How to unlock Sledgehammer in Black Ops Cold War

Andrew Amos
Sledgehammer in Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War

Is subtlety not your thing? Then the Sledgehammer is for you in Black Ops Cold War. The new melee weapon was added in the Season 1 update, although it’s gated behind a challenge. Here’s what you need to do.

Rocking a Sledgehammer doesn’t scream sneaky-beaky like gameplay, and that’s because it’s not. However, there’s something to say about whacking opponents to their misery in Black Ops Cold War.

Thankfully, Treyarch are filling that niche with the Sledgehammer. While it was accidentally added early, the new melee weapon is set to be officially added to the game sometime during Season 1, so you can send your opponents packing in heavy-duty style.

Sledgehammer in Call of Duty
The Sledgehammer packs a punch.

Unlocking the Sledgehammer in BOCW Season 1

Unlike the Groza and the Mac-10 ⁠— both of which are seemingly unstoppable after the update ⁠— the Sledgehammer isn’t in the battle pass. That means you can’t mindlessly grind the game to try and get the new melee.

Instead, you’ll need to be a bit more tactical in unlocking it. There’s one challenge that you need to complete, but once you do it, it’s all yours.

“Using the Combat Knife, kill two or more players rapidly using the Combat Knife in 15 different matches,” the challenge reads.

The conditions of this mission means it’ll take time. You can’t just kick up a few multikills across a couple of games ⁠— you have to play a minimum of 15 to get the Sledgehammer, and that’s if you get two rapid knife kills in every single one.

Warzone Season 6 mask character with knife
You’ll need to run around knifing people to unlock the Sledgehammer.

However, once you complete this mission, the Sledgehammer will be added in your inventory, and you can equip it in place of the Combat Knife or another melee weapon.

The new unlock isn’t the only thing that comes with completing the challenge either. You’ll also get 1,000 XP towards your battle pass, so it can just be handy to complete. So, if you want the Sledgehammer, it’s time to start slashing.

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