Mastery Badges are a brand-new set of medals you can earn in Black Ops 6 that prove your prowess with different weapons, so here’s everything you need to know about what they are and how to get them.
There are plenty of different ways to show off in Black Ops 6, whether it’s the Mastery camos for each gun or the returning Prestige system. But Treyarch has thrown in another way to earn bragging rights over your friends this time around.
With the new Mastery Badges, you can let the rest of the lobby know exactly how much you’ve mastered each piece of equipment.
What are Mastery Badges?
Mastery Badges are a new progression system in Black Ops 6 that rewards you for learning and becoming an expert with each weapon, equipment, and Scorestreak. They appear in both multiplayer and Zombies, with separate challenges for both.
Each item has three badges, ranging from Bronze to Gold, which can then be viewed through your Showcase, and you can also choose three to be displayed whenever you appear in the Winner’s Circle at the end of the match.
On top of all that, the enemy players can see the badge you’ve earned for your equipped weapon in every KillCam, so they know whether you’re a veteran or just getting started with that gun.
How to unlock Mastery Badges
You need to complete a series of three objectives to earn every Mastery Badge for a single weapon, Scorestreak, or Grenade. There is also a Diamond badge for each category, such as Assault Rifles or SMGs, if you get Gold for every gun, equipment, or streak in that class.
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The objectives are different for each item, but a few examples were given in the pre-launch progression blog:
| Item | Objective |
|---|---|
| Weapons | Eliminations. |
| Frag Grenade | Frag kills. |
| Prox Alarm Tactical Equipment | Kill enemies detected by your Prox Alarms. |
| Trophy System | Intercept enemy projectiles with your Trophy System. |
| RC-XD | Get RC-XD kills. |
The number will vary depending on what you’re using and will likely increase as you climb through the tiers.
Mastery Badge rewards
Earning the Gold Mastery Badge for any item unlocks a special Stat Tracker that gets added to the badge. This shows the exact number of kills, blocks, damage, etc you’ve racked up so far, and is displayed for all to see in the Winner’s Circle or KillCam.
The other badges are mostly cosmetic, but you do get a “healthy XP Bonus” every time you earn Diamond for a category.
We should learn more about Mastery Badges once Black Ops 6 launches on October 25, so we’ll be sure to update this page with a full breakdown of how to earn each of the rewards up for grabs. In the meantime, check out how to preload the game and how to play early with the New Zealand trick.