MW4 Weapon Prestige and the Pyroclast Camos

Weapon Prestige is optional, it only affects one gun, and it costs you that gun's attachments. Here is whether it is worth it.

What it is

Once a weapon reaches its max level, Weapon Prestige opens on that weapon. Entering it:

• Resets that gun's level.
• Relocks every attachment on it, including shared ones. That last part matters, because a shared attachment relocking affects more than the one gun you prestiged.
• Puts you on a track towards the four Pyroclast camos.

It does not touch your player level, your other weapons, or your mastery camos. Player Prestige and Weapon Prestige are separate systems that happen to share a word.

The shared attachment catch

This is the part worth reading twice. Attachments that are shared across weapons get relocked too. So prestiging one gun can take an attachment away from a different gun's build.

If you have a loadout you rely on, check whether it leans on anything shared with the weapon you are about to prestige.

When it is worth doing

Worth it if you have finished what you wanted on that weapon, you want the Pyroclast camos, and you are happy playing the gun through its early levels again.

Not worth it yet if you are mid-way through a mastery camo chain on that weapon, or if the gun is carrying a loadout you need right now. Finish the chain first. The camos are not going anywhere.

Not worth it at all if you only wanted the attachments. You already have them, and prestiging takes them back.

The thirteen-camo confusion

Some guides count thirteen mastery camos in Modern Warfare 4 rather than nine. The extra four are the Pyroclast camos. They are earned through Weapon Prestige rather than through the normal mastery chain, which is why the counts differ depending on who is writing.

FAQ

What does Weapon Prestige reset in MW4?

The level of that one weapon, and every attachment on it, including attachments shared with other weapons. It does not affect your player level or your other guns.

What are the Pyroclast camos?

Four camos earned through the Weapon Prestige track, separate from the nine mode-based mastery camos.

Does Weapon Prestige reset my mastery camos?

It resets the weapon's level and attachments. Finish a mastery chain before prestiging a gun rather than finding out mid-way.

Is Weapon Prestige required?

No. It is entirely optional, and you can leave a weapon at max level indefinitely.