How Prestige Works In Cold War
If you’ve been around since the days of older Black Ops games, the Prestige system will be familiar. In these previous titles, when you reached max level you had the chance to advance your Prestige class, which would reset your progress and unlocks to Level 1, while indicating via your prestige level that you’ve climbed to the top before. This meant that Prestige level was equal to how many times a player reached max level from scratch on the same account. Things are a little different in Black Ops Cold War, as the Prestige system has been adapted to the new season-based multiplayer framework. This time around Prestige doesn’t wipe your progress, but is instead tied to seasonal levels. Each season, you earn progress towards the Seasonal Level when playing various multiplayer modes and Warzone - provided you’ve already reached Level 55 - and this Seasonal Level is reset to 1 at the beginning of each new season but you keep your Prestige Level. Essentially, 50 Season Levels equal one Prestige Level. When you begin a season you are at Season Level 1 and Prestige Level 1. Then, at Season Level 50, you hit Prestige Level 2. If, say, you end a season at Season Level 100 and Prestige Level 3, then you will start the next season at Season Level 1 and Prestige Level 3, and upon hitting Season Level 50 will be at Prestige Level 4. Clear? There’s another key element - Prestige Levels are capped. Before Season 2 launched, the maximum Prestige Level was 7, and now it is 11 with 4 new levels added in the season. If players reached Prestige 11 already, then all Season Level progress will go towards the new Prestige Levels - but if you haven’t, there’s time to catch up too. To ensure that there is still something to strive for when hitting the Prestige cap, Treyarch introduced the Prestige Store, available only to Prestige Masters - players who hit Season Level 200, or the Prestige cap. This is where you can use those Prestige Keys to unlock special calling cards and emblems from previous Call of Duty games.
New Prestige Levels In Season 2
Since bragging rights might not be enough motivation for some, there are some extra bonuses in store for players who increase their Prestige Level. These are also exclusive to the Season, so while you’ll always be able to increase your Prestige in number, these rewards won’t be available anymore after Season 2 ends, hence providing ample motivation to climb those ranks fast. Here’s the reward breakdown for Prestige progress in Season 2:
Level 50: New Prestige, Emblem, Prestige Key, Weapon Blueprint, and Battle Pass Tier Skip Level 100: New Prestige, Emblem, Prestige Key, and Battle Pass Tier Skip Level 150: New Prestige, Emblem, Prestige Key, and Battle Pass Tier Skip Level 190: All Season Challenges Available Level 200: New Prestige, Emblem, Prestige Key, Battle Pass Tier Skip, Master Prestige Calling Card Level 250-1,000: New Prestige Key every 50 levels
With plenty of key earning opportunities even after hitting Prestige Master, you should be able to buy all the unique Season 2 emblems and calling cards you could want.