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How to level up fast in Modern Warfare 2

The best ways to reach rank 55 quickly.

Leveling up is the main way of making progress with your profile and equipment in Modern Warfare 2.

There are two types of levels in Modern Warfare 2 at the moment: Player Level and Weapon Level. Each one has its unique progression systems and rewards, and you'll want to max level both.

To level up fast in Modern Warfare 2 and unlock more weapons, field upgrades, and other valuables in the quickest way possible, you have a couple of options. We have gathered the best ones on this page.

On this page:

Cover image for YouTube videoCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Last-Gen - Can PS4/PS4 Pro & Xbox One/X Deliver 60fps?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Last-Gen - Can PS4/PS4 Pro & Xbox One/X Deliver 60fps?

How leveling up works in Modern Warfare 2

When you play Modern Warfare 2, you can make progress in two ways:

  • By using effectively a weapon and gaining weapon XP, which will increase your Weapon Level.
  • By completing objectives and killing enemies with any gun or piece of equipment, which will earn you player XP and make your Player Level go up.

Let's discuss these one by one.

Weapon Level unlocks the gun's attachments and its camo challenges. However, each attachment is not unique to the weapon you unlocked it with - you can use that same attachment with any other weapon that is compatible.

Something similar happens with the Basic Camos you can get after completing challenges, although the Completionist Camos - such as the Gold camo - are exclusive to that weapon.

On the other hand, making progress in your Player Level unlocks weapons, killstreaks, lethal and tactical equipment, field upgrades, perks, and loadouts.

You start at rank one and you can climb up to rank 55, with each rank asking you for more player XP each time you get to the next one.

Fastest ways to level up in Modern Warfare 2

Several things you do during a match in any mode in Modern Warfare 2 can give you both player and weapon XP.

For instance, killing an enemy is the simplest one and it will usually give you 100 XP - this can change depending on which mode you're playing and if the kill was under a special circumstance, like protecting or avenging an ally.

However, if you want to level up quickly, you'll need more specific ways to gain large amounts of XP in a short period of time.

What follows are the best ways to level fast.

Using Double XP Tokens

Using Double XP Tokens to help you reach the desired level faster. There are tokens for your Player Level and for your Weapon Level.

These tokens double the total amount of XP you earned at the end of a match. However, you'll only have a limited amount of them if you completed the campaign, and they are time-limited.

Completing Daily Challenges - in both multiplayer and Special Ops

Secondly, a great way of earning sweet amounts of player XP without much trouble is by completing Daily Challenges. You get three per day, and they give you 2,500 XP each time you complete one.

These challenges usually have simple objectives, like getting three headshots with snipers, killing a number of enemies with a certain perk, or just defeating a certain amount of enemies.

Once you have completed the three Daily Challenges you have, you'll unlock a Bonus Challenge. This one rewards you with 10,000 XP upon completion, and its objective is like the others, but usually with bigger kill counts or other details.

Also, it's worth mentioning that Spec Ops (the co-op missions) have their own set of Daily and Bonus Challenges, which means that you can complete many challenges per day by playing different modes.


Getting stuck into multiplayer? We explain the best guns in Modern Warfare 2 and how to unlock all weapons and attachments - as well as individual pages on putting together an MP5 loadout, FTAC loadout, M4 loadout, Kastov 762 loadout, SP-R 208 loadout, TAQ 56 loadout, 556 Icarus loadout, Vel 46 loadout, M16 loadout and FSS Hurricane loadout. At launch, you might be wondering where the Battle Pass and Hardcore Tier 1 modes are, as well as how to claim Modern Warfare 2 Twitch drops. Elsewhere, learn how to turn off crossplay on PlayStation and Xbox, get and use Double XP, level up fast, get gold camo, check KD and unlock all MW2 Operators. Playing the story? We have explainers on how long the Modern Warfare 2 campaign is and all safe code combinations.


Playing the most efficent modes

The last thing you need to know is what modes give you the most amount of XP in the shortest period of time.

While how much XP you gain will depend on how you perform in a match and how many objectives you complete, there are some modes that could be much easier for you to get experience fast.

For example, one tip is to avoid any mode that has an objective apart from killing enemy soldiers. Domination, Headquarters, Hardpoint, and others will give you extra XP by completing the objectives, but these usually depend on both you and your teammates, and some of them even have restricted respawns.

The best modes to choose to level up fast are those that are mainly focused on defeating enemies, like Free-For-All, Team Deathmatch, and Kill Confirmed.

You'll normally gain 100 XP for each kill you get, and that's without mentioning assists, grabbing dog tags (the item left by allies and rivals in Kill Confirmed), or defeating enemies in special conditions.

These modes have the fastest respawn time, they don't limit your lives, and you only need to focus on this basic objective.

Lastly, there's a specific mode that takes all these advantages and adds a new one: Invasion. In this mode, you'll fight big battles of 20v20 on large maps.

The trick here is that both sides will also get lots of bots, which are generally easier to kill than a real player, and they aren't as skillful. When you find one bot, it's usually accompanied by others, which could mean multiple free kills if you get the chance.

If you're lucky, you can use powerful killstreaks as the Juggernaut or grab a vehicle and just crash your rivals over and over again. The poor computer-controlled soldiers won't even know what's happening.

Hopefully, you'll end up in rank 55 and with your favorite weapons at max level in no time by following these tips.

As you go, it's worth learning how to unlock all weapons in Modern Warfare 2, as well as learning the best guns to aim for.