How Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout Character Missions work, and how to unlock them

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Unlock all the bonus characters to use in Blackout, Black Ops 4's battle royale mode

The Black Ops 4 Blackout character missions are very unique challenges in the battle royale mode that you need to complete if you want to unlock all the possible characters. These range from members of the ever-popular Black Ops Zombies modes to other multiplayer favorites, but rather than buying what are essentially character skins in a store, you have to unlock them through these character missions in Black Ops 4.

Character missions will appear on your mission screen when you've picked up the required item(s), letting you know what you need to do in order to unlock that character. You'll find these items in Supply Boxes, on dead enemies, and other lootable objects across the Black Ops 4 Blackout map, but I'd focus on looting Supply Boxes and Supply Drops primarily.

It's also worth noting that all the challenges in the Character Missions will need to be completed in a single match. So if you get KO'd, you'll have to find the specific item for that character - or any of the others - and start the whole process again. Treyarch does like testing players, so these are all very much a challenge. And what's great is that the Blackout Character Missions are all secret until you find that certain object, so this guide is cobbled together from Reddit and other community outlets as players discover the various quests. 

It's also worth noting that not all of the Black Ops 4 Blackout Character Missions are currently live in the game, so expect Treyarch to roll them all out steadily.

Regardless, we'll be keeping it updated as new intel comes in on these Black Ops 4 Blackout Character Missions, so keep us bookmarked.

Blackout Character Missions - Icons

Reznov

- Currently unavailable

NB - Reznov's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until we know how to unlock him

Mason

- Currently unavailable

NB - Mason's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until we know how to unlock him

Woods

- Find Woods's Bandana  
- Ride in a helicopter in the same match

NB - Woods's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until you start seeing his Bandana in Blackout.

Menendez

- Get the Locket item
- Kill an enemy with a shotgun
- Kill an enemy with a melee attack

NB - Menendez's Character Mission is currently unavailable so you won't see the Locket in game for a while.

Ranger

- Reach Echelon 20 in Blackout

Frogman

- Reach Echelon 40 in Blackout

Airborne

- Reach Echelon 60 in Blackout

Seal

- Reach Echelon 80 in Backout

Battle Hardened

- Prestige Blackout

Blackout Character Missions - Multiplayer

Battery

- Kill enemies using Battery's War Machine Grenade Launcher
- Finish in top 15

Battery's War Machine Grenade Launcher is lurking in a Supply Drop somewhere, so you'll need to find that, and then finish in the top 15, no doubt killing some foes along the way. 

NB - Battery's Character Mission is currently unavailable so you won't find the War Machine in Supply Drops in Blackout right now

Firebreak

- Get a clean kill or sweep a downed player using any method that uses fire
- Finish a round with the Burned Doll in your inventory

You'll need to find the Burned Doll, found in random loot drops, and then fulfil your inner pyro in the same match.

NB - Firebreak's Character Mission is currently unavailable so you won't find the Burned Doll in Blackout yet

Nomad

Character Mission currently unknown

NB - Nomads's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until we know how to unlock him

Prophet

Character Mission currently unknown

NB - Prophet's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until we know how to unlock him

Ruin

- Collect Grapple Gun from missing pieces (Number of pieces currently unknown)
- TBC

At present it's not known how many Grapple Gun pieces you'll need to collect from Supply Drops or what you'll need to do with it when you've got it. We'll be trying to finish this through the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for updates. 

NB - Ruin's Character Mission is currently unavailable so you won't find the Grapple Gun on the Blackout map at the moment

Seraph

- Collect the Annihilator weapon
- Kill enemies with the Annihilator
- Finish in the top 15
- Finish the match with the Annihilator in your inventory

You'll need to find the Annihilator in a Supply Drop, kill enemies with it, finish in the top 15 and still have the Annihilator in your inventory all in one match. Tricky.

NB - Seraph's Character Mission is currently unavailable so you won't find the annihilator on the Blackout map at the moment

Ajax

- Loot three armor plates from fallen enemies
- Finish the match with the armor plates in your inventory

You'll find Broken Armor Plating randomly when looting other fallen players, but you'll need to find three in one match and finish with them in your inventory in that same match to unlock Ajax.

Crash

- Complete the match in the top three
- Complete the game with 15 healing items in your inventory
- Complete the match with Poker Chip in your inventory

You will randomly find the Poker Chip when looking Trauma cases, but you'll need to do the other two objectives in the same match. 

Recon

- Finish the match with the 1 Ching Coins in your inventory
- Avoid collapse damage from the circle
- Finish in the top 15

As with all the other challenges, you'll need to do all of this in one match, after finding the 1 Ching Coins item in supply drops or other supply boxes.

Torque

- Must deploy two Razor Wires
- Must deploy a Barricade
- Must place in the top 15
- Must have the Note from Torque in your inventory

You'll need to do all of the above in a single match in order to unlock Torque for Blackout.

Blackout Challenges - Zombies

Shadow Man

- Buy the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Season Pass

No tricks or challenges for this one, just good old spending of that real-world dosh.

Dempsey

- Collect Death Machine weapon
- Kill Zombies with the Death Machine
- Finish the match in the top 10

You'll find the Death Machine weapon will arrive as a random drop when killing zombies, then you'll need to use it to kill even more zombies before completing the match in the top 10.

NB - Dempsey's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until you start seeing the Death Machine drop

Nikolai

- Collect Cymbal Monkey Bomb
- Kill zombies across the Blackout map
- Finish the match in the top 10

You'll find the Cymbal Monkey in drops when you kill Zombies, so aim for them if you want Dempsey in your roster.

NB - Seraph's Character Mission is currently unavailable so you won't see the Cymbal Monkey in Blackout for a time.

Richtofen

- Collect the Ray Gun weapon
- Kill Zombies with the Ray Gun
- Finish the match in the top five

Finding the Ray Gun in Blackout is all about focusing on the zombies, which will give you a chance of getting the Ray Gun drop when you take them out. After you've got it, kill some folks with it and then aim for that golden ticket of finishing in the top five.

NB - Richtofen's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until you start seeing the awesome Ray Gun in Blackout

Takeo

- Collect Katana weapon
- Kill zombies with the Katana
- Finish the match in the top 10

As with the other Zombies Characters, you'll find the Katana is a potential random drop you can pick up while killing zombies in Blackout. Use that to dismember some more, and then aim to complete in that coveted top 10. 

NB - Takeo's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until you start seeing the Katana appear in Supply Drops

Bruno

Character Mission currently unknown

NB - Bruno's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until we know how to unlock him

Diego

Character Mission currently unknown

NB - Diego's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until we know how to unlock him

Scarlett

- Collect Racing Goggles
- Collect Scarf
- TBC

Currently the rest of the mission is unconfirmed, but we'll bring you more details when we've managed to find both the goggles and the scarf in one match. Get killing Zombies folks!

NB - Scarlett's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until we know how to unlock her

Shaw

Character Mission currently unknown

NB - Shaw's Character Mission is currently unavailable so it might be a bit of a wait until we know how to unlock him

Want more Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 content? Why not check out our guide for all the Black Ops 4 Blackout Challenges and the secretive Black Ops 4 Dark Ops Challenges.

Sam Loveridge
Sam Loveridge
Brand Director, GamesRadar+

Sam Loveridge is the Brand Director and former Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar. She joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.