Call of Duty: Vanguard prestige system guide: Prestige levels explained

Call of Duty: Vanguard Prestige rank — (Image credit: Activision)

Want to know how Prestige ranks work in Call of Duty: Vanguard? The newest CoD game is bringing back Prestige ranks as usual, along with a Season Level system similar to what was used in Cold War last year. Climbing the Prestige ranks will reward you with a new flashy emblem, along with other rewards for each new tier you reach.

For launch, Vanguard has three Prestige ranks available in its preseason. You'll have to work your way through the Military Ranks before you can start on the Prestige ladder, as ever, but you'll get to keep all your unlocks from all that work even when you start climbing through these Prestige levels. Even if you don't quite make it to Prestige Master, you'll be able to come back for those preseason ranks in season 1. We'll walk you through what to expect when you max out your rank each season, the total number of Prestige ranks, and the emblems you'll unlock at every step.

How to prestige in Vanguard

Getting your first Prestige rank in Vanguard works similarly to past CoD games. You'll work your way up through Military Ranks 1-55, earning new weapons, attachments, and other unlocks. When you reach Player Level 55, you'll earn the rank Commander and enter Prestige Rank 1. Past that, you'll begin earning Season Levels instead of Player Levels on your way to higher Prestige Ranks. You'll get to keep all your loadout items and unlocks after you enter Prestige Ranks.

Call of Duty: Vanguard commander level 55 rank - an emblem with five stars — (Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Vanguard prestige ranks and unlocks

For its first set of seasonal Prestige Ranks, Vanguard is running a preseason prior to season 1's kickoff in December. There are no extra guns or weapon blueprints to be unlocked in Prestige yet, but there are bonuses worth having. You have three Prestige Ranks to unlock, including a Battle Pass tier skip at each rank as a reward. Hitting the highest Prestige Rank for any given season will get you the account title "Prestige Master".

Prestige 1 (Season Level 1): Prestige Emblem, Battle Pass tier skip
Prestige 2 (Season Level 50): Prestige Emblem, Battle Pass tier skip, Weapon Blueprint
Prestige 3 (Season Level 100): Prestige Emblem, Battle Pass tier skip

As with Cold War last year, each season you'll be able to pull off the ridiculous feat of achieving Season Level 1000 if you've got the mettle.

Image 1 of 3

Here's how future Vanguard season Prestige ranks work

Activision say that you'll also have the ability to catch up on past season Prestige ranks even if you don't earn them during that season. After reaching Prestige master rank in the current season, every additional 50 Season Levels will earn you leftover Prestiges. Vanguard's preseason has three available Prestige Ranks to earn, followed by seven ranks in season 1 and 11 in season 2.

Vanguard and Warzone prestiges

Acitivion say that players who hit Prestige Master in a given season will also continue their Prestige Master Ribbon process from the Cold War and Warzone system. Vanguard will add six new ribbons to progress through on top of the previous six.

Call of Duty: Vanguard camo challenges guide

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She joined the PCG staff in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.