Overview

At the start of your multiplayer experience, you have the option to select from one of five Divisions, or playstyles. Each one offers benefits and boons to all the weapons under a specific weapon category. Like rifles? Choose Infantry as your Division. Love fast running and SMGs? Select the Airborne Division. You aren’t locked into only using the first Division you pick by any means, but you should carefully select your first Division. If you’re not keen on a certain weapon type, remember that Divisions still offer small benefits to their associated weapon class. In order to unlock another Division to use as a replacement, you need to burn an Unlock Token. These tokens are better used on a new weapon or Basic Training.

After selecting a Division, there are a few things to note. Namely, your selected Division will level up along with your in-game character. As you level up your Division, you’ll unlock new benefits for the weapon class your Division supports. Division benefits are available whenever you use the Division and don’t require the divisional weapon class, too. As an example, selecting the Armored Division immediately gives all of your LMGs a bipod for stable prone and on-cover firing. Level it up to become immune to Shell Shock (the blur and ear-splitting squeal of an explosive blowing up nearby). Level it further to take less fire damage, and so on.

Experiment with the Divisions if you have extra Unlock Tokens. Only the first level of each Division is linked to their weapon class. All other “extras” unlocked by Divisions can be used with any type of weapon. Weapon and Basic Training are unlocked at Prestige 1 and can be used with any Division.

Infantry

The defacto rifleman’s Division, Infantry starts off its members with a rifle bayonet for every rifle in the game. Use the bayonet for one-hit melee kills. Note that every other melee attack is two hits, unless you strike an enemy’s back. Players can charge with the Infantry’s Rifle Bayonet to close the gap on an enemy, but they will scream while charging, alerting enemies to your location. As you rank up this Division, you gain an additional Attachment slot for you primary weapon, extra ammo magazines, faster ADS (Aiming Down Sights) and, finally, the SVT-40 rifle. Infantry is the place to be for those who love attachments and maximizing their gun’s potential.

Airborne

Those who use SMGs regularly in Call of Duty know full well the joys of moving fast and catching enemy players unaware. Sledgehammer Games understands this, too. Select the Airborne Division to start all of your SMGs with a Suppressor that can be applied (or removed) at will. You’ll lose a bit of top damage, but you won’t appear on the mini-map when you fire a weapon with the Suppressor attached. As you level up this Division, you gain the ability to sprint longer and faster and climb obstacles quicker. This is an excellent build for traditional CoD run-n-gun. The movement abilities are very handy for objective-based modes like War and Capture the Flag. Upon reaching Division Level V, you unlock perhaps the most recognizable German weapon — the MP-40.

Armored

Have you ever dreamed of being a one-man army? Of taking on the whole of the Axis with nothing but an LMG in one hand and its bullet belt in the other? Of basically being every great 80s action hero? Good news! There’s a Division just for you and it’s called Armored.

Staying true to its namesake, the Armored Division progressively makes you more resistant to fire and explosive damage, not to mention immunity to the shell shock effects of explosives and Tactical Equipment. You also receive an LMG Bipod for any LMG you select, which allows you to set up shop just about anywhere you can go prone or on any waist-high cover. This Division is great for objective-based modes. The protection from explosives is excellent.

Mountain

Silent, invisible and deadly at uncontestable ranges, the Mountain Division is where snipers are at their best. Working through this Division grants you the following: invisibility to UAVs; makes you untraceable to enemy Scorestreaks; and silent to the enemy’s ears. Beyond that, you can temporarily hold your breath when using any sniper rifle; this helps steady the rifle until it is fired. If your heart belongs to sniper rifles, then this Division belongs to you. Mountain is also for those who enjoy stealth gameplay. It’s great for S&D and very effective for flanking with an SMG.

Expeditionary

The best close-range players will say that having a good close-range weapon isn’t enough: you need “gap closers” to seal the deal. Use equipment as the gap closers. Tactical Equipment can be used to stun, slow and blind enemies, while Lethal Equipment can be used to cut off enemies ahead, or kill them outright. Every shotgun used while in this Division will have Incendiary Shells, which ignite enemies upon contact. It’s not a huge boost in damage, but it adds just enough to turn the tides of battle in your favor. As you rise through the ranks, you increase the amount of Tactical and Lethal equipment, gain the ability to throw that equipment faster, further and while sprinting, and finally, gain the ability to resupply your equipment from enemies that you killed. Expeditionary excels at clearing enemies off objectives, particularly in War and Hardpoint.