- This article is for the mode, for the playlist see Prestige (playlist).
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, with all weapons and challenges 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 and Mac versions 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. 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 achievements or trophies associated with reaching prestige.
Military Medals
Every Prestige symbol corresponds with a real U.S. Military medal in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
- 1st Prestige: Navy and Marine Corps 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 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 the AC-130. Along with the Emblem the gold skulls title with the name of the killstreak is also unlocked.
- 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
Note: Because they are Prestige challenges, the 1000 kills do not include those earned before the player reaches the 1st prestige.
Call of Duty: World at War
A different set of unused symbols found on the Call of Duty site
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 (Go Get Some Sun).
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 and 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 from 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.
The Badges in Modern Warfare 2
All the prestige emblems in MW2.
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
Prestige Titles
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Prestige Level |
Title |
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Prestige 1 |
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Prestige 2 |
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Prestige 3 |
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Prestige 4 |
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Prestige 5 |
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Prestige 6 |
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Prestige 7 |
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Prestige 8 |
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Prestige 9 |
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Prestige 10 |
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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, backgrounds, and game modes. The player gains new custom classes, new playercard images, and more challenges. The player used to gain access to certain lobbies in the Prestige playlist, but this has been deleted as very few players used it. Note that the player will have all custom classes by Prestige 5 on the Wii version.
Cons
The player's COD Points balance prior to prestiging will be reset to 
0. If the player has any COD Points left over, it is advised to spend these on Emblems and Backgrounds, as the player will keep these through Prestige. Again, all challenge
s completed, weapons unlocked, and Pro perks earned will be reset. Similar to the Veteran challenges from Modern Warfare 2, however, Lifetime Challenges are not reset upon prestiging.
Normal order for PC's and consoles
Order that the Wii uses
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
A list of all MW3 prestiges, including 11th through 20th.
Modern Warfare 3. The player can enter Prestige Mode when they reach the maximum
rank of 80. They also purchase unique things in the Prestige Shop. The Prestige Shop requires use of Prestige Tokens which are gained one-by-one after every prestige.
Additional prestige challenges are unlocked for all primary and secondary weapons upon prestiging, as well as a whole new prestige challenge section. These are basically the same as in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Do note however, that some prestige challenges - like the XM25's - are bugged and reset when prestiging.
Version 1.5 added 5 more prestiges, and update 1.5.1 gave another 5 more on Xbox360 and PS3.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
There are 55 levels per Prestige, with 10 Prestiges, similar to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. However, Prestiging no longer resets weapon experience or unlocks, it no longer wipes challenge progress and instead is intended to be another step in progression.
When a player Prestiges, they earn a Prestige Unlock Token that unlocks an item forever, similar to using a Prestige Token for unlocking Gear in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. There are also three options they must select from:
- Unlock an extra Custom Class, with a maximum of 5 extra
- Completely reset stats to "truly start over"
- Receive a "Refund" of all used regular tokens
"It's like respecting or re-rolling your character in Call of Duty," said David Vonderhaar, explaining how the 'Refund' system will work. If you decide to take a different path with your unlock tokens, the refund option will lock all content, return all of your tokens, and allow you to carve a new path.
Upon reaching Level 55 of Prestige 10, a new prestige icon will be unlocked, instead of the regular icon unlocked when Prestige 10 is entered.
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
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- The Prestige icons are also featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as Emblems for player's Callsign.
- It is the only game in the Call of Duty series that has Prestige that doesn't give extra classes.
Call of Duty: World at War
- The Prestige icon of the player's Nemesis in the After Action Report in the multiplayer is not shown. Instead, their standard rank symbol is shown.
- On the official Call of Duty website, the Prestige icons are shown differently.
- On the Wii version, the fifth Prestige icon is different from the other consoles.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- The Ninth Prestige emblem slightly resembles the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award given in the United States.
- The title the player gets for the fourth prestige is a reference to the name of the campaign titled "For the Record".
Call of Duty: Black Ops
- One of the counters is titled "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.
- The skull on the 15th Prestige emblem is similar to the skull seen on the icon for Veteran mode when selecting the difficulty for a campaign mission.
- The 14 prestige emblem is similar to the Call of Duty: World at War Marine Raiders team or the Carlson Raiders Marine Force.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- In Theater Mode, if the player has prestiged at least once, a level-up will show the standard rank icon instead of the Prestige one.
- Prestiges 11 to 20 increase in size in order of the numbers.
- Modern Warfare 3 is the first Call of Duty to add more prestiges via update.
- On Elite when a player reaches Prestige 20 Level 80 a special icon represents their level.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II is the first game to feature a new picture at the maximum level.