Prestiging, as longtime Call of Duty fans know it, isn’t a part of Modern Warfare.
In most Call of Duty titles, players were able to prestige when they hit the max level in multiplayer. This would reset the player’s rank and allow them to go through the multiplayer level progression again, increasing the game’s replayability in the process.
But you can’t prestige in Modern Warfare. Instead, the popular feature has been replaced by a new progression system called Officer Rank.
The technical max level in Modern Warfare multiplayer is 55. It takes 960,000 XP to reach level 55. But once you hit this level, you won’t have the option to prestige. Instead, you can just keep playing and level up your Officer Rank.
“A player’s Enlisted Ranks of 1-55 are never reset and they will never have their functional items re-locked,” Activision said. “Rather than having to reset your Enlisted Rank, Modern Warfare will introduce Officer Ranks, a seasonal ranking system complete with rewards and 100 ranks to progress through.”
In this new system, players can get up to level 155. But Officer Ranks will be reset at the start of each in-game season. This means that when a new season begins, players who were leveling up their Officer Rank will go back to level 55.
The Officer Rank system offers a unique set of challenges, however. Each new Officer Rank unlocks a challenge that players can complete to earn a medal ribbon and an XP boost. This gives players more incentive to continue playing multiplayer even after they reach level 55.
Alongside seasonal ribbons, players can also get rewards like weapon blueprints by increasing their Officer Rank throughout a season. Earning a total of 10 ribbons will let you unlock a season emblem that you can continue to evolve with more ribbons. Though these emblems can look like a simple cosmetic feature, they’ll serve as a way of showing how long you’ve been playing Modern Warfare the next time you join a lobby.
Though your Officer Rank will be reset starting with each new season, you’ll still be able to see your past efforts through the rank progression menu in the Barracks. You can see your rank for each season through this page and your career level as well.
While some Call of Duty fans might miss having the ability to prestige, Modern Warfare’s new system gives longtime players a unique multiplayer experience.
Update Dec. 22 11:13am CT: Following the start of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War season one on Dec. 16, it’s technically possible to prestige in Modern Warfare. There is now “unified progression” across Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War.
Prestiging returned with the release of Black Ops Cold War after a one-year hiatus during the initial year of Modern Warfare and Warzone.
