Operation: Rank Up Report #0015

Day 105 – 21:03:40 PST

Somewhere in California

AGB – Lead Writer

After waking up at 3 a.m. PST over the weekend to watch every epic Call of Duty League™ match over in London (and writing about it here),I was more than ready to get to work on Tuesday for the launch of Season Two.

For someone who came into the franchise right at Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare 2®, I was always curious if Ghost would ever return. When I learned he would return in the Season Two Battle Pass, I was pretty excited. 

When Season Two kicked off, I picked up the Battle Pass and made him my featured Coalition Operator of the week.

The weapon he’s holding is what you get at Tier 8 of the Battle Pass: the Sterling marksman rifle. 

This blueprint is one of my personal favorites from the beginning Tiers of the Season Two Battle Pass; it’s a one-shot machine at any range if you can land headshots, and its high mobility – which is cranked up to near-max given its Laser, Rear Grip, and Stock attachments – makes it the perfect weapon for landing quick shots on the go. 

I used it a lot on Rust, because if you’re going to welcome back a fan-favorite map, you’ve got to do it right.

Yes, the locale that has been the site of many a 1v1 duels back in the day has returned, and it plays just as fast and frenetic as it did a whole decade ago. We did a Tactical Map Intel for Rust which should help veterans or new players get up to the speed on the map. Here’s some of my favorite tips from that guide:

·      (Field) Upgrade to a Trophy System. Rust is a small map which means lethal and tactical tossed equipment will be plentiful. Deploy a Trophy System around key objective areas and consider equipping the Tune Up perk to get your Field Upgrade faster. 

·      The Low Ground. The verticality of Rust often brings the combat off the ground, but many stealthy plays are made ducking underneath buildings. Keep an eye on opportunities to go down, then pop up and surprise your enemies.

·      Rain on Everyone’s Parade: Rust is entirely outdoors with minimal protection inside the Containers and underneath the Tower. Consider equipping Aerial Scorestreaks and the Pointman perk to earn higher-level streaks easier and devastate your opponents.

As for my other featured Operator, I chose Minotaur. Specifically, I made Minotaur absolutely perfect in pink, picking up his ‘Valentine’s Slay’ bundle to get his Valentaur skin. This also came with, among some personalization items, two blueprints, including the Heartthrob, another marksman rifle blueprint.

The Hearthrob has a Scout Combat Optic, which provides a better sight picture with iron sights and a 3.25x zoom level, the Sleight of Hand Perk, which gives faster reloads, and two attachments that boost aim walking movement speeds: the MK2 Ultralight Hollow Stock and the Granulated Grip Tape.

Finally, with a new season comes a new quest to reach the max Season rank and Tier 100 of the Battle Pass. For those who are just joining us in the Rank Up Report, here are my quick tips for doing both of those as quickly as possible:

·      Line Up Challenges and Missions. To maximize your XP earning potential, check the requirements for your Daily Challenges and active Mission, and see if it aligns with the Ribbon challenges so you can knock out two (or three… or a Quad Feed) birds with one stone. 

·      Switch it Up. Many Missions, Daily Challenges, and Officer Challenge Ribbons will require you to play modes that you may not have tried yet, or with weapons, equipment, or Killstreaks that may seem foreign to you. Be prepared to try everything and anything out in game and be open to getting to like those new experiences!

·      Just Play the Game. Those who play the game will progress through the Battle Pass system; it’s that simple.

·      Skip Ahead. If you have some leftover Call of Duty Points – potentially from the Battle Pass – and are already looking to get a cool bundle for the Store, check to see if any have a Tier Skip in them. That is a guaranteed Tier thrown into a ton of other content, which is great for immediately gaining access to a Tier.

·      Battle Pass Synergy. Some Battle Pass rewards include Operator Challenges, which award XP, and XP Tokens, which doubles XP gained for a designated period of time. In other words, ranking up your Battle Pass eventually leads to ranking up in general… Which means you’re playing the game, which means you’re ranking up the Battle Pass… Which means…

Get the picture? There are a ton of cool rewards in the Season Two Battle Pass, especially those Operator Challenges. 

That wraps up my first week in Season Two, and I’ve been having blast. 

I’ll be seeing you online. Stay frosty.

For more information and the latest intel on Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®, check out: www.callofduty.com, www.youtube.com/callofdutyand follow @InfinityWard and @CallofDuty on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.

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