How does leveling work in Black Ops 6 Zombies? Classic Prestige, explained

Zombies is basically its own game in Black Ops 6.

Black Ops 6 official Zombies key artwork
Image via Activision

For some reason, Prestige mode in Call of Duty has been a bit confusing over the last few games. Thankfully for gamers, it’s more straightforward than ever in Black Ops 6, like the good old days.

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Whether you play BO6 multiplayer or the triumphant return to round-based Zombies, you can Prestige in the game. There are rewards to earn, Easter eggs to hunt, quests to finish, zombies to kill, weapons to level up, and of course, good old prestige to earn among friends.

Here’s how Prestige works in Black Ops 6 Zombies.

Black Ops 6 Zombies Prestige, explained

Armored Zombies in Black Ops 6
Prestige means killing a whole lot of these guys. Image via Activision

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has universal progression and classic Prestige. This means your levels, and Prestige levels, are carried across BO6 Zombies and BO6 multiplayer, and potentially even Warzone and Warzone Mobile.

Classic Prestige means Seasonal Prestige levels are over and done with in BO6. Classic Prestige is like the CoD games of old where you rank up levels one through 55, and then you can reset your progression to level one with each successive Prestige.

“Early on in Black Ops 6’s development, a goal was set to ensure leveling and XP mattered more than ever, resulting in a deep and rewarding progression journey for players, starting at launch,” Treyarch said about Prestige in BO6. “Current and past Progression systems throughout Call of Duty’s history were studied, and within the Black Ops series, there was a particular fondness – both across the community and internally at Treyarch – for a more classic Prestige system.”

BO6 has 10 Prestige levels at launch, but it doesn’t end there. Once you finish 10th Prestige, you unlock Prestige Master, including 1,000 additional levels to rank up through. If you make it all the way to the end, there’s a “classified reward” to unlock.

Prestige Master icon in Black Ops 6
Will you hit max level? Image via Activision

But levels aren’t the only thing to grind for. BO6 Zombies has a ton of other rewards to play for, including Mastery camos, custom reticles, new calling cards, Dark Ops challenges, daily challenges, and main quest rewards.

And the best part about Classic Prestige is that levels are not tied to seasons, like in the past two CoD games, Modern Warfare 3 or Modern Warfare 2. You won’t be time-gated or stopped at any Prestige level as all Prestiges and Prestige Master levels are available at launch on Oct. 25.

Author
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Scott Duwe
Senior Staff Writer & Call of Duty lead. Professional writer for over 10 years. Lover of all things Marvel, Destiny 2, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. Previous bylines include PC Gamer, Red Bull Esports, Fanbyte, and Esports Nation. DogDad to corgis Yogi and Mickey, sports fan (NY Yankees, NY Jets, NY Rangers, NY Knicks), Paramore fanatic, cardio enthusiast.