Progress to impress — Here’s what your path to perfection looks like in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

We all know the feeling of the grind. It’s there because you just feel good to accomplish something, and while developers certainly take advantage of that jump in serotonin, I don’t mind it. Today, the Call of Duty blog took to the keyboard to run down all the stuff we’ll be doing in the 20 days before Season 1 arrives with more news things for us to complete. Check out the paths of progression below, and start planning your way to getting it all done!

Prepare for Season 01 During Launch

Starting on October 28 — the official release date for the full Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II game — the game’s Multiplayer and co-op Special Ops modes go live alongside the Campaign, which digital preorder customers have early access to.

Then there are 20 days between Modern Warfare® II’s launch to the start of Season 01.

On November 16, Season 01 will introduce the free-to-play Call of Duty®: Warzone™ 2.0, which includes the all-new DMZ experience and traditional Battle Royale modes. It will also bring the first major update to Modern Warfare II, setting the stage for the first Co-Op Raid coming midseason. Across both games, a new Battle Pass system will be introduced and Seasonal Progression — also known as Prestiging — will return.

The first 20 days between now and November 16 give you the ultimate opportunity to prepare for an incredible year full of content.

To begin with, Modern Warfare II brings you the familiar leveling system; you have 55 Military Ranks to complete (see below), each unlocking as you receive Experience Points (XP) from actions you perform during different matches. However, this blog ensures you’re well prepared to look beyond the traditional leveling system: Even if you somehow hit Military Rank 55 on day one, there are multiple ways to set yourself up for success in Season 01 and beyond.

At launch, Modern Warfare II will include the complete Weapon Mastery structure, built around the new Weapon Platform feature that you may have experienced during the Open Beta, as well as a separate Special Ops Kit Tier system. You can also unlock 18 base Operators, as well as complete Daily and Career Challenges.

Basically, these next 20 days aren’t just about ranking up a player level — it is about taking advantage of the access to multiple progression systems, which could help you get ahead of your rivals come Season 01.

Here is an overview of everything you can do in terms of progression within Modern Warfare II at launch:

Complete the Campaign Now During Early Access

Before spending a single second in Special Ops and Multiplayer, you can get the Union Guard Weapon Blueprint, four Double XP and four Double Weapon XP Tokens, four base Operators, and an assortment of Task Force 141–themed cosmetics, all by completing the Modern Warfare II Campaign.

The full list of rewards can be found here.

These unlocks can be used in the two other Modern Warfare II game modes, as well as in Warzone™ 2.0 when it launches in Season 01. It provides a strong foundation of both in-game and player profile items that may help you during your launch progression journey.

At the time of publishing, the Early Access period for this Campaign* is ongoing for anyone who digitally preordered Modern Warfare II. All these items are functional once Modern Warfare II officially launches, so if you have not already preordered the game and played the Campaign, these final hours before October 28 are your chance to get ahead of the competition. Should you play Campaign after October 28, these rewards are still available, and you’re encouraged to unlock them before the massive content drop at the start of Season 01.

*One week based on estimated access; Actual play time subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences.

The Military Ranks — Unlock All Base Loadout Items

Across Multiplayer and Special Ops, as well as Warzone 2.0 via cross-progression, your main progression journey begins in the Military Ranks.

Veterans are familiar with this traditional rank system — for those who are not, your actions across all those game modes earn Player XP, which ultimately unlocks the following items, among others:

• Additional default Loadouts in Multiplayer
• The ability to customize Multiplayer Loadouts, as well as Warzone 2.0 weapons (Rank 4).
• All weapon platforms, the majority of which can be edited in the Gunsmith (Gunsmithable).
• Lethal and Tactical Equipment for Multiplayer Loadouts.
• Perks, Field Upgrades, and Killstreaks, part of Multiplayer.

As you level up to Rank 55, you incrementally unlock and eventually access all these base features available at Launch with no need to unlock any of them again.

Daily and Career Challenges

To further assist you through the Military Ranks (and beyond, during each Season), Modern Warfare II includes two challenge systems: Daily Challenges and Career Challenges.

Both are great sources of Player XP: Daily Challenges give thousands of XP every 24 hours, while Career Challenges set up milestones to work toward throughout your experience in Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0, granting a massive amount of XP and cosmetic rewards, such as Calling Cards, upon completion.

Daily Challenges

Available in Multiplayer and Special Ops, as well as in Warzone 2.0 at its launch, Daily Challenges are a set of four challenges that reset on a fixed schedule — see the in-game timer for details.

In Multiplayer, the three Daily Challenges are from three distinct categories:

• A general challenge that may not require much change in playstyle (e.g., win a match in any mode, get 15 kills while aiming down sights).
• A weapon challenge that focuses on a specific weapon category (e.g., get 5 headshots with an SMG, get 5 Sniper Rifle kills)
• A special challenge that encourages exploration with specific Loadout features, such as a Field Upgrade or Perk (e.g., get 2 kills using Dead Silence, get a Drill Charge kill).
• After completing these three Daily Challenges, a Bonus Challenge unlocks. It is a “split” objective that allows you to make progress toward one of two objectives. Once one of the two objectives is completed, the Bonus Challenge’s XP reward is given.

Each Multiplayer Daily Challenge, as well as the Bonus Challenge, only rewards XP.

In Special Ops, the three Daily Challenges and Bonus Challenge within this experience are structured slightly differently:

• The first Daily Challenge is generic, which means it can be completed in any mission (e.g., get 5 Melee kills).
• The second and third Daily Challenges can be generic (e.g., use a Field Upgrade 3 times) or mission-specific (e.g., destroy 4 vehicles in Denied Area), or co-operative specific (related to Special Ops Kits, for example).
• The Bonus Challenge is a “split” objective with the choice of one of two Mission Challenges.

The first two Daily Challenges reward only XP. The third Daily Challenge, as well as the Bonus Challenge, award Special Ops Stars on top of XP — more details on what these Stars do in the Special Ops Kit section (below).

The Daily Challenge systems for both modes are extremely helpful for reaching Rank 55 at launch and will be helpful during future Seasons. However, once you reach Rank 55 at launch, consider focusing on Special Ops Daily Challenges, as you can also earn additional Stars for the mode.

Career Challenges

In addition to Daily Challenges, there is an assortment of Multiplayer and Special Ops Career Challenges at launch.

Some of these, such as match wins and kills, will come naturally by simply playing the game. Others, such as earning kills with a specific weapon category or getting Longshots may involve changing your playstyle.

In Multiplayer, Career Challenge may have several milestone steps, which awards XP and may also grant Calling Cards. If you want, you can even continue pushing to fully complete a Career Challenge, which offers additional XP and a Calling Card.

In Special Ops, Career Challenges – split into Career Star Unlocks and Intel Collection – give a variety of special rewards like [REDACTED].

Once Season 01 is live and beyond, expect there to be additional challenges unlocked at Prestige Level milestones that offer more difficult objectives and XP rewards.

Weapon Platforms — Get Every Attachment and Weapon, Unlock Tuning at Launch

One of the Gunsmithable Weapon Platforms, the M4, shown above.

After reaching Military Rank 55, you may think the progression journey is over until Season 01. However, instead of ranking up, think about ranking across. As in, leveling up each of the Weapon Platforms that can be customized in the Gunsmith — that is, they can be “Gunsmithable.”

All Gunsmithable Weapon Platforms have a unique Progression tree, which details every unlock within that platform. In general, leveling up a Weapon Platform with each of its weapons unlocks the following:

• Weapon Platform–Specific Attachments: Attachments that may be shared across weapons in a platform or assigned to only one weapon in a platform (e.g., Barrels, Magazines, Stocks, Rear Grips).
• Universal Attachments: Attachments that can be shared between other compatible weapons (e.g., Muzzles, Underbarrels, Ammunition, Lasers, and Optics).
• Receivers: Additional weapons within a Weapon Platform, which includes even more attachments to unlock or more Receivers.

Note that there are four additional weapons that can be unlocked within the M4 Weapon Platform.

It is highly recommended that you level up every Weapon Platform in the game to its Max Level. By doing this, you will get every weapon available at launch in your arsenal in its fully unlocked state, as well as the hundreds of platform-specific and universal-category attachments. And it is more than possible to earn all of this before the start of Season 01 in Modern Warfare II.

Not only is unlocking all weapons and attachments extremely important for fluidity when it comes to the Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0 “META” (Most Effective Tactics Available), but intel suggests that those platform-specific and universal-category attachments could be also equipped to weapons that arrive in post-launch Seasons…

Weapon Tuning — Advanced Gunsmith Customization 

Reaching Max Level with a Gunsmithable Weapon will grant access to Weapon Tuning—allowing for further Attachment customization.

Once unlocked, a “Tune” button will be present on equipped, tunable Attachments. Selecting this button will take you to the Tuning Menu. Here you will find a radar graph representing that Attachment’s stats as well two sliders with opposing attributes on either end. Inching toward one attribute will generally decrease the attribute at the opposing side—so it is suggested to take great care during this process to find the tuning values that make your Attachment perform at peak efficiency.

For example, a Barrel could have two sliders for weight and length. Adjusting the weight slider affects both Movement Speed and Recoil. Adjusting the length slider affects both Aim Down Sight Time and Damage Range. Adjusting both allows for a unique combination of effects on all four attributes.

Weapon Tuning is the persistent “end-game” level of Weapon Customization. After you unlock every attachment in the game, Weapon Tuning is where you can experiment to find the most ideal version of each attachment for each weapon. While the changes may seem small, they could add up to make a weapon fit your ideal meta.

Essentially, the sooner you unlock and explore this tool, the sooner you can see how it can become a complete meta game-changer.

Special Ops — Stars and Kit Tiers

Before we detail the Weapon Progression journey further, there are two other important unlock systems that could be worth focusing on before Season 01: the first is for those who play Special Ops, especially those interested in Raid missions.

Per tradition, Special Ops is a co-op mission mode, where Operators choose Kits that act as in-game roles (more info here), built around a Star system.

Special Ops Stars can be earned in one of two ways at Launch:

Special Ops Missions — Weekly Completion Stars

Each week, you can complete Special Ops missions to earn Special Ops Stars.

Like Special Ops in past games, you earn one Star for simply finishing the mission. To earn two or three Stars on a mission, you need to complete it under certain conditions, such as within a time limit.

Take the Special Ops mission “Low Profile” for example:

• One Special Ops Star is earned by completing the mission.
• Two Special Ops Stars are earned by completing the mission within 25 minutes.
• Three Special Ops Stars are earned by completing the mission within 15 minutes.

After earning the maximum number of Stars (three) on a mission, you can no longer earn additional Stars for the week solely through mission completion.

Daily Challenges for Additional Stars

Additional Special Ops Stars are earned through the Daily Challenge system, specifically by completing the third Daily Challenge and the fourth Bonus Challenge within this mode.

Career Stars and Kit Stars

Every Star earned counts towards two parallel systems: Career Stars and Kit Stars, the latter of which is tied to progression in Kit Tiers.

Career Stars are used to unlock rewards such as additional Kits – the Medic Kit unlocks at 1 Star and Recon unlocks at 3 – and additional items.

While earning Career Stars, you will also earn Stars towards the specific Kit you play with during Special Ops Missions. Earning Kit Stars allows you to advance through a Kit’s Tiers, which comes with more active and passive abilities while playing with that Kit.

For example, tiering up the Assault Kit unlocks faster Loadout item usage, increased armor capacity, and free Stims included in the Backpack.

It is highly recommended to tier up your Kits to be better equipped for the challenge of the first Raid. At launch, you can get any Special Ops Kit to Tier 10, well before additional Special Ops Missions and Raid become available during Seasonal updates.

Speaking of Intel… You can expect those lore-revealing dossiers to be sprinkled around the three Special Ops missions, with additional rewards tied to collecting them all. More Intel pieces can also be found with each mission and Raid that drops as part of seasonal updates.

Operators — Naturally Unlocking the Full Roster

The other basic unlock system during launch involves the in-game characters you can play as: Operators.

By default, you have access to a Mil-Sim Operator for both the KorTac and SpecGru factions; this Operator has four unique outfits. While you play Campaign, Multiplayer, and Special Ops, you can unlock an additional 18 free Operators — detailed in our Launch blog here — through specific challenges.

During Campaign Early Access, you can unlock these four Operators:

• Chuy —Complete “Cartel Protection” (Mission 6).
• Nova — Complete “Violence and Timing” (Mission 10).
• Reyes — Complete “Prison Break” (Mission 14).
• Hutch — Complete “Ghost Team” (Mission 16).

The other 14 can be unlocked through the following game modes:

• König, Kleo, Zimo, and Roze — General challenges (can be completed in Multiplayer or in Warzone 2.0, when it launches).
• Luna, Gromsko, and Zero — Special Ops–Specific challenges (all awarded for completing each mission available at launch).
• Aksel, Conor, Fender, Gus, Horangi, Stiletto — Multiplayer-specific challenges.

There are also a few other Operators that you can automatically unlock at launch:

• Price, Soap, Farah, and Ghost —Included in the Red Team 141 Operator Pack, part of the Modern Warfare II Vault Edition.
• Oni — Exclusive to those playing on PlayStation® consoles who digitally preordered the game through the PlayStation store.**

Finally, there is one exclusive Operator Skin for Horangi — “Collision” — that is automatically granted to any account that hit Level 18 during the Modern Warfare II Open Beta. However, you will still need to complete Horangi’s Base Operator Challenge if you wish to access his Base Skin.

This rule also applies to another special Operator Skin, which will be detailed in a special Call of Duty Endowment Blog, and any Operator Skin available postlaunch.

For Completionists – Camo Challenges

At some point before Season 01, especially if you’re among our most dedicated players, you may think you unlocked everything in the game.

You reached Military Rank 55. You have access to all launch weapons through every launch Weapon Platform, and you have unlocked every attachment that can be earned within those specific Platform Progression trees. Plus, you might also have a base Operator and tiered up at least one Special Ops Kit to Tier 5.

Now you can get a head start on two of the biggest Weapon Progression features that could last you far beyond launch: Camo Challenges and Weapon Mastery.

Weapon Camos are cosmetic patterns that cover the majority of each weapon and are earned via “Camo Challenges.” Since the original Modern Warfare game — Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® in 2007 — every main Call of Duty game included this feature with some variation of structure.

We understand that there was speculation around Camo Challenges. Here are the facts:

Modern Warfare II’s Camo Challenge system will be streamlined significantly and will offer more rewards than in previous years. Its goal is to give you those Mastery Camos — Gold, Platinum, and more — sooner while granting more universal Base Camo rewards, with a longer end-game journey for proving true Weapon Mastery.

In Modern Warfare II, Camos are split into two groups:

Base Camos: Any weapon can equip a Base Camo once unlocked via a specific weapon’s Base Camo Challenge. In other words, Base Camos are universally unlocked across all weapons by completing a challenge on the road to a weapon’s first Mastery Camo.

There will be 180+ unique Base Camos available at launch, with more to be added with each new weapon that comes in postlaunch Seasons.

Mastery Camos: These are unlocked for only a specific weapon, and have four unique designs: Gold, Platinum, Polyatomic, and Orion.

• The Gold Camo Challenge for each weapon is available once all of its Base Camo Challenges are completed.
• The Platinum Camo Challenge for each weapon is available once the Gold Camo is unlocked across a minimum number of weapons in each category.
• The Polyatomic Camo Challenge for each weapon is available once the Platinum Camo is unlocked across a minimum of 51 weapons.
• The Orion Camo is a reward for unlocking Polyatomic Camo across a minimum of 51 weapons. It is also automatically granted on every weapon that earns the Orion Camo past its minimum requirement.

Each Mastery Camo is also tied to an additional challenge required for Weapon Mastery on each weapon, which can be done in parallel with the Camo Challenge journey, detailed below.

NOTE! This information may be subject to change within the game’s launch window.

Step 1: Complete Base Camo Challenges, Get Universal Camos for All Weapons

In Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® (2019), each weapon had up to 10 Base Camo set challenges. Completing these unlocked all 100 Base Camos, but only for that weapon, and every Base Camo across all weapons was the same.

In Modern Warfare II, the Base Camo Challenge system offers between one and four challenges per weapon, and each challenge unlocks a new Camo to use across all weapons. Just with the launch weapon roster alone, there will be more than 180+ unique Camos to earn at launch.

Each Gunsmithable Weapon — that is, a weapon that has attachments — has four Base Camo Challenges: The first is a basic Kill Count challenge, which is available as soon as the weapon is unlocked. The other three are unlocked at specific weapon levels, roughly spaced out in thirds up to the Max Level.

Note: None of these have specific attachment requirements, allowing you to complete these with whatever configuration you see fit. However, you may find certain attachment combinations more effective at completing these challenges compared to others.

For example, the M4 has the following Base Camo Challenges:

• Get [REDACTED] Kills with the M4. Unlocks the [REDACTED] Camo.
• Get [REDACTED] or more Kills with the M4 without reloading [[REDACTED] times. Unlocks the [REDACTED] Camo. (Challenge unlocked at Weapon Level 7.)
• Get [REDACTED] Double Kills with the M4. Unlocks the [REDACTED] Camo. (Challenge unlocked at Weapon Level 13.)
• Get [REDACTED] Triple Kills with the M4. Unlocks the [REDACTED] Camo. (Challenge unlocked at its Max Weapon Level, Level 20.)

Complete all the above to unlock the M4 Gold Camo Challenge (the first “Mastery” Camo Challenge).

Each non-Gunsmithable weapon — that is, weapons without attachments — has one Base Camo, unlocked by completing a basic Kill Count challenge.

For example, the RPG-7 has one Base Camo Challenge:

• Get [REDACTED] Kills with the RPG-7. Unlocks the [REDACTED] Camo.

Just completing that one challenge unlocks the RPG-7’s Gold Camo Challenge.

This new Base Camo system also applies to all postlaunch weapons. If it can be edited within the Gunsmith, the weapon will have four Base Camo Challenges. If it cannot, the weapon will only have one Base Camo Challenge.

That means technically, each Season will include new Base Camos to use across all weapons, in addition to the weapon itself.

Again, this new system means that there are fewer challenges for each weapon, but more base camouflages overall and a faster way to get each individual weapon to the next step of Mastery: Gold Camo.

Step 2: Unlock the Gold Mastery Camo

Once every Base Camo Challenge is completed on a specific weapon, the first of its three Mastery Camo Challenges — Gold — becomes available.

Every weapon in Modern Warfare II has the same Gold Camo Challenge: getting a certain number of kills (two to three, usually) with the weapon without dying a certain number of times.

Doing so unlocks the Gold Camo for that weapon and onlythat weapon.

At this point, you could begin with the Weapon Mastery journey (skip down for details), but you may want to unlock the Gold Camo on more weapons to get the most out of Weapon Mastery. Or, if you are wise enough, you could be doing both at the same time…

Step 3: Finish a Specific Number of Gold Camo Challenges in Each Weapon Category, Get Access to Platinum Camo Challenges

Platinum Camo Challenges are tied to specific weapon categories. They become available once a certain number of Gold Camos are earned across weapons within a category:

• Assault Rifles
• Battle Rifles
• SMGs
• LMGs
• Marksman Rifles
• Sniper Rifles
• Sidearms
• Launchers
• Melee (Primary and Secondary)

Each Platinum Camo Challenge is the same across every weapon within a weapon category.

Also, Platinum Camo Challenges only require that you complete a minimum number of Gold Camo Challenges. This is equal to the number of weapons in that category at launch, rather than a specific checklist of Gold Camo Challenges in each category.

In other words, if there is a new Assault Rifle that arrives in Season 01, you can technically “skip” one of the Assault Rifle Gold Camo Challenges available at launch and still unlock Platinum Camo Challenges for the category.

Step 4: Finish a Minimum of 51 Platinum Mastery Challenges, Get Access to Polyatomic Camo Challenges

Once Platinum Camo is unlocked on 51 weapons, the final Camo Challenge is unlocked: Polyatomic.

This final Mastery Camo Challenge is yet another challenge specific to each weapon category.

For example: the M4’s Polyatomic Camo Challenge is different compared to the RPG-7’s Polyatomic Camo Challenge.

Completing this challenge on a weapon unlocks the Polyatomic Camo for it and counts toward the unlock requirements for the ultimate Mastery Camo.

The Ultimate Mastery Camo: Orion

Once the Polyatomic Camo is unlocked on 51 weapons — which can be the 51 weapons at launch, or a combination of 51 weapons available at launch and introduced in postlaunch seasons — every weapon that has Polyatomic Camo will automatically be granted the Orion Camo.

This is your official mark of completion for Weapon Camos.

After originally unlocking Orion across 51 weapons, earning the Polyatomic Camo on any additional weapons automatically grants the Orion Camo as well.

For Completionists — Weapon Mastery

Whether it was a later season of Modern Warfare or the original Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009), you may recall something known as Weapon Mastery.

After unlocking a Mastery Camo — Gold, Platinum, Polyatomic, and Orion — on a weapon, you gain access to that weapon’s Mastery Challenge.

Each Weapon Mastery Challenge involves earning a set number of kills with a weapon while a specific Mastery Weapon Camo is equipped.

For example, for the M4:

• Gold Mastery Challenge: Get 100 Kills with Gold Camo equipped to the weapon.
• Platinum Mastery Challenge: Get 200 Kills with Platinum Camo equipped to the weapon.
• Polyatomic Mastery Challenge: Get 300 Kills with Polyatomic Camo equipped to the weapon.
• Orion Mastery Challenge: Get 400 Kills with Orion Camo equipped to the weapon.

Completing each Mastery Challenge on a weapon awards a new Calling Card and Emblem based on that weapon.

Completing all four Mastery Challenges on a weapon unlocks a Weapon Charm based on that weapon.

If you have an affinity for one particular weapon, as you would in a more traditional progression journey, Weapon Mastery offers an additional way to gain new cosmetic items on top of Camo Challenges.

Ultimately, mastering the Modern Warfare II arsenal involves unlocking Orion on every weapon, then completing every Weapon Mastery Challenge. Of course, there is a completion reward for doing this, if the dozens of universal Base Camos and Weapon Charms, along with hundreds of Calling Cards and Emblems aren’t enough for you – or the Camo Royalty players who enjoy raging – to be getting on with.

RECAP: YOUR 20-DAY MISSION AT LAUNCH

1. Complete the Campaign, preferably during Early Access. There are 17 rewards in total, which can be helpful across Multiplayer and Special Ops, and when Warzone 2.0 launches.

2. Reach Military Rank 55. At the bare minimum, you’ll want to have every base Loadout Item — Weapon Platform, Equipment, Perks, Killstreaks, and Special Ops Kits — unlocked before Season 01. Otherwise, you complete this first Player Level journey before entering the Seasonal Prestige system.

3. Unlock every weapon and attachment within the 27 Gunsmithable launch Weapon Platforms. With every Weapon Platform unlocked, we recommend getting 100% completion for each one to have the full arsenal of 51 weapons and all attachments. This way, you will get ahead of every conceivable meta for Season 01, potentially unlock platform- and category-specific attachments that could apply to future weapons and have Weapon Tuning available on every Gunsmithable weapon.

4. Get at least one Special Ops Kit to Tier 5. Completing all the missions each week and finishing the Daily Challenges should award enough Special Ops Stars to upgrade one of the available Special Ops Kits.

5. Feel free to unlock a dozen and a half Operators. While playing Multiplayer and Special Ops, complete Operator challenges to unlock new characters and XP boosts.

6. If you still want more, start earning Weapon Camos… Streamlined for this year to get you on the road to Mastery sooner, Gunsmithable weapons require only four challenges and non-Gunsmithable weapons have only one. Each Base Camo can be used by any weapon once unlocked, and there are 180+ to earn through this new system.

7. …and begin the Weapon Mastery journey. Use the weapon with special Weapon Mastery Camos — Gold, Platinum, Polyatomic, and Orion — to get Calling Cards, Emblems, and Weapon Charms that come with serious respect.

Stay frosty.

Stay tuned to Gaming Trend for more Call of Duty news and info!

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