Master Prestige is back in Black Ops 7, and it's the classic system veteran players have been asking for. You'll level from 1 to 55, prestige, and work your way toward Master Prestige over time. With 20 mastery camos, an expanded challenge system, and progression that carries across Multiplayer, Zombies, and Campaign, there's more XP available than any recent Call of Duty title.
This guide breaks down every method for speeding up your progression. We'll cover loadout configurations, game mode selection, challenge stacking, and smart use of XP tokens. If you're pushing toward your first prestige or grinding toward Prestige Legend on your favorite weapons, these strategies will help you get more out of every match.
How Progression Works
Career Level and Prestige Structure
Black Ops 7 brings back the traditional prestige loop. You level from 1 to 55, prestige, and repeat. The long-term goal is Master Prestige, which requires completing multiple prestige cycles.
Weapon Prestige and Prestige Attachments
Every weapon (except launchers and melee weapons) has a unique prestige attachment. Once you max out a weapon's level, you can enter weapon prestige. Doing this for the first time on any gun unlocks that weapon's exclusive prestige attachment.
Some of these attachments are genuinely powerful and worth building around. Others are more situational or gimmicky. Before investing hours into prestiging a weapon, check what attachment it offers. You might want to prioritize an SMG or rifle with a game-changing attachment while putting off weapons with less useful rewards.
For dedicated grinders, the maximum weapon prestige is Prestige Legend at level 250 per weapon. That's the ultimate commitment to a single gun.
Cross-Mode Progression
Black Ops 7 lets you level up your operator rank and weapons in Multiplayer, Zombies, and Campaign. You don't have to abandon the Campaign at launch just to keep pace with friends in Multiplayer. Playing Campaign missions and endgame content awards XP toward your overall progression and even counts for camo challenges.
This gives you flexibility to play whatever mode feels comfortable or efficient without sacrificing progress.
Best Loadout for XP
Your loadout choices directly affect how much XP you earn per match. This setup focuses on passive XP generation alongside your normal kills.
Primary Weapon
Use whatever primary you're currently leveling or completing camo challenges for. The weapon category doesn't matter for XP rates, so focus on weapons that need work.
Secondary Weapon: Always Run a Launcher
Keep a launcher as your secondary at all times. Every time an enemy calls in a UAV, Counter-UAV, or attack helicopter, shooting it down gives you significant XP. You'll earn XP for the launcher itself, career XP toward your overall rank, and medals for each destruction. This adds up fast over a play session.
Field Upgrades
Several field upgrades generate excellent XP:
Assault Pack (Ammo Box): Each time a teammate picks up ammo from your box, you get XP. The Lucky Ammo Overclock adds additional score on kills, giving you consistent passive XP throughout matches.
Trophy System: In objective modes like Domination and Hardpoint, Trophy Systems generate XP when they destroy incoming grenades near objectives you're defending.
Scrambler: The second-best option after Squad Link. The difference is that Scrambler needs enemies to enter its radius rather than teammates. The Motion Sensor Overclock reveals enemies when they step inside. If a teammate kills a revealed enemy, you get assist XP.
Tactical Equipment
Pinpoint Grenade: This works like a localized vision pulse. Throw it, and enemies in the area get revealed. If the grenade sticks to an enemy and you or a teammate kills them while revealed, you earn bonus XP. Killing a stuck enemy yourself pays out even more than the teammate assist.
Decoy Grenade: Throwing decoys near enemies generates Decoy Assist XP when enemies react to them. You also get kill credit bonuses when affected enemies die.
Perk Configuration
| Perk Slot | Recommended Perk | XP Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Slot 1 | Gearhead | Charge two field upgrades faster for more Squad Link uptime |
| Slot 2 | Assassin | Doubles score when killing enemies on high streaks |
| Slot 3 | Bankroll | +150 score toward scorestreaks at start of each life |
| Slot 4 (Perk Greed) | Looper | Re-earn scorestreaks within the same life for continuous XP |
Scorestreak Setup
Focus on non-lethal, support-oriented streaks that generate assist XP:
- Scout Pulse (lowest cost): With the Dispatcher Overclock reducing its cost, plus Bankroll's +150 starting score, you can earn Scout Pulse after just one kill at the start of each life.
- UAV: Every kill your teammates get while your UAV is active awards you assist XP. Dispatcher reduces its cost from 400.
- Counter-UAV: Provides XP when deployed and helps your team. Dispatcher reduces its cost from 600 to 500.
- HARP (Advanced UAV): The most valuable non-lethal streak for XP. Dispatcher reduces its cost from 1,400 to 1,300. The constant stream of assists from teammates using your intel generates serious XP.
Put the Dispatcher Overclock on all four streaks to lower their score requirements across the board.
Best Game Modes for Fast XP
Objective-Based Multiplayer Modes
Objective modes consistently give the highest XP because they reward both kills and objective interactions. Spawns are more predictable, players cluster around objectives, and the pace creates more opportunities for engagement.
Kill Confirmed: Each dog tag you collect awards 150 points, whether from your own kills or teammates'. This mode rewards aggressive play and objective participation equally, making it great for consistent XP farming.
Hardpoint: Sitting on the hill while defending reduces match time while maximizing points. The score limit is 250 with a 5-minute base timer, but matches can stretch to 10 or 15 minutes with active objective play. Every second on the hardpoint plus every kill while contesting adds bonus XP.
Domination: With a score limit of 200 and no time limit, matches can go long when teams fight over the B flag. Capturing and defending flags provides steady XP, and the mode creates predictable chokepoints for chain kills. Flag captures and defenses award extra XP on top of your kills.
Core vs. Hardcore Mode
Hardcore gives faster XP than Core for several reasons:
- One-Shot Medal Bonus: Every kill in Hardcore generates a One Shot medal because of the reduced health. Across a 50 to 90 kill game, these medals represent substantial bonus XP that Core doesn't offer.
- Easier Long Shots: The one-shot potential at all ranges makes long shot challenges much simpler.
- Faster Multi-Kills: Double kills, triple kills, and higher streaks become more achievable when enemies die faster.
Nuketown 24/7
When available, Nuketown 24/7 offers all objective modes on a single small map. The compact layout and constant action make this playlist efficient for weapon leveling and career XP. Hardcore Nuketown 24/7 combines the map's fast pace with Hardcore's medal bonuses.
Challenge System: The Hidden XP Goldmine
Challenge Categories
Black Ops 7 has an expanded challenge system across multiple categories:
Weapon Challenges cover headshots, kill counts, attachment requirements, and long shots. Equipment Challenges track tactical and lethal usage milestones. Operator Challenges give you character-specific objectives. Gameplay Challenges are general multiplayer tasks. Career Challenges are long-term progression milestones. Prestige Challenges unlock after you prestige.
Many challenges progress naturally as you play. Just switching weapons or experimenting with loadouts advances multiple challenges at once. Playing Campaign, Warzone, Multiplayer, and Zombies all count toward various categories.
Camo Challenges
Black Ops 7 removes weapon level requirements from base camo tiers. Most requirements are straightforward (headshots, multi-kills, specific kill conditions), letting you farm XP efficiently while working toward mastery camos.
The camo progression milestones give significant XP bonuses:
Awards approximately 1,000 XP per weapon upon completion.
Awards approximately 2,500 XP per weapon upon completion.
Awards approximately 5,000 XP per weapon upon completion.
Awards over 10,000 XP per weapon upon completion.
Multiplayer has its own mastery camo track (Shadow Gold, Arc Light, Tempest, Singularity), while Zombies and Campaign have separate tracks (Genesis and Infestation).
Working on camo challenges means you're earning bonus XP milestones while leveling weapons. You're effectively getting double progression value from every match.
Dark Ops Challenges
Dark Ops challenges are hidden objectives worth about 5,000 XP each. These include things like Frenzy Killer, Mega Killer, and various other secret milestones. Completing all Dark Ops challenges in a category awards 25,000 XP total.
Mastery Badges
Mastery Badges give you another progression layer separate from camos. You earn badge progress by using different weapon types and completing multi-step milestones within categories. This XP adds up as long as you rotate through your arsenal.
Completing one Mastery Badge category awards 10,000 XP (20,000 with Double XP active). Completing all Mastery Badges for a mode pays out nearly 50,000 XP.
Multiplayer and Zombies have separate Mastery Badge tracks.
Zombies Mode XP Farming
Zombies has always been reliable for weapon XP, and Black Ops 7 continues that tradition.
Directed Mode Strategy
Directed Mode works especially well for weapon leveling. By activating specific Easter Egg steps or creating round loops, you can continuously eliminate low-level zombies with minimal risk. This controlled environment lets you farm kills consistently without the chaos of higher rounds.
Rampage Inducer
Once your setup is ready, activating the Rampage Inducer speeds up early waves. Faster zombie spawns mean faster kills and quicker weapon XP. Longer Zombies sessions also let you progress camo challenges and weapon milestones at the same time, giving you dual value from each run.
Double XP Token Strategy
Token Carryover
XP tokens from Black Ops 6 transferred to Black Ops 7. Check your token inventory if you had unused tokens from the previous game.
Getting the Most From Your Tokens
Double XP tokens count down in real time, not just match time. To get full value:
- Activate tokens only when you have uninterrupted play time.
- Stick to modes with longer matches (objective modes work best).
- Stack token activation with challenge completion sessions.
- Don't switch modes mid-session since that wastes token duration.
- Focus on weapons you plan to use for the entire token duration.
A well-timed Double XP session in Kill Confirmed or Hardpoint while completing camo challenges can generate 40,000 to 50,000 XP per match.
Weapon Leveling Priority
Level Meta Weapons First
Early in Black Ops 7's lifecycle, certain weapons will emerge as clear meta picks. Prioritize leveling these immediately for two reasons:
- Stronger weapons make every fight easier, speeding up kill-based XP and challenges.
- Strong weapons often get nerfed within the first few weeks. Level them while they're at peak performance.
Pay attention to which weapons the community identifies as standouts and make those your priority.
Prestige Attachment Priority
Check prestige attachments early and plan your weapon prestige order. Weapons with powerful prestige attachments deserve immediate attention. Those with situational attachments can wait.
DLC Weapon Replacement Strategy
For camo grinders, seasonal content offers strategic flexibility. When Season 1 launches and adds new weapons, you can use DLC weapons to replace base game weapons you find tedious. If mastery camos require 30 completed weapons and the base game has exactly 30, completing three or four Season 1 weapons instead of launchers or melee weapons still meets the requirement.
This approach trades speed for convenience, letting you skip weapons you dislike while still hitting mastery camo completion.
XP Session Checklist
Before each session, make sure you've set up:
- Launcher as secondary
- Squad Link or Scrambler as field upgrade
- Appropriate Overclock upgrades selected
- Pinpoint or Decoy grenade equipped
- Gearhead, Assassin, Bankroll, and Looper perks active
- Non-lethal scorestreaks with Dispatcher Overclock
- Playing Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint, or Domination
- Consider Hardcore for extra medal bonuses
- Know your active weapon camo challenges
- Note your current career challenge objectives
- Double XP tokens ready for extended sessions
- Session time blocked to get full token value
The Fastest Path to Master Prestige
Reaching Master Prestige in Black Ops 7 takes time, but smart play cuts the grind significantly:
Set up your loadout for passive XP. Launchers, Squad Link, and non-lethal scorestreaks generate XP constantly beyond your direct kills.
Play objective modes in Hardcore. Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint, and Domination in Hardcore give you objective bonuses and one-shot medals together.
Stack challenges and camos. Every match should progress weapon camos, career challenges, and Mastery Badges at the same time.
Use Zombies when it makes sense. Directed Mode with Rampage Inducer provides consistent, low-risk weapon XP farming.
Time your Double XP tokens carefully. Activate during extended, focused sessions in the right game modes for maximum return.
Prioritize meta weapons. Level strong weapons before balance patches reduce their effectiveness.
Take advantage of cross-mode progression. Play Campaign, Zombies, or Multiplayer based on what feels comfortable and efficient for you.
Combining these strategies will get you through prestiges efficiently while completing weapon masteries and challenge milestones along the way.