The Fastest Ways To Level Up Weapons In Vanguard

Just starting out with Call of Duty: Vanguard and want to know how to level up your weapons? Today, we're going to show you how to quickly farm weapon XP in Vanguard.

Vanguard weapon xp
Looking to get your weapons to level 70 fast? | © Activision

Bought Vanguard and found that it takes forever to level your weapons? Just realized that every gun needs to go from level 0 to level 70? Panicking? Don't worry, as today, we're going to explain to you how you can most effectively level up your weapons in Vanguard. If you still don't know which one to start with, check out our list of the 10 best weapons in Vanguard.

How to Level Weapons in Vanguard?

Vanguard Leveling
At every level, you'll unlock an attachment or camo. | © Activision

Let's get the basics straight first. In order to level up weapons in Vanguard (or any other Call of Duty), you need to earn weapon XP. As you might expect, weapon XP is earned by killing enemies with the appropriate weapon. Each level unlocks another attachment or camo for the weapon. However, there are certain factors that can increase the XP you earn, and certain challenges that can also earn bonus XP. So let's take a closer look.

Weapon XP | How Much XP Do You Need?

Here's a table showing just how much weapon XP is required to reach each level. Each weapon can be upgraded to a maximum of level 70 and requires a total of 150,000 XP to get there. In our table, we've listed the required XP in increments of 10.

Levelrequired XP per levelXP totaled
106255625
20125017.500
30187535.625
40250060.000
50250085.000
602500110.000
683750138.750
695000143.750
706250150.000

As you can see above, you usually require the same amount of XP within 10 levels. So going from level 1 to level 2 requires just as much XP as from level 5 to level 6. Only in the last few levels, from level 68 to 70, does the required XP increase significantly.

The Fastest Ways To Level Weapons In Vanguard

Now that we've figured out how to get weapon XP and how much you need per level, let's look at the best ways to farm it as quickly as possible. Logically, the following methods work best when combined to stack XP boosts.

Small Maps

Vanguard Maps Shipment
Shipment is the smallest map and perfect for weapon leveling. | © Activision

If you want to farm a lot of weapon XP, you have to play on the smallest possible maps. The smaller the map, the more often you will encounter enemies and the faster you will collect a lot of kills. Fortunately, Vanguard has the permanent "Ship Haus 24/7" playlist, in which you can only play on the two smallest maps in the game: Shipment and Das Haus. Unfortunately, since objectives do not give weapon XP, you should only focus on kills. Depending on the game mode and your skill, you can easily get 70 kills or more in one match.

Blitz Mode

Vanguard Blitz
If you choose Blitz, you have the maximum number of players. | © Activision

In order to have even more enemies and thus targets for kills, you should set the pacing to "Blitz". This setting ensures that you are matched with the maximum possible number of players on each map. Of course, this typically degenerates into chaos, but no matter how many times you die, you will definitely have a decent kill count at the end of the match.Now that the maps and modes are clear, how can we further maximize weapon XP earned?

The Right Operator

Vanguard Operator
With the right operator, you get more XP. | © Activision

In Vanguard, all operators have a specific favorite weapon. Playing the appropriate operator with that weapon grants you a 10% bonus XP for that weapon and also unlocks an XP reward whenever the operator themselves level up. Unfortunately, there isn't an operator for every weapon, but before you level up a weapon, always check whether it might be one of the operators' favorite weapon and use the corresponding XP bonus.

Here is a list of all the operators and their favorite weapons:

DanielM1 Garand
WadeType 100
HalimaMP-40
Polina3-Line Rifle
SolangeNZ-41
ShigenoriType 11
RolandSTG44
LucasOwen Gun
BeatriceAS44
ArthurSten
ConstanzeMG42
PadmavatiCombat Shotgun
FrancisCooper Carbine
LewisGorenko Anti-Material Rifle
IsabellaWelgun

The Surplus Attachment

Vanguard Surplus Kit
With Surplus, you earn more XP. | © Activision

Use the Surplus attachment in the kit slot on all weapons once unlocked. This attachment gives you bonus XP for every kill. To be exact, Surplus gives you an additional 20% bonus to your earned weapon XP. Since the perk is usually only unlocked around level 30, you have to grind a bit first, but then it's definitely worth taking for the extra XP when levelling.

Double XP Tokens

Vanguard Double XP
With these tokens, you double your earned weapon XP for a certain time. | © Activision

Use your Double XP tokens! I'm sure each of you has at least a few lying around. Make sure to activate the weapon XP tokens though, as the others don't affect how quickly your weapon levels up. You can activate a token by clicking the left stick at the main lobby menu, revealing the sidebar you see above. Also keep in mind that tokens will expire even if you are not in a match! So you should use the time after activation as effectively as possible and not take any breaks between individual matches.

If it's a Double XP weekend, you can save your valuable tokens, because they don't stack with the already doubled XP. In such a case, however, the game let's you know about this (thankfully).

Clan Boost

Vanguard Clan Boost
Play with a clan member and get 10% extra XP. | © Activision

Play with at least one other member of your clan to get yet another XP boost. Matching with a clan member will give you an additional 10% bonus on all weapon XP earned. So if you're not part of a clan yet, it's high time to join one. Of course, there is also some coordination involved when you have to coordinate the gaming times with another player, but if you can manage that, you can level up your weapons in Vanguard even faster. If you manage to combine all these methods and stack all the XP bonuses, you'll receive about three times as much XP as you would if you were just playing normal matches. Of course, it still takes a while to collect an impressive 150,000 XP per weapon (between 2-5 hours depending on the gun), but you level up much faster this way.

Which Modes Are Best For Weapon Leveling?

Vanguard modes
Which mode is best for weapon leveling? | © Activision

In principle, Vanguard weapons can be leveled in normal Vanguard multiplayer, Zombies mode and Warzone. However, we recommend leveling your weapons in multiplayer using the method described above, as it takes much longer and is more cumbersome in Zombies mode. You can also level up weapons in Warzone, but since respawns are limited there and matches run much longer, it usually takes far, far longer than in multiplayer. If you still want to try it in Warzone, you should use this method.

That's it for our very detailed guide on how to quickly level weapons in Vanguard. Do you already have all weapons at level 70? What's your favorite weapon in Vanguard? We love the Welgun and the Cooper Carbine.

Jon Ramuz

Jon has a BA and an MA in English Literature, and as Content Lead for EarlyGame has written over 1,500 articles. He focuses on shooters, but also writes about entertainment and gaming in general....