Warzone has a very confusing ranked system. Many players are left asking: what do the numbers mean? Is that an impressive Prestige? How do I level up? If that's you, then you're in the right place. This is our complete guide on the Warzone ranking system.
Warzone is a jumbled mess, and until Warzone 2 is released, it probably won't get any easier to understand. It's built on the backbone of Modern Warfare 2019, but it integrates three different games, which all have their own systems for levelling. And the game itself doesn't make anything obvious; there's a short tutorial where you learn the very basics of play, and then you're thrown into the deep end. Hence, so many players have been left confused about the different ranks you can achieve.
In this article, we're going to answer all of your questions, and explain exactly how the ranking system works in Warzone. The first thing to understand is that there are basically four levels of ranks, that get progressively more prestigious: Military, Seasonal, Prestige, and Master. We'll go through these one by one, and by the end, you'll know exactly what "rank" you are in Warzone.
Warzone Ranks - Military Levels
From the moment you start playing Warzone, the first bit of XP you earn goes into your "Military" level. You can get to a maximum Military level of 55, and when you do, this will never be reset. Once you get to the maximum Military level, you will have unlocked every base weapon, perk, and piece of equipment in the game (most of the weapons are "base weapons" but there are a small number that you need to do specific challenges to unlock). It will take a new player about 20 hours to get to Military level 55, unless they're using cheesy strats.
Of course, once you hit level 55, you're going to want to focus on getting the best weapons in the game levelled...
Warzone Ranks - Seasonal Levels
Seasonal levels are what you earn once you've completed all Military levels, they go from level 1 to 1000 and refresh every season. Seasonal levels don't earn you additional unlocks like equipment or weapons, but they will earn cosmetics. If you get to level 1000 for instance, you get a special calling card, but getting to level 1000 will be outside the reach of most people unless they completely no-life the game.
You can see beneath that this account has completed all Military levels and is now working on Seasonal levels. They reached level 677 in Season 1, then they were reset to level 1 when Season 2 started, and now they're on Seasonal level 127 in Season 2.
Warzone Ranks - Prestige
Prestige works entirely differently from how many legacy Call of Duty fans will remember, in Warzone you earn a new Prestige for every 50 Seasonal levels you earn. So the account above, which reached level 677 in Season 1, earned 13 Prestige levels. By getting to level 1000 in a Season, you could theoretically get to Prestige 20 in a single Season. But unlike Seasonal levels, Prestige does not reset in Warzone - a constant record is kept of your lifetime Prestige. Prestige levels earn you emblems, but you need to play a ridiculous amount before they start looking as good as the customization options from the store.
Warzone Ranks - Master Ribbons
Now we get to the final level of Warzone's ranking system: Master Ribbons. Master Ribbons are permanent and are awarded for every 200 Seasonal levels, or 4 Prestige levels, that you achieve. And the only rewarded for Master Ribbons is that the green banner and stars is actually displayed on your profile if people want to take a look at your account.
To be honest, you need to really commit an insane amount of time to go for Master Ribbons, but if you'll be joining me on that quest, then make sure you're always running the meta: