Prestige Mode

Prestige Mode is an option available to players after reaching the highest rank in multiplayer. Entering Prestige Mode, players can trade in their rank, unlocks and challenges for a new rank logo and possibly an additional Create-A-Class slot. After doing this, players are set back to rank one, and can progress through multiplayer again.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Prestige Mode is an option that players can choose after they progress to Level 55 (Commander) and max out the experience on that level. It can then be accessed in the Barracks menu. Prestige Mode restarts a player at Level 1. All weapons and other challenges will be reset. The player must progress through the ranks to unlock challenges and weapons again. Despite being reverted back to Level 1, the player gains a special symbol next to their name indicating they are in Prestige Mode. A player can progress through the ranks a total of ten times and enter a new level of Prestige Mode with a new symbol placed by the player's name. The last Prestige medal, the "Gold Cross", lets players know that they have played through to the last Prestige rank.

Prestige mode is not available in the PC version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Process
Prestige mode is unlocked after Level 55. On the leaderboards, though, tenth rank prestige players with a level of 56 can be seen. This means that the score, wins, etc., are not available unless game shark is used for the Wii. Level 56 is a cheat level only shown on the leaderboards, while in game play, their real rank and level will appear.

Pros
Upon entering Prestige Mode, players unlock new icons next to their names. Higher levels of Prestige are usually indicative of more game experience. Players will usually get better each time they Prestige, but that does not mean that higher Prestige players are necessarily better.

Cons
Prestige Mode causes a player to lose all unlocked weapons and perks, and camouflages. There are no Xbox Live achievements or PSN trophies associated with online play or Prestige Mode.

Military Medals
Every Prestige symbol corresponds with a real U.S. Military medal:


 * 1st Prestige: Army Commendation Medal
 * 2nd Prestige: Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
 * 3rd Prestige: Republic of Vietnam Staff Service Medal
 * 4th Prestige: Legion of Merit Medal
 * 5th Prestige: Saudi Arabian Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait
 * 6th Prestige: Republic of Vietnam Special Service Medal (?)
 * 7th Prestige: Distinguished Flying Cross Medal
 * 8th Prestige: Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Medal
 * 9th Prestige: Republic of Vietnam Wound Medal
 * 10th Prestige: Navy Cross medal

As Emblems in Modern Warfare 2
The ten Prestige symbols from Call of Duty 4 can be unlocked to place on the player's Callsigns/Emblems in Modern Warfare 2 by completing (with the exception of the first prestige symbol) the last prestige challenge with each of the killstreak rewards from Sentry Gun to AC-130. Along with the Emblem the gold skulls title with the name of the killstreak is also unlocked Note: Because they are Prestige challenges, the 1000 kills do not include those earned before the player reaches the 1st prestige
 * 1st prestige: Get a kill by dropping a care package crate on an enemy
 * 2nd prestige: 1000 kills with a Sentry Gun
 * 3rd prestige: 1000 kills with a Predator Missile
 * 4th prestige: 1000 kills with a Precision Airstrike
 * 5th prestige: 1000 kills with a Harrier Strike
 * 6th prestige: 1000 kills with an Attack Helicopter
 * 7th prestige: 1000 kills with a Pavelow
 * 8th prestige: 1000 kills with a Stealth Bomber
 * 9th prestige: 1000 kills with a Chopper Gunner
 * 10th prestige: 1000 kills with an AC-130

Call of Duty: World at War


In Call of Duty: World at War, Prestige Mode is unlocked after Level 65, the highest rank, unlike in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, where the highest rank is 55. Prestige Mode is also available for all systems, including the PC, which did not have it available in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Process
Prestige Mode for Call of Duty: World at War is nearly identical to Prestige Mode in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, except that the player needs to reach Level 65, not 55.

Pros
Once the player enters Prestige Mode for the first time, they earn a new Custom Class slot. This also applies to the second, fourth, seventh and tenth Prestiges. The player also unlocks a Sergeant Roebuck gamer picture at first Prestige and a Sergeant Reznov gamer picture at 10th Prestige, there are also two secret achievements associated with Prestige, although they are not worth any Gamerscore on Xbox 360. There is one for entering first Prestige (It's all about prestige) and another for entering tenth Prestige.

Cons
All of the player's challenges will be reset. Also, the player will lose all Perks, weapons, grenades, and attachments which they have unlocked.

It has been said by many players that it is harder to Prestige in Call of Duty: World at War because most of the better weapons are locked until the higher levels. In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the weapons are more evenly spaced out.

If the player pre-ordered the game with Gamestop and Prestiges, they will lose the ability to use the M1A1 Carbine at Level 1.

In the Xbox and Wii versions of the game there is a glitch that allows players to transport Perks to different profiles, which some players use to unlock Perks early.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Prestige Mode is unlocked after both reaching and completing Level 70, the highest rank, unlike in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War, where the highest ranks are 55 and 65, respectively. Prestige Mode is also available for all systems, including the PC, which did not have it available in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The experience required from 1-70 (and to the point of being able to go into the Prestige mode) is 2,516,000.

Pros
Once the player enters Prestige Mode for the first time in Modern Warfare 2, they will be rewarded with a sixth custom class slot. The same occurs at every odd prestige level, so a total of five additional custom class slots can be unlocked by Prestige Level 9. In addition, any earned titles and emblems obtained before entering Prestige Mode are not lost. Players also unlock some Prestige Challenges to level up faster and get some new Callsigns. There are also certain Titles and Emblems that can only be unlocked through Prestige Mode. The challenges unlocked through Prestige for each gun persist to the next Prestige level (the kills and headshots for each gun's Mastery and Veteran challenges do not reset). This exception also applies to the challenges in the Prestige category that deal with killstreaks (getting a certain number of kills with a specific Killstreak reward).

Cons
If a player enters Prestige Mode in Modern Warfare 2, every unlocked weapon, Killstreak, Perk and Challenge will be reset. (Prestige challenges, which are unlocked at 1st prestige, are not reset and will be collective across all prestiges except "Heads up!", "Knife Veteran" and ones below "Knife Veteran".)

Unlocks

 * Prestige 1: Extra Custom Class Slot (6 Total, custom slots become available at Level 4), New Emblem, New Title, "Prestige" Tier of Challenges, including Veteran and Master challenges for each weapon
 * Prestige 2: New Emblem, New Title
 * Prestige 3: Extra Custom Class Slot (7 Total), New Emblem, New Title
 * Prestige 4: New Emblem, New Title
 * Prestige 5: Extra Custom Class Slot (8 Total), New Emblem, New Title
 * Prestige 6: New Emblem, New Title
 * Prestige 7: Extra Custom Class Slot (9 Total), New Emblem, New Title
 * Prestige 8: New Emblem, New Title
 * Prestige 9: Extra Custom Class Slot (10 Total), New Emblem, New Title
 * Prestige 10: New Emblem, The Last Title

Call of Duty: Black Ops
In Call of Duty: Black Ops, players are able to enter Prestige Mode at the highest rank of 50. The maximum number of Prestige levels is 15.

Pros
The player gets to keep their emblems and backgrounds. If the player bought the ability to add their emblem or clan tag to a weapon, then they will retain that ability but won't be able to use it until they reach the level required. However, due to a glitch it is sometimes possible to apply your previously purchased clan tag/emblem onto your gun before the feature is unlocked. You gain new things along the way including new custom classes, new playercard images, and more challenges.

You can still play on all game modes you were allowed before.

The following are unlocked upon achieving the required prestige level in Call of Duty Black Ops:

Cons
The player's CODPoints balance prior to prestiging will be reset to. Also, everything apart from the things mentioned above are reset and must be repurchased; Pro versions of perks must be unlocked again, which can be a real downside if many in-game hours and manual labor were put into getting Pro versions.

Entering Prestige Mode
When the "Prestige Mode" button is clicked, a message appears, with the words:


 * "Trade all your accomplishments for a bit of prestige. Other players will see your new prestige rank in the lobby, leaderboards and game."

or (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 only)


 * "Trade all your accomplishments for a bit of prestige. In addition to your new prestige rank icon, you'll gain access to some new titles, emblems and challenges. Other players will see your new prestige rank in the lobby, leader boards and game."

After this message the player can select "More Info" or cancel and return to the menus. After clicking "More Info", a second warning appears:


 * "Prestige has a price: Everything you've unlocked including weapons, experience and challenges will be reset; you'll have to rank up again to reacquire them. Only your leader board rankings, clan tag, and play lists will be unaffected."

or (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 only)


 * "Prestige has a price: Everything you've unlocked including weapons, experience and challenges will be reset; you'll have to rank up again to reacquire them. Only your Leaderboard rankings, titles, emblems, clan tag, and playlists will be unaffected."

Should the player still be determined to go to Prestige Mode, one final warning is shown:


 * "There's no going back..."

Should the player then hit "Enter Prestige", the decision is final and Prestige Mode is activated. In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, a Desert Eagle shot is heard to confirm it. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, when the player enters this message, a Claymore will tick. If the player decides to press Cancel, they will hear a Chicken clucking, most probably to mock the player for chickening out of Prestiging at the last moment. If they continue, the Claymore will blow up.

Trivia

 * The Prestige icon of the player's Nemesis in the After Action Report in the multiplayer of Call of Duty: World at War is not shown. Instead, their standard rank symbol is shown.
 * The Collectors Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops is entitled the &quot;Prestige Edition&quot;.
 * On the official Call of Duty website, Call of Duty: World at War's Prestige icons are shown differently.
 * On the Wii version of Call of Duty: World at War, the fifth Prestige icon is different from the other consoles.
 * Like Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops has its own collectors Edition entitled "Prestige Edition".
 * The Ninth Prestige emblem in Modern Warfare 2 slightly resembles the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award given in the United States.
 * The title the player gets for the 4th prestige in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a reference to the name of the campaign titled "For the Record".
 * Call of Duty 4's Prestige icons are also featured in Modern Warfare 2 as Emblems for player's Callsign.
 * Call of Duty: Black Ops has a feed in the bottom on the screen much like Modern Warfare 2. Within this feed players may see "THE GRIND:" which tells the current number of times everyone has prestiged. Note, this is the total number of times a level of prestige has been entered, not how many people have prestiged.
 * In Modern Warfare 2, when hovering Prestige Custom Classes slots, it will show 1-2-4-7-10. This is incorrect however, as the real prestige needed is 1-3-5-7-9(confirmed on PC)
 * In Black Ops, it is recommended to purchase all 12 emblem layers, as well as emblems and titles that may be found useful later on before entering prestige. In this way, they will not need to be purchased after prestiging as the emblems/titles purchased remain unaffected.
 * The 14th Prestige emblem in Black Ops resembles the Carlson's Raiders and the Marines faction's emblem in Call of Duty: World at War
 * On the Wii Version of Black Ops when a player has 5th prestige they have all the custom classes. They unlock them at each of the first 5 prestiges. Because of this a wii player gains nothing from prestige 6-13 until 14th when they unlock gold camouflage.