The fastest way to level 55 in Modern Warfare 4 is objective multiplayer with a Double XP token running, finishing every match, with all three Daily Challenges cleared each day. DMZ counts too: every point of DMZ XP raises your Soldier Rank, which is why anyone who played the early access will start launch day with a head start.

Level 55 is Commander, the end of the standard track and the door to Prestige. Create-a-Class opens at 4, and the weapons, perks and killstreaks drip out one or two per level until the Cronen Squall and Air Lockdown land at 55. Checked against Activision's Ready for Launch progression post (19 October) and the launch patch notes.

Five habits that get you to 55

  1. Play objective modes: Hardpoint, Domination and the other capture modes stack objective XP on top of kills.
  2. Pop a Player Double XP token only once you're in a match. MW4's tokens pause in lobbies, menus and loading, so nothing is wasted.
  3. Clear all three Daily Challenges every day for the lump-sum bonus, and reroll the one that doesn't suit your loadout.
  4. Stay to the end. The launch patch fixed match completion events not being recorded, so a finished match is now a counted match. A quit isn't.
  5. When multiplayer queues are slow or you want a change, run DMZ. Its XP is Soldier Rank XP.
Three Daily Challenges, a bonus for all three, one reroll a day. The cheapest level you'll earn. · Open full size

Objective modes, not Team Deathmatch

Objective modes pay for captures, holds and defends on top of kills, and they keep both teams fighting in the same place, which means more kills per minute too. Infinity Ward's launch patch also added Smart Streak, so capturing a point in Domination now feeds your Killstreak meter as well as your XP. Hardpoint funnels everyone to one rotating zone; Domination spreads the fight over three flags and suits players still learning the twelve core maps.

Ground War is worth a look once you've got a loadout: capture Outposts to score and spawn, then reinforce them for team rewards. The matches are longer, so time your token for the start.

Double XP: the rule finally changed

Activision confirmed in September that Modern Warfare 4's Double XP tokens only count down during matches. A 30-minute token is 30 minutes of play. That removes the old habit of racing through menus, and it means a token started at the first spawn covers roughly two to three full matches.

  • Player XP tokens raise Soldier Rank and Prestige level. These are the ones that matter here.
  • Weapon XP tokens speed up gun levels and attachments, not rank.
  • The campaign hands out tokens as completion rewards, so finish it before the multiplayer grind if you haven't.

Daily Challenges are the free level

The Career menu lists three Daily Challenges, each with its own XP payout, and completing all three pays a further bonus Activision calls hefty. One challenge a day can be rerolled, so swap the one that asks for a weapon you don't run. Season 1 adds a second set in Warzone.

There are no Weekly Challenges in Season 1; Infinity Ward swapped them for Events, the first of which starts on launch day. Calling Card challenges are the long tail instead, and the tracked ones show up in the Tracked and Near Complete tab, so check it before each session and finish what's close.

DMZ is a second XP engine

DMZ XP flows into Soldier Rank in full, and it never flows the other way. A single good deployment with a Story Mission completed logged around 30,000 DMZ XP on day one, every point of it also counting toward the 1 to 55 track. If you're building the FOB anyway, you're ranking up multiplayer at the same time. Our DMZ levelling route is the fast way to farm it, and the full DMZ unlock list shows what the same XP buys you there.

The reverse trap: multiplayer and Warzone XP never raise your DMZ level, so the DMZ station unlocks only come from deployments. Want both bars moving at once? DMZ Levelling climbs your DMZ track, and every level of it counts toward Soldier Rank too.

What each stretch of levels unlocks

  • 1 to 10: Default Loadouts, Create-a-Class at 4, the VEL 46, Bomb Glider, Munitions Box, Drill Charge, Krait P68, SAM Airburst Turret, High Alert, Type 73, Care Package and Snapshot Grenade.
  • 11 to 20: Oris 8.6, Riot Shield, Impact Warhead, Battle Hardened, Proximity Mine, M4 at 14, Trophy System, Concussion, Wheelson, Bomb Squad, Zip Gun, WZ.55 Striga, Seeker Drone, then Fast Hands and Crossfire at 20.
  • 21 to 30: Hyeon Burst, Trip Wire, Heartbeat Sensor, RPG-8, Missile Salvo, Ghost at 24, Inflatable Decoy, Astaroth .57, Thermite, Combat Drone, Patriot XMR, Molotov, Scavenger, Shock Stick, Smoke Wall, PPSh-41 and Ninja at 30.
  • 31 to 40: Counter UAV, Resupply, Warlord, Tracker, Recon Drone, Kastov 762, Deathstalker, Cold-Blooded, Mosin-Nagant, Claymore, Railgun Sentry, Oden, then Birdseye and Advanced UAV at 40.
  • 41 to 55: .50 GS, Razor Wire Trap, Decoy Grenade, JOKR, C4, APOC-338, Tactical Insertion, Argonaut, X-58 Nyx, Stim, Mojave .357, Kill Chain, Throwing Knife, Signal 50, Gunship at 51, Axion, Screamer Mine, PM-40 Anvil, and the Cronen Squall and Air Lockdown at 55.

What's waiting at 55

Reaching Commander opens the Prestige choice. Classic Prestige resets your level unlocks and Create-a-Class for a 20% XP boost, a Permanent Unlock Token and bonus cosmetics. Regular Prestige restarts you at level 1 but keeps every unlock. You choose again at every Prestige, ten in all, before Prestige Master runs the number up to 1,000.

If you're going straight back around, Classic is the faster climb: the 20% boost runs on everything you earn, and the Permanent Unlock Token keeps your one must-have perk or killstreak through the reset.

Want 55 without the hours?

We level Soldier Rank on your own account, Team up on any platform or piloted on PC, from any level to any target up to 55. Every weapon, perk and killstreak unlocked on the way stays with you. Got questions first? The FAQ on our MW4 page covers how Team up and piloted orders work.

Questions players ask

How much XP is one level in MW4?

Activision hasn't published the curve, and the in-game bar is the only reliable read. Every recent Modern Warfare steepened through the 40s and 50s, which is where tokens and the Daily Challenge bonus pay off most if MW4 follows suit.

Do campaign rewards include XP tokens?

Yes. Activision's campaign reward list includes three Double XP tokens and two Double Weapon XP tokens, along with eight base Operators, all usable from 23 October.

Does the beta progress carry over?

Rank doesn't. Beta play banked cosmetic and loadout rewards for launch (community tallies put the top tier at level 30, and Activision confirms the Beta Forged Han 86 Blueprint), but everyone starts at level 1 on 23 October.