Operation: Rank Up Report #0027
Day 189 – 09:13:46 PST
Somewhere in California
AGB – Lead Writer
Another week, another step closer to Tier 100 and Max Rank in this Season Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®.
Operators of the Week
This week, we’re featuring the new Undertaker skin for Mace. Any Operator would be lucky to even graze this terrifying tank of a soldier, who looks just as menacing as he can be in combat.
As for the Coalition, we went back to Mil Sim to show off the Tier 30 skin: the SKSF. Hailing from South Korea, this Special Forces soldier looks totally badass and ready for the Warzone.
Both of these Operators are holding the Drawn and Quartered weapon from the Guns Blazing bundle. A solid Assault Rifle Juliet blueprint, Drawn and Quartered is a fantastic weapon right out of the box for Warzone or larger Multiplayer maps, as I detailed here.
Top Rank Up Tip
By now, you are probably well on your way to max rank in Season Three, which means earning that blueprint is just around the corner. This also means you at least have the first 50 Officer Rank Challenges available.
Since, I have the first 50 challenges completed, it’s time for the semi-seasonal tradition of giving tips on the 10 I feel are the hardest/most time-consuming.
Challenge: Three Cheers – Get 333 kills with a Weapon with 3 attachments – (Rank 64, 15,000 XP)
For this challenge, try out some Rare blueprints, which come with three attachments, that you may have stashed in your Armory, including the Black Asp.
Don’t have it? Pick up the Battle Pass to get that great weapon, along with several others and get some strategies for using them in Warzone and Multiplayer in this blog.
Challenge: Karma – Kill an enemy shortly after picking up a weapon 5 times – (Rank 68, 6,000 XP)
In Warzone, try picking up any weapon off the ground – as Ground Loot, in a Supply Box, or even an enemy’s weapon – and quickly snap to an enemy player. This may be easier if you land at a popular landing locale, such as Zhokov Boneyard, and send some hapless foe to the Gulag by picking up the first weapon you see off the ground.
In Multiplayer, it may be good to either play on small maps or within objective game modes, as it gives you a better chance of finding an enemy after snatching up a weapon.
Challenge: Focused – Kill the enemy that blinded or stunned you 5 times – (Rank 70, 9,000 XP)
Equipping Battle Hardened makes this challenge a breeze; it mitigates the effects of Flash and Stun Grenades substantially.
Challenge: Resistance – Get a 5 Kill or better against attackers while guarding a single objective without dying. (5 or more kills without dying against attackers) – (Rank 79, 15,000 XP)
A returning challenge from Season Two gets a SERIOUS XP Boost – 10 times the amount of XP to be exact!
And it’s for good reason: this challenge is possibly one of the hardest out of the bunch for Season Three.
My advice? Play Demolition, which was added to Multiplayer this week. Demolition Bomb Sites are usually heavily contested, and some of them are near sniping perches or windows with great vantage points looking down onto them.
Challenge: Smoke Grenade – Kill 30 Enemies in proximity to a Smoke Grenade – (Rank 81, 1,500 XP)
One of the unlock criteria for the Bruen MK9 is to get LMG kills on enemies near Smoke Grenades
Equip some Smoke Grenades, run the Restock Perk and Munitions Box Field Upgrade to replenish that Tactical Equipment, and pop them all over the map while using an LMG with a Thermal Sight, which cuts through those thick smoke clouds to finish this Challenge and work turns earning on the Bruen MK9.
Challenge: Crushing – Run over or kill 25 enemies using Vehicles – (Rank 82, 12,000 XP)
While most of these challenges are easier to do in Multiplayer, I actually recommend completing this in Warzone – specifically, Plunder.
Pick up a Cargo Truck, SUV, or even a Helicopter, and chase down those top teams highlighted on your Tac Map with several tons of steel. Then, when the full squad is wiped, pick up their Cash and move on to the next clueless crew of Operators. To show off while completing this challenge equip vehicle skins that can be found in the Battle Pass or in Store.
Challenge: Spotter – Hack 7 Pieces of Equipment – (Rank 83, 9,000 XP)
My recommendation is to play Ground War or Warzone, where there are more enemies and, in theory, more chances for them to place down hackable equipment.
Give them a taste of their own medicine by hacking those Proximity Mines near elevator shafts and laugh when they check their own traps only to be downed and out of the fight.
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Tips for Completing the Hardest Season Three Officer Challenges
Operation: Rank Up Report #0030
Day 210 – 10:24:48 PST
Somewhere in Verdansk
AGB – Lead Writer
The sun is setting on Season Three, which means time is running out to complete all 100 Officer Challenges before you miss out on exclusive emblems and bragging rights.
No time to waste – let’s get to Ranking Up:
Operators of the Week
This week, I featured Bale in his Epic Protectorate skin, found in the Security Detail Store bundle. He looks like he’s ready to successfully protect a few Spetsnaz officers, especially with that War Saw assault rifle blueprint included in the bundle (and what both my Operators are holding).
As for my Coalition Operator, I chose Alex in his ‘Back for More’ skin, his final unlockable skin in Season Three achieved by reaching Tier 100 in the Battle Pass and completing his second batch of Operator Missions.
Once again, I reached full completion of Season Three, both in the Battle Pass and my Officer Challenges, which brings us to this week’s Top Rank Up Tip:
Top Rank Up Tip
100 Officer Challenge Ribbons is always a beautiful sight at the end of a Season.
Want to follow me in getting a full ribbon page for Season Three? As per Rank Up Report tradition, here’s the advice I have for completing 10 Ribbons that may be giving you trouble out of the last 50. For this edition, we’re going to do a lot of “stacking,” as I will be bundling a few challenges together in this guide to show you how to efficiently clear multiple challenges at once.
Let’s begin at Rank 110:
Challenge: Sniper Kills Headshots – Get 7 Headshots with Sniper Rifles or Marksman Rifles. – Rank 110 (6,000 XP)
Remember: Marksman rifles kill with a single headshot, with all but the SKS having that feature at any range. High magnification optics are recommended for precise shots.
Challenge: High Five – Get 200 kills with a Weapon with 5 attachments – Rank 112, (9,000 XP)
All kills with Legendary weapon blueprints, such as the Prototype Alpha found in the Purple Tracer Pack, counts for this challenge. You can complete this challenge in Multiplayer and Warzone, giving you extra incentive for some Legendary looting.
Challenge x3:
Longshot Headshots – Get 3 Headshot kills that are Longshots – Rank 116 (6,000 XP)
Long Shot – Get 15 Longshot kills – Rank 118 (9,000 XP)
Far Sighted – Get 5 Longshot Kills while surviving with low health. – Rank 120 (1,500 XP)
When time is not on your side, stacking Challenges can help you get to that Season Three complete ribbon sheet faster.
These three challenges, all grouped up within a few ranks, are a great example of that.
How do you stack them? Simple:
Get 15 Longshot Kills, with three also being headshots, and five while at low health, for a grand total of 16,500 XP and three ribbons.
This challenge is easier to complete in Ground War or Warzone, since engagements can go well past the distance needed for longshots. The Variable Zoom Scope on any weapon is your friend here, although you might want to try getting longshots with handguns or SMGs, since their longshot range is shorter.
What may be the most difficult task is getting longshots at low health, but it could be remedied by either damaging yourself, or taking a few limb shots before hitting that longshot.
Challenge: Juggernaut – Call in a Juggernaut – Rank 124 (6,000 XP)
Hello Juggernaut, my old friend.
I still haven’t forgotten my blunder in Tavorsk District in Season One (which you can read all about here), so let’s cut to the chase:
My advice for getting a Juggernaut, a 15 killstreak (14 with Hardline), is to use Kill Chain or Pointman. Using Kill Chain, you want to get a good streak going by choosing either the Precision Airstrike or Cluster Strike as your first streak and picking the VTOL Jet for your second. Use the kills from both to feed into your 15 Killstreak. As for Pointman, the point value for the Juggernaut is steep, but with enough enemy Killstreak destruction, objective plays, and kills, it can be earned.
Just remember that, once you drop the Juggernaut package, pick it up, lest you let it fall into enemy (or allied) hands and forfeit your win condition for completing this challenge.
Challenge: Search & Destroy Wins – Win 2 matches of Search and Destroy – Rank 135 (1,500 XP)
To borrow from the CDL professional’s advice kit, becoming a better S&D player is all about “playing your life.”
Remember you only have one life in these modes, so if your team is losing the numbers game during a round, don’t challenge/engage unless you can handle a potential follow-up threat… Or if you can hit your shots.
Also, if the enemy squad has more Operators alive, play the objective (plant/defuse the bomb) and hope it throws off their rhythm.
Challenge x2:
Fury Killer – Get 2 Fury Kills (4 rapid kills) – Rank 129 (1,500 XP)
Doing Work – Earn 7 Triple Kills on enemies near an Objective Flag – Rank 145 (9,000 XP)
It seems like these two challenges are the most difficult on paper, but all it takes is a good game of 10v10 Domination or Ground War to complete this.
Push aggressively near a captured enemy flag – preferably with a weapon with extended mags, vehicle or Killstreak – and lay down as much firepower as possible. Usually in 10v10 and Ground War lobbies, you can find three or more enemies on a flag.
Within those seven Triple Kills, you’ll be able to find one more straggler lying around to net those two Fury Kills. And don’t worry about getting four kills lined up in the killfeed – that’s a Quad Feed – as you only need four kills in rapid succession for a Fury Kill.
Challenge: Bloodthirsty Killer I – Get 5 kills without dying 10 time(s) – Rank 150 (1,500 XP)
Since I’ve been using Specialist with Hardline lately, I can easily track my Bloodthirsty medals and get rewarded as I earn kills. Specialist gives you a fourth, fifth, and sixth perk at two, four, and six kills in a single life (one, three, and five with Hardline).
If I wind up hitting the Specialist Bonus, all the better; then I can go for a Tactical Nuke, earnable at 30 kills, not 25 (like in previous Call of Duty titles).
Speaking of that, let’s talk about the weapon that helped me chase that high-end secret killstreak: the Gunsmith Custom Creation of the Week.
Gunsmith Custom Creation of the Week
This is the weapon that helped me chase greatness, and while I’ve yet to earn it, it’s gotten me close.
Based on the Prototype Omega Blueprint in the Tracer Pack Purple bundle, this weapon shoots purple tracer bullets – remember that tracer rounds are carried over to a Gunsmith Custom creation only if it’s the base weapon.
With this configuration, this SMG’s effective range is close to maxed, yet doesn’t sacrifice any movement speed – in fact, it’s faster than the stock weapon. Although it takes some practice to get used to a slower aim down sight speed and decreased aiming stability, this weapon has found a permanent place in my loadouts when I’m not on my road to Damascus camo.
What goes into creating a weapon that can do all of this? Start by only keeping the weapon’s Stippled Grip Tape for better sprint to fire and ADS speed, then add the FSS Strike Barrel, which will give you a big damage range boost. No blueprint has this attachment yet, but it’s the first barrel attachment to unlock on this weapon’s progression path, making it an easy pick-up.
Next, grab the Bug Spray blueprint (found in the Insecticide bundle released during Season Two), and borrow the Merc Foregrip from it to get better recoil control and hip fire accuracy.
Finally, you’re going to want to take the Mud Dauber’s Monolithic Suppressor to boost that damage range even further, and its No Stock to maximize movement speed and mitigate ADS speed penalties.
Good luck ranking up; I’ll see you online.
Stay frosty.
For more information and the latest intel on Warzone, visit www.callofduty.com/warzone and follow @CallofDuty on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
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Rolling Past the First 50 Officer Challenges of Season Four
Downtown – In Warzone, start Contracts in the Downtown area 30 times – Rank 76 (12,000 XP)
TECHNICALLY, you don’t HAVE to complete the Contracts in Downtown, as you only need to start them.
So rush in to grab those Contracts, and if you wind up completing them, then consider it a bonus.
Two to Tango – Get 125 Kills using a weapon with 2 attachments – Rank 77 (6,000 XP)
While not difficult, bear in mind that this challenge – and the Throwing Knife one all the way at Rank 136 – overlap with the challenges for Azur’s Tier 40 Operator Mission set. Combine and conquer, friends.
Gas Mask – In Warzone, survive in the gas for 25 seconds – Rank 88 (12,000 XP)
Completing this challenge may come naturally. However, if you are incredibly gas-averse and avoid the danger zone at all costs, purchase yourself a Gas Mask, go out to the edge of the safe zone when it isn’t collapsing, and step out of it for a few seconds to log some time towards this challenge.
Killstreaker – Call in 5 Killstreaks in a match 5 times – Rank 95 (6,000 XP)
Roughly, this equates to $15,000 worth of Killstreaks in Warzone. Playing Plunder and using the Kill Chain perk – which increases the chances of Killstreaks found in Supply Boxes – can make this challenge easier.
Alternatively, you could try running the Hardline perk in Multiplayer and rack up two-Killstreak Personal Radars or Shield Turrets.
Champion – In Warzone, Finish in the top 30% 2 times – Rank 96 (1,500 XP)
Having trouble completing this one? Don’t go it alone; call up some friends and play Duos, Trios, or Quads…
And have them carry you to a top 30% placement twice!
Just be sure to thank them afterwards, okay?
Or, just read the Warzone guide and step up your game.
Completing Season Four’s Toughest Final 50 Officer Challenges
I made this class for my brother, who has not played Call of Duty in a decade, to bring him up to speed within this fast-paced, ever-evolving series and set him up for success, hence “Pacesetter.”
This configuration keeps the Tac Laser – a great all-around attachment – on the Sandbar, and the base “look” but that’s all. The 100 Round Drum Mags and Integral Hybrid – also found on the Sandbar – are given their distinct look thanks to the Regal Retribution blueprint, found in the ‘Fool’s Gold’ weapon bundle from Season One.
The 100 Round Drum Mag gives plenty of ammo to waste and is surprisingly quick to reload, while the optic is a personal preference. A two-for-one optic is great for utility in engagements, but feel free to go with your favorite optic attachment.
I used the final two attachment slots on the Muzzle Brake and the M203 40mm High-Explosive underbarrel launcher from the Silent Stalker blueprint, part of the ‘Las Tigres’ Store bundle from Season Three. The Muzzle attachment is great for recoil stability, essentially making the recoil more predictable, while the underbarrel launcher is for groups of enemies or to destroy vehicles.
All these blueprints combined gives you this Pacesetter Gunsmith Custom Creation. However, in order to make this exact configuration, you must fully level up Assault Rifle Alpha to be able to mix and match these attachments, including their cosmetic appearance.
In other words, as my brother – or you – use this weapon, learning how to control its up-and-to-the-left recoil and the range its most effective at, it will gain these attachments and many more.
And who knows? Maybe he’s had enough explosives and swaps the underbarrel launcher for a Commando Foregrip to further stabilize recoil. Or he becomes a more accurate player, and decides he doesn’t need a 100 Drum Mag, taking a 60 Round one instead for better mobility.
But his journey towards finding what he’s good at and Ranking Up – as well as the journey you take and the one I’m on – is for another Report.
For now, I’ll see you online.
Stay frosty.