Fastest way to level up and Prestige in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season 4

Andrew Highton
cod bocw xp and prestige icons

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has hundreds of levels and Prestige Ranks for you to plow through, so here’s an in-depth guide on how to earn XP quicker and level up faster in Season 4.

There are many ways for players to earn XP in Black Ops Cold War with different modes to enjoy, such as competitive online multiplayer and Zombies – particularly Outbreak. The latest Call of Duty game contains hours upon hours of content for you to power your way through, and some of it will reward you better than others.

Season 4 of Cold War has the game very much in its element now with tons of maps and game modes to choose from, and to accelerate your leveling up in Black Ops Cold War, here are some vital tips.

Also, there’s a hefty Season 4 Battle Pass to batter your way through, and here’s the quickest ways to level it up!

Option #1 – Black Ops Cold War Double XP Codes

black ops cold war 2xp tokens

This is by far the easiest and most efficient way to munch your way through in-game ranks. By purchasing specially marked Doritos, Mountain Dew, Gamefuel, or Tostinos products, you’ll get codes with your purchase for Double XP.

These codes will reward tokens that can range from anywhere between 15 minutes to 1 hour of Double XP.

Here’s how you can redeem your XP codes.

  1. Log in to the marked website on the side of the product you purchased. For example, if you have a Doritos token, it’s www.doritos.com/callofduty
  2. Link your Call of Duty / Activision account to your Doritos account
  3. Redeem the Double XP code on your product
  4. You will also be entered in a competition to win Double XP for a whole year

From here, just activate your Double XP on the Multiplayer or Zombies menu of Black Ops Cold War and start playing!

Option #2 – Double XP Weekend

cod double xp weekend cold war warzone

Every now and again Activision will announce a few days in advance that both Cold War and Warzone will be having a Double XP Weekend.

This consists of either a 2x XP Weekend in which you’ll earn double the amount of regular XP for your rank and weapon level. Or a 3x XP Weekend in which you’ll earn Battle Pass ranks faster too.

Make sure to check out our regularly updated post about when the next Cold War and Warzone Double XP event will be.

Option #3 – Black Ops Cold War Weapon Challenges

black ops cold war weapon challenges

When progressing weapons initially, you’ll unlock challenges, attachments, and camos quickly. Many players falsely believe that ranking up a single gun will maximize their XP potential. However, you will find that using different weapons and completing just the initial challenges and first few weapon levels will rack you up XP at a great rate.

The trick is to use a weapon until you notice you’re unlocking camos/challenges at a reduced rate and then change to a new weapon. This adds variety to your gameplay and gives you the opportunity to do several challenges at once.

If you’re a bit more mindful of your K/D, then maybe wait for a map you’re more confident with, or pick a game mode in which you don’t mind just grinding out Weapon XP challenges.

Option #4 – Play Objective Modes

cod bocw fireteam dirty bomb gameplay

While this might be obvious, the goal of an Objective Mode is to actually play the objective. Modes like Domination, Hardpoint, and Control offer great amounts of bonus XP when you’re an active objective player.

For example, in all objective modes, you get bonus XP for killing enemies on objectives, and every time you kill an enemy while on an objective you’ll get extra XP as well.

For Hardpoint, run trophy systems and try to play the point as much as possible. You’ll rake in lots of XP through protecting your team from explosives with your trophy system, and also killing attacking/defending opponents on the hardpoint.

In Domination, true XP dominance comes in flag captures and defends. Spend a minute or so at a time in the ring of the objective and get kills for those extra defend points. Try to get your opponents stuck in their spawn and get as many kills and streaks as you can while you’re ahead.

Also, maybe avoid Solo modes like Free-For-All if you’re not overly confident in your ability. Solo modes mainly rely on your ability to get your own points, so it might be more beneficial to play team-based modes and guarantee yourself more XP.

Option #5 – Get killstreaks and earn Scorestreaks

cod bocw chopper gunner

Conversely, if playing the objective isn’t always at the forefront of your Call of Duty brain, then perhaps focus more on kills. Black Ops Cold War’s points system is somewhat flawed in that earning a 5-10 killstreak in the space of 60 seconds will do more for your points than playing the objective ever could.

Here’s a mini breakdown of how the points system works for kills:

  • 2 kills +50
  • 3 kills +50
  • 4 kills +50
  • 5 kills +500
  • 6 kills +300
  • 7 kills +350
  • 8 kills +400
  • 9 kills +450
  • 10 kills +2000

There’s clearly a huge incentive to go for killstreaks to get the big scorestreaks, leaving a huge discrepancy in objective points and kill points. If you’re a decent CoD player, then you’ll easily rack up points this way, getting bigger and better scorestreaks in the process, along with more XP.

Not only that, but the game has some absolutely dominant Scorestreaks such as the seemingly endless Strafe Run, the dominant Hand Cannon, and Sentry Turret with a secret ability.

Option #6 – Party Up on PS4 & PS5

cod bocw playstation party

Exclusive to PS4 and PS5 users is the ability to obtain a 25% Weapon XP boost when playing with parties. This also counts while playing with crossplay parties, but will only apply to PlayStation players.

You’ll see an “XP Boost active” icon in the pre-game lobby when it is active and it’s a nice, passive way of earning additional XP, especially if you have a new gun to try out.

Option #7 – Black Ops Cold War Battle Pass

cod cold war season three battle pass

One final way of ensuring you’re earning the most XP possible is to purchase the Black Ops Cold War Season Pass. For instance, Season Three Battle Pass owners have been enjoying a 10% increase in all XP earned during the season. That’s a substantial amount if you’re investing hours upon hours into Black Ops Cold War.

Another benefit that comes with the Pass is that multiple tiers will reward you with Double XP and Double Weapon XP tokens too.

So there’s a few ways that you can go about maximizing your XP return in Black Ops Cold War and increase your chances of hitting that elusive level 1,000 rank.

Image Credit: Activision / Treyarch