How Prestige works in Black Ops 7

The classic Prestige system returned for the first time in five years at the start of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and now in Black Ops 7, it's back once again. Activision and Treyarch have confirmed that the Prestige system will be returning for a second year in a row, but there are some changes that drastically alter how players progress their accounts.

If you played Black Ops 6, then you'll have zero trouble understanding Prestige in Black Ops 7. However, there's a new form of Prestige in the new game and fresh ways to gain XP so you can level up faster. We'll go over all of that and everything else you need to know about Prestige in Black Ops 7 in the guide below.

For starters, the Prestige system works almost the exact same way in BO7 as it currently does in BO6. There are 10 total Prestiges you can progress through, and the max level for each one is level 55. This means you need to rank up to level 55 and then enter the next Prestige, which resets your level back to one but unlocks a new icon next to your name.

Each Prestige has a different, unique icon that can be seen by every other player in Black Ops 7. Entering a Prestige will also reward you with a Permanent Unlock Token, which can be used to permanently unlock any item in the game, making it so you don't have to go through the leveling system to unlock it again. Some Prestiges may also come with additional rewards, such as an Operator skin or weapon blueprint, but we haven't heard anything about that for BO7.

After you've gone through all 10 Prestiges, you'll enter Max Prestige. This allows you to progress past level 55 and eventually reach level 1,000. Along the way, you'll unlock unique rewards at level milestones (100, 200, etc.) and new Prestige icons as well. If you manage to reach level 1,000, your leveling journey stops there. However, reaching level 1,000 likely comes with a huge reward.

With the basics of Prestige out of the way, how can you earn XP to progress through the 55 levels and 10 Prestiges? Naturally, playing Black Ops 7 multiplayer and Zombies will be the best routes to earn XP quickly. Playing both modes allows you to progress your account's level, as it's shared between the two modes.

However, a huge change in Black Ops 7 is that playing the Campaign will also allow you to earn XP for your account's level. Previously, the Campaign didn't reward you with any XP, which made it feel like players were wasting time playing it over multiplayer or Zombies if they wanted to level up quickly. Now in Black Ops 7, players can play through the entire Campaign and still level up to progress their multiplayer or Zombies unlocks.

Campaign in Black Ops 7 also features an "Endgame," which is a PvE experience that takes place after you beat the Campaign's story. The Endgame basically allows you to defeat waves of enemies using everything you've previously seen and unlocked throughout the Campaign. This also allows you to level up your account, so regardless of what you're playing in Black Ops 7, you're actively earning XP.

Black Ops 7 also offers a new form of Prestige in Weapon Prestiges. We've seen this system in previous games, such as Black Ops 3 and Black Ops 4, and it works very similarly in BO7.

In both multiplayer and Zombies, players can level up every weapon available in the loadouts menu. Then, once players reach level 50 with a weapon, they can enter Weapon Prestige. This resets the weapon and re-locks all of its attachments, but you'll be rewarded with a unique camo or attachment for entering Weapon Prestige. You'll then have to earn all 50 levels for that weapon again.

There are two Weapon Prestiges for each weapon in BO7, and after you've prestiged twice with a weapon, you can rank it up to level 250. Reaching level 250, or "Weapon Prestige Master," will unlock an exclusive reward for that weapon.

Essentially, the Weapon Prestige system is another form of progression in BO7 and lets you earn unique rewards for every weapon in the game. You can level up weapons across multiplayer, Zombies, and the Campaign, so once again, you're earning XP regardless of what you're playing.

That's all you need to know about how Prestige works in Black Ops 7. Make sure to also check out our guides on the new Tranzit-inspired Zombies map and how Carry Forward is going to work when BO7 is released.

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