I’ve spent a lot of time in Nuketown lately.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War got its version of the fan-favourite competitive multiplayer map this week, alongside a Nuketown 24/7 playlist, and I’ve jumped in each evening since to enjoy the close quarters chaos.
But there’s another reason why I’ve set up shop in Nuketown: playing it is the only way I’m going to get anywhere with the Cold War grind.
Nuketown launched alongside a double XP and double weapon XP event that lasts until 30th November. This, combined with my usual 30-something kills per game, gives me my only reasonable shot at making an inroad on leveling up weapons.
I think it’s fair to say it takes too long to level up weapons in Black Ops Cold War. Developer Treyarch has tuned progression so that it takes around 1200 kills to max out a weapon – and unlock all of its attachments along the way. I’ve only managed to max out one weapon so far, the AK-47, and that was only really possible with the help of Nuketown, a map you get a lot more kills on than any other in the game because it’s so small and plays so fast, and the double XP buff.
Beyond the attachment hunt (most weapons are useless until you’ve unlocked attachments), there’s the camo grind, which I just can’t see myself ever completing. These weapon skins are unlocked by completing certain challenges with a weapon – get five longshot medals with a gun unlocks a camo, for example. There are also reticles to unlock, each one asking for a certain number of kills with a specific optic. And then there’s weapon mastery, which is a super long endgame grind for the coveted Dark Matter.