your current prestige level will be visible to everyone, and with each new level, you also receive a unique emblem that you can only earn through the prestige system. These emblems will never be attainable again after the prestige phase ends.
With the season challenges, you can unlock 20 challenges that reward you with special calling cards. Every 10 level-ups of a season (if you already have the fixed military ranks) allows you to obtain further prestige cosmetics, but you must complete the tasks (similar to the Officer Rank Challenges of CoD MW).
And then there is the prestige shop, which goes live with the start of season 1. Here, you can exchange your prestige keys for legacy emblems, for example. These are prestige emblems from previous CoD titles that you can unlock again. However, you can only use them once you have completed the 4 prestige ranks (200 levels) in a season and are a “Prestige Master”.
Level Progress Can Be Achieved in 3 CoDs Simultaneously
Can I level up only in Cold War? The 3 prestige levels of the pre-season, yes. But with the start of Season 1, Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Cold War will share a leveling system.
No matter whether you are currently spawning in front of an enemy on Shipment, parachuting in Warzone without deploying your chute in time, or celebrating the next epic victory in Cold War – every experience point counts towards the prestige system and the battle pass, which goes online with each season as usual. You can read here about how this merging exactly works.
With the new system, CoD does not completely pursue the approaches of the past and offers rather a compromise between the previous approach and the ongoing system from Modern Warfare. However, it provides you with significantly more rewards and progress. Whether this compromise and the merging of the CoDs will resonate with players remains to be seen. MeinMMO author Sven Galitzki believes it is the best solution for all CoD players.
