Modern Warfare 2 Mastery Camo: how to unlock the Gold Camo and more

mw2 mastery camo - a soldier with a red skull mask
(Image credit: Activision)

Each Modern Warfare 2 Mastery Camo may be purely cosmetic, but they immediately showcase dedication. Obtaining these camos is no easy task, so whenever you bump into a player with one of them, you know they’re not messing around. While getting the classic Gold Camo in Modern Warfare 2 is straightforward enough, the more exclusive skins will require some patience and diligence from you. With that in mind, here’s how to unlock Mastery Camos in Modern Warfare 2. 

How Modern Warfare 2 Camo works

First things first, if you’re wondering about how Modern Warfare 2 Base camos work compared to previous games, here’s what you need to know. Currently, there are 186 base camos available across a dozen different categories. It’s quite a lot to parse, but the upside is that you don’t need to unlock them for every single weapon. Instead, once you’ve unlocked one, that base camo becomes available as an option for all of your guns, which is neat.

This is perfect for players who may not be interested in the long and often tiring grind involved with Mastery Camos. Plus, there are some neat options available—they aren’t just different colors splashed on top of the weapon.

If you want to browse through the list and check them yourself,  head over to the Weapons tab, select your Multiplayer Loadout, click on Gunsmith above any eligible weapon, and then switch over to the Customize tab. From here you can open the Camo menu and check all of the categories on the bottom right panel. If you see a particular camo you like, hovering over it is going to display the corresponding weapon and the challenge you need to complete using said weapon.

How to get Modern Warfare 2 Mastery Camo

(Image credit: Activision)

Now, if you do want to go through the grind to get the most exclusive Modern Warfare 2 camos, start setting some time aside for the tasks ahead. Each weapon has four camos, each with its own challenge required to unlock it. Finishing these four tasks is the first step towards the prestige camos, which are under the Completionist tab in the camo category menu of any gunsmithable weapon.

If you still don’t have access to any of the base challenges, hovering over the locked camo will let you know which level you need to hit. The requirements are different for each weapon, so keep this in mind and plan ahead accordingly. 

Modern Warfare 2 Platinum Camo

(Image credit: Activision)

If you thought that unlocking the Gold Camo wasn’t that hard, here’s where it gets complicated. To unlock the Platinum Camo in Modern Warfare 2, you first need to complete all Gold Camo Challenges of the weapon’s class. Once this is done, you’re free to do the Platinum Camo Challenge for any of the weapons of that class. 

Modern Warfare 2 Orion Camo

(Image credit: Activision)

As you can imagine, the task to unlock the Modern Warfare 2 Orion Camo is the toughest by far. This weapon skin tasks you with completing all 51 Polyatomic Camo Challenges. The upside is that there isn’t an Orion Camo Challenge specifically—it’ll become available for all weapons right away. A silver lining after all of those hours spent.

Modern Warfare 2 Polyatomic Camo

We still have ways to go. If you’re looking to unlock the Modern Warfare 2 Polyatomic Camo, you’ll need to complete the Platinum Camo in all 51 weapons available at launch. Once this is done, you’ll have access to the Polyatomic Camo Challenge in all weapons, so it’s up to you to pick which ones you’re interested in from there.

Modern Warfare 2 Gold Camo

If you want to unlock the Gold Camo in Modern Warfare 2, you need to complete all four challenges for the base camos of the weapon of your choosing. Basically, if you’re looking at the weapon’s camo category screen, you need to unlock the four skins in the left bottom corner. Once that’s settled, you’ll have access to the Gold Camo Challenge for the weapon, and you'll get the Gold Camo upon completion.

How Modern Warfare 2 Weapon Mastery Challenges work

(Image credit: Activision)

If you’re looking for an extra challenge, as well as rewards for your troubles, there are Mastery Challenges available for all Modern Warfare 2 weapons. Thankfully, the steps are far more straightforward, and usually go like this: 

  • Gold Mastery: Get 100 kills while using the Gold Camo 
  • Platinum Mastery: Get 200 kills while using the Platinum Camo 
  • Polyatomic Mastery: Get 300 kills while using the Polyatomic Camo 
  • Orion Mastery: Get 400 kills while using the Orion Camo 

All four Weapon Mastery Challenges are unique to each weapon, and so are the rewards. Completing each mastery grants you an emblem and calling card of the same color. Moreover, if you finish all of them, you’ll obtain a weapon charm. This may or may not sound enticing to you, but if you really want to brag that you’ve unlocked absolutely everything to other players, that charm is your champion medal. 

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