Ever since its introduction, the Prestige System has been a cornerstone of Call of Duty multiplayer. In the previous Call of Duty games, as players would remember, as soon as they reached Military Rank 55, they would earn their first Prestige and their progress would reset in addition to everything else that they had worked towards.
However, things are a little different with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. As is the case with any new announcement, the overhaul of the Prestige System has brought about some confusion in the gaming community, including the use of the Prestige Key, which we will clarify in this guide today.
Related: Black Ops Cold War Prestige System Explained
Prestige System Overhaul
As soon as you start playing Multiplayer or Zombies mode in the latest iteration of Call of Duty, you will start earning experience points that will see you rise through the Military Ranks up to Level 55. This is when you’ll get your first Prestige rank and enter the esteemed prestige system.
Reaching this milestone will open the door to the cross-progression Season Levelling System. This means that regardless of whether you’re playing Cold War, Warzone, or Modern warfare, you will rank up and advance through the levels across all these games in a particular season, thanks to the unified system update.
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Unlike the previous system in which reaching higher levels required progressively higher XP, Season Levelling will have the same XP requirements for every single level.
This is clearly designed to appeal to the casual player base as reaching prestige(s) won’t disfavor those who don’t have the time to grind through and return to the levels that they had achieved previously. But, of course, veteran Call of Duty players won’t mind it either.
Reaching a Prestige rank will provide players with emblems, stickers, and a Prestige Key (more on this below). These rewards will be provided every time players pass through 50 Season levels. Some additional rewards include Battle Pass Tier Skips and weapon blueprints.
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Pre-Season Levelling
Once a player enters the prestige system (upon reaching Level 55), s/he will automatically be shifted to the Preseason Levelling System. If you are playing before December 10 (which is when Season one will begin), you will still be able to level up and get to three prestige levels. This is how they are broken down:
- Prestige 1 at Pre-Season Level 1
- Prestige 2 at Pre-Season Level 50
- Prestige 3 at Pre-Season Level 100
Starting on December 10th, all Season levels will be reset. But fret not dear reader, your time and effort won’t go to waste as your weapon progression won’t be affected, nor will your rewards and unlockables.
What does the Prestige Key do?
Onwards to the question that is on every Call of Duty enthusiast’s mind – what is the purpose of the prestige key?
The Prestige Key can open up multiple Legacy Prestige icons from previous COD games along with some rare items. This can be done by using the key at the Prestige Shop. The purpose of this key is to allow players a variety of options to spend their rewards.
Unfortunately, the Prestige Shop won’t be available until the start of Season one, so stay tuned for that.
What’s to Come
Although the Pre-Season Prestige Levels are limited, once Season One begins, you’ll be able to grab Prestiges at four different milestones – at level 50, 100, 150, and 200. Reaching Season Level 200 in a particular season will see you attain the estimable Prestige Master rank.
The legacy icons can be equipped once players reach the much-coveted Prestige Master Rank in a season. But they don’t just stop at Level 200. These grinders will have the opportunity to keep moving forward and reach all the way to level 1000, every single season. Those who dare to attempt such a feat will be well rewarded at every 50 levels, though there’s not much information on what these rewards might be.
Currently, there’s talk of a total of 6 full seasons with more than 25 Prestiges so there’s going to be every opportunity for you to get level up and get rewarded handsomely. Stay tuned for more information on them as well as the Prestige Shop.
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