Call of Duty: Vanguard Update Adds Experimental Playlist

By Cade Onder

A new Call of Duty: Vanguard update has been released and it includes a new playlist that allows players to test things like spawns. Call of Duty: Vanguard has been met with some backlash by fans of the series since its launch. Not only were there some half-baked modes, but the game felt rushed and even incomplete in some areas. Despite the fact it topped sales charts at the end of 2021, Activision was reportedly disappointed in the game's performance, which has possibly led to next year's entry being delayed. Reports suggest that Activision will fill next year's gap with some Call of Duty remasters, but nothing has been confirmed.

Despite the reported poor performance of Vanguard, Sledgehammer Games is doing its best to make it an enjoyable experience. A new update has been released and it includes a notable change. A new experimental playlist has been added which will allow Sledgehammer to efficiently test new changes to the spawn. The developer notes that it has tried to make the spawns feel less random and decrease the chances of spawning near an enemy. To really get a feel for this, the playlist will feature Dome, Das Haus, and Shipment, maps with notoriously bad spawns. Players can click here to fill out a survey after they've tried to playlist. The remaining patch notes follow below:

Attachments

The goal of the following changes is to transition some of the Chariot 18" Rapid Barrel penalties to the .50 BMG Mags. Players should find that the .50 BMG BAR is now more challenging, while the Barrel Attachment is a viable option on a wider variety of loadouts. Note: These changes were implemented on March 22.

  • Chariot 18" Rapid Barrel (BAR)

  • Decreased recoil while firing.

  • 50 BMG 20/30 Round Mags (BAR)

  • Increased initial recoil while firing.

  • Decreased horizontal recoil.

Perks

  • Engineer (Perk 2)

    • Players equipped with the Engineer Perk will no longer have their radar scrambled while an enemy Counter-Spy Plane is active.

    • Note: This change was implemented on March 22.

Field Upgrades

  • Tactical Insertion

    • Addressed an issue that causes an excessive amount of lights to emit once placed.

Killstreaks

  • Spy Plane (4 Kills)

    • Reverted unintentional increase to cruise speed.

  • Counter-Spy Plane (4 Kills)

    • Reverted unintentional increase to cruise speed.

    • The following Killstreaks are no longer restricted while an enemy Counter-Spy Plane is active.

    • Counter-Spy Plane (4 Kills)

    • Glide Bomb (5 Kills)

    • Bombing Run (7 Kills)

  • Ball Turret Gunner (12 Kills)

    • Increased audio levels while active.

    • Note: This change was implemented on March 22.

Modes

Arms Race

    • Players can no longer spawn on squadmates who are in a contested base.

    • Lethal and Tactical Equipment is no longer immediately refilled when a Field Upgrade is purchased at a Buy Station.

    • Players will no longer respawn with weapons equipped from the ground.

    • Improved the Victory and Defeat UI at the end of a match.

    • Addressed an exploit that allowed players within the protected area of an owned base to be killed by the Goliath Field Upgrade.

Ranked Play

Weapon Blueprints

    • Blueprints can now be equipped in Ranked Play and appear in-game with correct visuals.

    • Restricted attachments are flagged in Create-a-Class and automatically removed if the Blueprint is equipped in-game.

UI Improvements

  • Players using a controller can now cycle through player entries in the lobby list before a Ranked Play match starts.

  • Added various UI fixes.

Zombies:

Side Quests

  • New addition to the Dig Spots Side Quest for players to discover.

  • Note: This change was implemented on March 22.

Weapons

  • Addressed an issue where Magazine attachments on the Welgun SMG could cause reduced reserve ammo in Zombies.

As of right now, Sledgehammer has not noted if or how it will use this playlist in the future. It seems like it could be used as a test server for other future additions and changes, but no long-term plans have been announced. It's not terribly uncommon for online games to have a test server, but it's usually separate from the main game, so this is a rather unique angle for a mode like this.

What do you think of this new experimental playlist? Let us know in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

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