So you have chosen to commit to the most painful challenge in Call of Duty history. The challenge that requires the most amount of time and kills in multiplayer games. The challenge that will likely have you buying a new controller from how much you threw your old one. No we are not talking about getting a nuke or going deathless in hardcore shipment, we are talking about completing Damascus.
The final weapon camouflage in MW 2019 is arguably the hardest in any game, beating out its predecessors like dark matter. To earn Damascus, you much get gold on all 39 base weapons, including four launchers and a crossbow. Regardless of how you tackle this challenge, it will be a grind, but there are some tricks you can use to make it both easier and faster.
1: Rank Up Launchers First
This may seem like a strange tip at first but hear us out. To get gold launchers, you must first get a certain amount of kills, offensive kills, and defensive kills. Simple enough. But after that, you must shoot down kill streaks, both in the air and on the ground. Of course, you can only shoot down something if its there. You can’t just decide to only shoot down UAVs all game. In terms of number of games required to unlock gold, the launchers are first by a long shot.
If you want to efficiently unlock gold for them, you should always have them as a secondary while working on your primaries. They must be leveled up though to be able to unlock camos. So, using double XP tokens while doing your best to upgrade your launchers early on in your journey will make it a lot faster. Now every time you hear, “Enemy personal radar in the A-O,” you’ll be ready to contribute it towards your grind.
2: Utilize Hardcore Properly
Most players either only play hardcore or only play core game modes. While Damascus can be unlocked playing solely in either, some guns perform better in the different modes than others. For example, earning gold with shotguns is very easy in hardcore due to their extended range and high damage. Similarly, pistols become much stronger weapons that have a better chance of competing with primary guns when run in hardcore. The semi auto marksman rifles, which are some of the worst guns in core game modes, dominate in hardcore from any range. Hardcore is also excellent for earning long shots and hip fire kills with rifles, LMGs, and SMGs.
Core game modes favor powerful primary weapons. A sniper for example will almost always have a better time to kill when used properly than the weakest SMG at a range, but that can change in hardcore. Core game modes are also the better place for unlocking the combat knife gold, as the lower damage in guns gives you more time to close the distance between you and other players. Essentially, core game modes should be used when a weapon is high damage and you are trying to get kills in its ideal range. Hard core game modes are ideal on weapons that would be outclassed be better guns when in a fight that is not in its ideal range.
3: Play on the Right Maps
Every COD player knows that not all maps are created equal. Especially when trying to upgrade weapons. There are two maps in MW that stand out above the rest when it comes to unlocking Damascus: Shipment and shoot house. Luckily, these maps often have their own playlists, so they are not hard to get.
Shipment is the smallest non-gunfight map in the game. Its insanely fast play can allow you to get triple digit kills without even getting score streaks. This is a huge deal as it means you can go through your camo challenges faster than on any other map. On top of this, shotguns, pistols, the knife, and the riot shield can all have gold be unlocked on this map without even having to get kills on a different map.
Not every gun can solely be unlocked on shipment though. Weapons need long shot kills before they can get gold. Though shoot house is not the most open or longest map, it has areas just long enough to hit long shots. We recommend that you peak the middle when trying to earn long shots, but makes sure you have a scope.
We hope these three quick tips get you closer to your goal of getting the final camo. It is a tough grind, but in the end it will be worth it when you have the biggest possible flex in the final kill cams.
