Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s new patch will set the stage for Vanguard season 1

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s final multiplayer season is coming to a close and its latest patch will pave the way for Call of Duty: Vanguard to take over. Vanguard’s first season will begin on Dec. 8, but a new patch is coming a little earlier on Dec. 6. The new patch will include upgrades to the Prestige system, including new levels, and challenges for the .410 Ironhide and the Grav assault rifle, Treyarch announced on Friday.

The biggest change in this patch is that all Military Ranks and Prestige Levels will now be synchronized with Call of Duty: Vanguard. Previously, your rank across every game (except Vanguard) was the same as your rank in Black Ops Cold War. After the update your rank in Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, and Modern Warfare will be synced with your Call of Duty: Vanguard rank and progress you earn in any game will work toward that rank.

The patch will also add the Lifetime Prestige display to Black Ops Cold War and Warzone where you can display how many times you’ve Prestiged in both of those games and Vanguard.

This new patch will also add unlock challenges for the .410 Ironhide shotgun and the Grav assault rifle in both multiplayer and zombies. Completing their respective challenges will unlock the weapons. The patch’s other small weapon change is a slight balance nerf to the Marshal’s damage by reducing its damage range and increasing its damage drop-off.

All of these changes are part of Call of Duty’s Dec. 6 patch — which is when the patch’s zombie mode changes will take effect, but the rest of the changes won’t go live until the new season starts on Dec. 8. This patch is from Treyarch, the developer of Black Ops Cold War, but it’s also possible that Vanguard developer Sledgehammer could also release a large patch next week, mostly designed to balance that game as it heads into its first real season.

For a closer look at everything that’s changing in this latest patch for Black Ops Cold War you can check out Treyarch’s patch notes.