How League Play works in Black Ops Cold War: Skill divisions, ranks, maps & modes, rewards, more

Albert Petrosyan
Black Ops Cold War ranked

At long last, Treyarch and Activision have finally debuted League Play in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and we’ve got everything there is to know about how this new ranked mode works.

It’s been a long time coming but after months of waiting in anticipation, Call of Duty players can finally enjoy the latest iteration of the ranked mode known as League Play in Black Ops Cold War.

League Play is a classic, fan-favorite mode that’s been in most CoD titles since Black Ops 2. In this, players get to face others that are at or around the same skill level for a chance to move up the leaderboards and earn rewards and bragging rights.

Matches are played in public playlists but follow the official competitive ruleset, meaning that many of the game’s weapons, attachments, perks, scorestreaks, and equipment are restricted from use.

League Play events: schedule & how it works

Black Ops Cold War League Play is live!
League Play is finally live in Black Ops Cold War!

League Play events are essentially periods of time during which you can compete in the ranked mode and then go up or down Ranks once the event is over. There are two LP events each week: the Weekday Events run Monday through Friday, while Weekend Events are Friday through Monday.

How well you perform determines how high you climb up the Division Ladder; at the end of each event, where you are in the Ladder determines how much progress you’ve earned towards promoting to the next Rank.

Your first LP event will be different from the rest since it will start with five placement matches to determine which Skill Division and Ladder you start off in.

League Play Skill Divisions & Ladders

Black Ops Cold War League Play has 5 Skill Divisions.
There are a total of five Skill Divisions in Black Ops Cold War League Play.

There are five Skill Divisions in League Play, and which one you get placed in at the beginning gets determined by your placement matches. The divisions are based on percentages of players, meaning that where you are is partially dependent on how everyone else is doing.

  • Master: Top 2% of players
  • Elite: Top 3-10% of players
  • Expert: Top 11-15% of players
  • Advanced: Top 16-20% of players
  • Competitor: 50% of players

During each event, winning earns you Ladder Points that move you up your division’s Ladder while losing reduces your points and moves you down. Winning several matches in a row activates a win-streak bonus that can help you climb quickly. However, those who quit LP matches receive “increased” penalties and a match loss.

League Play Ranks & Rewards

Black Ops Cold War League Play Ranks
Doing well in each League Play event will help you earn promotion to higher Ranks.

After each LP Event, where you are in the Skill Division Ladder will earn you Gems, which are needed to advance to the next Rank. There are 30 Ranks in total, so there’s definitely lots to strive for in this ranked mode.

Reaching each “milestone” Rank (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30) unlocks a unique League Play Calling Card, of which there are six in total. Furthermore, placing at the top of a Ladder or winning an LP Event will upgrade your Rank badge to reflect your success.

“Finish in the top 10, top 5, or first to permanently upgrade your Rank from Bronze to Silver, Silver Gold, or Gold. Finish first six times, and you’ll permanently upgrade your Rank to Diamond.”

Leveling up Ranks in League Play.
Finishing high up in a Skill Division Ladder will upgrade your Rank badge all the way to Diamond.

League Play maps, modes, restricted items, & ruleset

As mentioned above, this ranked mode follows the official competitive ruleset used by the Call of Duty League in both the professional and Challengers ranks.

Thus, the maps and modes used in Black Ops Cold War’s League Play are the same as those featured in the CDL:

  • Hardpoint: Checkmate, Garrison, Crossroads, Raid, Moscow
  • Search & Destroy: Checkmate, Garrison, Moscow, Miami, Raid
  • Control: Checkmate, Garrison, Raid

As for the restricted items, there are several weapons, attachments, scorestreaks, gear, perks, that cannot be used in LP matches.

League Play restricted items
There are a lot of weapons, attachments, perks, and other items that can’t be used in League Play.

That said, LP does allow you to use your own custom classes, weapon camos, and Blueprints – although any restricted attachments on those Blueprints will be removed before each match starts.

However, for those who don’t know enough or can’t be bothered to make their own classes, you can use the preset CDL ones that were recently added, featuring weapons and attachments used by professional players.

Related Topics

About The Author

Albert is a former esports and gaming writer, focused particularly on Call of Duty and content creators. Spending over three years at Dexerto, Albert eventually now works with streamer NICKMERCS and the MFAM group. You can find Albert @AlbertoRavioli on Twitter.