Black Ops 7: Best Ways to Level Up Fast (Complete XP Guide)

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The Most Efficient Path to Max Level

Black Ops 7 keeps the progression system familiar for veterans, but knowing exactly which modes and strategies yield the most XP per hour can dramatically cut down your leveling time. Whether you’re grinding for Prestige rewards, unlocking weapons for Warzone, or just trying to access all your loadout options, the right approach makes all the difference.

You’ll gain XP naturally across Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies, but these modes aren’t created equal. Some offer significantly better returns on your time investment, and understanding the nuances of each will help you optimize your leveling routine.

Campaign Leveling: The Underrated Starting Point

Most players skip Campaign for leveling, but that’s a mistake—especially if you’re new to Black Ops 7 or want a lower-stress way to make initial progress.

Why Campaign Is Worth Your Time

The Black Ops 7 Campaign consists of 11 missions that collectively reward you with 55,000 XP through completion bonuses. That’s not counting the XP you earn during the missions themselves from combat and objectives. For a mode that takes roughly 6-8 hours to complete, that’s a solid XP foundation.

Additional benefits beyond XP:

Weapon familiarity: Learn gun handling and mechanics in a controlled environment
Cosmetic rewards: Operator skins, weapon blueprints, and camos you can use in Multiplayer/Zombies
Story context: Understand the lore before jumping into multiplayer
Zero stress: No toxic teammates, no sweaty lobbies—just you vs. AI

Endgame Mode: Campaign’s Hidden Gem

Complete all 11 missions and you’ll unlock Black Ops 7 Endgame—a 32-player PvE mode set on the massive Avalon map. This is where Campaign leveling actually becomes competitive with other modes.

What makes Endgame effective:

Relaxed PvE environment with generous XP rewards
Large player count means more combat opportunities
Mission-based structure rewards both individual and team performance
No rank pressure compared to competitive multiplayer

Endgame is perfect if you want consistent XP gains without the stress of PvP. It’s also excellent for weapon leveling, since you’re fighting AI rather than players who’ll punish you for using suboptimal attachments.

Who should use Campaign for leveling:

Players returning after a long break who need to shake off rust
Anyone who wants guaranteed campaign rewards alongside XP
Casual players who prefer PvE over competitive modes
Those leveling weapons they’re not comfortable using in PvP yet

Multiplayer: High Risk, High Reward XP Farming

If you can hold your own in PvP, Multiplayer offers some of the fastest XP gains in Black Ops 7—but only if you’re playing the right modes and performing well.

Best Multiplayer Modes for XP

Kill Confirmed (Top Recommendation)

Kill Confirmed consistently delivers the best XP-per-hour rates in Black Ops 7 Multiplayer. Here’s why:

Bonus XP for collecting dog tags: Every tag collected (both friendly and enemy) awards bonus points
Fast-paced action: Matches end quickly, letting you chain multiple games per hour
Objective naturally promotes kills: You’re incentivized to engage rather than camp
Works on small maps: Maximum chaos = maximum XP opportunities

Pro tip: Don’t just farm kills—actively collect tags. A 20-kill game where you collect 15 tags earns more XP than a 30-kill game where you ignore objectives.

Hardpoint (Consistent Alternative)

Hardpoint rewards objective play heavily, making it excellent for XP if you’re willing to play aggressively:

Time in hardpoint = constant XP trickle
Defending/attacking objectives multiplies kill value
Rotation gameplay keeps matches dynamic
Great for Combat Specialty usage

Kill Order (Balanced Option)

Kill Order combines traditional deathmatch with objective elements, offering solid XP without requiring heavy objective focus. Good middle ground if you prefer slaying but want bonus XP opportunities.

Overload (High-Intensity Choice)

If you don’t mind longer match times, Overload rewards sustained performance with excellent XP totals. Best for players who can maintain focus through extended sessions.

Multiplayer Optimization Tips

Use XP Tokens strategically: Pop a Double XP Token right before starting your session. Chain multiple games during the token’s duration to maximize value.

Master small maps: Face-off maps and close-quarters arenas maximize engagement frequency. More engagements = more XP opportunities. Learn the best settings to dominate these maps.

Loadout matters: Use weapons you’re comfortable with. A 2.0 K/D with your favorite gun earns more XP than a 0.8 K/D with a meta weapon you can’t control. Check our loadout guides for optimization.

Play the objective: Objective score often exceeds pure kill farming. Don’t be the player with 40 kills and 0 seconds in hardpoint.

Complete daily challenges: Multiplayer challenges reset daily and offer substantial XP bonuses. Knock these out first each session.

Optimize your perks: Slot 1 perks can enhance survivability and kill potential, directly impacting XP gains.

Who should level in Multiplayer:

Competitive players who thrive in PvP
Anyone preparing for ranked play
Players who want immediate weapon unlock feedback
Those comfortable maintaining positive K/D ratios

Zombies: The XP Farming King

Here’s the truth: Zombies mode is objectively the fastest way to gain XP in Black Ops 7, especially if you optimize your approach. The catch? It requires specific strategies to maximize efficiency.

Why Zombies Dominates for Leveling

Consistent, predictable XP: No bad teammates, no sweaty opponents—just you versus predictable AI patterns. Performance is entirely in your control.

Weapon leveling paradise: Level guns in Zombies without the pressure of competitive play. Critical kills and multi-kills rack up XP fast.

Camo progression: Unlock weapon camos while gaining account XP—double efficiency.

Forgiving learning curve: New to a weapon? Zombies lets you practice without ruining your K/D or frustrating teammates.

The Rampage Inducer Strategy (Essential)

This is the secret to maximum Zombies XP efficiency:

How it works:

Load into Survival mode (not Ashes of the Damned for pure leveling)
Immediately locate the Rampage Inducer at match start (skull icon on minimap)
Activate it to increase zombie speed and spawn rates
Farm kills aggressively through accelerated early rounds

Why this matters: Standard Zombies has painfully slow early rounds where zombies trickle in at a snail’s pace. Rampage Inducer eliminates that downtime, letting you rack up kills—and therefore XP—at 2-3x the normal rate.

Rampage Inducer tips:

Use it immediately in round 1 for maximum benefit
Pair with training strategies to control faster zombies
Focus on critical kills (headshots) for bonus XP per kill
Farm rounds 1-15 efficiently, then exfil and restart

Optimal Zombies Leveling Setup

Best perks for sustained farming:

Speed Cola: Faster reloads = more uptime killing zombies
Stamin-Up: Mobility for training and repositioning
Quick Revive (solo): Survivability for long sessions
Deadshot Daiquiri: Auto-aim to heads for critical kill bonuses

Check all perk locations and prioritize perk augments that enhance survivability.

Weapon choices:

Start with weapons you want to level
Use wall-buy weapons for ammo sustainability
Set custom Zombies Builds so wall-buys have your preferred attachments
Pack-a-Punch once zombie health increases

Equipment optimization:

Use lethal equipment for crowd control
Tactical equipment helps create space when overwhelmed
Maximize field upgrade augments for ability effectiveness

Advanced strategies:

Complete T.E.D.D. Tasks for bonus XP and rewards
Farm Essence efficiently to maintain resources
Use Salvage farming to craft equipment
Master training spots for safe, efficient kills

Zombies vs. Multiplayer: The XP Comparison

Per-hour XP gains (approximate):

Optimized Zombies with Rampage Inducer: 40,000-60,000 XP/hour
Kill Confirmed (high performance): 35,000-50,000 XP/hour
Hardpoint (objective focus): 30,000-45,000 XP/hour
Campaign Endgame: 25,000-35,000 XP/hour

Zombies wins on consistency. In Multiplayer, bad teammates or getting stomped by a pre-made squad tanks your XP rate. In Zombies, your performance is independent—you control the outcome.

Who should level in Zombies:

Players who want maximum XP per hour
Anyone leveling weapons they’re unfamiliar with
Solo players who don’t want teammate RNG
People working on camo challenges simultaneously
Casual players who prefer PvE

Check our complete Zombies beginner guide for more optimization tips.

Daily and Weekly Challenges: Don’t Sleep On These

Both Multiplayer and Zombies feature daily challenges that reset every 24 hours. These are non-negotiable if you want to level efficiently.

Why challenges matter:

Massive XP bonuses compared to regular gameplay
Stack with normal progression (you’d be playing anyway)
Often simple objectives that complete naturally
Weekly challenges offer even larger rewards

Challenge optimization:

Check challenges at the start of every session
Prioritize easy completions first
Build loadouts that multi-task challenges (e.g., get SMG kills while completing objective-based challenges)
Don’t ignore Zombies-specific challenges—they’re often easier than Multiplayer ones

Weapon Leveling Alongside Account XP

Weapon XP and account XP progress simultaneously, so optimize for both:

Multiplayer weapon leveling:

Stick with one gun per session for focused progression
Small maps maximize engagement frequency
Objective modes reward weapon usage during objective play
Check weapon-specific guides for meta builds

Zombies weapon leveling:

Much faster than Multiplayer for raw weapon XP
No pressure to perform competitively
Work on headshots, point-blank kills, and longshots simultaneously
Unlock Zombies-exclusive camos while leveling

Legacy weapon unlocks: Don’t forget about Black Ops 2 weapons that need specific unlock conditions.

XP Token Management

XP Tokens are valuable—don’t waste them:

Best times to use tokens:

Before starting a Zombies Rampage Inducer session
At the start of a Kill Confirmed session when you’re warmed up
During Double XP weekends (tokens stack with weekend bonuses!)
When completing multiple daily challenges in one session

Don’t use tokens:

Mid-match (wasted duration)
When you only have 10 minutes to play
In modes you struggle with (low performance = low XP regardless of token)

Prestige Considerations

Once you hit max level, you’ll face the Prestige decision. Understanding Prestige rewards and permanent unlock tokens helps you plan your leveling strategy long-term.

Prestige benefits:

Additional unlock tokens
Exclusive cosmetics and calling cards
Bragging rights
Access to Prestige-locked rewards

The Optimal Leveling Routine

Combine all three modes for maximum efficiency:

Session structure (3-hour example):

Check and complete daily challenges across all modes (30 min)
Zombies Rampage Inducer farming with weapon you want to level (90 min)
Multiplayer Kill Confirmed using newly leveled weapon (60 min)

This approach maximizes XP while preventing burnout from repetitive gameplay.

Weekend warriors: Focus on Zombies with Rampage Inducer. You’ll make more progress in limited playtime than bouncing between modes.

Daily grinders: Mix modes to maintain freshness. Complete challenges, then choose between Zombies (maximum XP) or Multiplayer (competitive practice).

Performance Optimization

Your game settings directly impact XP gains. Frame drops cost you kills, which costs you XP. Optimize everything.

Additional technical considerations:

Fix packet burst and lag for consistent performance
Enable/disable crossplay based on platform advantages
Consider split-screen for co-op leveling with friends

Choose Your Path

The “best” leveling method depends on your playstyle:

Choose Zombies if: You want maximum XP per hour, prefer PvE, or are leveling weapons you’re uncomfortable using competitively.

Choose Multiplayer if: You’re competitive, want to improve PvP skills simultaneously, or find Zombies repetitive.

Choose Campaign if: You’re new to Black Ops 7, want a relaxed start, or value the campaign rewards.

Ideal approach: Use all three. Zombies for pure leveling efficiency, Multiplayer for skill development and variety, Campaign for initial progression and unlocks.

No matter which path you choose, consistency beats optimization. Playing regularly with a decent strategy outperforms sporadic sessions with perfect methods. Pick what you enjoy, optimize where possible, and the levels will come.

Additional Black Ops 7 Resources

Core guides:

Zombies-specific:

Multiplayer extras:

External Resources:

Now get out there and start grinding. Those Prestige levels won’t unlock themselves!

Black Ops 7: Best Ways to Level Up Fast (Complete XP Guide)

The Most Efficient Path to Max Level