Objective-Based Game Modes
Playing the regular team deathmatch and free-for-all matches just won’t cut it when it comes to ranking up. It is best if you play objective-based game modes such as Domination, Hardpoint, and Control.
These game modes last longer and offer additional bonus XP at the end of each game. During the matches, you also always have an idea of where the enemy players might be. They will usually be around the objectives, and it will be easier to kill them. You need as many kills as you can get to rank up your weapons, of course, and such objective-based game modes offer just that. And we cannot stress this enough, but remember always to play the objectives! You must capture the flags, defend them, and kill enemies while doing so. This will give you even more XP. If it is hardpoint, then go and stay in the area for as long as you can (locations list here).
Objective-based game modes are the best if you want to level up your weapons and overall rank.
Fireteam: Dirty Bomb
Fireteam: Dirty Bomb is hands down the best game mode to rank up, especially your weapons. For some reason, when you get kills in this game mode, you get an insane amount of XP for your weapons. And when you get weapon XP your overall rank also increases due to weapon level unlocks and completing the challenges.
In this game mode, you must focus on getting kills with the weapon you want to rank up. We managed to level our XM4 from level 17 to level 25 in just 3-4 games, and one of the games even crashed for us! If you manage to get at least 6-7 kills, you will level up. This is assuming your weapon level is around 15-20. At higher levels, the kill count will slightly increase, maybe up to 9.
Make sure you play the full game and complete it until the end for additional completion bonus XP. This mode is particularly good for weapon XP, but it also adds to your overall rank.
Playstation Party Boost
If you are a PlayStation owner, then you are in luck. You can party up with fellow players and get a 25% Weapon XP boost. This also counts if you are playing in a cross-platform party, but it will only apply to the PlayStation players in the party.
Zombies Mode
Now that the progression is shared across all game modes, zombies are a great way of earning a lot of XP, not just for weapons but also for your overall rank. Zombies mode makes it a little bit easier for you to get kills, as opposed to against real human players.
You can get thousands of kills in zombies, and at the end of your game you will have tons of XP, which will rank you up quite fast. Zombies mode is good for your overall XP and it is decent for weapons.
Double XP Promo Codes
Call of Duty has partnered up with several brands such as Mountain Dew, Doritos, Tostinos, and Gamefuel to distribute double XP codes that last for up to a year. When you buy a product from any of these brands, you can get a double XP promo code ranging from 15 minutes to 1 hour of double XP.
This might be a limited time offer only, so make sure you go and get those snacks before its too late!
Weapon Mastery
If you go over to the Gunsmith of your weapon and look at the tabs, there will be a tab called ‘Weapon Mastery’. Weapon Mastery is a set of weapon-specific challenges that you can complete to rank up your weapon fast.
It will also add to your overall XP as you are completing challenges.
Standard Challenges
Complete the other standard challenges for the overall XP increase. There are challenges that you can complete in all three modes: campaign, multiplayer, and zombies. You can head over to the challenges tab and check what challenges are needed to be completed.
The best thing to do here is to go to the ‘Nearest to Completion’ tab, which shows you the challenges you are almost done with. This will help you focus on those challenges alone and rank up fast.
Feel free to check out our Dark Ops challenges guide as they give a lot of XP too.