Author: Nik Ranger

Vanguard Zombies update implements Ray Gun & Decimator Shield changes after community feedback Sledgehammer GamesCall of Duty’s latest Zombies update implemented Decimator Shield changes requested by the community, as well as several to the Ray Gun. Along with an update to Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games also rolled out a fresh patch for Vanguard’s Zombies that buffed the Ray Gun, and more. The Ray Gun wasn’t added until months after Vanguard’s initial release, which was widely mocked by players. However, this latest update provides a nice buff to the weapon. Ray Gun buffed in Vanguard Zombies Following community feedback, the classic weapon was met with increased base damage, Pack-a-Punch damage, splash damage radius, ammo count, and ammo pickups. Base damage also increased from 300 to 400, and Pack-a-punch damage will now increase by a factor of 50% at each tier. Besides the changes to the Ray Gun, changes to zombie speed on Terra Maledicta were also addressed, as well as changes to the Decimator Shield. The Decimator changes were requested by the community as well, and increase the base melee damage and its effectiveness on enemy zombies. The full list of Zombies changes from the February 22 CoD patch can be found below, per Sledgehammer: ZOMBIES UPDATES Addressed an issue where zombies could move at slower speeds than intended in “Terra Maledicta.” – Super sprinters will now show up by Round 12 as intended. – Ray Gun Increased base damage, Pack-a-Punch damage, splash damage radius, ammo count, and ammo pickups per community feedback. – Base damage increased from 300 to 400. – Pack-a-Punch Tier I damage increased from 600 to 900. – Pack-a-Punch Tier II damage increased from 1200 to 1800. – Pack-a-Punch Tier III damage increased from 2400 to 3600. – Decimator Shield Drastically increased base melee damage per community feedback. – Standard melee attack now kills normal zombies in one hit through Round 12. –

Vanguard Zombies unlimited ammo exploit is totally game-breaking ActivisionIt appears that the new Vanguard Zombies update has played havoc with some of the game’s core mechanics. More precisely, players have found a Deathmachine killstreak exploit that allows it to have unlimited ammo. Treyarch’s January 11 update for Vanguard Zombies added a hefty bit of content to the game mode. Der Anfang is the game’s only map at present, and players have felt “neglected” by the game’s lack of content. However, it appears like things might be turning a corner though. Season 2 promises a ton of new content and features, hopefully including the long-awaited ability to pause the game. For the time being though, players are enjoying the new round-based gameplay and Killstreaks. Yet, one of those Killstreaks is perhaps offering a little too much bang for its buck. The Deathmachine Killstreak is basically a furious, firing freak of nature. A deadly Minigun that can tear through flesh in an instant. It’s a perfect addition to Vanguard Zombies, and a strange exploit is somehow making it more powerful. forengeis11 has found that a simple little exploit can make the Deathmachine churn out a torrent of deadly ammunition, effectively pause, and restock itself. In their video they posted to the CoD Zombies subreddit, they unloaded a barrage of fire on the helpless undead, swapped to their Combat Shield, and the Deathmachine’s ammo had magically replenished. The player repeated the trick several more times during the course of the video and it worked every time. One commenter said: “Literally all you have to do is swap weapons. This game is a mess.” Read More: How to upgrade D.I.E Shockwave in Cold War – It’s unclear at this juncture if it’s the new Combat Shield weapon that causes this unlimited ammo exploit. It may just simply be any weapon you can switch to will cause the Deathmachine to become an unstoppable force of zombie-killing nature.

Vanguard Zombies Season 4 bringing classic round-based “Shi No Numa Reborn” ActivisionVanguard Zombies is finally getting the classic round-based gameplay that the community has always had . This will be coming to the game in Season 4 and will be featured on Shi No Numa “Reborn.” It has been a roller coaster of emotions for Zombies players since Vanguard’s November 2021 release. While people were excited to see Treyarch calling the shots, it has left players feeling disappointed. Der Anfang didn’t deliver the fun that the community was praying for, it seemed that hope was back when the devs revealed round-based gameplay to Shi No Numa in Season 1. However, this was far from what players hoped as there was no major Easter egg and didn’t have “traditional” feel to the mode. But, hope is here once again for Zombies fans, as Treyarch revealed that “classic round-based gameplay” will be coming after Season 3 to Vanguard on Shi No Numa Reborn. Vanguard Zombies finally getting classic round-based We’ve got a lot coming in 2022… including round-based Zombies maps in #Vanguard. Learn about what Treyarch’s working on for Vanguard Zombies, #BlackOpsColdWar Multiplayer & Zombies, Ranked Play, Warzone, and beyond:https://t.co/BCVkyUMGBu pic.twitter.com/4nPeojF3ih — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) April 14, 2022 Season 2 of Vanguard saw little to no content drop into the Zombies mode, but Treyarch claims they still have a lot planned for the remainder of 2022 in the FPS. In a blog post, they said the, “team is focusing its efforts on the groundwork required to bring round-based Zombies to Vanguard.” This will include round-wave spawning systems, fast travel mechanic, door buys, wall weapons, and much more. “Vanguard’s next Zombies map will be a reimagining of the full scope of Shi No Numa.” Featuring a brand-new Main Easter Egg quest, areas, Wonder Weapon, Flogger trap, Pack-a-Punch, and more to be revealed at a later date. It is important to note that this is slated for Season 4 and not the upcoming one. Vanguard Season 3 is slated for April 27 and will likely run about two months. So, this new experience probably won’t hit Vanguard until June or July.

Everything in Vanguard Zombies Season 2: Wonder weapons, new map, full patch notes Sledgehammer GamesThe next chapter in Vanguard Zombies just arrived with the Season 2 update marking the return of the Ray Gun, the introduction of a new Terra Maledicta map, as well as an easter egg inspired by Black Ops 2’s “Origins.” Along with the Vanguard and Warzone Season 2 content drops, Zombies players also got tons of new gameplay aspects to explore in the latest patch. Sledgehammer Games intend to give CoD players a classic Zombies experience in the Vanguard Season 2 update. Veteran players will feel right at home with everything from the Ray Gun returning to map quests being revamped for Vanguard Zombies’ sixth objective. Zombies Terra Maledicta map hub CoD players just received a completely new Zombies experience with the Terra Maledicta launch. The Egyptian backdrop serves as the setting for three new Arenas including Corrupted Lands, Eastern Desert, and the Hall of Truth. Read more: How to unlock KG M40 Assault Rifle in CoD – This all culminates with a battle against Zaballa the Deceiver as players explore all the mysteries of the new story quest. Vanguard Zombies reintroduces the Ray Gun Classic elements from Zombies past have returned in Vanguard Zombies Season 2 with the Ray Gun as one of the new additions. Along with the Ray Gun, players can also find the Decimator Shield as the other new Wonder Weapon that lies on Terra Maledicta. Zombies Terra Maledicta easter egg Zombies fans will tear up the new map for the easter eggs that Treyarch have hidden across the Egyptian grounds. CoD players have been itching for a classic Zombies experience for a while, and having a few secrets across Maledicta will go a long way to satisfying the Zombies faithful. There’s plenty more packed into the Zombies Vanguard Season 2 update, so check out the full Zombie patch notes below, courtesy of Sledgehammer. Full Vanguard Season 2 Zombies patch notes Maps “Terra Maledicta” New Zombies experience located in Egypt available on Feb. 14th. – – Arenas Three new Arenas available in “Terra Maledicta”: Eastern Desert, Corrupted Lands, and Hall of Truth. – – Story Quest New Story Quest available in “Terra Maledicta” starting at 9AM PT / 12PM ET on Feb. 14th. – New Intel New narrative intel available in “Terra Maledicta” to advance the Dark Aether story. – Wonder Weapons Ray Gun Ray Gun Wonder Weapon available via the Mystery Box and loot drops on Feb. 10th. – – Decimator Shield Available via the Story Quest in “Terra Maledicta.” – Added to the Mystery Box once it has been obtained from the Story Quest. – Offers players superior protection and the unique Decimation Blast ability. – – New Ally Vercanna the Last New Dark Aether entity available, featuring the Healing Aura ability via her Artifact, the Wand of the Wilds. – – Enemies Zaballa the Deceiver New enemy type added to “Terra Maledicta” and “Der Anfang.” – – Objectives Sacrifice New Objective type available in “Terra Maledicta,” and added to “Der Anfang” at a later date. – Keep the Syphoncores from feeding on undead essence to stop the hordes from being unleashed. Prevent zombies from filling all three Syphoncores to stop the dark ceremony and complete the Objective. – – Void Modified the way the Objective complete XP bonus is awarded when returning to Stalingrad after a Void Objective in “Der Anfang.” – – Harvest Closed exploits related to the Sin Eater in “Der Anfang.” – – Artifacts Healing Aura New upgradable ability available via Vercanna the Last’s Artifact. – Tiers: Tier I – The Wand of the Wilds summons Vercanna’s Life Energy to instantly heal yourself and allies to full health. – Tier II – Knockdown normal enemies and stun Sturmkriegers near each player. – Tier III – Revive all downed allies. – Tier IV – Revived allies have their lost Perks returned. – Tier V – The Life Energy persists at each location for 10 seconds and continues to heal and revive players. – – – Energy Mine Energy Mine now triggers the Splatterfest Covenant. – – Frost Blast Frost Blast Tier I now freezes Sturmkriegers. – – Aether Shroud Addressed an issue where players weren’t being ignored by zombies after activating Aether Shroud immediately following a Self-Revive. – – Covenants Artifact Ward New ability with three rarities added to the Altar of Covenants on Feb. 10th. – Equip for a chance to trigger your Artifact for free when hit by a melee attack from the rear. – Rarities: Rare: Being hit by a melee attack on the back has a chance to trigger your Artifact – Epic: Being hit by a melee attack on the back has a higher chance to trigger your Artifact. – Legendary: Being hit by a melee attack anywhere has a higher chance to trigger your Artifact. – – – Weapons Season Two KG M40 and Whitley available in Zombies loadouts once unlocked via the Season Two Battle Pass. – – Unlock Challenges New Weapon Unlock Challenges added to Zombies for the Cooper Carbine and Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle. – – Support The Warmachine and Deathmachine can now be obtained from the Mystery Box, chests, and as loot drops from enemies. – Addressed an issue where critical damage was not being correctly displayed for the Warmachine. – – General Addressed various issues with attempting to swap out a melee weapon for a weapon from the ground. – – Pack-a-Punch Camos New Camos Three new camos available at the Pack-a-Punch machine in “Terra Maledicta.” – – General Pack-a-Punch Camos in “Der Anfang” are now animated. – Pack-a-Punch Camos now properly apply to Weapon Blueprints, weapons found in the Mystery Box, and weapons dropped by enemies. – – Challenges Season Challenges New Season Challenges available at the start of Season Two. – Addressed an issue where the Season One Mastery Calling Card was not displayed correctly. – – General Addressed an issue where Launchers and the Combat Shield were not correctly contributing to certain Challenges. – Addressed various UI issues related to Challenges. – – Stability Fixed various stability issues related to Covenants, Objectives, Perks, Power-Ups, and Equipment –

CoD Vanguard Zombies Season 1 update patch notes: New objective, covenants, area, more ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Season 1 patch notes have been revealed and we’ve got all there is to know. From the new objective and area to the latest covenants and weapons, here’s a complate breakdown of the new Zombies update. Season 1 of Vanguard Zombies aims to bring some fresh air to the mode as players have started to lose interest. This content update brings a new objective, Purge, where players can take on this challenge in any Der Anfang arena to earn a new Sacrificial Heart. Players also will have access to 14 new upgrades across five covenants including Dead Wire, Deadshot, and more. Later on this season, Der Anfang will also get a new area called Von List’s Office. Below is a full overview of everything there is to know about the latest Zombies update. CoD Vanguard Season 1 Zombies update: Release date & download size The CoD Vanguard Season 1 update became available to download on December 6 at 9PM PT. Zombies content is yet to unlock, however, as all Season 1 features go live on December 8 at 9AM PT. This allows Zombies fans to get in early and have the latest update installed ahead of time. As soon as December 8 rolls around, everyone will be able to load up the new version of Der Anfang right away. CoD Vanguard Season 1 Zombies update: New ‘Purge’ objective When Der Anfang launched, it did so with just a few key objectives to keep things fresh. Now, one more challenge has entered the mix. Throughout a Purge objective, your goal is to capture Control Runes. Doing so will stop enemies from spawning in. But along your path to these Runes will be Augmentors constantly throwing enemies your way. As always, clearing a round of Purge will land your team with a Sacrificial Heart to spend on some upgrades. CoD Vanguard Season 1 Zombies update: 14 new Covenant Upgrades Speaking of upgrades, Season 1 introduces a staggering 14 new boosts to the Der Anfang experience. Everything from increased damage based on your movement speed, to an aimbot buff that instantly locks you on target for easy headshots. There’s plenty of variation here to have you forming new builds in Zombies. Below is an early list of some highlights: Brimstone: Deal damage to nearby enemies (Rare/Epic/Legendary Rarity). – Deadshot: Aiming down sights snaps the crosshairs to headshot location on enemies. Bonus damage on first crit for each enemy. Removes weapon sway (Rare/Epic Rarity). – Dead Wire: Stuns enemy (Rare/Epic Rarity). Stuns enemy and nearby enemies (Legendary Rarity). – Scrapper: Gain more Salvage from pickups (Rare/Epic Rarity). Gain more Salvage from pickups and Objective rewards (Legendary Rarity). – Swift Vengeance: Deal more damage the faster you move. Activates shortly after you start moving. Fire while sprinting (Rare/Epic Rarity). Activates immediately upon moving (Legendary Rarity). – CoD Vanguard Zombies Season 1 roadmap In the roadmap, we can see that Zombies is getting five new weapons, killstreaks in the Warmachine and Deathmachine, and a revamped Mystery Box that will include launchers. Also, the Tomb of Rituals is set to come sometime during Season 1 which will make your Artifacts even stronger. There’s a lot to be excited about, however, there is still no word on the Main Easter Egg Quest and when that will be released but these events could be building up for that to come in a different season. CoD Vanguard Zombies Season 1: Full patch notes ZOMBIES UPDATES Purge Purge the Augmentors from existence by capturing powerful Control Runes throughout the area. – Augmentors will spawn waves of enemies as a defense mechanism as players attempt to capture the Control Runes. – Survive the enemy waves and successfully capture all Control Runes within the time limit for a perfect Objective completion and bonus rewards (Max Ammo, Max Armor, and Bonus Points power-ups). – Fail to capture all Control Runes before the time limit expires, and a huge horde of zombies will spawn that must be taken down to complete the Objective with standard rewards. – – Wield five new Covenants with 14 total rarity tiers at the Altar of Covenants. Brimstone Deal damage to nearby enemies (Rare/Epic/Legendary). – – Deadshot Aiming down sights snaps the crosshairs to headshot location on enemies. Bonus damage on the first critical attack for each enemy. Removes weapon sway (Rare/Epic). – – Dead Wire Stuns an enemy (Rare/Epic). Stuns an enemy and nearby enemies (Legendary). – – Scrapper Gain more Salvage from pickups (Rare/Epic). Gain more Salvage from pickups and Objective rewards (Legendary). – – Swift Vengeance Deal more damage the faster you move. Activates shortly after you start moving. Fire while sprinting (Rare/Epic). Activates immediately upon moving (Legendary). – – Season One Weapons Once unlocked, players can bring in the all-new Cooper Carbine, Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle, and Sawtooth Melee weapon in their Zombies loadouts at the start of Season One. – – Launchers All Launchers will now be available in loadouts and in the Mystery Box in Zombies at the start of Season One. – – Added new Zombies Career Challenges to the Barracks with unique Calling Card and XP bonus rewards. – Added 20 Zombies Season Challenges to the Barracks with unique Calling Card and XP bonus rewards to earn, including a Season One Master Calling Card for completing all 20 challenges. – Addressed an issue which prevented players from unlocking the Dark Aether Completionist camo. – Addressed an issue that prevented Pack-a-Punched Shotguns with 10 Round Drums from reloading all 10 rounds in a single reload animation. – Addressed an issue that could incorrectly flag un-upgraded weapons as Pack-a-Punch Level 1. – Closed various exploits including out-of-map exploits. – Fixed a stability issue related to the Frost Blast Artifact. – Fixed a stability issue related to multi-kills obtained via Equipment. –

Vanguard Zombies revamped perks revealed: new names, upgrades, system ActivisionCall of Duty Vanguard is on the horizon and the Zombies devs have finally revealed their revamped perks from the names, upgrades, and system they’ll follow. With the release of Vanguard on November 5, players will have access to the Zombies mode that Treyarch is taking control of this year. The first locale has already been announced as Der Anfang. The map takes place on multiple locations including parts of Shi No Numa and in a Normandy-based Windmill location. While the game is leaning more toward objective-based gameplay and a supernatural theme, Treyarch announced they have revamped the perks’ names along with the process to upgrade them in each game. Vanguard Zombies new perks revealed Vanguard will take a different approach than previous Zombies games. Instead of the normal names like Juggernog and Speed Cola, they have shifted to fit the dark magic theme. Here is a list of the five perks that are available at launch and a description of each: Fiendish Fortitude: Increases health. (Juggernog) – Diabolical Damage: Increases critical damage. (Deadshot Daquiri) – Venomous Vigor: Boosts health regeneration speed. (Quick Revive) – Demonic Frenzy: Boosts reload speed. (Speed Cola) – Aethereal Haste: Boosts movement speed. (Stamin-Up) – There are still the likes of the five classic perks to the Zombies franchise but each has a new name to fit into the game’s theme. Vanguard Zombies perk upgrade tiers While each of these perks in Black Ops Cold War had different tiers, upgrading them will work a bit differently in Vanguard. Each perk has four tiers that can be purchased in-game to give them better stats. When you buy a perk you automatically get the first tier, however, you must pay Essence to unlock the next tier. Here is a full list of the perk tier upgrades: Tier 1: Free with perk activation – Tier 2: Pay 2,500 Essence – Tier 3: Pay 5,000 Essence – Tier 4: Pay 7,500 Essence – In Cold War, once you upgrade a perk it would stay forever in future games but in Vanguard it will reset after each game. So players must do this every time to get the full effect from each perk. Not all of the tiers have been revealed but they did tease that Fiendish Fortitude would give an additional 100 health at its max tier. We will update you when all the tiers are revealed.

Vanguard Zombies players trash ‘dumpster fire’ Season 1 update ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard Zombies players are slamming the Season 1 update roadmap as a ‘dumpster fire’ for not including the one thing people have wanted the most. Vanguard Zombies Season 1 comes out on December 8 and with it comes a massive update to Der Anfang. Players are getting new weapons, covenant upgrades, a map area, and more but this isn’t what fans wanted. With no information on a round-based map or a Main Easter egg quest, the community is outraged and some people are even planning to skip this season entirely. Vanguard Zombies players slam Season 1 update Der Anfang is the only map in Vanguard Zombies and plays a lot like Outbreak did in Cold War. This has fans upset as there isn’t a round-based map and Season 1 didn’t change that. This Reddit post by ‘Wattsonmaster667’ has the Zombies community flaming the devs as they aren’t getting any massive additions to the game – they will instead get add-ons to the current map. Players are not getting the two things they want the most, round-based maps or an Easter egg. One person said they don’t plan on even touching this game: “Not touching this until a real map comes out.” Moreover, Redditors united in the thread posting multiple GIFs of a “dumpster fire” to refer to this update. “This s**t is unacceptable, not even a wonder weapon? No new map? F**k this, I’m going to play the Halo campaign and multiplayer.” Zombies streamer ‘CodeNamePizza’ jumped in on the action and tried to fix the roadmap for the community. I fixed the Call of Duty: Vanguard Season 1 Zombies Content… You’re Welcome❤️🍕 pic.twitter.com/zhsFmqeOxz — PIZZA🍕 (@CodeNamePizza) December 6, 2021 Zombie fans have been specifically begging Treyarch for a round-based map on Vanguard. There’s no sign of such a map so far, despite the devs ensuring the idea wouldn’t go away. But that could mean they are returning in their next game which is slated for 2023. As for now, players are stuck with Season 1 that has no classic map or an Easter egg in sight.

Vanguard Zombies players tired of “not being listened to” with round-based maps ActivisionDespite insisting since day one, Vanguard Zombies players are becoming increasingly agitated over the continued disappearance and blanking of a fully-fledged round-based map. It goes without saying that Vanguard’s Der Anfang Zombies will not be held in high esteem when all is said and done. Every new update and announcement is met with anger and frustration with fans claiming Zombies is “unplayable” and “a slap in the face” to CoD fans. The heart and soul of Zombies has always been the creative, round-based maps that get increasingly tougher with every round. The mode is usually packed full of Perks, Wonder Weapons, Easter Eggs, secrets, and more on top of that. As we head towards Season 2 of Vanguard, Treyarch has given no indication that a dedicated round-based map is in development. Will Vanguard Zombies ever get a round-based map? Treyarch’s first major step towards rebuilding the fanbase’s faith was the recent inclusion of a faux round-based variant tucked away in Der Anfang. But players saw through the lackluster attempt to be inclusive, calling the ’round-based’ effort “preschool garbage.” Now, a passionate post on the Zombies subreddit has discussed why the absence of a round-based map is so frustrating. “I mean seriously, they know the whole Zombie community here has been asking for that for months and months since launch last year, so why do they not listen to us who bought their game?” the disgruntled fan said. They continued: “It is so simple. Why are they making this so F-ing difficult? All people have asked for is a standard round-based map with a WW [Wonder Weapon] and EE [Easter Egg] and that is it. People are not asking for anything special, you know? A fresh leak indicated that a new map is in fact on the way with Wonder Weapons that we already know a bit about. However, the map leak had listed underneath “Map Areas,” and there’s a feeling that it’s either an extension of Der Anfang or another map in a similar vein to Vanguard’s existing game mode. We shall have to wait and see.

Vanguard Zombies players slam ‘preschool garbage’ round-based update ActivisionVanguard Zombies hasn’t quite met the community’s hopes thus far. To make matters worse, players are blasting the dev’s round-based update as they feel like a child made it. Zombies has hit a rough patch of grass in the Vanguard season. Despite Treyarch being in charge of the mode, it hasn’t lived up to expectations. Players have had one wish through the game’s life cycle and that was to get the classic round-based maps back. While the devs delivered this with the mid-season update, the community feels scammed and are trashing the round-based Vanguard experience. Vanguard Zombies players frustrated with round-based update https://twitter.com/PoopNac/status/1481254711022043139 Zombies fan ‘PoopNac’ was one of many that were let down after realizing what the new update actually entailed. In a complaint on Twitter, they criticized the game for forcing you to play through “dog s**t Der Anfang or whatever it’s called” to get to the round-based Shi No Numa round-based mode. PoopNac was far from alone in frustrations about the update. A Reddit post by ‘SaltySpa’ had even more members of the community bashing the new patch. SaltySpa’s criticisms followed PoopNac’s, complaining about Shi No Numa just being “a new Der Anfang objective.” While Salty thought everyone would be “crazy disappointed,” another Redditor took things even further: “Literally everything about Der Anfang is preschool-level garbage. Might as well have had no Zombies mode at all in this game.” Fans were expecting a full remake of the World at War map, Shi No Numa, but instead got the spawn room and not much in terms of nostalgic round-based action. The update had given hope to the community, but players appear disappointed in what they ended up receiving. As one Redditor explained, “this is almost like instead of doing the bare minimum, they went a little bit under that. It’s like negative effort somehow.” There’s no telling if Zombies fans will get a traditional map in Vanguard, but one thing is certain, they won’t be satisfied until it happens.

Vanguard Zombies players slam “embarrassing” Ray Gun addition months after release ActivisionCall of Duty Zombies has become a staple of the annual releases. But players are slamming Treyarch’s effort this year and even called it “embarrassing” after the most iconic weapon, the Ray Gun, was finally added months after release. With Cold War’s iteration of Zombies considered as one of the best in the player’s eyes, everyone was excited for Treyarch to be in charge of development for Vanguard. However, it’s been anything but rainbows and sunshine for the community. Nearly every update that Treyarch has released for Vanguard Zombies has been torn to pieces by the players. They have called the game a dumpster fire, an absolute L, and even asked the devs to just update Cold War instead of the new game. While the devs have been clear that they are listening to feedback and want to deliver to the fans, they haven’t hit the mark. Even with Season 2 bringing the famous Ray Gun back to the series, players are still unhappy. Hit the Mystery Box for the Ray Gun and equip the new Artifact Ward Covenant now in #Vanguard Zombies. For everything else coming on Feb. 14, watch for patch notes soon from @SHGames! pic.twitter.com/IMXwQVenw4 — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) February 10, 2022 Vanguard Zombies community not satisfied with Ray Gun Season 2 of Vanguard Zombies is here and with it, the Ray Gun returns to the Mystery Box as a Wonder Weapon. However, this addition still isn’t changing the mood of Zombies lovers. A Reddit post by ‘nuketoober27‘ highlighted the Season 2 roadmap with all the new features that are coming to the game, but players pointed out one major flaw. The top comment with over 1,000 upvotes slammed the dev team saying: “Ray Gun on a roadmap is quite embarrassing though, like c’mon.” The Redditor elaborated by saying that this should have been in the game from the start. Other players chimed in agreeing with how ridiculous it was that the Ray Gun had to be added at a later time. “I can’t believe the Ray Gun is DLC.” While you would think this is a good thing for CoD, apparently the community doesn’t. When you think of Zombies, you think of the Ray Gun and players aren’t forgiving Treyarch for adding this staple as they feel that it came way too late.

Vanguard Zombies players “disgusted” with lackluster holiday update ActivisionWhile many people are saying “Tis the Season!” Vanguard Zombies players are left dumbfounded as the holiday update lacked detail for the game mode. When Season 1 finally arrived to Vanguard and Zombies, players called it a dumpster fire as there was nothing major introduced. However, fans remained hopeful when it was revealed the Festive Fervor would be bringing some changes to Der Anfang. but they quickly had everything inch of hope ripped out when they saw what happened. Zombies players blast holiday update lack of detail The 2021 Call of Duty holiday update brought loads of changes to Vanguard and Warzone but not the popular Zombies mode. This Reddit post by ‘Dapper-Geologist-468’ has the community in shambles as the festive cheer that Stalingrad received was not exactly what everyone expected. Der Anfang consists of multiple areas that players can teleport to and complete objectives. But sadly, the holiday spirit on doesn’t go anyway past the starting room. To make it worse, Zombies players were fuming to see that all the map got was “some Christmas lights.” One Redditor said, “Do the devs not feel embarrassed? Like as much as I hate my job if I literally put zero effort in I would still feel a little guilt for delivering such a s**t product.” Others chimed in with their disappointment for Vanguard Zombies thus far. There still isn’t a round-based map or a main Easter egg quest, so the lackluster festive update just further dug the hole the community views the game in. It is unsure if the devs at Treyarch are listening to players but one thing is certain, many are quitting the game as Der Anfang is being called the “Worst map ever.”

Vanguard Zombies players blast “unplayable” mode after January 20 update ActivisionCoD Vanguard’s Zombies hasn’t had the smoothest launch, with many players unhappy with the state of mode since it dropped. Now, after the mid-season update, the graphics are completely broken, leaving the mode “unplayable.” It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Vanguard Zombies. Ever since its launch, CoD players have criticized the lack of features and sup-par updates. Even the addition of the classic Shi No Numa map wasn’t enough to salvage the mode’s reputation, with many fans calling it a “slap in the face.” However, it’s the bugs and glitches that seem to have caused the most frustration among the community. Following the most recent update, the graphics in the mode are totally broken, making it incredibly difficult to even play. The issue was highlighted in a post from Reddit user SecretlyHiddenSelf, which showed just how busted the visuals are currently. Even when the player was simply looking around, without any undead around, the mode was a graphical mess. When the player looked up, their screen became overrun with crazy polygons where the sky should be. It continued when they look towards one of the many buildings, the structure was immediately consumed by the strange shapes. Other players responded mentioning that they had also experienced graphical issues. “Something similar happened to me the other day on Xbox, couldn’t see the floor or anything just the buildings,” said one reply. How to fix Vanguard Zombies graphics glitch Thankfully, if you’re playing on PC there is an easy way to curb these issues and make Zombies run as intended. Players have noted that reverting your NVIDIA driver back to an older version seems to fix the visuals. Here’s the quick and easy way to do it: Head over to NVIDIA’s website – Click on ‘drivers’ – Input your PCs details – Choose to download version 497.29 – Once you do this, you should be good to start slaying Zombies without interruption. If you don’t want to fiddle with your PCs setting, or you’re experiencing issues on consoles, then you will sadly have to wait for a patch to roll out. Sledgehammer are yet to comment on the glitch, but players should be able to expect a fix in the coming days.

Vanguard Zombies players angry with new “2 hour” pause feature announcement ActivisionCoD Zombies players have responded to Treyarch’s new pause feature announcement with much ridicule and condemnation, saying the Vanguard addition is the “laziest content yet for Zombies.” It’s not often a developer announces that players can pause the game, several months after it launched, but that’s what Treyarch have done with Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Zombies mode. It’s the first-ever Call of Duty Zombies title to not launch with a Solos pause feature, and the initial realization was shocking to fans. But after promising that a pause feature would be implemented at some point, it has finally launched. However, many Vanguard Zombies fans are in disbelief at the announcement for a variety of different reasons. Vanguard Zombies fans pause for thought Fans being unhappy with the Vanguard’s attempt at Zombies is nothing new as they’ve been very outspoken about the state of the popular game mode since launch. Lacking content, barebones updates, the game has seen it all. But the lack of a pause feature for solo games was mystifying to many, but it did have a reason. Vanguard Zombies is the first instance of undead-killing taking place on dedicated servers, meaning the game can’t be paused. Yet, Treyarch have been able to implement some kind of delay thanks to Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded. https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1505955537766301699?s=20&t=O4mAPFyo2-wTfAnDjcUiuw But, the basicness of the feature has left Zombies fans criticizing the devs for announcing something that should’ve been in from the start. “Bruh, this has always been in these modes since day 1, why is this an announcement of an exciting new feature? What a joke.” said one player. With this being the first test of a pause feature for dedicated servers, there’s every chance it could be tinkered with in the future to be more accommodating to Vanguard Zombies players seeking marathon games.

Vanguard Zombies most OP strategy uses Machine Gun Rocket Launcher ActivisionRocket Launchers are notoriously destructive, but one player has managed to concoct an insane Machine Gun Rocket Launcher loadout in Call of Duty’s Vanguard Zombies and it’s ludicrously OP. Despite Vanguard Zombies not being a huge success, there are clearly still enough players engaging with the game mode. A lackluster Season 1 update has not deterred all players, and it means that there are always new sneaky OP classes to make. Most players default to an LMG to be able to mow down a ton of flesh-eating pests. Or even a properly Pack-A-Punched Shotgun like the Combat Shotgun to relentlessly punch holes in enemies. But one type of class that is often overlooked, apart from for camo challenges, is Launchers. One player has managed to make use of Der Anfang’s various abilities and upgrades to fashion a new type of Machine Gun. One of the new gameplay features that elevates Vanguard Zombies and tries to make it stand out from previous iterations is the Altar of Sacrifice. An RNG system that allows players to acquire up to three modifiers of varying rarities to increase damage output and manipulate their playstyle to their liking. Well, a Reddit user has found that Vanguard’s explosive Panzerfaust Launcher works extremely well in conjunction with several Altar of Sacrifice abilities. To make this ridiculously OP loadout, here’s what you’ll need: Level 3 Pack-A-Punched Panzerfaust – Ammo Gremlin ability – Legendary Rarity – Splatterfest ability – Legendary Rarity – The combination of each makes for a simply obscene weapon that would already thrive on its own as Level 3 PAP Panzerfaust. But once you add the AOS abilities, the single-shot Panzerfaust can basically just keep firing rockets — making it a Rocket Launcher Machine Gun. The OP says that with this build: “One-shot ends at about 15 I think,” giving players plenty of time to enjoy OP goodness. It would be ideal for any objective and is the definition of a crowd control weapon, and it looks fun.

Vanguard Zombies leak reveals new map & Wonder Weapons coming in Season 2 ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard Zombies players have been begging for new content to the game mode. Luckily for them, a leak has revealed a new map and two Wonder Weapons that are coming with Season 2. Vanguard Zombies players have been quite disappointed with how things have gone so far. On multiple occasions, they’ve trashed the game’s state and effort that Treyarch has put toward the mode. The community has been asking for new maps, Wonder Weapons, Easter eggs, and other elements to bring the survival mode back to its roots. Luckily, a turn for the better may be on the horizon with the Season 2 update. A new leak is showing that another map and some Wonder Weapons could be coming soon. Vanguard Zombies leak shows map & Wonder Weapons coming https://twitter.com/_Nanikos_/status/1484672722164944897 In a tweet from CoD leaker, ‘Nanikos’ they revealed some information in the game files for Season 2 of Vanguard. Fans were quick to notice two big things coming to Zombies. The first was “New Map: xp_zm_skorpion” which fans are hoping will be different than Der Anfang. However, directly under it was “Map Areas” so this could be a Der Anfang copycat with different zones. That wasn’t the only big intel, there are also two Wonder Weapons that were found in the files. “Raygun/Coolgun Wonder Weapon” and “Shield Wonder Weapon” were listed under Season 2 Zombies content. Zombies’ famous Raygun is set to return but it could be a different version of the weapon as it was called “Coolgun.” Also, the shield Wonder Weapon is a reference to an in-game voice line from completing some objectives on Der Anfang. There were no images that were leaked or found so fans will have to use their imagination until official models are revealed. We will update you when more information becomes available. But, Season 2 was delayed by Activision so it may be a little longer than expected.

Vanguard Zombies leak reveals mysterious new Wonder Weapon ActivisionThe first details on a Vanguard Zombies Wonder Weapon appear to have been leaked ahead of time. Wonder Weapons are expected in the next season of Zombies, but we may have an idea of what to expect. The January 11 Vanguard Zombies update and patch notes unveiled a ton of new information about features coming to the game mode. Aside from the heavily requested pause feature finally being confirmed, a variety of other inclusions were mentioned. One, in particular, got many Zombies fans excited, and that was the mention of Wonder Weapons. Not singular, plural. Long-time Zombies fans were dismayed that none were included at launch, not even a basic Ray Gun. After a “dumpster fire” Season 1 update, Treyarch seem to be making amends, and we may know one of the things they’re planning. Twitter user Nanikos has built up a good reputation of datamining and leaking things ahead of time. This is why one of their latest findings is quite interesting. They posted the following: “A new Wonder Weapon has seemingly been added to the Vanguard files as of the latest update. It is called the coolgun and is also classed as a pistol.” Pistol Wonder Weapons are not uncommon in the Call of Duty Zombies universe, with Cold War having the CRBR-S Wonder Weapon and even the Chrysalax to an extent. https://twitter.com/_Nanikos_/status/1481063154495164417?s=20 We know for definite that Wonder Weapons are on the way with Treyarch saying in the patch notes: “here’s plenty more in the works for Season Two, including multiple Wonder Weapons.” We would expect the Ray Gun to be a foregone conclusion as it’s been the series’ lead special weapon since Call of Duty: World at War. Read More: How to upgrade D.I.E Shockwave in Cold War We can only speculate that either the ‘coolgun’ is a placeholder name, or it could be a cryo-infused gun. But no matter how confident a leaker is, take this information with a hint of caution as it may not turn out to be the case.

Vanguard Zombies January 11 update: Round-based mode, Artifact upgrades, full patch notes ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard Zombies January 11 patch notes have been released and we’ve got all the major details. From the addition of a round-based mode in a new area of Shi No Numa to some major artifact upgrades, this is how the new update breaks down. Ahead of the franchise’s iconic 115 Day, Treyarch have provided all the details on what’s to come in the January 11 update. As promised in the Season 1 patch notes, Der Anfang is receiving a brand new area that holds the key to the game’s newest round-based mode. In addition to that, Artifacts are getting some new upgrades to help later levels a little easier to survive. Vanguard Zombies adds round-based Survival mode & Artifacts upgrades Players have been asking for a round-based mode in Vanguard since the game’s release and Treyarch have come through with the solution. In the new area known as Von List’s office, players will be able to travel into The Void and take on zombies in a more traditional Zombies experience. There is a small catch in that any undead-slayer that wants to try it out will have to dive into Shi No Numa and unlock the office in order to find the necessary portal to start the game. After completing three rounds in The Void, you unlock the option to flee, but otherwise, the enemies will keep flooding in wave after wave. There are special rewards to be earned while fighting in this area, like a bonus ability that prevents Perks from falling below Level II until the end of the game. While getting into the later stages of a round-based mode makes the game much more difficult, some of that pain should be offset by the new Artifact upgrades at the Tome of Rituals. This station will allow players to exchange Sacrificial Hearts for bonuses to their selected power. While Artifacts on their own work similarly to Cold War’s Field Upgrades, these additional buffs make them stronger than before. There are four tiers of upgrades for each Artifact, all of which give a unique bonus that stacks onto the previous tier. In addition to these upgrades, the devs also teased the arrival of the long-requested pause feature and revealed that there are some hints towards the game’s future hidden in The Void. These are just the biggest upgrades to the game though, for the full list of what’s changing, check out the Patch Notes listed below. CoD Vanguard Zombies January 11: Full patch notes SURVIVAL GAMEPLAY COMES TO “SHI NO NUMA” Step through to travel to the Void in “Shi No Numa,” where you’ll advance through rounds by defeating increasingly difficult endless waves of the undead, just like in traditional Zombies from previous games. Clear the current wave of zombies, and the round goes up. Upgrade your weapon at the Pack-a-Punch machine, grind those camos, and survive as long as you can. You know the drill. Once you’ve completed 3 rounds in the Void, you’ll be faced with two choices: Flee or Survive. If you choose to stay and fight, you’ll earn 5,000 bonus Essence for every 3 rounds you survive in the Void. If you make it through 12 rounds or more, you’ll earn a unique reward that prevents your Perks from dropping below Tier II whenever you go down for the rest of the match! Survive long enough, and you might even discover new details about where the story’s heading next. LEVEL UP YOUR ARTIFACTS Tier I – Freezes normal and Special enemies for 3 seconds once they have been in the Frost Blast zone for 0.5 second. – Tier II – Increases the Frost Blast radius by 100%. – Tier III – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 3. – Tier IV – Frozen normal enemies are insta-killed when damaged. – Energy Mine Tier I – Stuns normal and Special enemies hit by Energy Mine for 3 seconds. – Tier II – Explodes 3 times in a row with a 0.75 second delay between explosions. – Tier III – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 3. – Tier IV – Increases the explosion radius by 66%. – Aether Shroud Tier I – Automatically reload weapons when activated. – Tier II – Deal 500% bonus melee damage while active. – Tier III – Gain 50% move speed while active. Duration extended from 5 seconds to 8 seconds. – Tier IV – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 2. – Ring of Fire Tier I – Normal enemies inside the ring take damage equal to 2% of their max HP every second. – Tier II – Players within the ring use ammo from stock. – Tier III – Staying within the ring for up to 10 seconds increases the duration from 15 seconds to 20 seconds. – Tier IV – Staying within the ring for up to 10 seconds increases your damage bonus from +50% to +75%. – Your Dark Aether powers will become indispensable at high rounds with these upgrades, with each Artifact playing a far more important role for your squad’s survival than before. Try experimenting with each new set of upgrades, and you may just discover your new go-to ability. NEW PACK-A-PUNCH CAMOS Each time you upgrade your weapon of choice at the Pack-a-Punch, it will be wrapped in a unique camo to visually set it apart from the weapon’s base version. Your camo will change in appearance with each new Pack-a-Punch upgrade up to Tier III, and pre-Packed loot weapons will also display these new camos once you pick them up from the Mystery Box or defeated Sturmkreigers. NEW SUPPORT WEAPONS Killstreak weapons are joining the Support menu at the Crafting Table! When you need some extra firepower against the undead or you find yourself cornered in the Void, bring out the big guns and cause some carnage. EXPAND YOUR ARSENAL We’re bringing some protective gear to your loadouts and the Mystery Box this week, along with two more weapons unlockable through in-game challenges. Get ready to add the Combat Shield, Katana, and brand-new Welgun SMG to your collection with this week’s update! You’ll also be able to unlock the Katana melee weapon and the new Welgun SMG for your loadouts via two new Zombies weapon unlock challenges in this update: Katana: In Zombies, get 5 rapid kills with a Melee weapon during 50 different Portal Objectives. – Welgun SMG: In Zombies, get 5 rapid Critical Kills with an SMG during 50 different Portal Objectives. – DEDICATED SERVER PAUSE INCOMING Let’s be honest… moving Zombies to an infrastructure hosted entirely on dedicated servers for the first time in a new engine hasn’t been a seamless experience. In the past, traditional Zombies lobbies ran on player-hosted servers, which were often prone to a myriad of issues, depending on the player’s connection and several other factors. While the gameplay experience should now be smoother across the board for matches of all sizes on dedicated servers in Vanguard, the process of pausing said servers for Solo and single-player Private matches isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Like all of you, we wanted Dedicated Server Pause for solo players to be included sooner, and the amount of work required to get it right has frankly taken longer than we would’ve liked. Thanks for your patience while we wrap up its implementation in an upcoming update. LOOKING AHEAD If you’ve been paying attention to the narrative intel and conversations between our Dark Aether entities in Season One, you might have an idea of where we’re headed in Season Two. In addition to a new hub map located elsewhere on the globe, we’ll be taking players to multiple arenas, including the Dark Aether itself in a completely original location crafted for Vanguard Zombies. There’s plenty more in the works for Season Two, including multiple Wonder Weapons, more survival gameplay, a new story quest, the introduction of a new Dark Aether entity, a new enemy type, new Objective gameplay, and more. We’re also already working on future Zombies content, and we’re not even done updating our roster of Operators in Black Ops Cold War…

Vanguard Zombies graphics bug turns whole map into The Matrix ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard’s already notoriously troubled Zombies mode has run into another issue. A weird glitch can occur that messes up the game, transforming it into a bright, broken disco that resembles a scene from one of the famous Matrix films. It’s quite apt that a new Matrix film has just been released as Vanguard Zombies has inadvertently paid tribute to it and the franchise. Weird texture glitches are nothing we haven’t seen in Call of Duty before. Warzone’s demon glitch has grown into a horrifying new level of terror, whereas Krampus’ textures simply haven’t loaded for many, leaving them exposed to his powers of invisibility. Vanguard itself appears to be having its own problems, namely, its Zombies mode. The lone Der Anfang map has drawn criticism from long-time fans for being devoid of content. But now it’s developed a new problem that it seems could randomly happen to unfortunate players. One player’s first experience with Treyarch’s latest Zombies effort didn’t go too well after the game descended into a glitch-fest. u/curiousmind011 was trying to complete the new Purge objective when their game decided to malfunction. The area they were in became a sea of brightly-colored pixels and flashing lights. The map resembled one of the final scenes of the original 1999 Matrix film when Neo can suddenly see everything and can see The Matrix itself. When in fact, this was Vanguard being very buggy and broken. One amusing comment remarked: “This The Matrix? Haven’t seen this map before,” whereas the majority of players advised the player to make this their one and only time they played Vanguard Zombies. The Season 1 content update hasn’t been wholly received, and bugs like this will do nothing to appease disgruntled Zombies fans. More is due midseason, and it remains to be seen if this glitch is fixed by then, and what new content is added to flesh out Zombies a bit more.

Vanguard Zombies exploit instantly reloads weapons with broken pause feature ActivisionThe highly requested pause feature has landed in Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies and, along with a couple of caveats, the function seems to be giving players an ammo exploit to continually moe down Zombies. It’s taken a few months, but Vanguard Zombies is starting to resemble the classic undead experience that long-time fans know and love. Along with the new Wonder Weapons and Terra Maledicta Easter Egg, players have a decent amount of content to sink their teeth into. One of the biggest new additions to CoD Zombies in Vanguard is the ability to pause a live Solo game. Due to the new infrastructure of Zombies, dedicated servers have given the devs a headache in how to handle pausing but they figured it out. Despite the new feature not being implemented completely how players would like, it has actually, unintentionally, arrived with another side effect. Unlimited ammo clip glitch in CoD Vanguard Zombies Due to unknown reasons, potentially due to some kind of desync process caused by the server pausing, it appears as if players enjoying the game Solo can perform uninterrupted reloads, giving them a constant stream of bullets. Redditor Adventurous_Ad6435 showed off the discovery en-route to completing one of Vanguard Zombies’ objectives. While trying to fight off a hoard of flesh-eating undead, the player was in the process of reloading the large mag for their MG 42. During the animation, they paused the game, unpaused it, and even though the animation was about to continue, a cursory glance of the weapon’s ammo counter would show that it was now back up to full capacity. The already frosty reception to Vanguard’s new pause button was further underlined by some spicy comments to the newest glitch: “I’m amazed they keep trying to fix this mess,” said one user. Whereas other players appear to have lost complete patience with the game: “The game is in f**king shambles, hurts my brain when I realize people actually try to defend Vanguard.” Unlike most other glitches and bugs in Vanguard, this one could be a bit dicier to fix, and we’ll keep checking to see if Treyarch acknowledges the issue.

Vanguard Zombies Dark Aether Entities & Artifacts revealed: Elder God ‘ultimates’ ActivisionWith Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies around the corner, Treaych have revealed the Dark Aether Entities and Artifacts that allow players to wield the power of the Elder Gods. As the Dark Aether story continues from Black Ops Cold War, Vanguard Zombies is upping the intensity in this game. With a new focus on objective-based maps like Der Anfang, this year of Zombies is looking to put a fresh spin on a classic game mode. The team at Treyarch have revealed new powers for players to use in attempts to take down Wolfram Von List and Kortifex the Deathless. Vanguard Zombies Dark Aether Entities & Artifacts Vanguard Zombies is truly embracing the dark magic in this game. Instead of specialist weapons that were found in Black Ops 4, this game will have artifacts that players can call upon. The four Elder Gods you can call to are Saraxis the Shadow, Bellekar the Warlock, Inviktor the Destroyer, and Norticus the Conqueror, each wields an ultimate ability. Here are the abilities that these entities hold: Dragon of Saraxis: Spawns an Aethereal explosive, dealing massive damage to enemies who set it off. – Mask of Bellekar: Cloaks you in Dark Aether, masking your presence from enemies for 5 seconds. – Sword of Inviktor: Sparks a ring of Aethereal flame to boost damage for anyone within its radius for 15 seconds. – Horn of Norticus: Summons a frigid vortex, damaging enemies with the initial blast and slowing those that enter. – Nothing was made official but you will likely need to select which Dark Aether lord you want to use prior to starting a match. Also, it was not exactly revealed how often these will be available but we could look at previous Treyarch Zombies games to get an idea. In Black Ops 4, players needed to get kills in order to charge up their specialist weapon, and in Cold War, it was the same process to activate a Field Upgrade. So players can expect to need kills in order to use this dark magic to take down hordes of Zombies. Vanguard is set to release on November 5, and can be pre-loaded on November 2.

Vanguard Zombies Altar of Covenants revealed: powerful new abilities & upgrades ActivisionTreyarch has revealed the first look at the new Altar of Covenants mechanic in Vanguard Zombies which allows players to wield multiple passive boosts to their operator while they tackle the horde of the undead. Call of Duty Vanguard’s new Zombies mode is arriving with a host of new features and mechanics. Alongside the revamped Perk system and the inclusion of four Dark Aether Entities and their artifacts, the Altar of Covenants brings a new layer of strategy to the traditional Zombies experience. The Covenants range from replacements for familiar Perks like Quick Revive to new ideas like Bloodlust, which allows players to deal more damage with their melee attacks as well as heal for a portion of the damage they do. Each of these new upgrades aims to bring a new flavor to the battlefield for an experience that is unique to Vanguard. What is the Altar of Covenants in Vanguard Zombies? The Altar of Covenants is a new station that will allow characters to equip one of 11 abilities to help them survive the endless zombie onslaught. These boosts mostly provide passive advantages for your character, and each one brings a new dynamic to a squad’s survival strategy. Some of these abilities, like Cryofreeze and Brain Rot, will be familiar to returning players but there are several original additions as well. Bloodlust: Melee attacks do more damage and heal you. – Resurrectionist: Revive allies faster. – Brain Rot: Chance to turn enemies to your side. – Cryofreeze: Chance to slow enemies. – Death Blow: Critical kills return bullets to the clip. – Ammo Gremlin: Stowed weapons refill ammo from stock automatically. – Dead Accurate: Consecutive hits on the same enemy do more damage. – Splatterfest: Enemies killed by explosions may explode. – Unholy Ground: Deal more damage while stationary. – Cull the Weak: Deal more damage to slowed or stunned enemies. – Mother Lode: Chance to keep Equipment after using it. – How does the Altar of Covenants work? Players will be able to equip three of these Covenants at a time and the available set of bonuses will rotate after each objective is completed, allowing individuals to shop around for their ideal combination of powers. These abilities can also be upgraded, making each boost more potent than before. In their latest Zombies update, Treyarch stressed just how powerful these effects can be when paired together. “The true strength of Covenants lies in their upgraded rarities, however. For example, while the Rare version of Cull the Weak deals +50% damage to slowed or stunned enemies, the Legendary version can deal a whopping +100% base damage in addition to +100% critical damage. Combine that with Cryofreeze and Dead Accurate, and you’ll be shredding through zombies in no time… as long as you can hit your targets and stay alive.” You’ll be able to put these new powers to the test when Vanguard launches on November 5.

Vanguard weapons still dominate Warzone meta despite Modern Warfare gun buffs ActivisionDespite the buffs to Modern Warfare weapons in Season 4 Reloaded, and the much more varied meta that has come from it, Vanguard weapons still dominate the Warzone meta almost entirely across the board. As with the natural cycle of Warzone, the current mainline CoD game is always atop the meta. When Black Ops Cold War first came out, guns like the DMR, Mac 10, and C58 worked their way into the meta, and that was no different when Vanguard dropped in 2021. While guns like the NZ41, Automaton, and STG have sifted in and out of the Warzone meta, and the NZ being a completely dominant force with a very high pick rate throughout the early days of Season 4, the Season 4 Reloaded update made the meta far more balanced. There are now a number of viable assault rifles and SMGs to use across Caldera, Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep, but, according to the stats, the Vanguard weapons still reign supreme despite Modern Warfare buffs. According to WZRanked, eight of the top ten most popular weapons are all from Vanguard. Looking at the pick rate of all weapons in Warzone, only the M13 and Kilo manage to compete — but they’re not actually seeing much success on the battlefield, anyway. The Kilo 141 is averaging out to a 0.83 KD and a 1.90 win rate — far below the NZ41, for example, which has a slightly higher pick rate but a far superior KD and win rate. The M13 is faring almost equally poorly. The pick rate is lower, but with a 0.88 KD and 2.17 win rate, it still isn’t much to write home about. Among the top 10 most popular weapons, the Vanguard ARs are far superior, with only the Cooper Carbine and STG putting up numbers as low as the Modern Warfare assault rifles. Even among the lower-picked weapons, ARs like the Volk have far better stats, so if you’re looking to go off-meta, you’re better off looking at weapons such as that or the Nikita to still be able to do some damage in your lobbies. While many long-time Warzone players have enjoyed running around with the Kilo and M13 again, it’s fair to say that they’re not able to really compete with the top weapons.

Vanguard & Warzone January 11 update: Attack on Titan bundle, Welgun SMG, full patch notes ActivisionCall of Duty: Warzone and Vanguard are celebrating the launch of Attack on Titan’s new season by dropping a new update filled with AoT cosmetics (including the Levi Tracers) and a new SMG: the Welgun. With the real Season One midseason update scheduled for later this week, January 11’s update is a relatively simple one. It brings the Attack on Titan bundle to gamers’ stores, introduces a new Operator, and launches a new SMG. As detailed in the patch notes, this update will be available to Vanguard players on January 11 at 9 p.m. PT and to Warzone players on January 12 at 9 p.m. PT. Once the update releases, players will be able to begin the process of unlocking both the new Operator (Isabella, Task Force 006 Trident) and new SMG. The AoT cosmetics will be made available around a week later, on January 20. Vanguard & Warzone January 11 update: Attack on Titan and Welgun SMG With AoT coming back for the second half of its final season, a number of players are probably interested in its bundle. It includes a Levi skin for Daniel, three Legendary Blueprints (including twin melee swords that are identical to Levi’s “Titan Piercers”), and some other goodies. For those who aren’t so concerned with the cosmetics, this update also adds the Welgun SMG – which is supposed to fill a role somewhere between the Owen Gun and the Sten. Finally, a number of Zombies content has been revealed, but those were explained in a different blog and are so expansive that they deserved their very own Zombies January 11 patch notes piece. Vanguard & Warzone January 11 full patch notes TATAKAE! The iconic best-selling manga series Attack on Titan, whose award-winning anime adaption just entered the second half of its final season, is coming to Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone Pacific as part of the games’ first major update of 2022. In this bundle to be released as part of the midseason update, Daniel Yatsu will don the legendary Survey Corps gear. This epic collaboration will officially become available on January 20, approximately one week after a midseason update for Vanguard and Warzone Pacific that will include a new Operator, a new weapon, additional content for Zombies, various bug fixes, and more. The Vanguard update will be available to download on January 11, at 9 PM PT, while the Warzone Pacific update can be downloaded starting on January 12 at 9 PM PT. These will prepare both games for the first full day of Season One’s midseason update on January 13 at 9 AM PT. In celebration of Attack on Titan’s final season, Vanguard and Warzone Pacific players can become a Survey Corps member through the Tracer Pack: Attack on Titan — Levi Edition Bundle. This 10-item Store Bundle is not just for superfans of the franchise; it has the style and firepower to become a leader among soldiers, just like Levi Ackerman. One of the most notable additions to this Bundle is the “Titan Piercer,” a Weapon Blueprint that models the very blade that can slay Titans. Made of ultrahard steel, the only material that can cut through Titan flesh, this one-edge blade is more than capable of slicing through squads with ease. Also available in the Bundle is the Legendary “Steel Cut” Finishing Move, as well as the Vanguard-exclusive “Vertical Maneuver” Highlight Intro and the “Ultrahard Steel” MVP Highlight. The other two weapons in this Bundle are the Legendary “Historia” SMG and “Ymir Curse” Assault Rifle Weapon Blueprints, two firearms that are great additions to your Warzone Pacific or Vanguard Multiplayer and Zombies Loadouts. “Ymir Curse” is built for Operators who pride themselves on accurate shots downrange. With a nine-attachment configuration, near-zero horizontal recoil, and almost-maximum effective range and bullet velocity, this Legendary Weapon Blueprint is phenomenal at a distance, especially when an Operator is mounted. As for the “Historia,” it suits the run-and-gun Operator who wants to throw out accurate shots from the hip while sprinting. The included smaller-caliber magazines offer better speed and fire rate, perfect for Gung-Ho strategies across Multiplayer or Warzone Pacific. Although any Operator can wield these weapons, Sgt. Daniel of the Hellhounds will be fully geared up for battle with the “Survey Corps” Operator Skin included in this Bundle. Fashioned in the style of Survey Corps gear worn by Captain Levi Ackerman, this new outfit is perfect for leading your squad to victory in Caldera or elsewhere, like the incredibly skilled, yet humble badass Levi is. Superfans will also recognize the other elements of this Bundle and what they reference: a “Secret Keeper” key Weapon Charm to unlock the world’s mysteries, the “Wings of Freedom” Emblem worn with pride by Survey Corps members, and, of course, a “One Hot Potato” Sticker, in memoriam of a special person who we all hold very dear to our hearts… Want to see more of the Survey Corps? Then be sure to watch Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2, which made its colossal return this past Sunday! The war on Paradis zeroes in on Shiganshina, and the truth of the world will soon be revealed. You can stream it now on Crunchyroll and Funimation. New Operator: Isabella Rosario Dulnuan Reyes Completes Task Force 006 Trident A devastating invasion. A parent lost. A vow for revenge. This is the story of Isabella Rosario Dulnuan Reyes, the final Operator on Task Force 006 Trident arriving before the end of Season One. Isabella was trained in the martial arts as a young girl by her father. After his death, she continued to hone her skills on those who drove her into a local resistance. After the war, she joined Trident alongside Francis and Lewis to uncover Caldera’s secrets, acting as the close-quarters battle (CQB) specialist with extreme proficiency with a new weapon for the Vanguard arsenal. Unlock Isabella by purchasing her Wild Rose Operator Bundle, which also includes two Legendary Weapon Blueprints. Those who have all three members of Trident — Francis, Lewis, and Isabella — unlocked and leveled to the max can unlock a special Gold outfit for all three Operators, as well as a Platinum one if they have at least three other Task Forces maxed out to Level 20. New SMG: Welgun “Heavy full-auto SMG with lethality and range for short- to medium-range engagements.” The Favorite Weapon of Trident’s Isabella, the Welgun is the prototypical SMG whose raw statistics slot it between the Owen Gun and the weapon that the British army chose over it: the Sten. In Multiplayer, it can reliably down targets in four shots — or three, with a shot to a vital area mixed in — within a category-standard effective range. The available .380 and .25 ACP magazine attachments can either make it a powerful three-to-two shot machine or a faster-firing and more accurate weapon, respectively. Whether it is used with its standard ammo in Extra Extended Magazines, which doubles its round count per magazine, or a 48 Round Drum of .380 ammo, close-quarters specialists can make it work in their standard Warzone Pacific or Vanguard Multiplayer Loadouts, especially in large squads or higher-intensity modes. The Welgun can be unlocked in one of two ways: either through an in-game challenge or through a Weapon Blueprint, the first of which will be available with a Store Bundle – Reserved Steel – to be released within this update’s launch window.

Vanguard & Warzone Festive Fervor holiday event revealed: Krampus, elves, and gifts ActivisionCall of Duty: Warzone and Vanguard’s Festive Fervor holiday event is coming up. Now, the devs have revealed what to expect — from the release date and rewards to the Krampus NPC and elf hunts. As Mariah Carey’s voice blooms across speakers in the real world, festive Christmas trees are going to start blooming in the Call of Duty world. Across four games, CoD is bringing a number of celebrations to players in the name of holiday spirit. In both Warzone and Vanguard, players will need to stave off a mythological Krampus NPC. Meanwhile, in Black Ops Cold War and CoD Mobile, there will be a number of discounted items in the shop as little presents. Primarily set in Vanguard (multiplayer and zombies) and Warzone (Pacific and Rebirth Island), the event will have challenges, rewards, and a variety of new tweaks. Shipment will be enveloped in gift wrapping paper, a Krampus is going to attack players who don’t get on the objective, and some weird little elves will need to get hunted. Vanguard & Warzone Festive Fervor holiday event: release date As you can see in the roadmap, the Festive Fervor event will begin on December 17 and should last past December 25 at least, although the ending date has yet to be confirmed. Simultaneously, a Black Ops Cold War discounted period will last from December 14 to 25 and there will be a multiplayer free access event from December 16 to 21. As mentioned, there’s a ton of new content coming during this timeline, so read on for the full patch notes. Vanguard & Warzone Festive Fervor holiday event: full patch notes Vanguard Multiplayer, Zombies Decked Out for the Holidays, Limited-Time Modes and Features Forget reindeer games — Call of Duty: Vanguard will roll out several limited-time holiday features as part of Festive Fervor, including the reintroduction of a classic Multiplayer mode. Armageddon Mode Also known as Drop Zone in previous Call of Duty titles, this twist on Team Deathmatch brings enough Killstreak Care Packages to stuff a whole chimney. At the start of a match, both teams will fight for control of a marked area somewhere on the map, where Care Packages will drop in on a set timer until a specific number of them are collected. At that point, the zone rotates to a new area. Unlike previous iterations of Drop Zone, points are only scored through kills, with bonus points being awarded with kills earned via Killstreaks. That makes ripping open those presents your squad’s main key to victory, so lock down those zones and start reaping those rewards. Elf Team Six Outside of that limited-time mode, Operators can also earn Killstreaks through seeking and destroying the elite Elf Team Six. Hidden around Vanguard’s Multiplayer maps, Elf Team Six are ready to roast Operators like chestnuts on an open fire if they aren’t found before they disappear. Operators who take down these Elf Team Six members will earn match score and Killstreak progress, a small gift that could help give your enemies something far worse than coal in their stockings. Krampus While Elf Team Six can help the nice Operators achieve victory, there is something else in store for the ones who act naughty and don’t play the objective in respawn-enabled game modes, or who camp in Team Deathmatch: The folk horror figure Krampus is coming to Vanguard, appearing during Multiplayer matches and targeting whoever has the least impressive objective score, such as a pathetic Hardpoint time or a disgracefully low number of Domination captures. If you’re warned of Krampus’s presence, then good luck: he won’t hesitate to eliminate his target with an absolutely devastating (and humiliating) Finishing Move, although you might be able to defeat him before he delivers that powerful attack… Multiplayer and Zombies Get Festive for the Holidays Festive Fervor also rolls out to decorate Vanguard for the holiday season. During Festive Fervor, Shipment becomes Shipmas, a winter wonderland of chaos blanketed in snow and, by the end of the match, whatever remains of those soon-to-be-smashed shipping containers. Expect some subtle seasonal visuals in game modes like Domination and Hardpoint, as well as more holiday overhauls to places like the Gunbench and the wintery home base of Stalingrad in Zombies’ “Der Anfang.” A Gift for All Vanguard Owners: 10 Free Tier Skips, 10% Seasonal XP Boost, and More All the studios who worked on Call of Duty: Vanguard are thankful for your support this holiday season. In the spirit of Festive Fervor, those who already own Vanguard — or purchase it before December 31 — will receive the following rewards, available for use starting on December 16: 10 Battle Pass Tier Skips for Season One. These are enough to automatically unlock a free Calling Card and 100 COD Points, or even more rewards if the Season One Battle Pass is purchased. Combine it with a Battle Pass Bundle, and you can get over 30 Tiers of content, which contains over 40 items across Vanguard and Warzone, right at the beginning of the season. – A 10% Global Player, Weapon, and Battle Pass XP Boost During Season One. Earn that next Prestige Icon, weapon attachment, or Battle Pass Tier just a bit quicker with this XP Boost. Expert tip: the 10% XP boost for playing with a Clan, as well as the boosts from the Battle Pass and other sources, stacks with this reward! – The 24 Vanguard Tiers of the Season Six Battle Pass. If you haven’t already earned them last season, anyone who purchases Vanguard will receive these for free. – Vanguard Multiplayer Festive Fervor Challenge — Details and Rewards Throughout Festive Fervor, those who get in the holiday mood and complete challenges will get free rewards, including an Epic LMG Blueprint for conquering all six challenges in Vanguard Multiplayer or Warzone Pacific. In Vanguard, the Festive Fervor Challenges include eliminating some of those holiday nuisances across all Multiplayer modes, playing Shipmas, or simply getting in the spirit of the season and opening Care Packages like presents under the tree. Your rewards for doing so include a Battle Pass Tier Skip, a Double XP Token, and cosmetic rewards for your weapons and player profile. Warzone Pacific: Season’s Greetings from the Isles — Holiday Surprises Across Caldera, Rebirth Island Vanguard won’t be the only place to get into the Festive Fervor spirit, as Caldera and Rebirth Island will have their own limited-time celebrations. Caldera Receives Festive Fir Trees with Presents for All! Those who drop into Caldera during Festive Fervor can’t miss the invasive vegetation among the palm trees and other Pacific foliage: Festive Fir Trees! Marked on the Tac Map with a special tree icon, these temporary landmarks will be placed at specific points of interest across the island. Any squad that stays within the Fir Tree’s zone — under the tree and around it — for a short period of time will cause several Supply Boxes to magically appear, including special Holiday Crates that could contain Legendary items for that match, limited-time rewards, or even some coal for those Operators on the naughty list. Krampus — The Terror of the Isles with Plenty of “Gifts” for Festive Fervor Beyond being a sign to do some good this holiday season, the coal found in those Holiday Crates does attract a certain folklore creature. Krampus tends to spend his holidays on Caldera and Rebirth Island, where within minutes of a match starting, he goes on the hunt for sport. While his choice of target is more random here than in Vanguard, he does tend to hunt down those who received coal from the Holiday Crates. This mythical creature will take three minutes to complete his hunt before he disappears for his next target, or he’ll be killed and give out a special permanent reward for the squad that faces his wrath. Because these islands are his usual stomping grounds, Krampus has some other surprises in store throughout Festive Fervor. Fortunately, all of these are relatively nice — expect modifiers like increased chances of Legendary Supply Boxes or half-off Buybacks on each day of this holiday event. Elf and Seek — The Gnomes Take Over the Islands Just like Krampus, some mischievous creatures also call Caldera and Rebirth Island their home and are waiting for Operators to seek them. These gnomes are just as carefree as Elf Team Six, hollering at any Operator who gets within 10 meters of them. Squads who find and destroy them will receive rewards like a Double XP Token or a Calling Card. Vanguard’s Festive Fervor Event and Bundles Available in Warzone Those who want to earn Festive Fervor’s ultimate Epic LMG Blueprint can alternatively complete six unique challenges in Warzone Pacific, each with a reward like a Battle Pass Tier Skip, Double XP Token, and more. These challenges include dealing 365 points of damage to Krampus, destroying those pesky gnomes, or simply playing the game and roaming around Caldera or Rebirth Island. In addition to this limited-time Vanguard event, all its Bundles are also available in Warzone Pacific, making it possible to dash through the sand as a Krampus lookalike or in that festive holiday sweater. (Note: There are some Vanguard-only items within these Bundles that cannot be accessed in Warzone Pacific; see the individual Bundles for details). 12 Festive Days of Deals — Black Ops Cold War Bundle Discounts Black Ops Cold War brought a wide variety of Bundles to Operators across six seasons within Black Ops and Warzone, so you may have missed a few over the past year. Enter the 12 Festive Days of Deals: starting on December 14 — two days before Festive Fervor — a selection of Bundles for Black Ops Cold War and Warzone will receive limited-time holiday discounts. Each day leading up to December 25, five Bundles from Black Ops Cold War will be available in that game and in Warzone Pacific. Most of them, such as the “Tracer Pack: Weaver Operator Bundle” that kicks off the deals on December 14, will be featured with special discounts in their Call of Duty Point Price. However, the 12 Festive Days of Deals will also include one new Bundle: the “Battle Pass Vault Pack Greatest Hits,” a collection of late-Tier content from the first three Black Ops Cold War Battle Passes for those who missed out on those early offerings. Enjoy these classic Bundles in Warzone Pacific or back in Black Ops Cold War, where Treyarch also has an extended 2XP and 2WXP feast planned for the holiday season, starting December 23. Call of Duty: Mobile Celebrates 12 Festive Days of Deals, Also Starting December 14 Call of Duty: Mobile is getting in on the holiday festivities with its own huge discounts on Operators and gear through daily special sales. Spread some holiday cheer with discounts on Crates, Draws, and Bundles, available for only 72 hours after the deal becomes available. There will also be discounts on Lucky Draws and Bundles, such as the Ghost – Loose Ends Bundle and Holiday Draw Redux, as well as the return of holiday maps like Holiday Raid and Nuketown Russia during its own celebration of the holiday season.

Vanguard & Warzone anti-cheat revealed: Full RICOCHET details ActivisionThe Call of Duty: Warzone anti-cheat has finally been revealed. Along with its arrival date, CoD has announced RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, a proprietary security system based on server enhancements, a kernel-level driver, and machine learning. Call of Duty’s emergence in the PC market with Warzone coincided with an influx of hackers. This cheating situation carried over into Black Ops Cold War and continued in the battle royale, disturbing the community. But the developers maintained that they had plans to combat the problem month after month. And now, we finally know what exactly those plans consist of: the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat. Much like Apex Legends and Fortnite’s Easy Anti-Cheat, PUBG and Rainbow Six: Siege’s BattlEye, and Valorant’s Vanguard — RICOCHET is a kernel-level driver system. And, combined with server enhancements and machine learning efforts, it’s a first for CoD and should be much more effective than previous security efforts. RICOCHET Anti-Cheat: Warzone and Vanguard release dates In an October 13 post, Activision have laid out RICOCHET Anti-Cheat. While some hoped an October 12 teaser meant the Warzone anti-cheat would arrive sooner, the team has clarified that it’s a little further away. “RICOCHET Anti-Cheat’s backend anti-cheat security features will launch alongside Call of Duty: Vanguard, and later this year with the Pacific update coming to Call of Duty: Warzone.” Further details explain that the server updates will arrive with Vanguard and the kernel-level driver will come with Warzone’s Pacific map integration. As such, RICOCHET Anti-Cheat is set to debut in some capacity on November 5 for Vanguard’s release. Then, Warzone will also make use to the Anti-Cheat system from December 2 onwards with the launch of Season One. RICOCHET Anti-Cheat details: Server enhancements, kernel-level driver, machine learning As far as what the system consists of, the backend upgrades will include “server enhancements” and then a kernel-level driver. The latter “will be required to play Warzone” and, much like the aforementioned other systems, it’s software that has “a high enough level of access to monitor and manage software and applications on a PC.” To satisfy privacy concerns, Activision have maintained that RICOCHET will turn off when you close Warzone and will only monitor or report activity related to CoD. Machine learning is the final piece of the system: “Algorithms examine gameplay data from the server, helping to identify suspicious behavior trends.” In sum, this is a much deeper system than the previous efforts made and includes software built for CoD specifically. While expected to be better than earlier attempts, the devs have maintained that they’re devoted to continually improving RICOCHET Anti-Cheat and that user reports will still be helpful.

Vanguard & Warzone aim assist finally being fixed after months of unknown issues ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard developers Sledgehammer Games have confirmed that there’s a fix incoming for the aim assist glitch that has plagued the game since launch — and it means aim assist changes coming to Warzone, too. The Vanguard aim assist glitch has been affecting matches for months, to the point that even Call of Duty League pros have called each other out for abusing the glitch in official league matches. While it was a huge problem that both casual and competitive players alike were annoyed about when it came to Vanguard, it turns out the problem also arose in Warzone too after the Pacific integration and introduction of Caldera. Fortunately, that issue has been addressed, and Warzone devs Raven Software are working on a fix. On March 22, alongside the Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded patch notes, Sledgehammer announced a fix coming for the aim assist glitch and went on to write a thread of tweets explaining the aim-assist problem and what they’re doing to put it right. “Today, we are optimistic we have fixed a bug that caused Aim Assist to intermittently deactivate while engaging an enemy player,” the tweet thread started. “In certain scenarios, the system was left to assume that no player was visible, which meant that Aim Assist could deactivate multiple times in a single engagement.” The Aim Assist bug resulted from the system not waiting for the “player visibility check” before running an action. In certain scenarios, the system was left to assume that no player was visible, which meant that Aim Assist could deactivate multiple times in a single engagement. — Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) March 22, 2022 Raven Software later confirmed that they discovered aim assist issues within Warzone after collaborating with Sledgehammer. “Collaborating with our friends [Sledgehammer Games] helped us identify an issue with Aim Assist,” they said. “In the coming weeks, we’ll release a fix for this issue in Warzone.” 🤝 Collaborating with our friends @SHGames helped us identify an issue with Aim Assist. In the coming weeks, we’ll release a fix for this issue in #Warzone. Stay tuned to our channels for a more precise date. For more info on the issue, check out the thread below! https://t.co/ONJXGkjwSy — Raven Software (@RavenSoftware) March 22, 2022 The Warzone Pacific update has had its fair share of detractors and complainants since launching, especially since it was such a major departure from Verdansk and the game that people were used to. Raven have communicated this issue well, though, and been open about fixing aim assist in Warzone. It’s unclear whether that will come soon, though, or if players might even have to wait until Season 3.

CoD Vanguard has turned Kiwi war hero into Aussie character and players are furious Sledgehammer GamesCall of Duty Vanguard is just around the corner, but it’s already rubbing feathers in the player base for one surprising reason — a major detail regarding one of its four “Vanguard” characters, Aussie hero Lucas Riggs, to be exact. The Riggs character — reminder, Australian — is based on an incredible World War II hero, Charles Upham, the only person to ever receive two Victoria Crosses. Upham was an inspiring figure for the British Royal forces. His legendary exploits in the worldwide conflict include assaulting a German Machine gun post by himself, and rescuing wounded allies while under heavy fire from the enemy. Sledgehammer Games decided Upham would be the perfect soldier to model one of their four Vanguard heroes, Lucas Riggs, on. He, along with Russian sniper Polina Petrova, British paratrooper Arthur Kingsley, and American pilot Wade Jackson, are the main characters in the new Call of Duty campaign. That all sounds excellent, except for one problem; Upham was from New Zealand, not Australia, and the swap has left New Zealand pretty furious. New Zealand Call of Duty players have already taken to Twitter, Reddit, and across the internet to voice their displeasure at the change. One annoyed Kiwi fan, Hush1der, wrote, “It’s sad that you guys made Lucas Riggs an Australian. A massive f**k you to all your fans in Australia and New Zealand,” while others were more tongue-in-cheek, saying: “Looking forward to Lucas Riggs storyline, based on that amazing AUSTRALIAN soldier Charles Upham.” On Reddit, another fan claimed it was “an insult to New Zealand, and an insult to all the idiots who buy Call of Duty and don’t know what New Zealand is.” One fan, CommanderNZ, said they were simply disappointed: “As a New Zealander and someone who has always gone to the ANZAC memorials every year, this highly disappoints me. I hope they change this glaring oversight before release.” Meet the #Vanguard. 🇬🇧 Sergeant Arthur Kingsley 🇷🇺 Lieutenant Polina Petrova 🇺🇸 Lieutenant Wade Jackson 🇦🇺 Second Lieutenant Lucas Riggs pic.twitter.com/cTeJmkxEcs— Call of Duty ANZ (@CallofDuty_ANZ) August 24, 2021 New Zealand media aren’t too happy either. One publication, Newshub, wrote: “Charles Upham’s significance cannot be overstated. No other combat soldier has ever been awarded two Victoria Crosses in all of history. That incredible achievement belongs to our country alone. Read More: How to play Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta – “It’s like turning Sir Edmund Hillary into an Australian, or Lorde, or Jonah Lomu. It’s an insult. At best, it’s ignorance; at worst, it’s a giant middle finger to us all.” To their credit, Sledgehammer Games has already responded to the growing Lucas Riggs uproar, but (a little less to their credit, maybe), it doesn’t look like they’ll be doing much about it; there won’t be a change pre-launch. Here’s what the Vanguard devs told several media outlets, including Dexerto, in response to the Newshub article on Riggs/Upham started picking up steam. “As with all the main characters in the campaign, we drew a lot of inspiration from real-life soldiers,” the Call of Duty Vanguard campaign developers said. “With Lucas Riggs, we drew a lot of that inspiration from Charles Upham, whose exploits embodied the spirit of all the Commonwealth forces serving in North Africa.” Read More: Call of Duty Vanguard Beta patch notes – So, it seems like Sledgehammer is well aware of the growing player backlash, but won’t — or even can’t, at this stage — change the CoD Vanguard story. And I mean, look, at the end of the day as an Aussie writer, I love any character representation that we get in movies, games, and television series. But really, do we need it at the expense of our cousins across the Tasman? We Aussies have plenty of our own heroes, including the 96 soldiers awarded the Victoria Cross. 20 of those were even awarded across multiple theatres of war in World War II, from Egypt to New Guinea. In fact, here’s a comprehensive list: Charles Anderson – Albert Chowne – Arthur Roden Cutler – Tom Derrick – John Edmondson – Hughie Edwards – Jack French – Jim Gordon – Percy Gratwick – Stan Gurney – Richard Kelliher – Edward Kenna – Bill Kibby – Bruce Kingsbury – Jack Mackey – Ron Middleton – Bill Newton – Frank Partridge – Reg Rattey – Leslie Starcevich – Sledgehammer could have picked any of them to create Riggs from. Or, even better, simply made Lucas Riggs a Kiwi, just like his incredibly heroic inspiration.

Vanguard Season 3 update patch notes: New maps, Ranked changes, weapon adjustments ActivisionSeason 3 of Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone is finally upon us, with a huge update bringing a number of changes to the games. Here are the full Vanguard Season 3 patch notes. In the third season of Call of Duty: Vanguard, the game is getting some significant changes with new maps, weapon balancing changes, and the long-awaited addition of the Trophy System field upgrade. Here are the key changes coming to Vanguard, as well as the full patch notes, for the April 27 Season 3 update. New map and new weapons in Vanguard Season 3 Season 3 marks the arrival of the map Mayhem, a close-quarters movie set from the 1950s that aims to get players into the action in a hury Read More: How to unlock Trophy Systems in Vanguard – This narrow battlefield will bring the high-intensity of maps like Shipment and Das Haus to a totally new environment. Anyone looking to test the waters can jump into Mayhem 24/7 playlist and give it a shot immediately after the update. #Vanguard Season Three starts now! Learn about new seasonal content, gameplay changes, and more in our Season Three Patch Notes blog 👇https://t.co/h8ifQ2RbdU pic.twitter.com/Swc7Wla7w0 — Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) April 27, 2022 There are a few new guns arriving in this patch as well, with the Nikita AVT Assault Rifle and M1916 Marksman Rifle making their respective debuts. Both of these newcomers promise to bring some new flair to their respective categories and could both make a run to enter the meta. Ranked Play also saw a few updates with the playlist officially exiting beta. Alongside the debut of new seasonal rewards, Berlin Control has joined the map pool, and players who go AFK will now be kicked from the game after a time. Check out the full list of Vanguard’s patch notes down below. Vanguard Season 3 patch notes Maps NEW: Mayhem This 1950s movie set is built for fast-paced combat. Jump into the Mayhem 24/7 Playlist at the start of Season Three! – – Bocage Adjusted the P1 Hardpoint location to prevent players from capturing and contesting from an unintended location. – – Eagle’s Nest Addressed an issue that caused graphical corruption near the Library. – – Gavutu Players can no longer use the Deployable Cover Field Upgrade to prevent other players from climbing the ladder on the LST Ship. – – Sub Pens Attack Dogs will no longer get stuck outside of the playable area. – Footstep audio will now properly play when players walk on the grate floor in the Maintenance area. – – Modes Control Addressed an issue where the Announcer’s voice lines sometimes did not match the current game events. – – Arms Race General Addressed an issue where players within the blast radius of a Base were not properly notified. – Destructible walls at the Castle Base are now properly damaged by the Demolition Charge Lethal Equipment. – Corrected the capture point boundaries at Base E to prevent players from capturing from an unintended location. – Players will no longer lose a Lethal Equipment after purchasing a Field Upgrade from a Buy Station. – Addressed an issue where Base gates could not be damaged after deploying a Motorbike. – Improved the Tank’s ability to traverse the terrain. – Addressed an issue where Operators would not be aligned with the Motorbike while driving it. – Friendly Base gates will no longer become stuck after a player detonates the Goliath Field Upgrade. – Weapons equipped with the Wreck Proficiency Attachment will now deal increased damage to walls, gates, and vehicles. – – – General – Stability & Exploits Addressed an issue that caused a fatal error crash when players join an in-progress match. – Increased the distance at which enemies can be seen to prevent engagements where a player is seemingly invisible. – Addressed an exploit where players could survive out of the playable area using vehicles. – Addressed an exploit that caused players to become invulnerable when there are no lives remaining. – Addressed an exploit where players could obtain an unintended number of Nebula Crates. – – Ranked Play Ranked Play Leaves Beta A special note to say THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the Season Two Beta. The data and feedback we collected throughout the Beta resulted in many fixes and improvements and were critical to the success and future of Ranked Play. Keep the feedback coming! – Treyarch – – Season 3 Skill Rating Reset Players’ Skill Ratings have been reset at the start of Season 3. – Play 5 Skill Evaluation Matches to earn a Season 3 Skill Rating and get placed into a Skill Division & Tier. – Initial Skill Rating placement has changed in Season 3. Therefore, after their 5 Skill Evaluation matches, some players may find that they get placed below where they were initially placed at the start of the Season 2 Beta. – Win matches after your initial placement to earn SR and advance your Skill Division & Tier over the remainder of the Season. – – Season 3 Top 250 Skill Division & Leaderboard The Season 3 Top 250 Skill Division and Ladder will go live on May 4th, one full week into Season 3, to give players time to earn a Season 3 Skill Rating and advance through divisions. – – General Fixed the “Cricket Glitch” that was causing some players to have reduced performance and chirping noises on some maps. – Fixed an issue where Ranked Play Camo Rewards would occasionally unequip. – Inactive players will now be kicked from Ranked Play matches, making them eligible for Suspension or Ladder and Skill Rating penalties. – Added Berlin Control to the Ranked Play map rotation. – – UI Updates Skill Division Tiers now use Roman Numerals instead of Numbers (Elite V, Elite IV, Elite III, Elite II, Elite I). – Once unlocked, Ladder Event Rewards correctly appear as unlocked on the My Career Rewards screen. – All players can now see and preview the Ranked Legend Solange Operator Skin Reward on the “Division Rewards” tab on the Rewards Screen, regardless of their current Skill Division. – Victory Flames now display behind Rank Icons on the Ladder and Top 250 Leaderboard when earned. – Updated the Top 250 Skill Division icon used in various locations. – Fixed an issue causing Skill Division icons to be incorrectly offset from player Rank icons on some screens. – – Restrictions The Volkssturmgewehr Assault Rifle is now restricted in Ranked Play. – The Sledgehammer melee weapon is restricted in Ranked Play. – This weapon can be selected in Loadouts but will unequip/appear restricted upon entering matchmaking and replaced with the Ratt in-game. – – Season 3 Ranked Play Rewards Players can earn the following rewards in Ranked Play during Season 3: Blueprints Pro Issue Automaton – Finish Top 5 in a Ladder Event – Pro Issue SMG Charlie – Win 50 Ranked Play Matches – – Camos Season 3 Ladder Champion – Finish 1st in a Ladder Event – Season 3 Ranked Veteran – Win 100 Ranked Play Matches – – Charms Good Game – Finish Top 10 in a Ladder Event – Dap Up – Win 25 Ranked Play Matches – – Spray Defuse You Lose – Win 10 Ranked Play Matches – – Sticker Season 3 Ranked Competitor – Complete 5 Skill Evaluation Matches – – Emblems Earn an Animated Skill Division Emblem at the end of Season 3 to reflect your highest Season 3 Skill Division – – – Blueprints – – Players can earn the following rewards in Ranked Play during Season 3: – Ranked Play Matchmaking Updated Ranked Play matchmaking rules to reduce the likelihood of receiving a high-ping match with players from a different region. – – Operators NEW: Mateo Hernandez (Harpy) Mateo was born into a large immigrant family in Texas, dreaming of becoming a civil engineer. He joined the Navy during World War II, fighting as a tail gunner in the Pacific. After witnessing growing prejudice and racism against his people following the war, Meteo threw himself into campaigning for his people, speaking out against these injustices as well as helping reunite families across the Mexican border. – – NEW: Florence Carter (Harpy) Born and raised in Alabama, Florence dreamed of representing her country as a fighter pilot since she was a little girl. During WWII, she was determined to make those dreams come true, but was turned away from those opportunities due to both her gender and her race. After the war, the SOTF recognized her talent and passion for being in the sky and Florence has flown as a rescue helicopter pilot for them ever since. – – Bug Fixes Snoop Dogg’s body will no longer float after death. – Beatrice, Constanze, and Padmavati are no longer silent while mantling, landing, and performing other movements. – Addressed an exploit that caused Operator heads to disappear when using the Top Break Pistol with certain Attachments. – Weapons NEW: Nikita AVT (Assault Rifle) Accurate and reliable with best-in-class fire rate, this AR can be outfitted to exceed in CQC or long-range combat scenarios. – Unlocked with Battle Pass at Tier 31. – – NEW: M1916 (Marsman Rifle) A semi-automatic rifle with a combination of power and fire rate. Impressive at any range in the hands of a capable marksman. – Unlocked with Battle Pass at Tier 15. – – NEW: Sledgehammer (Melee) A tool designed for breaking stone, though it works equally well on enemy bones in a punch. – Unlock Challenge: Get a Multikill with a Melee Weapon in 15 different matches. – – NEW: Skål Crusher (Melee) A tool usually used to chop apart wood; it can also chop apart enemies or be thrown at them. – Unlock Challenge: Get 5 Melee Weapons kills in 15 completed matches. – – STG44 (Assault Rifle) Konstanz Tactical (Stock) Decreased ADS move speed benefit. – – – Konstanz Tactical (Stock) – Volkssturmgewehr (Assault Rifle) Decreased aim walking movement speed. – Shells will no longer cease to eject from the Weapon after sustained fire. – VDD 287mm (Barrel) Decreased aim walking movement speed benefit. – – Reisdorf 22V Adjustable (Stock) Decreased aim walking movement speed benefit. – – – Type 100 (Submachine Gun) Sakura 196mm Light (Barrel) Decreased aim walking movement speed benefit. – – Warubachi 134mm Rapid (Barrel) Slightly increased accuracy penalty. – – Warubachi Grip Folding (Stock) Decreased aim walking movement speed benefit. – – .30 Russian Short 30 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased fire rate penalty. – – – Sakura 196mm Light (Barrel) – PPSh-41 (Submachine Gun) Increased accuracy. – Decreased hip fire accuracy. – Kovalevskaya 230mm BO3P (Barrel) Decreased hip fire accuracy benefit. – – ZAC 300mm (Barrel) Decreased accuracy benefit. – Increased aim walking movement speed penalty. – – – Armaguerra 43 (Submachine Gun) Imerito 180mm Short (Barrel) Decreased aim walking movement speed benefit. – – Imerito TA Skeletal (Stock) Decreased aim walking movement speed benefit. – – – Imerito 180mm Short (Barrel) – Welgun (Submachine Gun) Decreased damage ranges. – Increased initial recoil while firing. – 320mm SA Shrouded (Barrel) Decreased accuracy benefit. – – – G-43 (Marksman Rifle) Fitzherbert Short (Barrel) Decreased aim walking movement speed benefit. – – Wyvern Skeletal (Stock) Decreased aim walking movement speed benefit. – – – Fitzherbert Short (Barrel) – Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle (Sniper Rifle) 22mm ZAC Rapid (Barrel) Slightly decreased rate of fire. – – – 22mm ZAC Rapid (Barrel) – Ice Axe (Melee) Addressed an issue that prevented throwable Melee Weapons from being thrown while the Aim Down Sights button is held. – – General Camo Challenges that require Headshots or Longshots are now properly tracked. – Progress toward unlocking the Plague Diamond Camo in Zombies is now properly tracked. – Added unlock challenges for the Season Two Battle Pass weapons. – – S-Mine 44 (Tactical) Addressed an issue that caused the S-Mine 44 to jitter and repeatedly play sound effects upon placement. – – Fortified (Tactics) Bomb site explosions in Search & Destroy will now kill players who have Fortified equipped. – – NEW: Trophy System Deployable autonomous defense system that destroys up to three nearby pieces of equipment and projectiles. – Available to all players upon logging in for the first time during Season Three. – – Incendiary Grenade – Sticky Bomb – MK2 Frag Grenade – Gammon Bomb – Thermite – Demolition Charge – Molotov Cocktail – No. 69 Stun Grenade – MK V Gas – S-Mine 44 – Decoy Grenade – Ammo Box – Trophy System – Jammer – Field Mic – Party member Operators will now hold the correct showcase Weapon during the lobby walk sequence. – Proximity indicators are no longer displayed on the HUD for the Sticky Bomb Lethal Equipment in Hardcore modes. – Arms Race, Control, and Patrol are now properly tracked in the Combat Record. – Improved the scrolling functionality of the Friends and Recent Players lists. – Corrected the challenge descriptions for the NZ-41 Survivalist and Type 11 Death Artist Camo Categories. – Addressed an issue that caused player microphone indicators to disappear. – General VFX and Animation pass completed for Weapon Blueprints, Finishing Moves, Charms, and other Bundle items. – Addressed issues with some Attachment cosmetics that prevented the Attachment from being equipped. – Addressed instances of Operator skins and Blueprints blocking scope visibility. When aiming down sights. – – Tracer Pack: Snoop Dogg Operator Cigar light will no longer disappear at the end of the “Hit This, Fam” MVP Highlight animation. – Operators equipped with the “Finishizzle Movizzle” Finishing Move will no longer observe hands clipping through face. – Snoop Dogg’s nose no longer clips through his mask in the “Tactical Toke” Highlight Intro animation. – – Mecha Menace Mastercraft Addressed an issue with the Mechanized Blueprint in which Reactive Inspect did not function properly. – – Forbidden Sacrifice Corrected the positioning of Operator hands while the Spinebuster Blueprint for the Sten SMG is held. – – Equipment Perks Field Upgrades More on Trophy System When we released Vanguard last year, our initial tuning on Lethal Equipment deemphasized their lethality in combat, focusing our combat on gun skill. With new explosive equipment added in Seasonal updates and clear player feedback indicating its appeal, it became apparent that the Trophy System should make its debut. Upon deployment, the Trophy System will protect its immediate radius from the following incoming and pre-established items for a limited time. Notably, the Throwing Knife is an exception to these defenses due to the high-risk, high-reward nature of this Lethal Equipment:

Everything in Vanguard Season 2 update: New maps, perks, Ranked Play, full patch notes Sledgehammer GamesCall of Duty Vanguard Season 2 is now live with the much-anticipated Ranked Play, new maps in Casablanca & Gondola, and a batch of free Perks all headlining a massive update. We’ve got you covered with the full patch notes. Along with a bevy of changes to Warzone, Raven Software and Sledgehammer just implemented a ton of new content and major bug fixes to the fold in CoD Vanguard. Ranked Play lets players duke it out with CDL rulesets to give the average Call of Duty match a lot more structure to its gameplay. Meanwhile, the patch also brought in a killstreak and lethal equipment, with the Ball Turret and Sticky Bomb, respectively. Before jumping into the new update, here’s a complete overview of everything in the Vanguard Season 2 patch notes. New CoD Vanguard maps The Vanguard Season 2 update introduced two new maps with Casablanca and Gondola to bolster the lineup of locales to play on. Players can now get a feel for both wide-open spaces and a three-laned battlefield with the new additions. CoD Vanguard Ranked Play and new modes Call of Duty players finally have Vanguard Ranked Play to put their skills to the test with the CDL rulesets in matchmaking. Ranked Play is joined by Arms Race in a separate playlist, giving fans plenty of playlists to explore as Season 2 sets off. Take a look at the entire Vanguard Season 2 update patch notes below, courtesy of Sledgehammer Games. Full Vanguard Season 2 update patch notes New Maps: Casablanca – Gondola – New Mode: Ranked Play Beta. – Arms Race (more to come later in the season!) – New Killstreak: Ball Turret Gunner for 12-kill streak – New Lethal Equipment: Sticky Bomb: A grenade that sticks to surfaces before detonating. – New Perks: Armory – Perk 1: A direct counter-Perk to Engineer, Armory is ideal for Operators who use more than just their weapons in combat, namely placeable Demolition Charges, concussion mines, and placeable Field Equipment pieces. – Mechanic – Perk 3: Mechanic provides a reasonable buff to Field Upgrade charge time, making it a must-have for completing challenges related to them or for Operators who love using them. – Upcoming Seasonal Event: Valentine’s Event – Feb. 11-17 – For more information about all the seasonal content listed here, check out the official Call of Duty Season Two content blog. MULTIPLAYER UPDATES Stability Made several improvements to player textures and animations that resulted in Packet Burst spikes. – Stability improvements should result in better connectivity and lower crash rates. The time to connect to Online Services should also be reduced. – Fixed a bug that resulted in disconnecting during MVP Highlight Animations. – Maps General A thorough pass on map environments has been completed to fix objects with unintended collision, issues with portaling through the ground, and to remove out-of-map exploits. – – Champion Hill There will no longer be two consecutive buy rounds at the beginning of every Champion Hill Duos 2v2 private match. – A bug has been resolved that resulted in players losing Perk and Field Upgrade functionality in Private Matches if they played a match in Champion Hill previously. – Spawn improvements have been made for teams of three. – – Modes Control Fixed a bug that resulted in matches ending prematurely after a spectator disconnects. – Late match joiners are now able to spawn in when lives are available. – Swapping to spectate/different teams now consistently updates the lives left. – The last player alive warning now consistently appears. – – Private Matches Silent Plant Option now works in Search and Destroy Private matches (fixed Feb 3rd). – – Progression Seasonal Challenges All players can now unlock Season 1 Mastery Cards after completing all challenges. – Field Specialist challenge is now tracking for all players. – Counter Measures challenges are now tracking consistently for all players. – – Operator Challenges The Diamond operator skins will now unlock for Barbarian and Shadow operators. – – Welgun Gold and Diamond camos are now unlockable after completing all weapon Challenges. – – Launchers Ground based Killlstreaks now count towards the ‘Deadeye’ camo. – – Weapon Adjustments Throwing Knife Distortion VFX have been removed. – – Equipment Incendiary Grenade Fixed a bug that caused additionally visuals to appear when Incendiary Grenades are used. – Number of Incendiary Grenade uses are now tracked in your combat record. – – Perks Dauntless Suppression no longer applies to players with the Dauntless perk when the player is hit by shots. – – Killstreaks Glide Bomb Fixed a bug that resulted in graphical corruption when Attack Dogs were killed by a Glide Bomb. – – Mortar Barrage Fixed a bug that resulted in the flare and smoke VFX from previously called-in Mortar Barrages temporarily re-appear. – Deploying the Mortar Barrage will no longer force-switch the player’s weapon. – – Flamenaut Activating the killstreak and getting killed at the same time will now grant you the killstreak. – – Field Upgrade Fix a bug with Deployable Cover that resulted in constant screen shake. – Bundles & MTX Year of the Tiger Players who purchased this Bundle but did not receive the Tiger Blueprint, should now have the item. – – Red Reactor Mastercraft Tracers are now displayed on weapons as intended. – – Graveyard Shift Mastercraft “Ashed” tracers will now display correctly when applied to the Ore Sniper Rifle. – – Animalistic Fixed a lighting bug with the Aquatint SMG that cause unintended lighting effect. – – Santa Slay The Lucas Operator outfit, “Yarn Burner”, is no longer invisible for some players. – – UI/UX A bug has been fixed that stopped players being unable to select a weapon when editing Prestige weapon classes. – Prestige player progression is now viewable and tracking properly. – Watch preview is no longer missing from the Battle Pass menu. – Misc A bug resulting in Play of the Game not playing or ending early has been fixed. – Quips no longer play after an Operator is dead. – Free Trial players should no longer encounter the error “This content is only available in the full game. –

Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded update: Aim assist fix, Armaguerra SMG, full patch notes ActivisionSledgehammer Games have released the Season 2 Reloaded update for Call of Duty Vanguard with a variety of changes including the long-awaited fix for Aim Assist. The update has also brought a bunch of new content featuring a weapon, an operator, and various new vehicles among other things. The highly anticipated Season 2 Reloaded update for Vanguard is finally here and the developers have managed to address some of the raging issues that were affecting the game. Apart from the fix for Aim Assist, several sniper rifles have been balanced so that landing those long-range shots feel even more satisfying. Additionally, a new weapon, the Armaguerra 43 is also making its way into the game as a lethal SMG. Keep reading to find out everything that the new update has to offer in Call of Duty Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded. Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded update: Fix for Aim Assist The #Vanguard Season Two Reloaded update is available now! ✔ Aim Assist fix ✔ New SMG & Sniper Rifle Balance ✔ Kill Confirmed is backA new mode, Arms Race, is also live along with Ranked Play & Zombies updates. Get all the deets 👇https://t.co/OfZc0QjTOv — Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) March 22, 2022 The Aim Assist bug which caused the feature to stop working when engaging with an enemy player received countless reports since Vanguard Season 1. Thankfully, the developers have finally worked it out and resolved the bug from recurring in Vanguard Season 2. As the developers have revealed, the bug was getting triggered by the player visibility check feature. However, that error has been worked out and extensively tested by the devs. Having said that, you should be able to have a much better in-game experience with Aim Assist once the update hits the servers. Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded full patch notes Highlights A brand new mode, Arms Race, which takes place on a new large Map, Alps – New Vehicles: Motorcycle, CD12 Transport, and Tank – A New Playable Operator, Gustavo dos Santos – New Weapon, Armaguerra 43 – Ranked Play — Top 250 Skill Division & Leaderboard – New Ranked Play Rewards – Ranked Play Skill Rating Restriction & UI Updates – Zombies: New Covenants, Dedicated Server Pause, and Additional Updates – New Pro Pack, Boston Breach Team Pack, and Bundles – New Ukrainian Flag Calling Card has been added to Vanguard and Warzone. This free Calling Card is now in your inventory. Equip in the Barracks tab, under Customization. – Max 2XP Weekend to celebrate the midseason update. Increase your Operator, Player, Weapon, Clan, & Battle Pass XP. Live Mar. 25 – 28. – Multiplayer Sniper Rifle Balance Type 99 This one is for all of your Quickscopers out there. Faster ADS time and less sway while walking makes it ideal for high-risk, high-reward sniping. But watch out for return fire – you’re fast but not invincible! – – 3-Line Rifle Reliability at its finest. We decreased the flinch received when taking fire to allow players to maintain accuracy while holding a position. – – Kar98K Our jack-of-all-trades Sniper Rifle. Although it was already a popular choice, we decreased its ADS time to give it a better chance in close-quarters combat to offer an alternative to the Type 99. – – Stability & Performance Stability improvements should result in better connectivity and lower rates of server disconnect errors. – Resolved a bug resulting in Dev Error 604, which was caused by being revived while a melee weapon and tactical equipment are equipped. – Scrolling through a large friends list will no longer kick the player out of the Social menu. – Resolved a bug resulting in Dev Error 5573 when using the “Ace Casual” and “Decorated” Operator Skins for Wade and Daniel. – Resolved a bug resulting in Dev Error 7272 when using the “Tooled Up” Operator Skin for Lucas. – Gameplay Aim Assist Addressed an issue that caused Aim Assist to erratically deactivate while engaging an enemy player. – – Destruction Addressed an issue that allowed enemy nameplates to be seen through surfaces in various situations. – – Progression Addressed an issue that prevented players from earning XP for some Operators. – Addressed an issue that caused the “Hello There” Trophy to not be awarded upon joining a Clan. – – Maps Berlin Addressed an exploit that allowed players to reach unintended locations near the Train Yard. – – Bocage Players will no longer spawn in the sight of enemies near the Water Wheel in Assault pacing Free-for-All. – – Casablanca Players will no longer spawn in the sight of enemies near the Hotel in Free-for-All – Addressed an issue that prevented the Patrol capture point from progressing near the Bridge. – – Castle Addressed exploits that allowed players to reach unintended locations in the Courtyard and Garden. – – Desert Siege Addressed exploits that allowed players to reach unintended locations near the Destroyed House, Train Station, and Courtyard. – Improved collision to prevent players from obstructing the view of their character near the Trench, Ammo Dump, and Destroyed House. – Improved collision to prevent an unintended line of sight near the Train Station. – – Dome Adjusted spawns to prevent players from facing interior walls upon respawn. – Improved spawn logic to avoid spawning players in locations where a teammate was recently killed. – – Gavutu Addressed an exploit that allowed players to reach an unintended location near the Arched Rock. – – Gondola Corrected lighting that caused a blue tint to be applied to the environment in certain locations. – Adjusted the capture point in Control to prevent players from capturing it from an unintended location near the Fire Watch Tower. – – Oasis Addressed an exploit that allowed players to reach an unintended location near Ruins East. – – Paradise Improved spawn logic to avoid spawning players near enemies in Team Deathmatch. – Players will no longer spawn in the sight of enemies on the Cliff Path. – Improved collision in several locations to prevent players from obstructing the view of their character. – Improved the pathing of the capture point in Patrol. – – Radar Addressed an issue that caused players to spawn out of bounds in Patrol. – Improved the pathing of the capture point in Patrol.. – – Sub Pens Addressed an issue that caused players to spawn out of bounds near the Utility Room in Team Deathmatch. – Addressed an exploit that allowed players to reach unintended locations near the Dry Docks. – – Modes Kill Confirmed Addressed an issue that caused server disconnect errors. Kill Confirmed has returned to the quickplay filter and featured playlist rotations. – – Operators Thomas (Yeti) Thomas’s Date of Birth has been corrected in his Operator Bio. – – Halima (Hellhounds) Halima will no longer be invisible during her Highlight Intro. – – Weapons NEW: Armaguerra 43 (Submachine Gun) Very high rate-of-fire SMG. Effective at short to medium range engagements. – Unlock the Armaguerra 43 through an SMG-based challenge or via Store Bundle. – – Sten (Submachine Gun) Stock attachments will no longer display incorrect textures. – – Welgun (Submachine Gun) In Gunsmith, ammo attachments that decrease reload quickness will now properly communicate this change. – – KG M40 (Light Machine Gun) Addressed an issue where the firing audio would not be affected by suppression attachments. – – Type 99 (Sniper Rifle) Decreased ADS time from 498ms to 400ms (-20%). – Decreased weapon sway while walking by 80%. – – 3-Line Rifle (Sniper Rifle) Decreased weapon sway while walking by 50%. – Decreased flinch intensity by 50%. – – Kar98k (Sniper Rifle) Decreased ADS time from 595ms to 500ms (-16%). – – Sniper Rifles and Marksman Rifles Decreased flinch intensity by 30%. This change does not apply to the SVT-40, 3-Line Rifle, or Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle. – – – Decreased flinch intensity by 30%. – Attachments Shiraishi Short Barrel (Type 99) Decreased ADS time multiplier from -10% to -5% (-50%). – – Empress 514mm F01 (3-Line Rifle) Decreased over-penetration range from 40m to 15m (-63%). – – Killstreaks Ball Turret Gunner (12 Kills) Ball Turret Gunner usage is now properly tracked in the Barracks and on the scoreboard. – – User Interface & Experience Improvements Added subtitles when previewing Operator Quips. – – Bug Fixes Barracks Addressed an issue that prevented players who reached Level 1,000 in Season One from entering the Barracks menu. – – Accessibility Added the Menu Readability option to the Settings > Interface menu. – – Social An error will no longer be displayed when attempting to view the Social tab in the Clans menu. – Addressed an issue where the View Invite prompt would not function as intended. – – After Action Report Addressed an issue where the Scoreboard tab was missing from the After Action Report. – – Customization Completionist camos will now properly display current progress. – Calling Card Frames, Titles, and Killcam Themes can now be unequipped. – – – Barracks – Bundles & Cosmetic Fixes Blueprints The “Shootout” and “Pawn Shop Special” Top Break Blueprints will now use the correct models for barrel, trigger action, magazine, and optic attachments. – The “Imperator” and “Run It Back” BAR Blueprints will now use the correct models for the CGC 27” 2B and Chariot 18” Rapid barrel attachment. – Adjusted the positioning of the ZF4 3.5X Rifle Scope on the “Ymir Curse” Volkssturmgewehr Blueprint. – Addressed an issue that caused the iron sights to be obstructed when the optic attachment was removed from the “Wasp” RATT Blueprint. – Fire Tracers will now be properly displayed when using the “Helm of Darkness” and “Blacksmith” Blueprints. – The Welgun Submachine Gun is now unlocked upon purchase of the “Heliox” Blueprint. – – Other Items Padmavati will no longer be invisible during her Highlight Intro when using the “Astrakhan” Operator Skin. – Addressed an issue that caused the camera to go out of bounds when using the “Trifecta” Highlight Intro. – Corrected the audio that is played when using the “Quicker They Fall”, “Asshole”, and “Badass” Operator Quips. – Several issues with Watches have been resolved including placement, invisibility, and animation. – Fixed the alignment of several Weapon Charms. – Corrected the alignment of Thomas’ cigar when previewing the “Smoked Out” Highlight Intro. – Corrected the alignment of Halima’s bottle when previewing the “Nice Shot” Highlight Intro. – – Ranked Play Top 250 Skill Division New 8th Skill Division added above Challenger to feature the 250 highest-ranked players in the world. – – Leaderboard New Top 250 Leaderboard added to track the top players in Ranked Play, visible to all players in-game. – – New Rewards New Season Two Ranked Play rewards can be earned by completing Win Challenges and earning Ladder Placements. Each new season of Ranked Play will introduce a new set of Season Rewards. Season Two rewards can only be earned in Season Two. – All rewards can be used in both Vanguard and Warzone once unlocked. – – Season Two Rewards: Two “Pro Issue” Weapon Blueprints – Two Weapon Camos: “Season Two Ladder Champion” & “Season Two Ranked Veteran” – Two Charms: “I Got Bomb” & “Mano-a-Mano” – “Don’t Be Salty” Spray – “Season Two Competitor” Sticker – – Skill Division Rewards: Exclusive “Ranked Legend” Solange Operator Skin awarded for winning 25 games in the Master Skill Division or higher – Animated Emblem awarded at the end of the season based on the player’s final Skill Division – Each Skill Division has a Charm that can be earned by winning 10 games in that Skill Division – – Expanded Party Skill Restrictions Players in Master & Challenger can now form parties with players up to one adjacent Skill Division away (previously only within 500 SR). – Players in Elite can now form parties with players up to two adjacent Skill Divisions away (previously only within 1,000 SR). – Players below Elite can continue to party up without restrictions, and can now party with players who haven’t yet completed their Seasonal Skill Evaluation matches. – Party Restriction rules are now determined by the highest Skill Division represented in the party. – Players are now less likely to get matched with other players who are outside of their current Party Skill Restrictions. – UI Updates My Career & Rewards Added new My Career & Rewards menu, where players can access their Rank, Rewards, and Skill Division screens for additional information. Rewards Screen: Preview your Season Two & Skill Division Rewards and track your progress toward your next unlock. – Skill Division Screen: See where you stack up in the Skill Divisions with information on your current Skill Division, as well as your progress toward your next Tier promotion. – – – Added new My Career & Rewards menu, where players can access their Rank, Rewards, and Skill Division screens for additional information. – Progression The player’s current Rank number is now displayed above their Rank Icon in the Ranked Play lobby. – Players without a Rank will now appear as Unranked. – XP and Weapon XP summary screens are no longer shown after Ranked Play matches. – – Ladder Events The Ladder screen now defaults to the player’s current position when opened. – Stars for previously earned Ranks now correctly appear as filled in on the Ranks screen. – Ranks 10-29 now display the correct number of Stars needed on the Ranks screen. – – Restrictions Create-a-Class, Killstreaks, and Field Upgrades menus now correctly display all restricted Ranked Play content as restricted. These restricted items can no longer appear to be equipped to Ranked Play loadouts. – – How to Play Menu Maps & Modes tab now displays accurate Ranked Play maps. – Added information about Victory Flames to the Ladder Events tab. – – General Addressed an issue that was causing the player’s Operator to occasionally not appear in the Ranked Play menu. – Addressed an issue where players in their 5 Skill Evaluation matches would occasionally appear as being already placed in a Skill Division in some locations. – – Rank Progression Increased the number of Stars earned for each Ladder Placement to make progression through the 50 Ranks slightly faster: 1st Place = 7 Stars (previously 5) – Top 5 = 6 Stars (previously 4) – Top 10 = 5 Stars (previously 3) – Top 25 = 3 Stars (previously 2) – Remaining players = 2 Stars (previously 1) – – Disconnect Penalties The first player to disconnect or quit a Ranked Play match in progress will receive a timed suspension from Ranked Play matchmaking, with increased suspension durations for repeat offenders. – Players receive SR and Ladder Point penalties if they quit or disconnect from a match in progress. These penalties are applied after their next completed match. – The first player to disconnect from the match receives a larger penalty than players who disconnect afterward. – Match Cancelation Players will now see “Match Canceled” whenever a match is canceled due to uneven teams. – MVP Voting no longer displays after a match that was canceled after it started. – General Addressed an issue where players would occasionally not earn SR for a win after the entire enemy team had quit. – Resolved Dev Error 5476, which was occasionally displayed for some players when trying to access Ranked Play from the main menu. – Addressed an issue where players could be automatically returned to the Lobby when scrolling on the Ladder screen. – Addressed an issue that was causing a small number of players to have empty Ranked Play classes and no ability to create Custom Classes. – Zombies Dedicated Server Pause Server Pause implemented for players in Solo and single-player Private matches on dedicated servers. – Players can pause for up to 2 hours collectively per match and can continue to pause indefinitely in Offline/Local matches. – Inactivity Timer Inactivity kick timer extended for players in Public matches. – New Covenants Two new abilities with three rarities added to the Altar of Covenants: Critical Expertise Non-critical hits have a chance to become critical hits. Critical kills with Death Blow equipped will return ammo. – Rare: Non-critical hits have a 10% chance to be critical. – Epic: Non-critical hits have a 20% chance to be critical. – Legendary: Non-critical hits have a 30% chance to crit for 50% bonus damage. – – Explosives Expert Your explosions do more damage to the enemy and less damage to you. Splatterfest & Energy Mine explosion damage is increased. Ray Gun splash damage is not affected. – Rare: Your explosions do 50% more damage to the enemy and 50% less damage to you. – Epic: Your explosions do 75% more damage to the enemy and 75% less damage to you. – Legendary: Your explosions do 100% more damage to the enemy and 100% less damage to you. – – – Critical Expertise – Maps “Terra Maledicta” Addressed multiple issues where zombies could spawn in unintended locations. – Addressed multiple issues where zombie corpses could fall through the floor. – Addressed an issue where the Ray Gun could still be seen floating in space after acquiring it via Side Quest. – – General Closed various exploits in “Terra Maledicta” and “Der Anfang.” – – Objectives Sacrifice Sacrifice Objective now available in all maps. – – Wonder Weapons Decimator Shield Reduced the Decimator Blast ability cooldown from 90 seconds to 60 seconds. – – Ray Gun Addressed an issue where the Ray Gun was not always used when the player was downed if they had it equipped. – – Weapons Weapon Blueprints with custom visual effects will no longer lose these custom effects when upgraded at the Pack-a-Punch Machine. – Addressed an issue where players were not receiving Butcher Medals when getting five rapid kills with certain melee weapons. – Enemies Addressed an issue where Brain Rot-controlled zombies were not attacking Strumkreigers and Zaballa the Deceiver. – Addressed an issue where Zaballa the Deceiver could fail to path to and attack players in some instances. – Addressed an issue where the Sturmkrieger’s weapon could clip into its body during stun animations. – Season Challenges Adjusted one of the Season Two Zombies Challenges to be completable with 75 Molotov kills. – Sprays Addressed an issue where visual effects were not displaying correctly when using sprays in Zombies. – Stability Fixed various stability issues related to Zaballa the Deceiver, Sturmkriegers, and Artifacts. – Campaign Bug Fixes Lady Nightingale Addressed an issue where the player could not perform a takedown on Steiner which halted progression. – –

Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded brings 12v12 Arms Race mode: Rules, vehicles, more ActivisionThe Call of Duty Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded patch is introducing a new mode called Arms Race to the game. Here’s are the rules for the 12v12 mode including a look at the new vehicles you can use in the Vanguard playlist. Sledgehammer Games are injecting loads of content to Vanguard in the Season 2 Reloaded update including a slew of rewards and changes to Ranked play and new weapons like the Armaguerra 43 SMG. The studio is aiming to give players different ways to engage with Vanguard and the season is already looking stacked with the new content coming. As for Arms Race, it’ll join the ample amount of modes and playlists in the Call of Duty library, taking place on the game’s biggest map. Vanguard 12v12 Arms Race explained Vanguard’s new Arms Race mode is a 12v12 where teams will seek to control all five bases across the snowy map. Players can spawn on the bases once it is captured, which also raises defensive gates for friendly players to move within and be an obstacle for the other team. The map, Alps, has seven potential bases, but only five will be active during a game to condense the action a bit more for players to battle over. Read more: Warzone adds Mobile Buy Stations – Arms Race will also incorporate the cash system to facilitate Buy Stations, concealed inside of friendly bases, to pick up weapons, Killstreaks, Field Upgrades, and Custom loadouts. Players can earn cash by capturing objectives and fragging enemies to pick up credits from their bodies. Vanguard Arms Race new vehicles Alps is a big map, so the devs are bringing new vehicles into the game mode for players to move across the field in a fast and strategic way. The new Motorcycle can be called in by anyone once for free and at any time. It’s a two-player vehicle and will be the best bet for quickly moving across Alps, but you’ll be vulnerable while riding. As for the CD12 Transport, this will be how full squads of four can get across the map, and only for the cost of a few hundred dollars. The devs said it’ll have a large explosion when damaged, which may make it a sneaky way to destroy a base’s gate. Vanguard’s Tank will be the most expensive vehicle in Arms Race and for good reason. The one-seater will have built-in rockets and a turret, making it the perfect base buster to take over matches. Players can explore all of these features once Arms Race lands in Call of Duty Vanguard after the Season 2 reloaded update on March 22.

CoD Vanguard Season 1 update patch notes: Control mode, new guns, maps, more ActivisionSeason 1 of Call of Duty: Vanguard is upon us and Activision is bringing a ton of content for the game’s debut act. This includes the return of Control, new guns, maps, and more. Vanguard Season 1 is set to launch on December 8 and we finally have our first look at all the content that will be available. CDL players everywhere can rejoice as Control is coming back to the game and will likely be the third game mode for competitive play. On top of that, there are two new perks that can certainly shake up the battlefield. Also, Season 1 will introduce five new weapons that can be unlocked for free. Popular Modern Warfare 3 map, Dome is making a return along with a new one. Here’s everything to know about Season 1 of Vanguard. CoD Vanguard Season 1 update: Release date & download size The CoD Vanguard Season 1 update became available to download on December 6 at 9PM PT. However, the content itself does not unlock until December 8 at 9AM PT. This gives everyone a short window to download the latest update before everything goes live. That way, you can be ready to go on the dot without having to wait around for a new download to finish installing. CoD Vanguard Season 1 update: Full roadmap As seen in the roadmap, there is so much to look forward to with the Season 1 update. With the new features, players can expect to see a change in gameplay as new maps, perks, and weapons are introduced to Vanguard. Moreover, there’s a new 100-tier battle pass along with prestiges, as season levels will reset and will give exclusive rewards for ranking up. Finally, keep an eye out for the “Festive Fervor” seasonal event later on. You can take a look at the full patch notes here. CoD Vanguard Multipayer Season 1: New maps & modes Two new maps and a returning game mode are locked in for Season 1. One map features an original design while the other is a remake of an old classic. Up first is Paradise, a sunny map set somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Taking after the new Caldera Warzone map, this smaller battlefield is a medium-sized locale with underground flanking routes. Next is Radar, a remake of the fan-favorite Dome map from Modern Warfare 3. This reimagining brings an incredibly small map to Vanguard, one that will be familiar to veteran players. Last but not least, Season 1 also gives us Control, a returning game mode. Having been a staple in the past few years, Control was absent at launch but finally makes it mark in Season 1. CoD Vanguard Multipayer Season 1: New weapons, Perks, & Equipment Five new weapons are set to debut in Season 1, with three available at launch. We’ve got a new AR, Sniper, and Melee Weapon to grab on day one. Topping the list is the Cooper Carbine Assault Rifle, an agile AR with “SMG-like properties.” With the right set of attachments, this can be tweaked to one of the fastest-firing guns in Vanguard. Next up is the Gorenko Anti-Tank Sniper Rifle, described as the most powerful Sniper in the game to date. Rounding things out is the Sawtooth Melee Weapon, another simple secondary to flex on your opponents. In a first for the series, new Perks and Equipment will also be featured directly in the Battle Pass. First we have Serpentine, a new Perk that reduces all incoming damage by 25% while Tactical Sprinting. Next is Intuition, a Perk that sends a pulse across your screen whenever a target is nearby, even through walls. Alongside the new Perks comes the Special Incendiary Grenade, also in the Battle Pass. This piece of Lethal Equipment deals damage over time and also covers an area in white fog, similar to a smoke grenade. CoD Vanguard Multipayer Season 1: Full patch notes – Multiplayer Heads Across the Pacific. Prepare for Paradise, an all-new map based in the Pacific, and remember your Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 Dome strategies for Radar. – Control Returns, another Returning Mode Dropping In-Season. The competitive mode will arrive in the launch window of Season One, while veterans of the franchise may want to get in the zone for a festive surprise later in season… – Get Intuition, Serpentine, and Incendiary Lethal Grenade in Battle Pass Free Tiers. Know your enemy’s position, take less damage on the move, and lock down objectives. Paradise (Launch): A weapons testing site somewhere in the Pacific Ocean hosts all task force Operators for joint exercises. Medium-sized three-lane-style map featuring an underground tunnel and pools of toxic waste. Radar (Launch): A reimagined version of Dome, the classic Modern Warfare 3 map. This small radar station in the Pacific is built for fast-paced combat. Remember to not camp on the catwalks! Best known as a popular third mode in competitive Call of Duty, Control will see a return in Vanguard Multiplayer in the launch window of Season One. Control mixes the limited-life nature of Search and Destroy with the objective style of Hardpoint and the elimination-centered gameplay of Team Deathmatch. Two teams alternate between attacking or defending two fixed capture zones on the map with limited respawns. Attackers either have to capture both zones or completely eliminate the Defenders before the time limit. Another, more respawn-heavy mode, is set to drop during for Festive Fervor, and any veteran since the Modern Warfare 3 days should be prepared to get in the zone for it… Ready those Loadouts for some new Perks and Equipment. Through the Season One Battle Pass, you can unlock three new options across all Vanguard Loadouts, which are set to rival the already stiff competition between the Lethal Equipment and Perk 1 and 2 slot choices: Serpentine — Perk 1, Tier 21 of Season One Battle Pass Sprinting reduces incoming damage. Breaking out into a regular sprint slightly reduces all damage from ballistics and explosives, while Tactical Sprinting can cut damage by more than a quarter of its normal value. Intuition — Perk 1, Tier 44 of Season One Battle Pass Your vision pulses when enemies are nearby, even through walls. Similar to High Alert in previous games, but with shorter range, Intuition allows you to perceive threats before they round corners or burst through doors. This is done without the need to suppress them like Piercing Range, making it a more passive option for those looking for more close-range engagements. Special Incendiary Grenade — Lethal Equipment, Tier 39 of Season One Battle Pass Obscures an area in a white fog and burns those who come close. A handheld and extremely limited version of the Firebombing Run Killstreak, the Incendiary Grenade deals a small burst of damage within a large radius at the detonation point, then deals burn damage every second to those who stay within its range. This damage scales the longer someone is within the area and lasts for a longer time than its rivals, the Thermite and Molotov Cocktail. Season One launch is the kickoff for the Festive Fervor celebrations to come, as well as all the pulse-pounding free content when the new year arrives. Expect more intel about Festive Fervor later this month. And as you prepare for the holidays, remember that the season of Prestige is upon us! At the start of Season One, your Season Level will refresh to Level 1 and your progress will resume from the highest Prestige Level you achieved previously — three, if you reached the top level during the pre-season. Starting with Season One, every 10 levels within Prestige offers a new Zombies and a Multiplayer/Warzone Pacific Challenge to complete for XP and a Calling Card. Complete all 20 within a seasonal set for that game mode to unlock an incredible animated Calling Card that shows off your elite abilities. This season offers four additional Prestiges to achieve across the first 200 levels, as well as a new Weapon Blueprint: – Level 50: New Prestige, Emblem, Weapon Blueprint, and Battle Pass Tier Skip – Level 100: New Prestige, Emblem, and Battle Pass Tier Skip – Level 150: New Prestige, Emblem, and Battle Pass Tier Skip – Level 190: All Season Challenges Available – Level 200: New Prestige, Emblem, Battle Pass Tier Skip, Master Prestige Calling Card – Levels 250–1,000: Ability to earn additional Prestige Levels, if they were not reached during the pre-season. Remember: Your Prestige-leveling journey is synchronized between Vanguard and Warzone Pacific, meaning you can progress through Season Levels and increase your Prestige Level by earning XP in either game! Did an overall pass on Mounting. Players reported issues regarding mount height and objects not appearing mountable. – – – Gunsmith Custom Mods: players can save custom builds. – Adjusted the camera position when selecting specific weapons or attachments. Players reported the weapon preview was cut off for a handful of attachments. – – In-Game Bug where players would load into game with an invisible weapon has been fixed. – Combat Shields now correctly display skins while stowed. – – Progression and Camos XP XP rates have been increased for Snipers. – – 3-Line Rifle Bloodthirsty Challenges have been changed to Prone Challenges. – – – XP – Flamenaut Added damage direction indicators for players using Flamenaut. – – Fire Bombing Run Fixed issue where players did not see where the fire VFX started, resulting in players taking damage though they were not standing in the flames. – – Attack Dogs Fixed a missing VFX path when the whistling animation plays. – – UI Performance pass on Killstreak decals to reduce flickering. – – Dead Drop Fixed a bug where players were continually awarded their top killstreak when using Dead Drop. – Charge time has been doubled. – – Goliath Made it easier to determine if a deployed Goliath is friendly – – Fixed an issue with “Grizzled Veteran – Get X Eliminations in Hardcore Mode” not tracking properly. – Fixed bug preventing some players from unlocking reticles. – Demyansk Fixed an exploit where players could exit the map. – – Oasis: Fixed exploits where players could exit the map. – – Tuscan Fixed a rare issue where players spawn outside of the map. – – Numa Numa Fixed a rare issue where players spawn outside of the map. – – Shipment (Dec 9) Adjusted spawn logic to prevent spawn traps – – UI/UX Fixed a bug where player names were blank in “incoming clan requests” if the request was received while in the Clan Request menu. – – Players will see a warning when equipping 2XP tokens while a global 2XP event is running. – Improved stability when connecting to lobbies. – Fixed bug resulting in “Server Snapshot Error,” where players would get kicked out of matches and into MP menus. (Dec 9) – Stalingrad Fixed bug where the game would crash when Polina picked up an NPC. – – Battle of Berlin Fixed a bug that would cause the game to crash after a cutscene. – – .

Vanguard Ranked update fixes biggest problems with SR progression ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard players have been very critical of the Ranked Play system, with complaints mainly focusing on how much SR is gained and lost after matches. Now, devs are listening to feedback and working on these major issues in the playlist. Vanguard’s Ranked mode came three months after the game’s initial release in November 2021. Even though this is technically just a beta, players have been very vocal about their problems with the ELO system. While players have been non-stop complaining about low SR gains after wins and substantial losses in defeat, the devs have responded to those claims and are adjusting the system accordingly. Vanguard Ranked gets SR fix In a March 28 update, Treyarch revealed that Vanguard Ranked players should no longer be faced with unfair SR earning and losses depending on the outcome of their match. This comes off the back of mass reports from the community stating they would only gain about five SR in wins, but would lose over 50 even if they had to play a game 3v4. On top of this, performance during a game has a slightly less impact on the outcome of the points you earn for each game. New Ranked Play updates are now live! ✅ Players should now earn more SR after wins and lose less SR after losses ✅ Reduction to the impact that match performance has on the amount of SR won or lost ✅ More consistent SR gains & losses overall — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) March 28, 2022 Lead Game Design for Treyarch, Lawrence Metten, clarified these changes on Twitter and talked about the Hidden Performance Range (HPR) that every player has. We’ve gone live with a significant Skill Rating update that changes the fundamentals of how SR is earned and lost in Vanguard Ranked Play. This update makes wins more rewarding, losses less punishing, and improves overall consistency of SR gained/lost + more — Lawrence Metten (@LawrenceMetten) March 28, 2022 HPR is explained as, “a range of how good we think you are and how we predict you’ll stack up against other players.” The better players you beat the more the range will go up. This is directly linked to your SR and when the two match up, you will start to earn less SR. So, this means that you should probably start earning a greater amount for every win, and a lower amount for each loss until your SR and HPR catch up to one another. Of course, there is room for it to fluctuate, depending on if you go on winning or losing streaks.

Vanguard Ranked Play Season 2 Reloaded update: Rewards, party restrictions, more ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded was finally revealed with a heavy emphasis on Ranked Play. From rewards to altered party restrictions, here’s everything that’s new with Vanguard Ranked. At the start of Season 2, competitive Vanguard players finally got their hands on a CDL-style ELO system. Despite it being three months after the game’s release, fans were excited to get into the competitive nature. Treyarch, who is in charge of the mode, has already made some changes based on player feedback, like punishments for leaving. And now, they are adding more stuff to ranked including some sick rewards. Vanguard Ranked Play rewards: Blueprints, camos, more As part of the Season 2 Reloaded update, a new wave of rewards are coming to the game for competitors to unlock. Thees include a STG and Ratt blueprints, weapon charms, and more. We have listed all the rewards available down below: Ranked Legend Solange Operator skin – Two Pro Issue Blueprints – Two Weapons Camos – Two Weapon Charms – Exclusive Spray, Sticker, & Emblem – Players can earn the Solange Operator Skin by winning 25 games in the Master Skill Division or higher. To earn the weapon charms you must get 10 victories in the division. You can track your progress for these rewards in the new “My Career & Rewards” tab. These are exclusive to Season 2, so you will only have a limited amount of time to earn these fresh rewards. Vanguard Ranked Play party restrictions Ranked is also getting a rule change that is loosening the restrictions, in which people can party up with others based on their Skill Rating. Instead of being based on a set number of SR, it will now be division-based. We have posted the official statement from Activision: Players in Master & Challenger can form parties with players up to one adjacent Skill Division away. – Players in Elite can form parties with players up to two adjacent Skill Divisions away. – Players below Elite can party up without restrictions, including those who haven’t completed their placement matches – It is important to note that party rules will be based on the highest person in your lobby. However, these changes make it a bit easier to team up with friends, and you don’t need to do the math to see if you fall in the requirements. Vanguard is also introducing its Top 250 ladder, where the best of the best can earn a spot in the eight division, one above Challenger. These changes are set to take effect on March 22 when the Season 2 Reloaded update goes live.

Vanguard Ranked Play revealed: ELO system, Skill Divisions, Beta release date ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard’s Ranked Play has finally been revealed with some classic features like an ELO system, Skill Divisions, rewards, and more all on the way. Here’s a full rundown on everything there is to know. It took over three months since Vanguard’s release, but a highly anticipated Ranked mode is finally coming to the FPS. This will give everyone the chance to play the CDL ruleset and compete to be the best in the world. Players have been asking for quite some time and requesting that certain features from Black Ops 2 and WW2 are implemented into the competitive playlist. Good news for those who remained hopeful, Treyarch, who are in charge of developing ranked, have listened and are bringing back the ELO system, Skill Divisions, rewards, and more. Let’s take a look at everything to know about Vanguard’s competitive ladder. Vanguard Ranked Play Beta release date CoD Vanguard’s Ranked Play Beta was originally set to launch on Thursday, February 15. However, just hours out from its release, Treyarch announced the mode was delayed. Ranked Play update: In retail testing prior to launch, we discovered a stat-breaking issue that only appears in the live environment. As a result, the Beta will not go live tomorrow morning as intended. Resolving this is a top priority, and we’ll have an update on timing ASAP. pic.twitter.com/VjzXe8wnP3 — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) February 17, 2022 A critical “stat-breaking issue” appeared late into testing, forcing the devs to postpone its launch. With Ranked now delayed in Vanguard, no updated release window has been established. “Resolving this is a top priority and we’ll have an update on timing ASAP,” Treyarch assured. Vanguard Ranked Play ELO system & Skill Divisions There are seven Skill Divisions with five tiers within each. To earn your placement, you must play five matches and the results will determine where you rank. Ranked will use the popular ELO system to evaluate players and separate them accordingly. So, after you do those placement matches you will be able to see your exact Skill Rating (SR). Winning will help you climb the ladder faster, but personal performance will play a role in determining your rank (which can rise or fall). And later on, there will be a Top 250 leaderboard that features the best Vanguard players in the world. Vanguard Ranked Play rewards For anyone that competes in the competitive 4v4 setting, rewards will be earned based on how good you perform. This includes camos, weapon blueprints, operator skins, calling cards, and more. All of the rewards can be used across Vanguard and Warzone. Additionally, those who reach the highest two divisions will earn exclusive prizes at the end of the season.

Vanguard pro finds ridiculous exploit to break outside of map for free kills Activision/Twitter: ShotzzyAnthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro has been a dominant force in both Halo and Call of Duty’s professional scenes — a feat that he’s achieved in part by being more talented at shooting people than nearly anyone else in the world, but also by having an incredible sense of how to move around the map in both franchises. While he’s shown off many high-IQ plays in the past, this demonstration of how to get outside the map on Oasis is a strong contender for his most outlandish discovery yet. OpTic Shottzy shows his stream how to break Vanguard When approaching the outskirts of the map, Shotzzy breaks into a sprint to beat the “out of bounds” timer. With a well-timed slide, he goes underneath the truck and escapes the instakill penalty for being outside of the map by three-tenths of a second to spare. The new vantage point allows him to rack up a few kills before being taken out. He’s eventually able to repeat the task but ends up pressing his luck too far and falling through an unfinished portion of the map. Well we know about @Shotzzy breaking movement, but he may have broken #VANGUARD…. pic.twitter.com/UQyThOfkhx — OpTic Texas (@OpTicTexas) November 19, 2021 One user suggested that the Call of Duty League pro was actually headed all the way to Caldera this time around: “Bro made it to the new warzone map” Another commenter subtly remarked on the entire existence of a bug like this, saying: “Such a polished and complete game at launch.” While this part of the map is accessible for now, it’s certainly not an intended line of sight — as represented by the porous floor that eventually claimed Shotzzy’s life. Thankfully this will only be a problem in public games, as Oasis isn’t one of the CDL-approved maps for either Hardpoint or Search and Destroy, but this does mean that Shotzzy could still be lurking in any given public game, ready to claim the lives of any unsuspecting casuals.

Vanguard players want major buff for “useless” stim shots ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard players want a massive buff to come to the game’s stim shot tactical as players are finding it to be useless. Vanguard released on November 5 and players have been grinding out levels, camo challenges, and more. When players reach level 25 they get access to stims which have been really good in Warzone and other CoD games. While these can be really helpful to stay in the fight and take constant engagements, stims aren’t as good as they have been in the past and players want that changed. Here’s a look at the Equipment in Vanguard. There is a Stim equipment. pic.twitter.com/HENsKSWAZ7 — CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) September 7, 2021 Vanguard players want stims to be more useful When creating the perfect aggressive-paced loadout, players usually turn to the stim shot as it allows them to regenerate their health faster. However, Vanguard players have realized that it is completely useless in this game due to how long it takes to use it and want it fixed immediately. Stim is typically really good as it allows players to start their health regeneration right away after taking a gunfight. However, it takes way too long to whip out and actually stab your character model. In Vanguard, it takes close to two seconds for the stim to be completely used and start regening health. As such, players are complaining that it takes too long. On Reddit, one user commented saying, “I use a stim and by the time I’m using it I’m basically healed.” Another Redditor said, “Died so many times using the Stim,” and tons of other players rallied behind this, claiming it has happened to them multiple times as well. There has been nothing from Sledgehammer Games’ side acknowledging that this is an issue or if stims are really working as intended, so players might have to skip out on using stims in their Vanguard loadouts for now.

Vanguard players slam “stupid” Piercing Vision perk giving them wall hacks Activision/YouTube: PrestigeIsKeyCall of Duty: Vanguard players have had enough of the Piercing Vision perk, calling out the game’s developers attempts at “lowering the skill gap” and essentially giving players wallhacks. In recent years, some Call of Duty games have shipped with perks that let you light up enemies when shooting at them. It has been particularly prevalent in Warzone, with Combat Scout allowing you to see the outline of enemies for a few seconds after shooting them. That then inspired the Piercing Vision perk in Vanguard, allowing players to see enemies through walls if they’ve hit them. A few months into the game’s life cycle now, though, and players have finally had enough, calling out how “stupid” the perk is and arguing that it shouldn’t even be in the game. One player, Doner, said that they “may as well have wallhacks” while using it. Many of the comments are in support, too, with the top comment saying simply that they hope the perk won’t be a thing in the 2022 Call of Duty title, rumored to be Modern Warfare 2. NoDivide shared a similar sentiment online, calling the perk “by far the dumbest perk ever added into Call of Duty.” “I get since MW2019 Activision has been trying to shrink the skill gap but literally giving people wall hacks is TOO FAR,” they said, before adding that the devs should “have some f**king dignity in the game you make.” While many players point out that you can use the Dauntless perk to counter Piercing Vision, many argued that having a crutch perk to protect from “wallhacks” isn’t ideal. It’s fair to say that many players are seriously frustrated with these types of ‘wallhack’ perks — and this may be something that Infinity Ward take into consideration for Modern Warfare 2022.

Vanguard players slam spawns as “getting worse” despite game being months old ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard players have slammed the game and claimed multiplayer spawns are “getting worse”, despite the 2021 title now being a few months old. It’s fair to say that Vanguard’s life cycle did not get off to the start Activision would have been hoping for, with the game even being part of the publisher’s apology for the prevalence of bugs and issues in Call of Duty titles. Among the many issues players have touted, spawns (as always) have been a hot topic. Generally, when a CoD game releases, players accept that the spawns in multiplayer matches will need some refinement. That was the case in Vanguard, with the game’s spawn mechanics promptly being singled out for criticism. However, three months later, some players claim they’re actually going backwards. One player – Slayer2K_ – questioned how the game’s spawns are actually becoming less intelligent, despite releasing in November of 2021. They also stated that maps of all sizes are subject to the problems – not just the smaller, more chaotic environments. “How are spawns getting worse?” they asked. “Whether I’m playing Shipment or Desert Siege, I’m constantly scratching my head and pulling hair out trying to understand spawn logic… Spawning in front of players or flipping sides for no reason, or not flipping when we should be. It just doesn’t make sense. How can something that’s been in every CoD multiplayer be so difficult to implement?” They weren’t the only ones calling out Sledgehammer for the game’s spawns, either. Another player called for a complete spawn “revamp”, saying: “You can’t play a game on any small map in which there aren’t spawn campers or trappers, especially in Das Haus, Shipment and Numa Numa.” A third player stated: “I genuinely don’t understand how spawns can be THIS bad”, with a clip showing them spawning directly behind multiple enemies and racking up easy kills as a result. While some issues will see fixes announced in patch notes, spawns are constantly tuned by Sledgehammer, so hopefully they’ll improve soon – even if it doesn’t get explicitly mentioned by the developers.

Vanguard players slam “incompetent” devs amid Shipment complaints ActivisionShipment is one of Call of Duty’s most celebrated maps, appearing in numerous iterations of the franchise. When it comes to Vanguard’s version, players are calling for major changes as the map is virtually unplayable. Call of Duty: Vanguard has moved the franchise into a new direction, but the developers are still revitalizing familiar maps. Vanguard launched with coveted World at War favorites, but Shipment remains one of the franchise’s most highly regarded locales. Unfortunately, players are blasting the World War 2 variant of the classic map, which is currently suffering from a series of issues. Shipment isn’t delivering signature thrills Vanguard players are less than impressed, as awful spawn systems and an abundance of Incendiary Grenades plague the map. The claustrophobic nature of the map is part of the fun, but players are baffled by how ludicrous the spawn system has become: “Are we sure this isn’t how they think they should be? They’re [Sledgehammer Games] so incompetent at this point you could easily convince me that it’s intentional.” Due to the small size of Shipment, it is incredibly easy to be placed into unfavorable spawns that lead to guaranteed instant death. Pair this with the addition of three Incendiary Grenades, and you’ve got a recipe for anger. “Why the f**k do we have 3 incendiary grenades,” one player commented in frustration. Some players have tried to find the funny side, among all the chaos: “Made some terrific friends. I spawn in with the enemy team, we have cake and tea, then we sit and chat a while before all 8 of them shoot me in the face.” However, there are others firing back at disgruntled players, claiming this is just how Shipment is: “Stop complaining about shipment. That’s shipment, always been like that and always will. If you don’t like it play another map.” Another player has suggested that it’s all in the spirit of the map, saying “wasn’t that the point of the original Shipment map, the chaos?” Shipment continues to run and players are still returning in droves for explosive action, despite its glaring issues.

Vanguard players slam how “ridiculous” Call of Duty has become with Attack on Titan bundles ActivisionMany Call of Duty: Vanguard players are currently bemoaning the recent arrival of Attack on Titan bundles to the game’s store. Fans of the game feel they undermine the serious WW2 setting and are accusing the devs of ‘pandering’ to certain groups. As we’ve seen in the last few years, the Call of Duty franchise has not been afraid to have some outlandish skins and cosmetic features. Tracer bullets have led to colorful beams being pinged all over maps, Warzone’s 80s theme allowed for the natural inclusion of John McClane and Rambo, but the latest addition may have been one step too far. In the company’s second attempt at incorporating the mega-popular Attack on Titan anime license, Activision appear to have found some success. The Armored Titan bundle has been winning over many fans, but it’s also distancing plenty of others. Despite creating a serious campaign geared around the harrowing real-world events of World War II, Vanguard’s multiplayer doesn’t quite follow the same stringent attention to realism. Certain in-game items and bundles are included that were either not around at the time, or are obvious novelty inclusions to encourage players spend real money on them. It was only recently that another character from the beloved anime was added as a skin – Captain Levi – but that didn’t go down as well. The Armored Titan has, but one CoD Vanguard player has taken to Reddit to voice their displeasure: “I get it money, money, money, but for f**k sake, [do they] really have to pander to the Anime crowd to sell a bundle? Sad when MW 2019 started going that way. Yes, some of the operator bundles were a bit much. If it was Fortnite I understand, but they [Sledgehammer Games] undercut their own game theme.” Another post echoed similar sentiments and simply laughed at “how ridiculous this game has turned out.” Another Vanguard player agreed by saying: “As a long-time CoD player, I’m not a fan of how they are handling WWII. They have turned it into an irreverent cash grab mockery. Besides a small handful of skins, this game has 0 realism in terms of skins. I know CoD WWII certainly had its fair share of unrealistic uniforms, BUT, at least it had a larger variety of customization and plenty of realistic uniforms to choose from.” Combined with other issues such as not including a Trophy System, many fans are becoming tired of the game’s hypocrisy with regards to realism and authenticity. With Warzone seemingly gearing up for a King Kong and Godzilla event, this won’t be a surprise to many.

Vanguard players slam devs over “pay to win” Whitley LMG in Season 2 ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard players are calling for major nerfs to the newly added Whitley LMG, calling the Season 2 weapon “overpowered” and “pay to win”. After a delay to allow Sledgehammer and Raven to maximize the efficiency of their patches, Warzone and Vanguard Season 2 dropped on February 14. While Warzone’s patch sought to solve as many bugs and glitches as possible, Vanguard’s brought a couple of new maps and weapons to the game, including the Ice Axe and Armaguerra 43 SMG. Amongst the plethora of new content added to SHG’s annual CoD instalment was also the Whitley LMG, which has proved more controversial than any other weapon addition. When added to the game, the Whitley was designed to be high damage but, with no real weaknesses in terms of handling or recoil, it has been incredibly powerful. Drawing attention to the weapon on Reddit was player ‘Nezev3‘, who said that they were “genuinely curious how this gun got past pre-release balance tuning, [it’s] just unfair.” Attached was a clip of them destroying enemies with the Whitley, taking out enemies in milliseconds as they flew forwards on Das Haus. Among the kills are a number of fairly lucky wall-bangs, illustrating just how deadly the LMG is through surfaces. Plenty of Redditors echoed the comments, criticizing the weapon as “pay-to-win” and “overpowered”. Many suggested it has been dropped too strong to encourage players to spend money and earn it, only to be nerfed in a future update. One said: “They always make battle pass guns OP, so people rush to level them, spending lots of money and time, promptly before being nerfed a week later.” Another commented: “When will you understand that it’s a pay-to-win lite scheme? A shameless one at that.” Currently, the Whitley LMG can two-shot opponents fairly regularly, on top of having a massive magazine. They combine for an absolute behemoth of a weapon – and one that players want to be weakened as soon as possible.

Vanguard players sick of “overpowered” Perk: “It’s literally wallhacks” ActivisionCoD Vanguard has a lot of different Perks and ways to play, but it seems like one, in particular, is drawing the ire of many players as it seems to be overperforming compared to many other Perks. Amidst all the conversation about the rumored Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II reboot and its own potentially questionable Perks, a newer Vanguard addition is causing a lot of pain for many it seems. Unlike Black Ops Cold War which rigidly stuck to the same Perks throughout its lifecycle, Vanguard has not done so. Instead, as well as the default Perks, new Seasons have seen more options be introduced, including a controversial one. Piercing Vision drummed up conversation from the moment it was welcomed in Vanguard Season 1. It allows players to essentially have X-Ray vision and detect and monitor nearby threats through walls. Here is the official description of Piercing Vision: “Sufficiently suppressed targets will be highlighted for a short time, rendering them visible through walls and obscuring effects.” Its effectiveness was recently highlighted in a Reddit video from user jetmajorxbox. During a game, their bullets landed on one opponent, but as there were several other enemies in the room, a single bullet to each was all that was needed to make them ping for a few seconds, providing a live heat signature trail wherever they moved. Given that players have complained about wallhacks in Warzone for a couple of years, the fact that Sledgehammer Games are essentially giving players wallhacks for free in Vanguard isn’t going down well. “This, right here, is totally wrong. Shame on the devs for allowing something like this to happen,” said one disgruntled player, whereas someone else commented: “The problem is you’ll just get people replying saying just use Dauntless, even though that’s completely beside the problem. The perk is a f**king wallhack.” There were plenty more comments all lamenting the power of Piercing Vision, and given that the Perk has been in the game for a while now, it remains unlikely it’ll be nerfed.

Vanguard players furious as weapon distortion turns enemies into wacky inflatable tubemen Activision / UnsplashThe Call of Duty Vanguard Beta is not without its issues, but perhaps the most “punishing” yet has just been uncovered, as weapon distortion is quite literally turning enemies into wacky inflatable tubemen. While it’s not live on all platforms just yet, PlayStation users have been able to kick off their Vanguard Beta grind already. In barely a few days, we’ve already seen a list of complaints grow larger by the hour. From frustrating lobby issues, broken spawns, to the sun itself, there’s been all manner of issues pop up already. Though a new discovery may be the most critical yet. With certain weapon types, distortion can reach entirely new levels. Therefore, when firing certain guns, you’re all but putting yourself at a disadvantage, as ‘TheXclusiveAce’ outlined in his September 12 YouTube video. Even after switching motion blur off and disabling the depth of field effect, visibility still remains an issue in Vanguard. In fact, “the moment you start firing, everything becomes blurry,” the CoD YouTuber explained. With a Machine Pistol in hand, TheXclusiveAce demonstrated how visibility impacts every gunfight. After firing just a few rounds, the enemy player model in front of him transforms into a completely different shape. Rather than staying in human form, the opposing player bends and stretches as a result of the gun’s visual effects. Ultimately, it leaves players “guessing” where their opponent actually stands. Read More: Best MP40 Vanguard class loadout – “There is literally no valid reason for this,” players chimed in on Reddit. “This is just not something that should be in the game. Please take it out or give us an option to turn this off.” While Sledgehammer Games has been vocal in responding to early Beta issues, the devs are yet to comment on this visibility gripe. It appears to impact each weapon differently, but it’s something to keep in mind no matter what your loadout includes. Read More: CoD Vanguard Beta first impressions – For the time being, even with attachments designed to reduce visibility issues, you’ll just have to play around the wacky inflatable tubemen in Vanguard.

Vanguard player’s first V2 Rocket ruined by frustrating game crash ActivisionMowing down enemies for the glory of a V2 Rocket killstreak is a thrilling experience, but for one unfortunate player, their time to shine will have to be postponed. Call of Duty: Vanguard players are chomping at the bit to emerge as the best player, with its enthralling World War 2 setting turning up the intensity. To give players a taste of unrelenting power, killstreaks both familiar and fresh are at their disposal, with the V2 Rocket dealing out game-ending damage to everyone in the lobby. However, for one player, an infuriating issue has cost them their first taste of V2 victory. Game-ending crash ruins Vanguard It takes 25 consecutive gun kills to acquire the V2 Rocket killstreak in Call of Duty: Vanguard, so you better be prepared to fight for it. Reddit user DingDingDongDotJPG had put in the work to get nuke his enemies into high heaven, with the confirmation glaring on screen. With just mere seconds to go, everything was in place. Until Vanguard decided to boot our ill-fated hero out of the game and into the crash screen. Abruptly killing the match, the infamous message claiming a “Server snapshot error” had occurred, was displayed. Some players have tried to find hilarity in the situation: “That timer wasn’t for the v2 rocket it was the timer to kick you out.” However others have taken the time to lambast Vanguard’s stability: “This happened to me during the first few weeks of the game’s release, except it was every time I called a firebombing run. At one point I was kicked from 3 games in a row for doing too well.” Maybe DingDingDongDotJPG will get another chance to dominate their team in the future. Fingers crossed.

Vanguard players find simple exploit to use Atomic camo without unlocking it ActivisionWithin just a few short days of Call of Duty: Vanguard officially launching, players have already found a way to use Atomic and other prestigious camos on their weapons without even needing to unlock them. Unlocking camos such as Atomic and Dark Aether are supposed to be some of the most difficult tasks in Call of Duty, putting an insane amount of time in with every single weapon to flex the top-tier camo in-game. While hackers in the past have used unlock tools to give themselves whatever camos they like, there’s no secret software or dodgy programs that need to be downloaded for this exploit. With this Vanguard trick, players can easily attach top camos to whichever weapon they choose — and all they need is a mouse and a controller. Vanguard Atomic camo exploit For many players, simply using the camo without unlocking it doesn’t feel as good as putting in the necessary hours and work to make it happen, but not everyone feels that way. While the Atomic camo has proven pretty popular in Vanguard already, certain players have found a way to use it without the effort, and there’s about to be a lot of players running around, using the camo without traditionally earning it. As explained in the video below from IAm1Shot, all you have to do is move your mouse and D-pad at the right time to click into Atomic, or whichever camo of your choosing. It’s not difficult, though it may take a few attempts. It’s worth noting that this definitely doesn’t unlock the camos you want to run, but instead just applies it to the chosen gun. If you select a different camo after using it, you’ll have to go through the entire process again. We don’t advise taking advantage of this exploit because Sledgehammer Games will likely fix it anyway, and may soft-reset classes to make sure nobody can use the camos. It’s unclear whether this would be considered a bannable offense. More than that, though, you’re really only cheating yourself.

Vanguard players feel abandoned after “pathetic” event oversight ActivisionThe King Kong vs Godzilla special event in Warzone has left Vanguard players dismayed and disappointed as they feel like they aren’t being catered to when it comes to these blockbuster crossovers. It’s fair to say that Warzone well and truly shook up the CoD landscape. Before it came along, the yearly focus was concentrating on delivering a constant stream of amazing content to whatever the mainline Call of Duty game was at the time. However, the March 2020 release of Warzone, Activision’s dive into the battle royale market, catapulted the franchise into a new gear. Insane Twitch viewership figures cemented the Warzone craze as everyone flocked to Verdansk. The rise of in-game bundles and skins to score Warzone Victories provided a new avenue for moneymaking. As a result, there is a belief that CoD’s main games since have struggled: Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard. The recent King Kong vs Godzilla LTM has been a mixed bag, but Vanguard players are envious that Warzone has received this shiny new addition, whereas they haven’t had anything to shout about. Warzone event highlights Vanguard’s lack of attention On one hand, Warzone players were getting to go toe-to-toe with two of cinema’s most iconic kaiju in an epic battle, whereas Vanguard’s player base was totally overlooked. In a heated post about the situation, one clearly frustrated player had this to say: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but did we get nothing new for the event but store bundles? Not even new challenges? There was always something for the in-game events both for Warzone and current CoD. I know devs gave up on this game months ago, but it really feels like they have spat in my face, we didn’t get a second map at the start of S3, battle pass is super meh, and now we can’t even get some more content for this event?” It’s true that events such as these normally allow players across both games to complete tailored challenges that unlock cool Calling Cards, Emblems, and more, for whatever the themed event is. Reddit user Marino4K felt strongly about this and declared on the post: “It’s pretty pathetic really. The devs have clearly all moved onto the next title and trying to milk OG Warzone for as long as they can. For the record, I’ve bought no bundles for this game, I think all of them either look low effort or incredibly cheesy (the anime girls, weed stuff, etc).” There are plenty of other comments that seem to back up these overall thoughts and it does raise some questions about Vanguard’s long-term future.

Vanguard players ecstatic over changes from beta to launch: “feels like a different game” ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard is finally here and plates are ecstatic over the new FPS, specifically all the changes made from the beta to launch, claiming it feels like a different game. The new CoD is out with a lot of fresh content. With tons of modes, 20 maps, and near endless loadout combinations, this game has so much to offer. During the Vanguard beta, Sledgehammer Games said they were listening to feedback from players and would adjust accordingly. It seems they stuck to their promise as players online have been raving about how much better the game feels now than it did in the beta. Vanguard players happy with changes from beta to launch As Vanguard has released players are looking back at how smooth everything has gone so far. From, the servers working well to the gameplay fixes, people are really happy with the devs. In the above Reddit thread, players point out some of the issues that were apparent in the beta don’t seem to be a problem now that the game has been released. Sledgehammer Games seems to have really dialed in and listened to feedback from players. They added a Ninja perk which always makes your footsteps silent, as well as getting rid of weapon distortion. On top of that, they fixed tons of audio issues and well as tuning spawns to make the maps play out smoother. One Redditor said, “I’m completely blown away by how much better it feels and looks. Almost hard to pinpoint the exact reasons, but it feels like a whole different game.” While the game is still really new, players have been extremely positive and are looking forward to Season 1 and everything else Vanguard has in store for the year.

Vanguard players demand Trophy Systems after seeing “unrealistic” Helm of Darkness blueprint ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard players are losing their minds and are ordering the devs to add Trophy Systems to the game after seeing the new Helm of Darkness blueprint. Since Vanguard’s release, the community has debated whether or not certain things should be in the game based on it being realistic. While it does take place during World War II, people have argued that certain items belong since it’s a video game. Now, players are no longer asking but demanding that Sledgehammer Games adds an important Field Upgrade following the release of a very unrealistic weapon blueprint. This blueprint is now in the #Vanguard & #Warzone Store. pic.twitter.com/nN1g81mbFs — CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) December 23, 2021 Vanguard players want Trophy Systems amid Helm of Darkness blueprint The Helm of Darkness blueprint came to Vanguard on December 23. The STG44 variant brings some fierce energy as it looks extremely futuristic. One person said, “Man, I love realism. I hope one day my grandad who fought in the war will pass his diamond fire breathing ATGdown to me in his will” For a game that takes place in the 1940s, this had players speechless as they get these wild-looking weapon skins, but are still missing a vital piece of equipment that has been a staple in competitive CoD. Can I get a trophy system now please https://t.co/t360fVzJ1Q — LAT Nastie (@Nastiee_) December 23, 2021 London Royal Ravens pro, Nastiee led the charge, wondering where on earth are Trophy Systems. People are claiming that if this skin is realistic enough to be in the game then surely trophies can fit in as well. For those wondering, Trophy Systems have been a Field Upgrade in past titles that allows you to put down a device to block all incoming grenades and stuns. It can withstand a couple before breaking or enemies can shoot and destroy it. With perks like Fortified, Survival Training, and Ninja all in the first slot, it makes it’s nearly impossible to counter both nades and stuns so trophies will help negate that damage.

Vanguard players demand Sledgehammer change “ridiculous” camo challenges YT: FaZe Agony / ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard players are demanding Sledgehammer make changes to the game’s weapon camo grind, with players labeling it “ridiculous” and focused on “player retention”. Weapon camouflages have been a staple of Call of Duty multiplayer for upwards of a decade, with each weapon bringing a number of challenges to unlock skins. Unlocking all the camos for a weapon awards players a Gold camouflage, whilst unlocking Gold on a whole weapon class awards players Diamond camo. Once all weapons have been made Gold and all classes Diamond, players unlock the ultimate mastery camouflage, applicable to all weapons. In Vanguard, the ultimate mastery camo is called Atomic, a multicolored and dynamic skin that makes weapons stand out exactly as fans would like. Getting there, though, is far from simple. When the game dropped there was widespread confusion as classic challenges like 100 headshots had been replaced by ones far tougher. With snipers, for example, players were expected to accumulate 100 point-blank kills in what can only be described as a ludicrously difficult challenge. The complaints have carried over and many new players are echoing them. In a December 30 Reddit post, player ‘Acryn-‘ highlighted just how difficult they are, calling on Sledgehammer to rework them: “As an experienced CoD player I can say that this game has killed grinding for camos. It used to be a fun objective you could do on the side, now you have to dedicate 99% of your playtime to unlocking and doing the challenges for a gun.” They continued: “Who decided it’d be a good idea to have players sit in the back of the map for 100 long-shots with an SMG, or 100 crouch kills… you shouldn’t have to change your entire playstyle for multiple in-game hours just for a camo.” Their comments were echoed by many, with one arguing the changes are designed to keep players playing: “It’s designed for one thing only. PLAYER RETENTION. If there are no challenges to do players may not play as much… It also improves the chances of someone buying something from the store.” Regardless of the reasons behind the changes, the difficulty of the camo challenges is putting many players off, even those with plenty of CoD titles under their belts.

Vanguard players demand return of Ship Haus playlist after baffling removal ActivisionDisgruntled Call of Duty: Vanguard players are calling on developers Sledgehammer Games to reinstate the popular Ship Haus playlist, questioning why it was ever removed in the first place. Despite the mixed reception of Call of Duty: Vanguard’s maps received from the player base, the response to the small and chaotic Das Haus has been largely positive. Many have compared it to the historically small multiplayer maps from the CoD series praising its pace and design. Das Haus has since been paired with the classic Modern Warfare map Shipment in a Ship Haus playlist, similar to the Shoot the Ship playlist that was immensely popular in MW 2019. Many players, though, have been left scratching their heads at its removal amid early February updates. Writing on Reddit, player ‘AdonisBeats‘ criticized the decision to remove it, asking why the devs would take a universally popular playlist out of the rotation. Many players favor Das Haus and Shipment because of their fast pace and the amount of XP that can be gained from playing them consistently. “For the love of god what is it with CoD developers and taking away good game modes?!” they asked. “And on top of it replacing them with dog water modes like “Up Close and Personal” that features “small maps” like Demyansk and Paradise… If any COD developers see this in the future, take Ship Haus, put it back in the game, and leave it TF alone.” Plenty of other players echoed the OP’s sentiment, asking why it would be removed by the devs. One player targeted the lack of map choice in the game anyway, saying: “Really they should just allow us to choose what maps we want to play. I shouldn’t have to wait for a playlist or hope I get one of the maps I like to enjoy the game.” With the player base seemingly unified by their desire to see Ship Haus back in the game, we do expect to see it back soon. Whether it stays, though, is another matter.

Vanguard players demand nerf for overpowered LMG: “There’s no counter” ActivisionSome Call of Duty: Vanguard players are demanding that Sledgehammer Games nerf the Whitley LMG, claiming the weapon’s “overpowered” and has “no counter.” Released during Vanguard Season 2, the Whitley LMG was a controversial weapon from the get-go due to its “pay to win” nature and its combination of great two-shot kill potential, enormous magazine size, and bullet penetration capability. It’s the quintessential gun as it was designed to do high amounts of damage and has virtually zero weaknesses as it has no problems in terms of handling or recoil. Because of this, its power in Vanguard has some players fed up and wanting it to change. Vanguard players demand nerf to “overpowered” Whitley LMG Emphasizing the Whitley LMG’s strength on the official Call of Duty Vanguard subreddit was a Redditor by the name of Kingtinkerer102, who questioned why the weapon hasn’t been nerfed yet, bringing up that it has no counter. “The Whitley, it’s just overpowered and broken,” said the user. “It’s not like a ‘you’re just bad at the game’ type of thing. There is just no real way to counter it, it feels like.” Kingtinkerer102 later elaborated as to why they feel this way, detailing some of the Whitley’s strengths such as its damage and the caliber of ammo it uses. “Its extended .50 BMG 150 round boxes just should not exist,” explained Kingtinkerer102. “Increasing the guns damage by 70% while only reducing its firing rate by 22.1%, the recoil increase is also not really notable, it also seems to give the gun the ability to shoot through every wall in the game.” These sentiments were echoed by others in the Reddit post, in which not only did they answer the user’s initial question but also gave their thoughts on the weapon. One said, “because they couldn’t care less about the game and want noobs to achieve their first nuke with it.” “I completely agree. Honestly, I think the game would be a lot better balance-wise if most of the high-caliber ammo conversions were removed,” said another. “I don’t think any of the lower-caliber conversions are useful in any regard. There’s a chance this highly powered LMG might see some changes very soon as Season 2 Reloaded might be around the corner. Only time will tell of Sledgehammer Games will address it.

Vanguard players demand change to counter “unbalanced” Incendiary Grenades ActivisionCoD: Vanguard players have been complaining about the effectiveness of Incendiary Grenades ever since they came as part of Season 1. With no word of an update, fans are now calling for classic CoD attachments to help counter the overpowered grenades. Vanguard Season 1 brought a lot of new content to the game, mostly through the new Battle Pass for players to grind through. From the Cooper Carbine Assault Rifle to a handful of new Operator skins, the first season shook up Vanguard in a big way. But perhaps the unlockable that has left the biggest mark, controversially so, on the latest CoD is Iincendiary Grenades. After players already reported that multiplayer was dominated too heavily with explosions from mortars or grenades, incendiaries were an unwelcome addition to online loadouts. The visibility issues that have been plaguing Vanguard since launch have only been made worse by this new unlockable, as the smaller maps are now engulfed in fire and smoke. Now, players are desperately calling for something to help counter the poor visibility. Reddit user SubZeroZeusYT made the case for classic CoD attachments like thermal scopes returning, as a way of seeing enemies through the smoke. While it wouldn’t completely stop Incendiary Grenades from being effective, it would help matches be a little more manageable. Small or dark maps like Shipment have been made virtually unplayable since the update, and trying to bag long shots when the whole area is covered in thick smoke has proved to be a nightmare. Being able to equip something to see through smoke would help give players a counter, and could even introduce another tactical dimension to multiplayer games. At the moment, however, with no way of combating them, Incendiary Grenades are being spammed to simply cause chaos. Of course, given that CoD Vanguard is set in WWII, thermal scopes would stick out like a sore thumb. But the poster says they “don’t care about realism at this point,” they just want to see where they are shooting. Despite the carnage they have caused in modes like Domination or Hardpoint, many players feel that the idea of incendiaries are not a bad one. Instead, they say that are just “balanced so terribly” that they’re “ruining games. Of course, the easiest way to combat Incendiary Grenades would be with a patch from Sledgehammer Games, or to remove them completely. But if the devs don’t want to tamper with an item featured on the Battle Pass, a new perk or attachment could be the way to go.

Vanguard players delighted as Raven nerfs end “toxic” Double Barrel meta ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard’s infamous Double Barrel shotgun meta is over, and fans couldn’t be more delighted seeing players who relied on the weapons struggling in the nerf’s aftermath. Since release, the Vanguard Double Barrel shotgun meta was all the fuss in the newest Call of Duty title. With the right loadout, players could decimate others at an absurd range, provoking the community to demand changes. After months of patiently waiting, the demands were met and the Double Barrel received significant nerfs from the devs in Vanguard’s January 20 patch. Now, players are delighted to see others who relied on the overpowered shotgun struggle to perform well after the latest shift in the meta. After the Vanguard Double Barrel nerf, players took to Reddit a day later to celebrate and make fun of players that relied on the shotguns. A post from CoD player Kalashcocknov highlighted how “hilarious” it truly is to see the bad players struggle. “Seeing all the bad players that relied on combat shotties/double barrels and a riot shield is just hilarious,” said Kalashcocknov. “They’re crying on Twitter, they’re crying on Reddit, and they’re especially crying in-game. “You can tell because they’re trying to use an MP40 or STG and going like 2-11 in a Search and Destroy game,” the player added. “It brings me great joy to see such bad and toxic players finally get shut down.” “I love it! I think most of them uninstalled. But I see level 300s that don’t know how to aim,” commented one Vanguard player. One former shotgunner added that the meta was fun, but they won’t miss it if it improves Vanguard as a whole: “I’ll confess that I had fun with how easy it was to just run around and get kills. But I won’t miss it if it improves the overall game.” For now, Vanguard players won’t be decimated by the overpowered shotguns. However, only time will tell what the next infuriating meta will be, and it likely won’t be long until the community is demanding more changes.

Vanguard players call for “game ruining” Mortar Barrage killstreak to be removed Activision / Sledgehammer GamesOf all the killstreaks that Call of Duty: Vanguard has to offer, none has been more controversial than the Mortar Barrage. Now, players are calling for it to be removed from the game altogether. Call of Duty: Vanguard gives players plenty of lethal killstreaks to help rack up high scores and conquer the battlefield. Some of these are fairly unintrusive, like a Spy Plane or a sole Guard Dog running around the map. But there is one killstreak that has had Vanguard players frustrated ever since the game launched on November 5 – Mortar Barrages. This relatively easy to obtain streak bombards map with shells from the sky, destroying anything in a specific spot. Just a few weeks after launch, however, fans seem to be at the end of their tether. Some have even claimed that they ‘ruin the game.’ Vanguard players unhappy with Mortar Barrage killstreak Reddit user Mister270 started a thread in the CoD Vanguard subreddit asking fellow players what the one feature they would like to change in the game is. An overwhelming number of responses called for the Mortar Barrage killstreak to be vaulted entirely. Fans called out the way that the prolonged explosions cause the map to shake. They felt that once the killstreak has been called in, it puts an abrupt pause on the match. “The screen shakes like crazy and it completely stops the dynamic flow of the game,” said the disgruntled player. “Especially in smaller maps, you have two choices – sit still for ages and not get killed, or try to go out and kill the enemy and 9/10 [times] get killed instantly.” Other users also felt that the Mortar Barrage lasts far too long. “How they approved it to last 40-45 seconds is ridiculous. Has to be the longest-lasting killstreak in the series’ history right?” said another player. This was far from the only change that fans felt Vanguard needed. Fingers were also pointed at the chaotic spawns and overpowered dogs. But Mortars seemed to be the “number one” issue players had in Vanguard currently. As mentioned earlier, this has been a constant gripe ever since launch, so we’ll have to wait and see if Sledgehammer Games decide to tweak it slightly in a future patch. But fans will no doubt be glad to see some changes to this disruptive killstreak.

Vanguard players blast Zombies update as “slap in the face” to CoD fans ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard players have slammed the game’s new Zombies update as an “insult” and a “slap in the face” to fans of the series, with the Shi No Numa addition disappointing considerably. Fans of the Call of Duty series will be well accustomed to Zombies modes. Originating way back in 2008’s World at War, the acclaimed mode sees players fight hordes of the undead and has returned in most CoD games over the past decade. That is true of Vanguard too, but Sledgehammer’s 2021 take on Zombies hasn’t received the praise some installments have. Criticism has especially piled up since the mid-season update dropped on January 11. While it brought the classic Shi No Numa map to Vanguard, many have been left feeling short-changed. Redditor GreasyFeast was among fans who spoke out against the new map: “Treyarch’s Twitter called the Shi No Numa “classic survival gameplay” and “traditional zombies”, so I got hyped. I thought we’d be able to progress through the map as we did over a decade ago. Maybe my expectations were too high, but why did they even bother with this mode? The starting building only?” Some CoD fans have already criticized the effort (or lack thereof) they feel has gone into Zombies in Vanguard. Many have compared it unfavorably to those in BOCW. The Redditor finished: “There was absolutely no point in adding this to the game and feels like a slap in the face to Zombies fans. It is so sad that Vanguard has such a bad Zombie mode when I loved Cold War’s so much.” Plenty agreed with the OP and suggested the way it was presented was misleading. The Redditor went on to say: “It was lazy. They should’ve just added it without saying “classic survival” and “traditional zombies”, they knew what they were doing.” Here’s hoping that the future of Vanguard and its Zombies gets brighter in 2022.

Vanguard devs remove Dead Drop field upgrade after easy killstreak glitch returns ActivisionDead Drop has long been the Field Equipment of choice for many Vanguard players, but players are scratching their heads as it appears Sledgehammer Games has temporarily disabled the useful ability. A few interesting notes are headed Vanguard’s way thanks to the Season 3 Reloaded patch notes which have revealed Serpentine is set for an interesting buff, as well as the arrival of the H4 Blixen SMG to shake up the meta. Something that players have noticed though is that the Dead Drop Field upgrade is now no longer available for selection. For many players, this has come without warning and they are seeking an explanation, and we have it below. ❗️ We have temporarily disabled the Dead Drop Field Upgrade due to an active exploit involving Killstreaks in #Vanguard. We will provide an update as soon as we identify a solution.https://t.co/2ZBqpgR6M5 — Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) May 24, 2022 Dead Drop unavailable for Vanguard loadout Sledgehammer Games announced after the patch notes were dropped that they would be disabling Dead Drop due to “an active exploit involving Killstreaks in Vanguard.” Not everyone follows weekly patch notes and announcements, so it’s understandable that this decision would’ve gone under the radar for some. SHG’s explanation for disabling Dead Drop seems a bit ambiguous though, only mentioning that it pertains to Killstreaks. However, one Reddit user has come up with a reasonable, and very familiar solution to its removal from Vanguard. khai115_2 said: “They disabled it cause the bug where it let you keep streaks over and over came back again.” For those unaware, Dead Drop had an infamous glitch in the game’s early days in which you could pretty much get unlimited Killstreaks, including the game’s top-tier ones. One irate commenter said: “I f**king knew this was happening again. I had a hunch the other day due to some ridiculous back-to-back Killstreaks someone had on my team.” This drew the ire of frustrated players who became tired of getting bombarded with constant Killstreak during every game, leading to it being disabled and the glitch fixed. We fully expect the same to happen here and Dead Drop will be reverted to its default state.

Vanguard players annoyed as weapon challenges won’t progress ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard players have laid out their frustrations with some weapon challenges, mainly for the STG, as camos, attachments, and others aren’t unlocking. It’s a yearly tradition for Call of Duty players to jump into the new game and start grinding in multiplayer – looking to rank up fast, unlock all the weapons, and rocket themselves up the leaderboard. To prove you’re the best of the best, you have to complete the different weapon challenges to unlock attachments, camouflages, and other cosmetics that’ll help you stand out from the crowd. However, in the early goings of Vanguard, these are a little broken with a few weapons as players have been reporting that challenges are not tracking and items are not unlocking. Vanguard STG weapon challenges broken The main issues for most players revolve around the STG, with many reporting that the elimination and headshot challenges won’t track while others are not able to get the reticle challenges to progress. “Vanguard camos not counted, hope this ain’t a waste of time,” tweeted RavenGunnit. Others, like Redditor ChangedRacer, have reported issues with the ‘Pack Tactics’ camo not progressing while Death Artist, Mind Games, and Survivalist are also locked despite players far surpassing the levels needed to unlock them. Some players have suggested that the issue relates to using the STG in Warzone prior to Vanguard’s release as they’ve also had issues with the M1 Garand. “Mine was level 11 when I launched Vanguard so those first 2 camo challenge sets that were unlocked in Warzone don’t track,” added Jay_715. https://twitter.com/RavenGunnit/status/1456515305522466826 https://twitter.com/BigMikeMW/status/1456550657024999427 While players are calling on Sledgehammer Games to get a fix out, some are simply moving on and using other weapons. “The first one (for STG) doesn’t work at all so I’ve moved onto MP40,” said one player. “I moved onto a different gun until it’s fixed. Same bug happened in Modern Warfare and you didn’t get the camos retroactively,” added another. With Vanguard only just releasing, it remains to be seen as to just how quickly the developers can get things ironed out. However, players are hoping it won’t take long.

Vanguard player left mind-blown after teleporting and becoming invincible in multiplayer ActivisionA Call of Duty: Vanguard player was left absolutely mind-blown after a confusing bug in multiplayer made them teleport and become completely invincible. Sometimes, for better or worse, Call of Duty players have become accustomed to encountering bugs and glitches both in Vanguard and Warzone. From freaky glitches that turn players into floating bodies that can’t be killed to new patches by the devs completely breaking the Search and Destroy mode is one of the many things to expect when playing the 2021 CoD title. However, a new glitch left an innocent player mind-blown after they teleported and became invincible. In a Reddit thread on February 4, Vanguard player andata118 shared a clip of them encountering a bizarre bug. During the short video, the player mysteriously teleported across the map after almost dying. Puzzled by what happened, the player continued to play as normal, where they came to realize they were invincible and couldn’t die as the enemy team continuously attempted to kill them. Eventually, the enemies stopped shooting and stared in disbelief at the invincible player. As pointed out in the comments of the thread, it turns out andata118 died before becoming invincible – which explains the teleporting but not being in a “god mode.” “I don’t think you teleported, you can see in the kill feed that you died from the rocket,” said NormanQuacks345. “So you actually just respawned. I can’t explain the god mode though..” Another commenter added their suspicions as to how the bizarre bug occurred: “He died and the game counted him as dead so removed his hitbox is my guess.” It’s unclear exactly how this bug happened, but nonetheless, the Raven Software devs will look to figure it out and fix it. It joins a growing list of issues for the devs to solve.

Vanguard player finds OP way to easily kill Flamenauts ActivisionThe Flamenaut Killstreak is phenomenal when it’s on your side in CoD Vanguard, but a menace when you’re up against it. However, if you do have to bring one down, then someone has found an effective way to deal with them. Call of Duty’s gameplay has always been so engaging over the years because of the multitude of guns, Perks, and Killstreaks. It allows players to customize their playstyle and when you have multiple players all flexing personal loadouts, games of CoD can become very interesting. It’s true that players are far more aware of metas nowadays and as a result, you get people largely using the same guns. But other elements are still up in the air such as Killstreaks, and the Flamenaut, in particular, can really turn the tide of a match. Flamenaut Killstreak cheese method found The Flamenaut streak requires 9 consecutive kills to obtain in game, and unless you’re nifty and have the right gun to take a player using it on at range, chances are you’ll succumb to the heat. But Reddit user willoftheman showed footage of an easy and efficient way to make mincemeat out of Flamenauts. Quite simply, ensure your throwing arm is up to speed, make sure you have a Thermite Grenade equipped, and throw one straight onto the player using it. It will stick to the monstrous suit and continue to pummel the armor with a constant stream of damage from the burning Thermite and have it destroyed in a few seconds. Now, you may have already thought of this method, but it’s so easy to overlook Thermite Grenades, especially in this capacity during the heat of battle. Users who watched the video commented on it with a large number of players believing that the Goliath is also another iron-clad way to shut down Flamenauts. “Even simpler and you don’t have to die. Goliath tank will take them out,” one player said. You’re not as active when using a Goliath though, so it might not be for everyone, whereas one solid Thermite shot will put an end to the killstreak quite easily. In any event, if Flamenauts are still causing you some trouble, then there are solid ways to counteract them.

Vanguard pay-to-lose operator skin completely obscures player’s ADS ActivisionA Vanguard player has been left completely baffled by one of the game’s paid skins leaving their aim completely obscured. The pay-to-lose item made it so that they were unable to see anything whilst ADSing. Pay-to-win and pay-to-lose are common terms thrown around when an item intended to be purely cosmetic and not provide any sort of advantage manipulates the game in an unexpected way. Vanguard has had run-ins with several of its weapons such as the Double Barrel Shotgun and Whitley LMG offering pay-to-win bonuses. On the other hand, a pay-to-lose Blueprint has also caused grief. Another example of pay-to-lose has shown up in the game with one operator skin in particular, leaving players unable to aim down a weapon’s sight properly. Pay-to-lose skin makes ADS impossible in CoD Vanguard CoD Redditor dannylo showed fellow players that Arthur Kingsley has more tricks up his sleeve than first imagined. More specifically, an inconvenient thumb that doesn’t understand the concept of iron sights. It appears that if you equip Arthur Kingsley’s “Alleyway” Battle Pass skin then you will be unable to use the Panzerfaust with complete accuracy. For some reason, Arthur feels the need to put his right thumb over the iron sight, completely impeding your view and giving you no indication as to where your shot will go. It does appear that this only happens with the Panzerfaust too, as dannylo switched to their other weapon and had no issues with it. A commenter on the post jokingly implied that its purpose is to help you “feel where the rocket is going.” Interestingly, Redditor SixSenz said: “I got this same bug with another operator, but I don’t remember which operator it was.” So there could actually be more broken Blueprints and skins out there that also have similar effects to the Arthur Kinglsey Alleyway one.

Vanguard pay-to-lose blueprint makes weapon impossible to reload ActivisionOne of Vanguard’s paid Blueprints is actually causing players to end up with 0 ammo after reloading. The unusual ‘pay-to-lose’ Blueprint can only be obtained through the Battle Pass and this glitch is making it totally ineffective. Pay-to-win Blueprints are not strangers to Call of Duty as different examples over the years have shaken up a game’s meta. In fact, Vanguard and Warzone’s Season 1 Battle Pass has already had one example of a ‘pay-to-win’ Blueprint. However, the pay to lose is a concept that is a bit rarer but is equally damaging to a game. The Skull Collector bundle was a recent example of this, and now a new one has been discovered in Call of Duty: Vanguard. Pay-to-lose Vanguard Blueprint is not ideal A Reddit user has realized that the 3-Line Rifle’s Gargoyle Blueprint has a bug that can cause it to suddenly have 0 ammo. KobraKay87 used the 3-Line Rifle Blueprint during a game on Oasis, reloaded the gun, and noticed an issue. Upon completion of the animation, the gun’s ammo counter didn’t appear to restock, instead, leaving the player’s total permanently on 0. The special Gargoyle skin can only be obtained by reaching Tier 71 of the Season One Battle Pass — a paid tier. According to the comments, this seems to have happened to a few players, meaning it’s not a one-off. On the plus side, there might be a simple explanation as to why it’s happening. The OP says that the bug will occur if “you switch back to the original magazine.” Every Blueprint comes pre-equipped with a custom loadout, and you can change the attachments individually to tweak the setup slightly.

Vanguard November 11 patch fixes reticle & point-blank camo challenges ActivisionIn a new hotfix update, Call of Duty: Vanguard’s devs continue to help camo grinders. The November 11 patch notes show fixes for reticle and point-blank camo challenges, as well as Zombies and campaign adjustments. As soon as Call of Duty: Vanguard released on November 5, players were shocked by the game’s camo challenges. It took mere moments for streamers to ask who was “in charge” of coming up with these cosmetic requirements. In the short week since, Sledgehammer Games have been tackling the camo issues — starting with November 10’s patch, which fixed broken progression. November 11’s update also hits the camos. This time, the patch notes include fixes for reticle progression and make the frustrating point-blank challenge for snipers a little easier. Alongside these, there are a variety of bug fixes across multiplayer, Zombies, and the campaign. Vanguard November 11 update helps camo grinders Here’s the full patch notes for today’s #Vanguard hot fix update. pic.twitter.com/PJq2Jilgpy — CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) November 11, 2021 So far, Sledgehammer haven’t adjusted the game’s guns. While players await a weapon patch for seemingly overpowered guns like the 1911 pistol and STG 44, the devs are working to fix smaller issues. This new hotfix update “increased the point-blank range for sniper challenges,” which should delight camo grinders. Additionally, it fixed a reticle progression issue and some spawn problems on Numa Numa and Desert Siege. The full patch notes follow below. Call of Duty: Vanguard November 11 full patch notes MULTIPLAYER Fixed a spawn trap in the cave on Numa Numa while playing Domination, Team Deathmatch, or Kill Confirmed – Increased the point-blank range for sniper challenges – Fixed spawning close to enemies on Desert Siege – Fixed players spawning into a buy round with fists and no secondary weapons – Fixed reticles challenges that were not tracking past the first challenge – Incendiary rounds no longer trigger a fire death or burn damage voiceover on corpses – Fixed the Secrets of the Pacific Get 3 wins challenge tracking losses as wins during FFA – Fixed a messaging error in Champion Hill about purchasing the BAR when the weapon was not purchased – Fixed the broken clan XP bar display after level 1 – Fixed a rare bug that caused your FoV to lock – Fixed FFA losses recording as wins for operator challenges – Fixed a rare crash on the MVP voting screen – Combat Shield will now protect player’s backs once stowed – Invisible player models in MVP voting and Play of the Game have been fixed – Fixed a bug affecting Constanze’s skin progression – Operator Challenges no longer annear to reset after completion – Inaccurate unlock requirements for Weapon Challenges now display correctly – CAMPAIGN Mid-level checkpoint save data has been invalidated for some. – Note: Players have not lost all of their campaign progress. Save loads will deliver players to the beginning of the latest level rather than their last checkpoint. This isn’t a common occurrence, but was required for future patch processes. – ZOMBIES Addressed an issue that allowed players to get outside of the map – Addressed issues with players who died in a downed state not transitioning properly to Spectator mode – Fixed a bug that gave players the default pistol when downed instead of the Pack-a-Punched version, if they own one – Camo Progression: All Pistol challenges can now be properly completed – Exfil: The kill count to Exfil now correctly tracks zombies killed – Self-Revive: Addressed an issue where the Self-Revive meter fails to show progress – Transmit: Fixed a constant death loop issue that occurred when dying outside of the damage barrier – Legendary Covenants: Addressed an issue where players wouldn’t receive Legendary Covenants at the Alter – After-Action Report: Players are no longer returned to the Lobby when attempting to view post-match unlocks – Field Upgrades: Addressed an issue where players who recovered from being downed were unable to use Field Upgrades in rare instances –

Vanguard May 10 update patch notes: Operator audio fix, low-caliber Magazine changes, more ActivisionThe first patch of Vanguard Season 3 has arrived in the form of the May 10 update. This time around there was a focus on getting all of the Operators back to being silent, as well as making low-caliber mags more viable when compared to their high-powered siblings. This week’s Vanguard patch takes aim at punching up what wasn’t addressed in the Classified Arms update. While there’s not as much to talk about in this one, veteran players will be happy to know that it’s safe to use their favorite operators again, as the loud groaning audio bug that was plaguing the game has now been dealt with for good. Vanguard May 10 update: What’s changed? There’s no doubt that the audio bug took center stage this week. In the notes, Sledgehammer specifies that instead of limiting this to the few operators who were most affected, their fix will apply to everyone equally: “All Operators are now silent while mantling, landing, and performing other movements.” As a result, it’s going to be much easier to make stealthy little plays like climbing up into Top Church on Tuscan or any of the various high ground areas in Berlin. An update has been deployed in #Vanguard! ▪️ Rebalance low-caliber Magazine Attachments ▪️ Operators are now silent while performing specific movements ▪️ Trophy Systems no longer destroy a thrown Skal CrusherCheck out the Patch Notes for details 👇https://t.co/9Ku29ctdpP — Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) May 10, 2022 That’s not the only global fix though. Low-caliber magazines saw a bump across the board, as the devs noticed that players were heavily favoring the TTK granted by the high-caliber alternatives. “Magazine Attachments with a low-caliber have struggled to perform on par with their high-caliber counterparts. Today’s update increases the firepower of low-caliber Magazines so that players can equip these Attachments for the handling benefits while maintaining similar bullets-to-kill.” For the full list of weapons and mags that were affected by this update, check out the full patch notes listed below. Vanguard May 10 update Full Patch Notes All Operators are now silent while mantling, landing, and performing other movements. – The Season 3 Top 250 Skill Division and Ladder are now live. – STG44 (Assault Rifle) 7.62 Gorenko 30 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 22 to 24 (+9%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 7.62 Gorenko 30 Round Mags (Magazine) – Automaton (Assault Rifle) 5.6mm 25 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 18 to 20 (+11%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – Increased fire rate bonus. – – – 5.6mm 25 Round Mags (Magazine) – Itra Burst (Assault Rifle) 6.5mm Sakura 20 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 22 to 25 (+14%). – Decreased burst delay benefit. – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – .303 British 32 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased fire rate bonus. – Increased burst delay bonus. – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 6.5mm Sakura 20 Round Mags (Magazine) – BAR (Assault Rifle) 8mm Klauser 20 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 28 to 32 (+14%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 8mm Klauser 20 Round Mags (Magazine) – AS44 (Assault Rifle) 7.62 Gorenko 45 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 19 to 23 (+21%). – – – 7.62 Gorenko 45 Round Mags (Magazine) – NZ-41 (Assault Rifle) 8mm Klauser 30 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 28 to 32 (+14%). – – 6.5mm Sakura 45 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 28 to 31 (+11%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 8mm Klauser 30 Round Mags (Magazine) – Volkssturmgewehr (Assault Rifle) 7.62 Gorenko 30 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 21 to 24 (+14%). – – 7.62 Gorenko 20 Round Fast Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 21 to 24 (+14%). – – – 7.62 Gorenko 30 Round Mags (Magazine) – Nikita AVT (Assault Rifle) 6.5 Sakura 50 Round Drums (Magazine) Increased damage from 19 to 22 (+16%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 6.5 Sakura 50 Round Drums (Magazine) – KG M40 (Assault Rifle) 6.5mm Sakura 35 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 22 to 24 (+9%). – – – 6.5mm Sakura 35 Round Mags (Magazine) – MP-40 (Submachine Gun) 7.62 Gorenko 32 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 23 to 31 (+35%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – Decreased fire rate bonus. – – – 7.62 Gorenko 32 Round Mags (Magazine) – Sten (Submachine Gun) 7.62 Gorenko 32 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 23 to 30 (+30%). – – – 7.62 Gorenko 32 Round Mags (Magazine) – M1928 (Submachine Gun) 9mm 50 Round Drums (Magazine) Increased damage from 20 to 24 (+20%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 9mm 50 Round Drums (Magazine) – Owen Gun (Submachine Gun) 7.62 Gorenko 33 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 25 to 32 (+28%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – Decreased fire rate bonus. – – 7.62 Gorenko 72 Round Drums (Magazine) Increased damage from 25 to 32 (+28%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – Decreased fire rate bonus. – – – 7.62 Gorenko 33 Round Mags (Magazine) – PPSh-41 (Submachine Gun) 8mm Nambu 71 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 21 to 27 (+29%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 8mm Nambu 71 Round Mags (Magazine) – Welgun (Submachine Gun) 7.62 Gorenko 48 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 24 to 31 (+29%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 7.62 Gorenko 48 Round Mags (Magazine) – Einhorn Revolving (Shotgun) Birdshot 5 Round Cylinder (Magazine) Decreased effective damage range penalty. – – – Birdshot 5 Round Cylinder (Magazine) – Double Barrel (Shotgun) 16 Gauge (Magazine) Decreased effective damage range penalty. – – – 16 Gauge (Magazine) – MG42 (Light Machine Gun) 6.5 Sakura 125 Round Drums (Magazine) Increased damage from 17 to 19 (+12%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 6.5 Sakura 125 Round Drums (Magazine) – Type 11 (Light Machine Gun) 5.6mm 45 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 19 to 23 (+21%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 5.6mm 45 Round Mags (Magazine) – Bren (Light Machine Gun) 6.5 Sakura 30 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 25 to 32 (+28%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 6.5 Sakura 30 Round Mags (Magazine) – Whitley (Light Machine Gun) .303 British 45 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 28 to 31 (+11%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – Decreased fire rate bonus. – – – .303 British 45 Round Mags (Magazine) – G-43 (Marksman Rifle) 6.5mm Sakura 20 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 25 to 31 (+24%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – – – 6.5mm Sakura 20 Round Mags (Magazine) – M1916 (Marksman Rifle) 6.5mm Sakura 20 Round Mags (Magazine) Increased damage from 38 to 40 (+5%). – Increased effective damage range penalty. – Decreased fire rate bonus. – – – 6.5mm Sakura 20 Round Mags (Magazine) – Trophy System Trophy Systems will no longer destroy a thrown Skal Crusher. – – Corrected the bullet impact decal of the Lost Blood Blueprint for the Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle. – Addressed an issue where Camos were not displayed on the Junkyard Jet Blueprint for the Sledgehammer. –

Vanguard leak hints at Captain America & Indiana Jones operator skins Activision / DisneyA new Call of Duty: Vanguard leak suggests that movie icons Captain America and Indiana Jones are coming to the game as operator skins. Operator skins are a huge part of Call of Duty’s customization as players can unlock or buy different characters to run around the battlefield with. In the past, Activision has teamed up with Hollywood to bring some of their biggest movie icons like Rambo, John McClane, Ghostface, and more. However, Call of Duty Vanguard players may be getting their hands on new movie characters as a leak suggests that two famous icons are coming to the game – and they’re both perfect for Vanguard’s WWII setting. CoD: Vanguard leak shows Captain America and Indiana Jones operators According to longtime CoD leaker Tom Henderson, Marvel’s Captain America and Hollywood star Indiana Jones are both coming to Vanguard. Both Captain America and Indiana Jones seem to be making their way to #Vanguard in the near future. Disney had been in talks with Activision in the summer on potential partnership opportunities. pic.twitter.com/XI7juVSdfC — Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) November 11, 2021 Henderson said that Disney has been in talks with Activision to work on partnership opportunities and it appears Call of Duty Vanguard players may get this ultimate crossover featuring the First Avenger and the whip-cracking archaeologist. Dataminers have also done some digging in the game’s files to reveal artwork, calling cards, and a possible event tied to their appearances. S4_AH_SET_CAPTAINAMERICA S4_AH_SET_INDIANAJONESS4 = #Vanguard AH = American Heroes (Event?) pic.twitter.com/IbZU4DHdzV— 𝗡𝗛’ -Hotel Six- 🧼🥇 (@ModenasHD) November 11, 2021 The leak, by ModenasHD, shows off Captain America and Indiana Jones with the code “S4_AH_SET_CAPTAINAMERICA” and “S4_AH_SET_INDIANAJONES.” ModenasHD believes that “AH” is code for “American Hero” and could be the event that comes to the game when these operator skins are released. For now, players will need to wait to see if Activision makes this official, but if they do then expect to be able to use these operators in Call of Duty Vanguard and Warzone when integration occurs.

Vanguard hitboxes are actually broken and it’s ruining games ActivisionWhen it comes to getting kills in Vanguard you need to be precise with your bullets but players have discovered that hitboxes are actually broken and it’s running games. Vanguard has rolled out a couple of patches already fixing annoying things like reticle and camo challenges. While players have seemingly been happy with the changes the devs have made and the response time the team have, but there are still new problems being found. Lately, players have been complaining about bullets registering in odd ways and Sledgehammer Games may want to take a look at this game-breaking discovery. Vanguard head hitboxes are not registering properly While Vanguard is still fresh and people continue to grind out the new Call of Duty, they are still discovering issues with it. This Reddit post by ‘fpsdredd’ shows off how Vanguard operator hitboxes are out of whack and is leading to some obnoxious gameplay. In the clip, you can see they are in a custom match with two different POVs. You can see the player crouched down while the other is shooting a couple of inches above the enemy’s head. The person crouched down takes damage while the other player fires bullets that are nowhere near the head. This has been pointed out by numerous people. Another Reddit thread suggested that just riot shields were bugged and did not protect the head of a player. Turns out that it is just the hitbox as a whole that is completely wrong. Some players thought that this had to do with which operator you picked. We have seen issues with some being quieter than others but this appears to be an issue on all of them. There has been no word from SHG yet but they have been quick to fix big issues already so we could get a fix for this fairly quickly.

Vanguard glitch gives you unlimited ammo but there’s a catch Call of Duty: Vanguard players can currently benefit from a glitch that gives you an endless supply of infinite ammo. However, the unusual bug comes with one notable drawback that nullifies its effects. So far, Vanguard has stayed free of any truly destructive and game-breaking glitches, aside from maybe the unlimited Dead Drop glitch. There’s been the odd nuisance such as players exploiting Sub Pens and the return of the infamous MW2 elevator glitch. Now, another Vanguard glitch has been discovered in the game. Again, it leans more on the side of a minor inconvenience rather than a full-blown problem. But if players aren’t careful, then they could fall victim to the unlimited ammo glitch’s bizarre side effect. The aptly-named Reddit user hallmonitor53 has watched and reported a glitch that happens with the 1911 Pistol. If a player equips the 1911’s full-auto variation, then switches to its single-shot form, then the gun will fire unlimited ammo. At first, despite it only being a Pistol, there’s a natural feeling that this exploit could be game-breaking and disrupt games of Vanguard. Upon closer inspection of the glitch, it appears that this is not the case. According to several users in the comments, the unlimited ammo glitch “does 0 damage when it’s glitched.” The gun will still leave bullet holes in the wall, but the M1911 will offer 0 DPS in its glitched form. Another user also said: “Doesn’t even register shots nor hitmakers either. All purely visual.” So Vanguard is thankfully safe from a potential exploit, but 1911 users should keep an eye on what loadout they run. Check out some other weird Vanguard glitches such as a player’s own Guard Dog turning on him!

Vanguard devs testing new spawn system with Experimental Playlist ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard devs are finally testing a new spawn system as a March 25 update introduced an Experimental Playlist, and players can provide feedback to Sledgehammer Games. Ever since Vanguard’s release in November 2021, players have been extremely vocal about the game’s poor spawn system and how it’s not a fair mechanic. With squad spawning being in the game, it means that you can revive right next to a teammate no matter who is around, which can take away from the competitive nature of CoD. Players have shown how bad this is and have asked for changes. Good news is that Sledgehammer Games appears to be listening as they begin to test a new system in the FPS. Vanguard March 25 update brings spawn system tests Sledgehammer Games have been committed to fixing the core issues of the FPS and are working to fix a huge complaint with spawns. An update has deployed in #Vanguard ✔️ Reduced speed of Spy Planes ✔️ Blueprints can now be equipped in Ranked Play ✔️ Experimental Playlist to test improved spawn logicCheck out the Patch Notes for further information 👇https://t.co/nB4gvr7EzZ — Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) March 25, 2022 This has seen them bring in the Experimental Playlist, which will provide players with a less random system in hopes to “fix” the current spawn mechanics that have been “failing.” From the patch notes, SHG said spawns should “prevent players from spawning in a position where an enemy player immediately threatens them.” They know their current one hasn’t been doing a good job of that, so they introduced the Experimental Playlist. In this mode they “ have modified the spawn system… With these changes, players should feel that spawns are less random, especially in objective-based modes.” Vanguard devs want player feedback on new spawns Another great part of this feature is that SHG is asking the players to give them their feedback on how the new system is working. You can visit their survey, which asks a number of questions including: Are the spawns better? Are the spawns consistent? And more. There are seven things in total that the devs are looking to get feedback on. Depending on how the system works and player feedback, we could see it implemented into the core playlists of all Vanguard modes.

Vanguard devs reveal how to fix Operator XP reset bug caused by Nov 10 update ActivisionThe Call of Duty: Vanguard November 10 update is apparently glitched and resetting players’ Operator XP progression. Fortunately, devs explained it’s a UI bug and showed how to fix the issue. One new feature in Call of Duty: Vanguard is the presence of level XP for each of the game’s Operators. Unlike Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War, this new progression system does more than require challenges for new skins. To the dismay of many, Vanguard’s November 10 update seemed to break that mechanic. Players who grinded their accounts up are realizing that their Operator XP progression shot all the way down to Level 1. In an immediate response, Sledgehammer Games explained that this is a UI bug without permanent ramifications. Additionally, they revealed a simple way to fix it. Vanguard November 10 update breaks Operator XP progression There appears to be a bug on PC with the new Vanguard update that has reset certain Operator XP levels back to Level 1. — CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) November 10, 2021 As was tweeted by a number of CoD accounts, players across PlayStation and PC noticed their Operator XP progression vanished after installing the November 10 update. This was concerning, as many put considerable time into ranking their characters up. Responding to users expressing said concern on social media, Sledgehammer Games shared some assurances. Firstly, it’s just a UI glitch. Secondly, it can be fixed by playing one full match. How to fix Vanguard’s Operator XP bug This is a small UI bug. After playing one match, the correct Operator level should appear 👍 — Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) November 10, 2021 Quickly reacting to the feedback, Sledgehammer comforted players by confirming that the Operator progression issue is just “a small UI bug.” Further, the devs revealed a simple solution: “After playing one match, the correct Operator level should appear.” This is likely quality news for players, who dove deep into Vanguard progression following the game’s release on November 5. It’s also nice to see quick responses from the devs, although players are hoping for more transparency about bug fixes like the S&D bomb defuse glitch. For more transparency, concerned players can check out Sledgehammer’s official Trello board for Vanguard issues.

Vanguard devs confirm Ray Gun buff, “troll” Easter Egg discovered ActivisionDespite waiting for several months for its debut, the Ray Gun’s arrival was a disappointment. However, the devs have confirmed that it’s being buffed, and Vanguard players have also discovered a neat little Easter Egg for it. When you think of Call of Duty Zombies, the Ray Gun is one of the staple weapons of the game mode. So, players were obviously unhappy that it was left out of the game’s launch and were disappointed that it took so long to arrive in Vanguard. The Vanguard Season 2 update has fixed this, but not completely. Despite now being a fully available Wonder Weapon in Vanguard Zombies, the weapon is considered to be grossly underpowered compared to how it usually performs. The devs have been quick to react and have said a fix is coming, and players have noticed a sneaky little Easter Egg for the weapon included by the devs. Ray Guns are the golden goose. It is the weapon you desperately want your hands on as it usually one-shots Zombies for the first few rounds, and through Pack-A-Punch changes it becomes monstrous. Season 2 added the Ray Gun, but players quickly realized that something was up. Through gameplay, it was obvious the Ray Gun was operating at less than full capacity, with the undead able to take a shot or two, even in the early rounds. But to their credit, Treaych has reacted quite quickly, and they tweeted out a fairly swift response. We’re planning on increasing the Ray Gun’s effectiveness in an upcoming #Vanguard Zombies update. Stay tuned! And for those wondering if you can equip both Wonder Weapons at the same time in #TerraMaledicta… give it a try. 😉 pic.twitter.com/QVp0wv2esW — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) February 14, 2022 So it seems that the Ray Gun won’t be underpowered for too long, but it wasn’t the only piece of interesting Ray Gun news. In a Reddit post on the official Zombies subreddit, one player wandered over to a particular spot on the new Terra Maledicta map. Curiously, it said “Dig,” and upon interacting with it, a Ray Gun suddenly rose up from its apparent grave. After thinking they were about to grab themself a free Ray Gun, the player watched as it suddenly zoomed at an insane speed, and several Elite enemies spawned and converged on the player. We imagine this isn’t a coincidence, and it’s a cruel, yet hilarious jape, coded by the devs. For people that are going to experience it for the first time, and are not already informed, this is going to cause a great reaction from the player. A free Ray Gun would make Zombies a bit too easy now, wouldn’t it?

Vanguard dev confirms punishments are coming for Ranked Play quitters ActvisionA Call of Duty: Vanguard dev has confirmed some much-requested changes coming to ranked play, with players who quit out of matches and leave their team at a disadvantage now liable for punishment. Ranked play quitters have long been the bane of any competitive experience. A few rounds or objectives go the way of the enemy, and there’s that one teammate who simply leaves the game rather than try to turn things around. If you queue up as a solo or duo player it’s even worse, too. Once one teammate leaves and the situation looks even bleaker, another player leaves, leaving you in a 2v4 or even a 1v4. It’s an unwinnable situation and ultimately feels like a huge waste of time, as well as SR. That might not be the case much longer, however. “Disconnect penalties are coming,” confirmed lead game designer Lawrence Metten. “We’re also discussing supplemental SR adjustments for players that we know are intentionally leaving matches.” Disconnect penalties are coming. We’re also discussing supplemental SR adjustments for players that we know are intentionally leaving matches — Lawrence Metten (@LawrenceMetten) February 26, 2022 He added in a following tweet that the feature should have been in ranked play from as soon as it launched, but once again reaffirmed that it was coming “ASAP.” He also suggested that more changes could be coming to how players gain or lose SR while playing ranked matches. “We had some great discussions around SR this week and are looking into some adjustments,” he confirmed. “It is an Elo-based system, so how much you earn or lose is relative to the skill of other players in the match and how the system predicts you should be performing.” We had some great discussions around SR this week and are looking into some adjustments. It is an Elo-based system, so how much you earn or lose is relative to the skill of other players in the match and how the system predicts you should be performing — Lawrence Metten (@LawrenceMetten) February 26, 2022 While it’s still early days for ranked play in CoD: Vanguard, the devs are clearly constantly looking out for improvements to be made. With most complaints being based around SR changes after a win/loss and teammates unceremoniously leaving mid-match, it’s clear Treyarch — who developed this iteration of ranked for Vanguard — are aware of what needs to be done.

CoD Vanguard Beta: 5 things Sledgehammer Games desperately need to fix ActivisionWith the Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta winding down, we take a look at 5 aspects of the game that developers Sledgehammer need to adjust before the full title drops on November 5. The Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta has dropped, receiving a warm response from players. Many have likened it to 2019’s Modern Warfare in terms of feel and TTK, but some maps (namely Red Star) have come in for criticism. There have also been a few more general gameplay points that players want to see adjusted so, ahead of the game’s full release in November, we’re running through five things developers Sledgehammer should look to adjust (or straight-up fix). 1. The Sun Vanguard’s sun is… pretty strong 😳 (via @Swagg) pic.twitter.com/JJePkOb29k — Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) September 7, 2021 Believe it or not, the sun’s glare in Vanguard has caused some pretty big complaints. At particular angles its glare has been majorly impeding players’ POV, to the point of requesting changes from Sledgehammer. There is currently a work around which involves adjusting in game visual settings, but here’s hoping that won’t be necessary when the full game drops. 2. Packet Bursts This is a new one for Vanguard. When playing multiplayer matches, players have noticed that their game will lag out and skip for a few seconds at a time, with a small red “Packet Burst” notice appearing on the left of the screen. While Packet Loss and internet is usually related to individual players, this issue has been occurring worryingly frequently, and to players whose internet is otherwise fine. It’s probably just teething issues given Vanguard’s newness, but we hope to see them eliminated as much as possible by November. 3. Hackers It’s already happening in Vanguard 🤦♂️ (Via @bennylongstroke) pic.twitter.com/4w3FjTi0hD — Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) September 18, 2021 That’s right. The Vanguard Beta has been live for roughly 6 days, and players are already encountering cheaters. While Sledgehammer are limited as to what they can do to solve this one, we (and 99% of the community) hope it is addressed when Activision drop the long-awaited Warzone anti-cheat system. 4. Audio Another that is fairly specific to Vanguard is in-game audio. While in-game sounds have to be balanced, the current cacophony makes distinguishing enemy footsteps near inaudible. Scorestreaks and weapons appear far too loud, with it nearly impossible to identify an enemy’s location, even when they’re stomping around directly above you. Improvements shouldn’t be too difficult for Sledgehammer to implement. 5. Spawns This one is no surprise. Almost every CoD game takes a while to perfect their spawn system, and a beta is bound to have improvements necessary. While it is expected, there have still been major concerns surrounding the game’s system, including the return of ‘squad spawns’. Everyone who has played the beta will have undoubtedly spawn into near-instant death. That’s the clearest sign in any respawn-FPS that there is work to be done.

Vanguard April 7 update: Camo challenges easier, CDL spawn changes, patch notes ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard received an update on April 7 that was headlined by a change to camo challenges for multiple categories. There was also a massive update to spawns for two CDL maps, as well as some alterations to attachments. Here are the full patch notes from the Vanguard update. As Season 2 progresses, Sledgehammer Games continues to roll out patches to fix some of the game’s core issues. On April 7, this focused on camo challenges, which have been a long-lasting issue, making some of them easier to complete. This also saw the likes of two Call of Duty League maps, Tuscan and Gavutu, see its spawn system get a slight revamp to better fit into the flow of matches. The devs also adjusted an attachment on the Armaguerra 43, as well as some others guns. You can see everything that changed in the latest CoD Vanguard update here. CoD Vanguard April 7 update: Camos & CDL spawns An update has been deployed in #Vanguard! ▪️ Reduced Headshot/Longshot Camo Challenge requirements ▪️ Slight adjustments to spawns on Tuscan and Gavutu ▪️ Fix for Silenced Armaguerra 43 being a little too silentCheck out the Patch Notes for details 👇https://t.co/nB4gvr7EzZ — Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) April 7, 2022 The April 7 update had a couple main points, with the first being toward camo challenges. If you have played Vanguard since its release, then you probably remember the odd objectives needed to unlock new skins. Now, SHG is making the Headshot and Longshot medal requirements lower for “several” camos. Another key part of this focused on Tuscan and Gavutu, which are both CDL maps. The devs have been testing a new spawn system in the Experimental Playlist, and it looks like they will implemented some already. For Tuscan, both Control and Hardpoint spawns are being altered slightly, while Gavutu Control is seeing a change to protect spawners. Developers also fixed the Armaguerra 43 from being completely silent when using a suppressor as well as attachments that would stack modifiers. Vanguard April 7 update full patch notes Lobby Walk Weapons will no longer be misplaced when a Combat Shield is equipped in the secondary Weapon slot. – – Tuscan Adjusted Hardpoint spawn locations to be slightly further from the third hill. – Adjusted Control initial spawn locations to be further back. – – Gavutu Adjusted Control spawn locations to avoid putting the player in immediate danger. – – Challenges Reduced Headshot and Longshot requirements for several Camo Challenges. – – Armaguerra 43 (Submachine Gun) Weapon is no longer completely silent while firing with a Silencer Attachment equipped. – – Addressed an exploit that allowed Attachment modifiers to stack. –

UYU complete roster overhaul ahead of CWL Finals UYURosters are being finalized as we head into the home stretch of the Call of Duty World League and here’s our look at the finalized roster of UYU. The final roster change period wraps up today, June 20, so now fans are getting a full look at what players are going where as teams are announcing their finalized teams heading into the closing weeks of the season and into the Finals. UYU announced their completed roster in a tweet and it includes Rasim ‘Blat’ Ogresevic, Renato ‘Saints’ Forza, Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni, Timothy ‘Phantomz’ Landis, and Nicholas ‘Classic’ DiCostanzo with Ricky ‘Atura’ Atura as the coach. Announcing #UYUCOD’s final roster for the 2019 Pro League season. @Methodz@PhantomzTheGod @Blazt@SaintsNato @Classic Coach- @RickyAturaFollow us @UYU on our journey through Miami and Champs. #BeTheNext :tv:- https://t.co/hhGwLCikxU pic.twitter.com/HJgtdZM88L— UYU (@UYU) June 20, 2019 This is a major roster shakeup as just Methodz remains from the previous roster from CWL Anaheim, meaning there will be a lot of on-the-fly learning by the players as they grow accustomed to playing with each other. UYU is coming off a poor performance at Anaheim, finishing 13-16th, so having so many moves might be surprising, but not entirely out of the blue. The conclusion to this roster period only lasted three days instead of the usual two weeks, meaning UYU had some huge decisions to make about their roster. Going for a near complete overhaul is a pretty bold move and it’ll be interesting to see how it works out for them going forward. It takes some time to grow acquainted to just one teammate but it’s even harder for a whole team to find a groove in such a short amount of time. With the weak showing at Anaheim, there’s really nowhere to go but up for the team and we’ll see if these moves are worth it once the CWL Finals begin in Miami July 19-21. UYU Final Roster Blazt – Saints – Methodz – Phantomz – Classic –

UYU announce surprising roster change for CWL Pro League just days after acquiring Methodz With just days before the Call of Duty World League’s Pro League kicks off, UYU have announced a roster move that has caught many by surprise. On January 30, the org announced that Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni will be placed into the starting squad for the upcoming Pro League, taking the place of Tristan ‘Spoof’ Green. Methodz was acquired by UYU on January 28 from G2 Esports, who were unable to qualify for the Pro League after being eliminated from the recent qualifying tournament. After initially being brought on as a substitute, Methodz has now been inserted into a starting role, and will join Skyz, Proto, Mayhem, and Knight in the team when the Pro League begins on February 4. UYU | @Methodz will be moving to the starting roster heading into Week One of @CODWorldLeague. pic.twitter.com/RHhauG6SzT — (@UYU_GG) January 30, 2019 This roster move has caused quite a stir as Spoof had a very emotional response to being demoted to the substitute’s role and essentially losing his status as a pro player just weeks after helping UYU qualify for the Pro League. “Being the good guy does not always result in good scenarios,” he tweeted. “People are lucky I’m a good person. So many things could be said right now.” “Had every opportunity to make my stats higher but let my teammates have weapon specialists and stuns so they could be better. YIKES!” “My mom came in my room and I had to look her in the eye and tell her I worked my ass off to become a pro only to not play a single match in the Pro League and be dropped back to the amateurs. Can’t even look her in the eye without crying.” Was holding it together pretty well then my mom came in my room and I had to look her in the eye and tell her I worked my ass off to become a pro only to not play a single match in the pro league and be dropped back to the amateurs. Can’t even look her in the eye without crying. — TRISTAN (@TristanSpoof) January 30, 2019 UPDATE Spoof also went on to reveal that it was Christopher ‘Parasite’ Duarte, not Methodz, who had been the players’ first choice to recruit for the substitute role, but that the org overruled them and decided to go with the latter. “We chose Haggy and UYU chose Methodz. Said it would help with sponsorship requests equating to more money for us,” he tweeted. “Team had no idea UYU’s plans for it until late last night. Then they voted me out.” Methodz has also since put out a statement since the announcement: “Situations like these are always tough because there are always things that can’t be said. It’s impossible to not feel absolutely horrible but, at the same time, any player in my position would have to accept a starting role in the league.” Some have been criticizing Methodz for apparently “swindling” his way to the starting role, although eUnited’s coach ‘Saintt’ revealed that it was UYU who pushed for the change. He actually didn’t swindle anything, the org pushed for it — eU Saintt (@BrianSaintt) January 30, 2019 UYU will be playing in Division A of the Pro League that features some powerhouse teams such as OpTic Gaming, Luminosity Gaming, and Evil Geniuses. You can get all of the information about the Pro League, including streams, schedules, Divisions, and more, by visiting our dedicated Pro League hub.

USAA joins Andbox as new partner of New York Subliners in the CDL USAA Insurance/AndboxUSAA Insurance has joined with New York Subliners’ parent company Andbox to become the Official Insurance and Military Appreciation Partner of the Call of Duty League franchise. Through this new multi-year agreement, USAA will become the first-ever partner of the NYSL to appear on both the team’s in-game and physical team kits that players wear while competing in Call of Duty League matches. USAA and the NYSL will together introduce a new program that will have NYSL’s pro players and coaching staff practice and train with cadets who compete on behalf of Army West Point Esports in Call of Duty. “We’re very proud to be partnering with USAA to connect them with members of the military through the power of New York esports,” said Kai Mathey, Head of Partnerships at Andbox. “Together we will tap into the excitement of Call of Duty and the New York Subliners’ incredible players to bring the deep-felt appreciation we have for members of the military to life both through both in-person and digital experiences.” USAA’s lead marketing manager Harvey Chang reciprocated Andbox’s excitement at the new partnership. He said: “As we expand our presence in the Call of Duty League, working with teams like the NYSL will allow USAA to create unique experiences and benefits for the military gaming community. In addition to supporting all fans, helping to foster a greater working relationship between NYSL and West Point Esports will be a focus.” The partnership will also see “an array of unique digital content” for fans, including online sweepstakes with exclusive prizes. Fans will get to experience this for the first time at the New York Subliners Home Series, which is set to kick off Stage 5 of the CDL from July 8-11, with USAA providing fans with 1,000 NYSL Call of Duty League team packs.

Rapper Ugly God offers solution to Modern Warfare camping Popular US rapper Royce Rodriguez – better known as Ugly God – has hilariously suggested a method to improve Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s issues with ‘camping’. As with any new release, Modern Warfare players have been quick to vocalize aspects of the game they like, and those they want to see adjusted. Among other things, player complaints have centered on the game’s multiplayer maps and their complexities. Many argue that the confused, messy structure of many of the game’s multiplayer maps encourage camping. This has led to an environment in which players cannot be aggressive without being killed by campers, who are impossible to root out of their hiding holes. On November 21, popular US rapper Ugly God tweeted his frustrations with the current state of Modern Warfare, even going so far as to suggest a new game mode that would completely stop the ability to camp. He suggested making a game mode called “Blitz”, in which players would be punished for not moving by beginning to take damage. This would keep players moving, seeing a gaming environment in which aggressive playstyles are encouraged. Ugly God concluded his tweet by stating that, in the current build of Modern Warfare, the issue with camping is “f**king ridiculous”. https://twitter.com/UglyGod/status/1197397665404903424?s=20 There have previously been game modes similar to Rodriguez’s suggestions, mainly emanating from Call of Duty: Ghosts. Blitz was a game mode in which players had to enter a protected zone in the enemies’ spawn, which then saw them teleported back to their own spawn and score their team a point. It encouraged offensive rushing and team coordination and was subsequently used as a competitive game mode. Similarly, Ghosts implemented a game mode called Cranked. Also brought back for Infinite Warfare, Cranked saw players rewarded for getting kills by buffs to speed and reload time, among other things. Each kill gave the player a 30-second timer in which they had to get another kill or they would explode. It also encouraged a fast-paced, aggressive playstyle. While it seems unlikely that a new game mode from scratch will be added anytime soon, many Twitter users seemed to enjoy Ugly God’s suggestion. Infinity Ward have regularly reiterated that new game modes will be added over the course of Modern Warfare’s life-cycle. The problem with camping is that it is widespread and incredibly frustrating to play against. Recent buffs to SMG sprint out times and nerfs to the 725 shotgun have seen players encouraged to play more aggressively, but the community clearly wants to see more tangible change to combat the campers.

US Army reportedly offered millions to CoD streamers in scrapped recruitment plan ActivisionThe U.S. Army reportedly planned a massive recruiting plan through Call of Duty but backed out after allegations surfaced against Activision. USSA Insurance is a Call of Duty League sponsor, and the U.S. Army was a sponsor before allegedly cutting ties amid the Activision Blizzard Lawsuit. An ongoing debate in the CoD community is if recruiting CoD players into the military is morally ethical. Esports consultant Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau appeared on NBC’s NewsNation and claimed, “I find it insidious that these streamers are recruiting gamers and young people on Twitch under the guise of just playing video games, but they are really there as recruiters.” He denied any correlation between violent video games and military service. Adding fuel to the fire, internal documents obtained by Motherhood and corroborated by Vice speculate the U.S. Army planned to reach Gen-Z viewers through Call of Duty. US Army scrap extensive Gen-Z recruitment strategy According to the documents obtained by Motherboard, the Army allocated $750,000 for the Call of Duty League and Halo tv show. The leak also revealed that the Army intended to spend $200,000 on sponsoring CoD Mobile, including rewarding in-game currency to players who watched Army ads. Rumors also suggested the Army wanted to target Gen Z viewers by partnering with Warzone streamers. $150,000 was allocated for Stonemountain 64, who has 2.32 million YouTuber subscribers, and Swagg was mentioned. The streamer has 2.66 million subscribers on YouTuber, but an asterix was next to his name, meaning the Army may have looked to reallocate funds based on conversations with him. $300,000 was also reportedly allocated to the CoD esports organization OpTic Chicago. The documents stated one motivation behind the partnership was to “continue to familiarize OpTic fans on Army values and opportunities.” Other parts of the report mentioned partnerships with Twitch, HBCU Showdown, WWE, and LoopMe, totaling $3.8 million in all for everything mentioned. None of the plans were put into motion because an August 2021 email read, “At this time, we intend to ‘pause all activities’ immediately with Activision due to serious allegations of sexual harassment at their workplace.” We will provide an update if we learn more about the legitimacy of all leaked documents.

Upgraded Warzone & Vanguard anti-cheat will “cloak” players, sounds from hackers ActivisionAn upgraded Warzone and Vanguard anti-cheat measure will make it much harder for detected hackers to ruin battle royale matches due to a new “cloaking” mechanic. Raven Software and Activision continue to formulate the best way to mitigate hackers in Warzone, since cheaters are still derailing the experience for Call of Duty players with no end in sight. Though the devs have been making strides via ban waves and their Ricochet anti-cheat, they’re still committed to building a much healthier environment for people to play the game. On April 26, Activision revealed how its updated Ricochet program will go further to confound hackers to the point where cheating accounts won’t be able to see or hear anything in Warzone. Warzone’s Ricochet was upgraded to add in a “cloaking” effect to people who are found to be cheating. The new measure makes audio and visuals act differently toward hackers once they load into a game. “With Cloaking, players that are detected to be cheating can find themselves unable to see opposing players in the game world. Characters, bullets, even sound from legitimate players will be undetectable to cheaters,” the devs said. Honest players may have already seen this in their games. The update has been live and has been disguising entire lobbies to protect them from these players. This is in addition to the ‘Damage Shield’ that was announced in mid-February, which rendered any in-game equipment a cheater would use to deal no damage at all. In any game, the war against hackers is a never-ending battle by design but Warzone’s devs are working to implement protections from cheaters that may slip through the cracks. Read more: Best Kar98k Warzone loadout – Activision’s recent ban wave has nixed 54,000 accounts from Warzone and is actively looking to update its Ricochet anti-cheat even further to protect against those who’d ruin the experience for others.

Unusual Warzone bug makes Legendary Supply Boxes disappear ActivisionA bizarre Warzone glitch is causing Legendary Supply Boxes to vanish into thin air during the landing sequence at the beginning of a game. Looting in Warzone is your most valuable asset. If you stumble on high-level loot early on in the game, it’ll often give you a jump start over everyone else in the server. Of course, everyone prays to find a Legendary Supply Box when landing in Verdansk. With the chance of snagging a Legendary Blueprint, a wad of cash and some armor plates, it’s easy to see why looting one of these early doors can be a game-changer. And one Redditor thought that they’d done just that while dropping onto the moving freight train — only to find out that Infinity Ward were trolling him the whole time! After failing to land inside the train carriage where the Legendary Supply Box was waiting, ‘cartmanez1907’ attempted to renavigate to get in. After finally hopping inside the coach to redeem their loot, the Redditor discovered that the Legendary box had disappeared into thin air. In a bizarre turn of events, the initial explanation would be that the Supply Box was just an optical illusion… But as they initially approached the coach, there was a distinct audio cue as they edged closer to the coveted chest. So with the chest seemingly vanishing into thin air, the only logical explanation would be a glitch of some kind. Given that Infinity Ward is already fighting an uphill battle when it comes to solving the plethora of issues in Warzone, this is the last thing they need to add to the list. This comes as the infamous ‘demon gun’ glitch has made an unwelcomed return to Verdansk, merely a month after it had been fixed in a highly anticipated patch. Of course, it’s not known if this is the first time anyone has ran into the issue of Supply Boxes spontaneously disappearing. But if it becomes more prevalent, there’s no doubt that Infinity Ward will add it to their list of snags.

Unusual Owen Gun Warzone build gives it BR’s fastest TTK ActivisionAn unusual build of Call of Duty Vanguard’s Owen Gun SMG gives it Warzone’s best time-to-kill (TTK) and makes it one of the strongest close-range options for both Caldera and Rebirth Island. Vanguard’s Owen Gun has exploded in popularity during Season 2, with it now among the most-used weapons in the CoD battle royale. As tends to be the case, players gravitate towards established and meta builds which augment damage and range and look to mitigate recoil. However, sometimes unorthodox loadout choices uncover weapon strengths most players don’t know about. That appears to be the case with an Owen Gun build put forward by player ‘AdBeginning9063‘, whose unusual mix of attachments makes the Owen Gun one of the fastest killing weapons in the whole game. Fastest TTK Owen Gun Warzone loadout Shared to Reddit on April 23, the Owen Gun build prioritizes damage, range and fire rate, ensuring opponents are dropped as quickly as possible. Naturally, recoil and accuracy are sacrificed to some degree but, provided you can hit your shots fairly consistently, no weapon in the game will drop enemies as fast at close ranges. Because of these weaknesses, it might not be suitable for less confident players who struggle to aim well and control weapon kick. The full loadout is detailed below: Muzzle: Recoil Booster – Barrel: Hockenson 142mm Rapid – Optic: Slate Reflector – Stock: Removed Stock – Underbarrel: Mark VI Skeletal – Magazine: 9mm 72 Rnd Mags – Ammunition: Frangible – Rear Grip: Grooved Grip – Perk: Fleet – Perk 2: On Hand – Attached to the post – which sits at over 350 upvotes – were graphics showing the incredible boost to TTK given by the attachments. In terms of close-range weapons, there are no faster-killing options in Warzone’s current version. At longer ranges this build won’t be particularly forgiving, meaning a sensible secondary choice is essential. If you’re confident and aggressive in Warzone, though, this Owen Gun will propel you to many squad wipes.

Unusual Black Ops Cold War bug is giving away Dark Matter Twitter: hhamii_One lucky Call of Duty YouTuber managed to snag himself the Dark Matter camo for free thanks to an unusual bug with Black Ops Cold War Zombies. [jwplayer JnVNWndD] The grind to get Call of Duty’s ultra camos has become a bigger part of things in recent years, with players desperate to show how dedicated they are to having interesting looking skins. It’s no different in the newly released Black Ops Cold War as Treyarch have, once again, brought back Dark Matter camo for those who unlock every other skin for every weapon in the game. That’s right, every weapon in the game – including pistols, rocket launchers, and even shotguns. The grind to unlock the camos can be made even harder thanks to the game having ultra-difficult challenges to complete, but, it does help when it has a mind of its own and just decides to give out Dark Matter randomly. That good fortune fell upon YouTuber HamiiHamii who revealed that he was struck with a bug at the end of a game of Zombies and was handed the camo not long after. “Unlocked Dark Matter.. apparently? Houston we have a problem!” the YouTuber tweeted before adding some context to the incredibly unusual situation. “Unlocked one random MP5 camo during a Zombies match, died trying to exfil. Granted Dark Matter instead.” What makes it look even stranger is that the game shows that Dark Camo has been granted through a challenge, but there is no description or actual challenge name. Instead, they’re just replaced with a handful of zeroes. Context: Unlocked one random Mp5 camo during a Zombies match, died trying to exfil. Granted Dark Matter instead. Still need all ARs, SUBs, and launchers. Was truly excited almost being finished with the grind. Hope Treyarch sees this and finds a fix!! 💜 pic.twitter.com/PMeOC3nzCH — Hamii (@HHamii_) November 23, 2020 However, for anyone wanting to replicate the bug so they don’t have to grind all day and night for Dark Matter, you’re more than likely out of luck. The developers were made aware of the issues in the replies to HamiiHamii’s tweet, and will likely work on getting it ironed out before the whole CoD community ends up with free Dark Matter.

“Unstoppable” Warzone loadout creates TAR-21 from MW2 with RAM-7 class Activision / SwaggModern Warfare 2 is one of the most beloved entries in the Call of Duty series, and with this loadout from FaZe’s Swagg, players can recreate the popular TAR-21 Assault Rifle in Warzone matches. Warzone has an impressive lineup of Assault Rifles in Season 2 Reloaded, plucked from the latest entries in the CoD franchise. Players have the choice of guns from Modern Warfare (2019), Black Ops Cold War, and Vanguard, all with their own pros and cons. But Call of Duty has a long history of iconic weapons that sadly don’t show up in the battle royale. Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most well-loved games in the series, and players are always looking for a throwback loadout that lets them relive their memories from 2009. Well, thanks to this RAM-7 loadout shared by CoD pro FaZe Swagg, Warzone players can deploy the TAR-21 in Caldera. FaZe Swagg TAR-21 Warzone loadout Barrel: XRK Ranger – Optic: Corp Combat Holo Sight – Underbarrel: Merc Foregrip – Ammunition: 50 Round Mags – Rear Grip: Stippled Grip – Swagg showed off the setup in his March 30 video, which he based on an upload from BuffNerdGaming. The idea behind this loadout is to recreate the look and feel of the TAR-21 from Modern Warfare 2, so the attachments selected were chosen to give the RAM-7 extra speed and accuracy. He began the loadout with the XRK Ranger, partly to buff the range and recoil control, but also to equip the 460mm Barrel that the TAR-21 has in real-life. Next, he picked the Corp Combat Holo Sight as a way of giving it an authentic Modern Warfare 2-feel. The Stippled Grip helped with the ADS and sprint-to-fire speed, ensuring the RAM-7 kept the lightweight feel we all remember. He followed that up with the Merc Foregrip, boosting the recoil control and hipfire accuracy. Rounding out the loadout were 50 Round Mags. This Assualt Rifle has an impressive fire rate, so the extra ammo means you won’t have to worry about reloading too often in a frantic fight. Not only is this TAR-21 conversion a welcome throwback for long-time players, according to Swagg, but the gun is also still ridiculously powerful in the new season. The content creator suggested that this setup could “replace” other ARs in the meta in Season 2 Reloaded. “This thing was unstoppable, I didn’t lose a gunfight on Rebirth to any gun – or Caldera,” Swagg said in his video. “Any fight with this gun, long-range [or] mid-range, I was destroying.” With 2022’s Call of Duty expected to be a new version of Modern Warfare 2, players will hopefully see more classic weapons appear in Warzone. But this setup is the perfect way to get your nostalgia fix in the meantime. If you’re a long-time CoD fan, and want to party like it’s 2009, consider running this loadout the next time you drop into Warzone or Rebirth Reinforced.

Unstoppable MW3 weapon wreaks havoc in hardcore after Trophy System nerf ActivisionOne MW3 weapon is wreaking havoc in hardcore game modes after Trophy Systems were nerfed in Season 3 Reloaded, weakening one of its biggest counters. Hardcore is a longstanding modifier in Call of Duty that reduces health and limits various HUD elements. It is the great equalizer that makes every weapon powerful thanks to its extremely fast TTK with most guns killing in one shot. Despite this, the RGL-80 has stood out as a powerhouse in hardcore. Modern Warfare 3 players have long since decried its existence, but a Trophy System nerf has now made it even stronger. This fast-firing grenade launcher is extremely strong in hardcore as it can take out multiple enemies in just one shot. Even if you manage to tank the first hit, the RGL-80’s fast fire rate means it’s unlikely you’ll escape before the inevitable follow-up shots finish the job. Before Season 3 Reloaded, a Trophy System could be used to mitigate its impact. The first three shots would be eaten by a Trophy System giving you plenty of time to shoot back. However, Trophy Systems were heavily nerfed in Season 3 Reloaded with their total number of shots being reduced from 3 to 2. This made them considerably less effective at countering the RGL-80 which has seen the grenade launcher become even more dominant. This change has upset MW3 players who are calling for Sledgehammer to address the problem. One upvoted Reddit thread expressed, “There HAS to be SOMETHING done about the RGL in Hardcore Modes,” before claiming that the RGL-80 “RUINS the game for anyone not using one.” Until a change is made the best approach to countering the RGL-80 is to use Trophy Systems and equip EOD Padding. While this doesn’t negate the grenade launcher’s lethality, it does at least reduce its impact.

Unreleased Call of Duty: Vanguard map randomly appears in matches ActivisionCoD: Vanguard Season 1 has already treated players to a couple of brand new multiplayer maps, but a bizarre glitch has caused an unreleased map to Season 1 of CoD: Vanguard is in full swing, and players have been diving into all of the content added in the update. The new Cooper Carbine and Gorenko Sniper Rifle, in particular, have made an impression in online matches. Perhaps the most exciting part of any content rollout are new multiplayer maps to master. We’ve already seen the Caldera-inspired Paradise map, as well as reimaged version of Modern Warfare 3’s Dome called Radar added to the rotation. However, following a bizarre glitch in a normal online lobby, players may have uncovered an unreleased map set to be released at a later date. Reddit user trapdave uploaded a video, showing the moment that the new map named “Casablanca” revealed itself. They were in a lobby about to load into a match of Kill Confirmed. On the bottom left of the screen, where the next map usually appears, the player noticed a name they did not recognize. The name Casablanca caused confusion among the party, with one asking “Is this a new map?” Upon further inspection, the image accompanying the name appears to be a placeholder. Rather than being one whole picture of the map, you can see that it is instead broken up into multiple smaller images. Other players in the comments also noted that they had experienced the same glitch. However, no one was actually able to load into the Casablanca map, with the game instead kicking players back to the main menu. Read More: How to easily kill Krampus in CoD: Vanguard – Unfortunately, we don’t know much else about this new map. The fact that the player was lined up for a 14 v 14 match on Blitz Pacing, we can guess that it may be one of CoD’s larger maps, but this is far from confirmed. Given the real-life Morrocan city’s role in WWII, it’s no surprise to see the location coming to Vanguard. We’ll have to wait for more information before we can confirm the size and layout of Casablanca, but if it’s already named in the game files, then players may not have to wait too much longer.

Unlucky Warzone camper proves some attachments aren’t good for hiding ActivisionSome Call of Duty: Warzone players like to camp. Others like to play aggressively. And, as one poor victim found out, some gun attachments are better suited to the aggro players. Warzone has a lot of different weaponry to suit a variety of playstyles. Campers are known for snipers, shotguns, and claymores — while aggressive players prefer their SMGs and throwing knives. But there’s variety among the attachments too. (And there probably will be even more once Vanguard introduces its… 10 attachment slots.) One such attachment is a dead giveaway for players who hope to hide and camp in secrecy. So, after killing one such blissfully unaware sneakster, a Redditor decided to give campers some advice. Warzone campers shouldn’t use flashlight attachments It’s very simple advice really, but it’s good to see it in action. ‘DefunctHunk_COD’ was scanning their environment when they noticed something odd. There was a little barrier with a bright, round light moving around. So they decided to beam (pun intended) the bush to the barrier’s side. And, presumably to the bush camper’s surprise, DefunctHunk_COD got the easiest kill of their career. While it did take a little investigative work and awareness, the flashlight most certainly made things simple. So Defunct gave Reddit some counsel: “If you plan on camping a buy station by hiding in a bush, at least put away your Tiger Team Spotlight.” Of JGOD’s 10 favorite Warzone Season 6 loadouts, five use the Tiger Team Spotlight. It’s an attachment that provides a ton of mobility, so many players enjoy it on SMG and mobile AR builds. But, as this unlucky victim proved, mobility attachments might not be for everybody. If you intend on hiding, maybe opt for a flashlight. Or, if you’re forced into hiding, maybe switch to your other gun if you want to maintain an illusion of stealth. Someone in the Reddit replies summed it all up perfectly: “You don’t need an improved movement attachment if you ain’t moving.”

How to unlock CoD Vanguard’s Arthur Kingsley Operator in Warzone, Cold War, & CoD Mobile ActivisionWith Call of Duty Vanguard almost upon us, players can now get their hands on the Arthur Kingsley Operator early in Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, and CoD Mobile. Here’s how. British Sergeant Arthur Kingsley is set to feature as one of the main characters in this year’s CoD title. Throughout Vanguard’s campaign, players will fight alongside this war hero among many others. While Vanguard drops on November 5, players across Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, and CoD Mobile can get their hands on this Operator ahead of time. With a new crossover promotion, gamers can unlock a unique Vanguard skin across all three titles. From when it goes live to how you can unlock Kingsley for yourself, here’s all there is to know. Unlock Arthur Kingsley Operator in Warzone & Black Ops Cold War First up is a simple solution on how to unlock the new Arthur Kingsley Operator in both Warzone and Black Ops Cold War. To get your hands on the fresh skin, all you need to do is preorder CoD Vanguard. Once you’ve preordered the upcoming Sledgehammer Games title, the Arthur Kinglsey skin will immediately be unlocked. Just check back in your Warzone or Cold War account and Arthur Kingsley will be available as a new Operator. It’s worth noting, however, this promotion only works with digital preorders. If you preordered Vanguard at a brick and mortar store instead, you will not have access to the Arthur Kingsley skin. Unlock CoD Mobile’s Arthur Kingsley through CoD Vanguard Beta Unlocking the Arthur Kingsley Operator in CoD Mobile couldn’t be simpler. All you needed to do iswas play the CoD Vanguard Beta with your Activision account linked. If you booted up the Vanguard Beta with the same account you play CoD Mobile on, a special code should have arrived in your CoD Mobile inbox. Once you have the code, it’s just a matter of entering it online and visiting your CoD Mobile mailbox again. Read More: Every killstreak in CoD Vanguard – There were no set requirements on game time, or matches completed. Simply opening the Vanguard Beta was enough to earn the CoD Mobile skin. Below is a step-by-step breakdown to help you follow along. Link your Activision account in both CoD Mobile and the CoD Vanguard Beta. – Play the CoD Vanguard Beta on any platform using your linked Activision account. – Wait until September 20, after the Beta has wrapped up, before checking your CoD Mobile inbox. – Redeem your CoD Mobile code right here. – Return to your CoD Mobile inbox and claim the Arthur Kingsley skin. – That’s all there is to it, unlocking the new Arthur Kingsley Operator across three CoD titles couldn’t be easier. Read More: CoD Vanguard Beta first impressions – We’ll be sure to keep you posted if additional Vanguard Operators make the jump over in the near future as well.

Unlimited Juggernaut exploit in Warzone found with duplication glitch Infinity WardAs if one Juggernaut running around in Warzone matches wasn’t enough, a new ‘duplication glitch’ is allowing teams to multiply their Juggernaut drops, even leading to 4-man squads all kitted out with the armor and minigun. Juggernauts have been a contentious issue since their introduction to Warzone, to say the least. Players fortunate enough to get one will be kitted out with a massive increase to health, making them almost impossible to kill unless multiple teams rain down gunfire and killstreaks on their head. Suffice to say, if you have a Juggernaut on your team, you have all but guaranteed victory. Now imagine a team entirely consisting of Juggernauts, and it becomes a new nightmare altogether. That’s exactly what is now possible, thanks to a new exploit allowing for the duplication of items. The exploit was highlighted by YouTuber Cable44, with a video entitled “Warzone UNLIMITED JUGGERNAUTS (sadly not clickbait).” Essentially, players simply need to have a killstreak and Juggernaut drop. By swapping the two items, with very specific timing, the game will actually duplicate them, rather than replace them outright. “The timing can be very difficult, but as you can see from this video, I was able to throw about 12-14 Juggernauts in the matter of a couple of minutes.” Thankfully, the exploit is slightly tricky due to the timing required, but certainly not impossible for a player to pull off in a real game. Clearly, this requires attention from the developers very quickly, as an exploit as powerful as this is likely to spread like wildfire throughout the player-base. Videos of four-man juggernaut squads ruining matches have already surfaced on social media, highlighting just how deadly it can be. Warzone already suffers from enough problems with actual hackers and cheaters, and so resolving an exploit like this, which could be achieved by anyone, will be a high priority. Of course, we don’t recommend trying this for yourself – the developers would be well within their rights to issue punishments to players found to have abused this exploit, which could include account bans. Another recent exploit with the Juggernauts allowed them to buy infinite self-revive from buy stations too. Whether Juggernauts are set for a nerf or removal remains to be seen, but this hardly likely to soften the community’s stance towards them.

Unknown Warzone LMG loadout is so busted pros have already banned it DexertoProfessional Warzone players banned the RAAL MG JAK Protean conversion kit in Season 5 after realizing how powerful it is, but players are free to use this overpowered weapon on Urzikstan and Resurgence maps. Warzone Season 5 has a few clear favorites at the top. According to WZ Ranked, the STG44 is the second most popular weapon with a 20 percent pick rate. The Kar98k is the only long-range meta alternative to come close with an 11 percent pick rate. However, professional players tested the RAAL JAK Protean Conversion Kit in a tournament. They banned it instantly because it can kill enemies in two or three shots for gunfights up to 40 meters away. Using True Game Data, we compared the JAK Protean conversion kit with other popular long-range meta weapons. We discovered that the RAAL has the best time-to-kill speed from around 35 to 50, encompassing a large majority of gunfights. With that in mind, let’s jump right into which loadout you should use. Best RAAL MG JAK Protean loadout in Warzone Muzzle: Quartermaster Suppressor – Optic: Corio Eaglesye 2.5x – Ammunition: .338 Mag High Velocity – Rear Grip: STIP-40 Grip – Conversion Kit: JAK Protean Kit – Everything starts with the JAK Protean Kit, which improves bullet velocity, damage range, and recoil control at the costs of mobility and headshot damage. Activision did not mention the Quartermaster Suppressor in the Season 5 patch notes, but the update added the attachment. The Quartermaster Suppressor improves gun kick and horizontal and vertical recoil. Players have gravitated toward this attachment because it only nerfs ADS and sprint-to-fire speeds by six percent, while other muzzles have a harsher movement penalty. Meanwhile, the Corio Eagleseye 2.5x is widely acclaimed for providing one of the best sight lines in the title for gunfights at any range. Next up, .338 Mag High Velocity increases bullet velocity, which will be useful for a slower-firing semi-auto loadout when it comes to taking long-range engagements. To round out this loadout, we recommend using the Stip-40 Grip to improve recoil control and gun kick to make those long-range engagements even easier. If this isn’t your type of weapon, check out our guide on the best loadouts in Season 5 Reloaded.

Unknown streamer beats Scump, Symfuhny & more in MW3 Twitch viewership rankings Activision/TwitchAn unknown streamer has come out ahead of the likes of Scump, Symfuhny, Nadeshot, and more in the Twitch viewership rankings for the first month of Modern Warfare 3. MW3 came out on November 10 as the latest instalment in the Call of Duty franchise, bringing with it the classic MW2 (2009) maps that players know and love. While the campaign left a lot to be desired, the multiplayer — which most players enjoy CoD for — seriously made up for it, as explained in our MW3 review. As a result, players have been seriously happy with the new title, especially in comparison to 2021 and 2022’s entries, Vanguard and MWII respectively, and streamers have been grinding some serious hours to their viewers. But who led the pack? Top 10 Modern Warfare 3 streamers after one month These were the top 10 most watched Modern Warfare 3 streamers in the 30 days following game launch, with some familiar faces all beaten by a new name that most of you likely won’t recognize. Stats provided by SullyGnome Of course the standout name here is mrbluwu — a streamer with just 46,000 followers at the time of writing, but earning more hours watched than some of the biggest names in Call of Duty. That is in large part due to their whopping 611 hours streamed, barely taking any time off throughout the entire month. They were followed by Scump — the only other streamer to get over 2m hours watched —, Symfuhny, and Nadeshot. Only one player made the top 10 for hours watched, with OpTic star Shotzzy coming in at 6th. The next highest was Shotzzy’s teammate, Dashy, who ranked 17th, followed by Atlanta FaZe’s Drazah in 33rd. Now in the second month of Modern Warfare 3 and with the launch of the new Warzone integration, it will be interesting to see whether mrbluwu can keep up with the biggest names in COD.

Unique Welgun Warzone loadout makes SMG the undisputed TTK king ActivisionCall of Duty: Warzone YouTuber IceManIsaac has come up with a unique Welgun loadout that has the best TTK in the battle royale, and it’s all thanks to a few attachment swaps. As the Warzone meta has continued to evolve with each new update, plenty of weapons have been able to lay claim to having the best TTK (Time-To-Kill) in the battle royale – be it because of a new loadout or unique way to take on fights. On Caldera, weapons like the Bren, Cooper Carbine, MP-40, and Welgun have all stood atop that mountain at one point, as they continue to make up the meta for the most part. In the case of the Welgun, while it may have slipped down the usage charts in recent weeks, it is still an incredibly powerful SMG choice, and if you make a few slight changes to your loadout, you will have the TTK king on your hands. As NRG’s IceManIsaac noted, while many players will opt for the Gorenko or 64-round magazines, it’s actually the .45 30-round magazines that you’ll want to go for. Why? Well, while it adds a drastic amount of recoil, it does massively improve the Welgun’s TTK. To offset the recoil, the YouTuber adds that you’re better off using the SA 43M Pack Stock rather than the more popular Removed and Gawain Stock choices. Additionally, you can also take the Carver Foregrip over the Skeletal underbarrel. As the numbers from JGOD and TrueGameData show, if you nail at least one headshot with the Welgun and then focus on the body, you’re pretty likely to win your gunfight and send your opponent to the Gulag. Fastest TTK Welgun Warzone loadout Muzzle: Recoil Booster – Barrel: 120mm Gawain Short – Optic: Slate Reflector – Underbarrel: Carver Foregrip – Stock: SA 43M Pack – Magazine: .45 30-round mags – Ammunition: Incendiary – Rear Grip: Polymer Grip – Perk 1: Acrobatic – Perk 2: Quick – As Isaac does note, however, while the pick rate of the weapon might be lower than normal, it could still be in for some nerfs – especially if this class continues to take over Caldera. Though, until then, make sure to give it a whirl because it is an absolute demon class that’ll have you racking kills.

Unique Warzone Welgun loadout replaces Owen Gun as dominant SMG in Caldera ActivisionWarzone YouTuber IceManIsaac has unveiled a unique Welgun loadout for Season 3, designed to have maximum mobility and a time-to-kill among the very best in the battle royale. As has become standard with Call of Duty: Warzone, seasonal updates bring the most tangible changes to the game’s meta, with weapons added, buffed, and nerfed. That remained true of April 27’s Season 3, which nerfed ARs and sniper rifles heavily. As a result, the Welgun is one of Warzone’s strongest guns in the current meta, equally viable at close and medium ranges. While it leaves a bit to be desired in longer-range gunfights, players who can control its moderate recoil can still outgun lesser opponents. Now, Warzone content creator IceManIsaac has unveiled his go-to version of the gun, seeking to maximize its mobility and minimize its TTK. In a May 20 YouTube video, Isaac outlined the specific build and described it as the best SMG currently available in Warzone Pacific. “Now after some recent nerfs that came to the Owen Gun and some other guns across the meta,” he said, “it’s been a real struggle both in the casual and the pro scene to figure out what is the best gun to use. It seems like the Armaguerra or the Welgun are solid but they don’t have the magazine capacity that we were so used to with the 72-round Owen Gun.” Read More: Call of Duty Warzone 2: everything we know – In searching for a Welgun that responds to these criticisms, Isaac’s new build allowed him to break his 46-kill record and dominate the competition in Caldera. The full Welgun loadout is outlined below: Muzzle: Recoil Booster – Barrel: 120mm Gawain Short – Optic: Slate Reflector – Stock: Removed Stock – Underbarrel: M1941 Hand Stop – Magazine: 9mm 64 Round Mags – Ammunition: Subsonic – Rear Grip: Polymer Grip – Perk: Fleet – Perk 2: Quick – The Removed Stock is key to the loadout, speeding up handling and mobility but making the recoil more volatile. It may take some time to get used to the new kick but, providing players are sensible and only use it at closer ranges, the Welgun will reward accurate fire. Because of its close-range proficiency, players will need a reliable secondary for longer ranges. The ZRG 20mm has emerged as a strong sniper, while the STG44 continues to dominate ARs. Pair one of those with Isaac’s Welgun class and you can’t go far wrong.

Unique Warzone Bren loadout returns LMG to pre-nerf state ActivisionCoD: Warzone content creator IceManIsaac has got a Bren loadout that moves away from some of the usual attachments, as he believes the new build makes it the best gun around despite the nerfs. When the integration between Warzone and Call of Duty: Vanguard finally dropped, a handful of new weapons quickly took over the meta. You were unlikely to get a win if you weren’t running the MP40, Cooper Carbine, or Bren at one point. The latter of which has slipped down the popularity charts over the last few weeks thanks to nerfs, but remains a pretty solid option when it comes to building a game-winning assault rifle loadout. However, if you’re still one of those Warzone players that are running the Bren with the Queens 705mm barrel and Sakura mags, you might want to start tweaking things around. NRG’s IceManIsaac highlighted the Bren in his March 8 YouTube video, as he pointed out that the LMG can be the best gun in the game once again with a few tweaks. The YouTuber noted that he’d run the numbers alongside the likes of stats guru JGOD, and found that swapping out the popular 705mm barrel – which had been glitched to give unlimited damage range at one point – for the 775m Scepter option will help significantly. On top of that, ditching the Carver Foregrip for the M1941 Hand Stop foregrip, and the Sakura mags for the 100-round British magazine will have the Bren shooting back up to the top of the popularity charts before long. IceManIsaac’s best Bren Warzone loadout Muzzle: MX Silencer – Barrel: Queen’s 775m Scepter – Optic: SVT-40 PU Scope 3.5x – Underbarrel: M1941 Hand Stop – Stock: Hockenson SP2 – Magazine: 303 British 100-rounds – Ammunition: Lengthened – Rear Grip: Polymer Grip – Perk 1: Tight Grip – Perk 2: – While the Bren remains a solid choice anyway, Isaac’s build greatly improves the solid range and damage that the LMG had. Plus, it does away with any placebo from the glitched attachments. As per WZRanked, it still clocks in inside the top 10 for most popular weapons, but hasn’t risen to its former heights. Though, that could happen before long with this build.

Unique Warzone Big Bertha trick is perfect for clutch revives ActivisionWarzone players can have multiple strategies to approach certain situations. One of the best vehicles is the cargo truck that can take heavy damage moving around the map, but this new trick shows how Big Bertha can also be an insane medic. There are many different forms of transportation in Warzone. Players have access to bikes, ATVs, helicopters, cargo trucks, and more. All of these can serve different purposes and allow you to play at a certain pace. While each vehicle can be useful to get around the map, some can serve as a killing machine by running people over. However, players have just discovered a cool trick that turns Big Bertha into an emergency ambulance should your teammate need it. Big Bertha trick comes in handy for revive One of Warzone’s most iconic vehicles is turning out to be more than a mode of transportation for players. This new trick with the cargo truck can be extremely useful and change the way people play. This Reddit clip posted by ‘sonic2876’ shows the true power Bertha can bring to Verdansk. After their teammate was downed this player decided to hop in the truck and proceed to push them until it was safe. So the player decided instead of attempting to revive their teammate in the open, why not just drive miles away. Since there is no friendly fire in Warzone they were able to drive the Bertha without finishing off the downed player. You hear the players laughing about it when they reach a building and can safely get the revive off. This was a huge heads-up play and adds to the list of things that the cargo truck can be used for. While this can be a bit difficult to coordinate it could be something to look for when taking fights.

Unique Vanguard sniper loadout makes it Warzone’s “strongest” rifle ActivisionStill not yet settled on a go-to sniper in Warzone Season 3? Well, you might want to give Vanguard’s 3-Line Rifle a try as it’s apparently the “strongest” one around. When Raven Software finally unleashed the Pacific Season 3 update on Warzone, it sparked some big changes in the meta. Though, there were none bigger than the changes to the Kar98 and Swiss K31. The two snipers had dominated Warzone for quite some time, and it was hard to go into a match without running into one. Since the update, the pair of them have pretty much disappeared from the battle royale, being replaced by the likes of the AX-50 and HDR. However, if you’re not a fan of the two Modern Warfare snipers, you may want to give the 3-Line Rifle from CoD: Vanguard a whirl as a unique build seemingly makes it the “strongest” sniper in the game. The underused Vanguard sniper was highlighted by Warzone YouTuber Metaphor in his May 29 video, as he claimed it has become a “monster” following the changes. The YouTuber noted that the 3-Line Rifle’s ADS speed can be buffed a fair bit with the build, but it’s hardly going to resemble the Kar98’s speed. Though, it does still retain it’s one-shot headshot potential – even if an enemy is hiding behind a piece of cover. What makes the build unique is the fact it moves away from the dominant attachment choices of the MX Silencer, Kovalevskaya 820mm barrel, and the MN Custom stock. They’re replaced by the Mercury Silencer, Empress 514mm barrel, and the Empress Marksman stock. Best 3-Line Rifle loadout for Warzone Muzzle: Mercury Silencer – Barrel: Empress 514mm F01 – Optic: None – Underbarrel: Mark VI Skeletal – Stock: Empress Marksman – Magazine: .30-06 20 round mags – Ammunition: Lengthened – Rear Grip: Leather Grip – Perk 1: Shrouded – Perk 2: On-Hand – As noted, the 3-Line Rifle has fallen behind other snipers in terms of popularity, and sits as the 5th most-used long-range weapon according to WZRanked. Metaphor’s class could change it’s fortunes, though, so give it a try and get ahead of other players who might also be thinking about adopting it.

Unique Vanguard Kar98 Warzone loadout rivals Modern Warfare version ActivisionThere’s an unusual build for the Kar98 sniper in Warzone that helps the CoD: Vanguard version rival its Call of Duty: Modern Warfare counterpart as it’s a beast. Since the day Call of Duty: Warzone first launched, sniper rifles have played a massive part in helping players achieve their goal of racking up victories upon victories. Plenty of the long-range weapons have had their moment in the spotlight, but the sniper category has pretty much been dominated by one choice for the last few seasons – the Kar98k from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Just like the AK-47, the Kar98 does have a counterpart in Warzone thanks to the Call of Duty: Vanguard integration, and there’s actually a class that helps the Vanguard version rival its Modern Warfare counterpart. The unique build for the sniper rifle was highlighted by Warzone content creator Metaphor, as the loadout goes against some of the more popular attachments. While there is a spot for the old reliable Scout Silencer, the class opts for the shorter VDD RE02k barrel instead of the VDD 660mm option. Additionally, the SMLE Pistol Grip wins out over the M1930 Strife underbarrel, with the underused 8mm Klauser 3-round mag also getting some love. As the YouTuber notes, the build does increase the Kar’s already solid bullet velocity and “extremely quick” overall speed, putting it up there with the Modern Warfare Kar98 and the Swiss. Though, the two old warhorses may still win out at the end of the day. Best Vanguard Kar98K Warzone loadout Muzzle: Scout Silencer – Barrel: VDD RE02k – Optic: None – Underbarrel: SMLE Pistol Grip – Stock: Short Stock – Magazine: 8mm Klauser 3-round mag – Ammunition: Lengthened – Rear Grip: Fabric Grip – Perk 1: Quickscope – Perk 2: On-Hand – While the Vanguard Kar98 has slipped away in the popularity charts previously, it has seen a resurgence in recent weeks. Though, it still sits 28th overall according to WZRanked. This unusual take on the sniper might help bump up a few places, however, so make sure to give it a go before long.

Unique Owen Gun Warzone loadout gives it best TTK of any SMG ActivisionA unique Owen Gun loadout, designed by Warzone content creator and YouTuber WhosImmortal, elevates the CoD: Vanguard SMG to the fastest-killing weapon in the battle royale. With Call of Duty: Warzone now deep into its second season of the CoD: Vanguard era, players are still getting to grips with the best weapons to use in Caldera. Amongst those that has seen its popularity explode in Season 2 is the Owen Gun, the Vanguard SMG renown for its solid damage, range and manageable recoil. Plenty of players are flocking to the Owen Gun following the significant nerfs the MP-40 received in the Season 2 update and, according to Warzone YouTuber WhosImmortal, the Owen Gun can become the fastest-killing weapon in the game with the right attachments. Best TTK Owen Gun Warzone Loadout In a March 19 YouTube video, the popular creator unveiled his go-to Owen Gun setup for Season 2, seeing it become the weapon with the best TTK in the game – meaning it kills opponents faster than any other weapon. “The other day I was sitting there thinking, ‘Is there a way I can make this even better?’” he said. “[And] I think I have found a way to build the Owen that actually gives it an absolutely insane TTK, one that is even better than it was before.” He explained that the major change is towards attachments that improve fire rate and damage, meaning bullets will hit enemies harder and more frequently. In particular, this means adding the 8mm Kurz 60 Round Drums, over the standard 7.62 Gorenko 72 Round Drums. The full loadout is detailed below: Muzzle: Recoil Booster – Barrel: N/A – Optic: M38/Slate 2.5x Custom – Stock: Removed Stock – Perk: Acrobatic – Perk 2: Quick – Rear Grip: Polymer Grip – Magazine: 8mm Kurz 60 Round Drums – Ammunition: Hollow Point – Underbarrel: M1941 Hand Stop – As you’d expect, the Owen Gun’s recoil is made a little more difficult to control. It may take a little bit of practice to get used to and the YouTuber recommended swapping the underbarrel for the Carver Foregrip if you’re struggling to shoot accurately. Once that’s mastered though, there are very few weapons that will drop enemies as quickly.

Unique “no recoil” Welgun Warzone loadout is going viral ActivisionCall of Duty: Warzone TikTokers have been shining a spotlight on the Welgun once again, and one no recoil loadout has gone pretty viral on the app. Following the integration between CoD: Vanguard and Warzone, the popular battle royale now spans three different titles and has a massive array of weapons for players to choose from. While the meta is pretty settled at the moment – with the likes of the MP-40, Cooper Carbine, Kar98, and PPSh leading the way – there are plenty of fans and content creators who look to break the mold. As it stands, the Welgun SMG is just on the outside looking in when it comes to the meta – even though it is inside the top-10 most-used weapons. However, it could jump up a few spots thanks to a “no recoil” build that has gone viral on TikTok. The viral no recoil build was shown off by TikToker lodgingdee, whose post has managed to rack up over 2.5 million views since first being uploaded. While some of the other “no recoil” builds in Warzone have contained some funky attachments, the Welgun one still uses some of the more popular choices. For example, there is room for the Recoil Booster, Slate Reflector sight, 320mm SA Shrouded barrel, and the lengthened ammunition. Though, there are some twists. There is no room for the M1941 Hand Stop underbarrel, as it is instead replaced by the Mark VI Skeletal. Similarly, the TikToker takes the Hatched Grip over the more popular Fabric Grip. No recoil Welgun Warzone build Muzzle: Recoil Booster – Barrel: 320mm SA Shrouded – Optic: Slate Reflector – Underbarrel: Mark VI Skeletal – Stock: Removed Stock – Magazine: Gorenko 40-rounds – Ammunition: Lengthened – Rear Grip: Hatched Grip – Perk 1: Acrobatic – Perk 2: Quick – Click here if TikTok doesn’t load As they show, the Welgun just beams through enemies at both mid-range and short-range, and enemies will be headed to the Gulag in a flash. The Welgun may not displace the likes of the MP-40 or PPSh anytime soon, but, the build is a lot of fun. So, give it a try before it’s nerfed by the battle royale devs.

Unique M4A1 Warzone loadout turns AR into deadly SMG ActivisionCall of Duty: Warzone players have been putting a unique twist on the Modern Warfare M4A1, turning the assault rifle into a deadly SMG with a few underused attachments. Ever since Warzone expanded beyond Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, adding Black Ops Cold War and CoD: Vanguard to the mix, players have been experimenting with weird and wonderful loadouts. Some unique builds have managed to make pistols look more like SMGs, others have made hipfire the name of the game, while others have stripped back assault rifles and turned them into close-range killers. That latter one has now happened to the M4A1 thanks to the use of a few underrated attachments. Though, don’t be expecting to win many long-range fights with it. The weird and wacky take on the weapon was highlighted by Call of Duty YouTuber Metaphor, who threw on the barely used 9mm Para magazine to make it a bit of a close-range beast. As the YouTuber notes, while the unique attachment does help in those close, under 10-meter range fights, it will be a bit “atrocious” in long-range engagements. So, it’s only recommended for those point-blank range fights. On top of the unusual mag, the build uses the Corvus Custom Marksman barrel rather than the more popular Stock M16 Grenadier option. The immensely popular Tac Laser and GI Mini Reflex optics, though, both get a spot on the loadout. M4A1 SMG Warzone loadout Barrel: Corvus Custom Marksman – Laser: Tac Laser – Optic: GI Mini Reflex – Magazine: 9mm Para – Rear Grip: Stippled Grip Tape – With the M4A1 being a pretty popular weapon in Warzone – currently ranked 17th most-used by WZRanked – it is interesting to see it being used as an SMG given it’s strengths at range. It remains to be seen as to whether or not this loadout will catch on and become immensely popular, but it could be fun for a few games.

Unique loadout makes MW3 Blunderbuss best shotgun in the game DexertoMany Modern Warfare 3 players have already written off the JAK Widemouth Kit as an inferior version of the legendary Blunderbuss, but with this unique loadout, that isn’t the case at all. Released as a reward for completing the first set of Weekly Challenges of Season 5, the JAK Widemouth Kit converts the MORS into a Blunderbuss. While it can be fun to use, this conversion kit has some serious problems. Most notably, its slow fire rate, inaccurate spread, and clumsy sprint-to-fire speed make it incredibly unforgiving, which is a death sentence for any shotgun. No one wants to use a slow-firing weapon that doesn’t kill half the time. However, the JAK Widemouth Kit can be made much more consistent by using this particular loadout, in addition to three key perks: Commando Gloves, Mag Holster, and All-Terrain Boots. Conversion Kit: JAK Widemouth Barrel – Laser: Verdant Hook Box Laser – Stock: Verve Tac Stock – Underbarrel: Bruen Bastion Angled Grip – Bolt: Quick Bolt – Using Commando Gloves allows you to reload while sprinting, which is extremely valuable on a weapon that reloads after every shot. Even better, this perk improves sprint-to-fire speed, which is one of the most important stats for shotguns. Meanwhile, the All-Terrain Boots increase sprint speed but disable Tactical Sprint. Ordinarily, this would be a huge trade-off, but with the Blunderbuss, it’s actually a pro since the shotgun’s sprint out time is drastically reduced if you don’t use Tactical Sprint. Last but not least, Mag Holster is incredible with the JAK Widemouth Kit, as it has a unique interaction that increases the shotgun’s fire rate. The perk is supposed to only improve reload speed, but since the Blunderbuss reloads after every shot, it boosts the fire rate by 15% instead. Alternatively, some players may prefer using the Gunnver Vest to gain this same effect, while also having a second primary slot to cover long-range gunfights where the Blunderbuss isn’t effective at all. For this role, a versatile gun like the SVA 545 or BP50 is highly recommended, with both partnering with the shotgun extremely well.