How Battle Pass works in Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 returned to the franchise's roots in many ways, echoing the classic Prestige, simpler weapon balance, and more traditional map design. CoD also brought back the old version of the Battle Pass this year, which is much easier to understand.

The battle sector system in MW2 and MW3 has been replaced this year with a more traditional Battle Pass, filled with dozens of cosmetic rewards and XP boosters for those who play this season. In this guide, we'll explain how the Battle Pass works in BO6, how to unlock Battle Pass tokens, and give a quick overview of how Blackcell works this year.

How Battle Pass works in Black Ops 6

Black Ops 6's Battle Pass works closer to MW2019 and Cold War than several previous CoD titles. Black Ops 6 uses a linear progression model for its Battle Pass, broken into 14 pages that you unlock while playing multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone. The confusing battle grid system from MW2 and MW3 is now done away with.

If you've played any live service games with the Battle Pass, you should know what to expect here. If you play Black Ops 6 or Warzone, you will get progress in a Combat pass tokencurrency that you can use to unlock items on each page of the battle pass. Unlock enough items on a given page and you'll unlock the next page in sequence.

Pages of combat pass

All Battle Pass rewards are divided into pages. When you first access the Battle Pass, found in the lobby menu for MP, Zombies, and Warzone, you'll notice 14 sets of rewards that you can unlock. You can start with just the first page, but as you unlock rewards, you'll gain access to additional pages.

Each page contains 7-9 rewards that you can unlock with Battle Pass tokens earned while playing BO6. You can unlock any reward on the currently available pages besides the rightmost reward. This particular item can only be claimed after you have unlocked all the rewards on this page. For example, if you want the XM4 plan on page 1, you will need to unlock all six rewards on page 1 to claim them. This locked reward also requires a Battle Pass token, so seven Battle Pass Tokens are required to complete each page.

Unlock rewards

When you look at the Battle Pass for the first time, your tokens will be automatically redeemed by default. We recommend that you disable automatic token spending. You can do this from the Battle Pass menu. This will allow you to spend your tokens on the rewards you really want.

As for receiving the award, just select the reward on the page you have now unlocked. This will unlock this item for use in all game types. Getting a weapon blueprint also means that the weapon becomes unlocked forever, even after your prestige. We highly recommend unlocking weapon blueprints first to expand your arsenal during Prestige competitions. XP boosters are also worth grabbing.

All players go through the Battle Pass in BO6 regardless of whether they own the Battle Pass or not. Free players can claim new weapons and certain featured rewards on the reward track without spending anything.

Battle Pass owners can claim all rewards and complete the Battle Pass 10% faster. Blackcell owners get access to additional skin options.

How to earn Battle Pass Tokens

Battle Pass tokens are earned passively when you play multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone. Marker progress is linked exclusively to playing time rather than performance or skill. Progress is earned at a flat rate in all game modes. You can speed up your Battle Pass progress by redeeming a double Battle Pass XP Token before the match starts. Double XP tokens decay in real time, so make sure you can play the whole time before you jump out.

Outside of XP tokens, your only way to speed up your Battle Pass progress is to minimize downtime between matches. The longer you play actively, the better. That's why Zombies and Warzone usually get Battle Pass tokens a bit faster; you spend most of your time playing, not matchmaking.

Battle Pass tokens do no carry over to the next seasons. Spend what you have.

Skips a level

Certain promotional offers and in-game events will be rewarded Skips a level which function identically to Battle Pass tokens. Currently the only source of Tier Skips is Blackcell Battle Pass Version, which rewards you with 20 Battle Pass tokens for the current season.

Purchasing the Black Ops 6 Vault Edition gives you the Blackcell Battle Pass for the current season.

Instant page unlock

Blackcell owners have access to instant page unlock. This bypasses the prerequisites for unlocking the page and allows you to immediately start redeeming rewards on that page. You only get one of these per season, so use it wisely.

For example, if you want to unlock the weapon plan on page 14 but have just started the season, you can use the page unlock on page 14 to start unlocking those rewards right away. It does no unlock all rewards on this page, only ability to get these rewards with Battle Pass Tokens.

What is Blackcell?

Blackcell is a more expensive Battle Pass with exclusive skin options and 20 Battle Pass tokens. Skins associated with Blackcell usually have a black and gold color palette with animated elements. These skins are exclusive to this season's Blackcell Battle Pass and will not appear in the checkout after the season ends.

If you don't care about skins, the only reason to get Blackcell is for the 20 Battle Pass tokens. Buying a Battle Pass with 20 tokens normally costs 2400 CoD points, roughly $20. Blackcell costs $30. The value of added skins is entirely up to you.