BO7 Season 5 Weapons: Level All 4 New Guns Before the Weekend

The short answer

Black Ops 7 Season 5 landed on July 23, 2026, and it added four new weapons — and if you want all of them maxed before the launch weekend is over, you need a plan, not just playtime. Black Ops 7 and Warzone Season 05 launched Thursday, July 23, 2026 (~9 AM PT, the standard seasonal rollout time), and it adds four new weapons. Two come from the Battle Pass, two are locked behind grindy in-game events. As of Season 5, that split is what decides how you spend your first few days.

Let me save you the reading: the guns are the FG42 assault rifle, the dual-wield Gremlin SMG, the Mammoth LMG, and the Mace melee weapon. Two come through the Battle Pass — the FG42 assault rifle (early tier) and the dual-wield Gremlin SMG (later tier) — so you unlock them by buying and progressing the pass. The other two, the Mammoth LMG and the Mace melee weapon, are free but gated behind in-game Events and Weekly Challenges you have to grind out across the season.

Quick-start checklist

1. Buy and progress the Season 5 Battle Pass — FG42 unlocks early, Gremlin later.
2. Grab the FG42 first. It's the launch-day meta AR and every lobby will be running it.
3. Start the Weekly Challenge chains for the Mammoth LMG and Mace as soon as they're live.
4. Pick your leveling map: Dig for close-range weapon XP, Frequency for steady 6v6.
5. Knock out camo challenges while you level, not after — double-dip your matches.

What changed and why it matters

Season 5 is a big one. Season 5 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is shaping up to be the biggest content drop the game has seen yet. Five multiplayer maps, a brand-new round-based Zombies map, a fresh Warzone POI, three new weapons, and a stack of limited-time modes are all on the table.

Here's the part that matters for weapon grinders: three new multiplayer maps arrived on day one. Jubilee is the brand new 6v6 map, set in a rural Japanese town mid festival, joined by remastered versions of Frequency (from Black Ops 4) and Dig (originally Courtyard from World at War, later reworked in Black Ops 2). More maps means more lanes to farm weapon XP — and Dig is your friend if you want fast, close-range kills. Dig in particular is a small map, so expect fast, punishing gunfights there from the start.

This is also likely the last full season before the franchise pivots. Because Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Season 5 is being framed as the closing chapter before the franchise pivots entirely to Modern Warfare 4, expect a heavier marketing push, a longer trailer, and slightly more effort than the usual seasonal shrug. Translation: if you care about your completionist camos and calling cards on this title, the clock is running.

The four new weapons, ranked by how fast you'll want them

Every launch-day lobby is about to be flooded with the same four guns. The players who unlock and level them first get to actually enjoy the honeymoon window — before Treyarch nerfs whatever's overtuned.

1. FG42 — Assault Rifle (Battle Pass, early)

Get this one first. At launch, you'll be able to unlock the FG42 assault rifle, a modernized version of the WW2 weapon with serious damage and almost no horizontal recoil, and the dual Gremlin SMGs, which trade the ability to aim down sights for extreme firepower. FG42 Assault Rifle (Battle Pass) — Full-auto assault rifle. Excellent damage and respectable rate of fire. Balanced by slower handling and short open-bolt delay. The FG42 is the gun everyone will be running on day one, so leveling it first keeps you competitive instead of playing catch-up.

2. Gremlin — SMG (Battle Pass, later tier)

Worth the wait for close-range players. Gremlin SMG (Battle Pass) — Full-auto dual submachine guns. Excellent mobility and firepower, limited at range by inability to ADS. The Gremlin SMG is worth watching closely for close-range Multiplayer and Warzone builds. SMGs with new attachment options tend to find their way into the meta fast, especially on smaller maps like Dig and Turbo Tilt.

3. Mammoth — LMG (in-season, free)

This is where the grind kicks in. Mammoth LMG (in-season) — Full-auto light machine gun. Twin reciprocating barrels provide massive damage with manageable recoil. Slow rate of fire, mobility, and handling. You unlock it by completing the in-game Event and its associated Weekly Challenges during Season 05. Since the Mammoth is an LMG, expect the challenge chain to require LMG-class kills — which is why leveling a fresh LMG in low-skill lobbies (or using a boost) is the fastest route.

4. Mace — Melee (in-season, free)

The collector's pick. Mace Melee Weapon (in-season) — Melee weapon. High damage, long range, and slow attack speed. Like the Mammoth, it's tied to challenges rather than pass tiers, so you'll be grinding specific melee kills to earn it.

Weapon	Class	How to unlock	Priority
FG42	Assault Rifle	Battle Pass (early)	Get it first
Gremlin	SMG (akimbo)	Battle Pass (later)	High
Mammoth	LMG	Events + Weekly Challenges	Grind
Mace	Melee	Events + Weekly Challenges	Optional

The updated leveling method, step by step

1. Unlock the FG42 off the pass, throw on your fastest-ADS attachments, and jump into 6v6.
2. Farm on the right maps. Season 5 adds Jubilee, Frequency, Dig, Turbo Tilt, and Descent, creating new opportunities for weapon XP farming. Use smaller maps like Dig for close-range weapon challenges. Play Frequency for consistent 6v6 engagements.
3. Start the Mammoth and Mace challenge chains the moment the event goes live — some Weekly Challenges rotate, so don't leave them until the last week.
4. Stack camos while you level. Complete Weekly Challenges throughout the season to unlock new Attachments, the Mace Melee Weapon, Camo rewards, and XP. Plus, unlock over 40 Weapon Camos earnable throughout Season 05.

If you're chasing Prestige Master on the new guns, our Black Ops 7 weapon prestige guide breaks down whether the extra grind past max level is actually worth it.

Numbers and what to expect

Be honest about the time cost. A single AR from stock to fully maxed in normal public matchmaking realistically runs several hours of XP grinding, and that's assuming you land good matches with double XP tokens. Two Battle Pass guns plus two challenge-gated weapons — with LMG-class and melee kill requirements — can eat a full weekend if you play them straight. The Mammoth is the biggest time sink because slow LMGs are punishing in the open lobbies you'll be dropping into.

One shortcut a lot of players lean on: leveling in low-skill lobbies so the kills come faster. Just know the honest caveat — no method is officially sanctioned by Treyarch, and nobody can promise anything is "100% ban-proof." If you want the full risk breakdown, we cover it in our guide on bot lobbies and bans.

What's next

Expect the meta to shift once the mid-season Reloaded update lands. Mid season adds Turbo Tilt, a Nuketown themed map shrunk down inside a working pinball machine, plus a new Freerun map called Descent. And since launch day brings the Eidskallen Lighthouse survival map, a frozen slice of Totenreich with round milestone rewards, plus Directed Mode support for Kowakujo and a new Rogue Run playlist called Astra Malorum, Zombies players have their own fast-leveling routes too.

Maxing all four Season 5 weapons the manual way — FG42, Gremlin, Mammoth, and Mace — is a full weekend of grinding, and the Mammoth's LMG challenges alone can burn hours in unforgiving lobbies. If you'd rather spend that time actually playing the new maps, our BO7 weapon leveling servicefrom $29.99 takes your chosen guns straight to Prestige Master through manual play, with you staying in control of your account.