Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's weapons take a fair bit longer to level up than they have in previous entries, limiting players' ability to fully trick out their arsenal for Multiplayer. However, YouTuber Glitching Queen has discovered an easy method to level up guns quickly in Zombies, further emphasized by this weekend's double XP bonus in Black Ops Cold War.
The method is surprisingly simple. According to Glitching Queen, players earn more weapon XP early on in Zombies, specifically during rounds 2 and 3, allowing players to boost their weapons by starting a match, playing a few rounds, backing out, and then starting the process over again, though there is some nuance to this that can make the system more efficient. Luckily, weapon progression works across both Zombies and Multiplayer, so fans will be able to carry their progress between the two.
For starters, Glitching Queen recommends bringing a friend along for those that are on PlayStation consoles. By doing so, they earn additional experience that will speed things up, thanks to Activision's partnership with PlayStation. The boost apparently comes with an additional 60% weapon XP, which is generous, and Xbox players should be able to take advantage of it too if they're playing with two other PlayStation players.
In the video, Glitching Queen calls out the long leveling time for weapons in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, especially after weapon level 20. However, Glitching Queen states that she managed to get her Stoner 63 from level 53 to 54 with just 61 kills, which is a lot less than what it usually takes. Glitching Queen tells players to load into a match with a friend, have one player do nothing while the other shoots zombies, then quit after round 3.
Essentially, round 1 offers a small amount of weapon XP, rounds 2 and 3 offer more, and then the gains become minuscule. Those with lower-level weapons can opt to go to about round 5 before resetting, as they'll still see a benefit from the boost. It's a quick way to unlock new attachments, which as many are aware, can result in a distinct competitive edge in a match.
This is a shockingly efficient solution to slow weapon leveling. Developer Treyarch promised balance changes with Season One of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, which may include faster weapon progression out of the box. It isn't clear if the XP curve in Zombies is intentional or not, though, so it's possible it gets patched out in a future update.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.