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Gather round, friends. In less than 24 hours, Vanguard Season Two is about to get a huge midseason update. Along with new seasonal content dropping in today’s big update at 9 AM PT, you can expect to see significant changes to gameplay with a Sniper Rifle balance pass, Aim Assist fix, Map exploit fixes, and performance updates. We’re also going to kick off the upcoming weekend with a Featured Playlist update and Max 2XP Weekend!
Now is a great time to grab a drink and some snacks because it’s blog time, baby.
NEW SEASON TWO CONTENT
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.
For a full breakdown of all the new content dropping to Vanguard in the Season Two midseason update, check out the official Call of Duty blog, here.
MULTIPLAYER UPDATES
Sniper Rifle Balance
On Thursday, March 10th, we got a little too excited and announced that a significant balance pass for Sniper Rifles was live. Unfortunately, these changes would not be made available until the Season Two Reloaded update. Well, now they're here! Let us know what you think.
Missed the early announcement? Here are our goals for this balance pass…
Given your feedback and our metrics, we recognized that Sniper Rifles were underperforming across the board. Because of this, we wanted to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon in this class.
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.
Let us know what you think of these changes. Your feedback will play a critical part of future weapon balance passes. We look forward to sharing more in the near future!
Aim Assist
In Vanguard Season One, we saw reports from players who suggested that the Aim Assist system was not always functioning as it should. Today, we are optimistic we have fixed a bug that caused Aim Assist to intermittently deactivate while engaging an enemy player.
First, we want to thank everyone who shared clips of this problem. This bug was very difficult to reproduce and the video clips were critical to the QA investigation which helped our Engineering team diagnose and solve the issue.
When functioning properly, the Aim Assist system analyzes every frame of the game to determine if it should activate, based on whether an enemy is currently in sight. We call this a “player visibility check”. The Aim Assist bug was the result of the system not waiting for the “player visibility check” before running an action. In certain scenarios, the Aim Assist system was left to assume that no player was visible, which meant that Aim Assist could potentially deactivate multiple times in a single engagement. With today’s fix, the Aim Assist system will ensure that a result from that “player visibility check” is received before continuing and we are confident based on testing that it should behave as intended.
Please note that although we have tested this fix extensively with our team, the real test is in the live game environment with all of you. Please let us know if you are still encountering problems with Aim Assist while playing Vanguard.
Multiplayer Patch Notes
Stability & Performance
Stability improvements should result in better connectivity and lower rates of server disconnect errors.
Scrolling through a large friends list will no longer kick the player out of the Social menu.
Resolved a bug resulting in Dev Error 604, which was caused by being revived while a melee weapon and tactical equipment are equipped.
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
In this update, we paid special attention to improving the overall quality of our Multiplayer maps. We have made efforts to improve spawn logic in difficult scenarios, namely high-intensity Combat Pacing selections and objective-based modes. Several improvements have been made to the environment to prevent players from taking advantage of exploits, such as spawning in a player’s line of sight. We’ve also improved pathing for objective points for certain Modes on several maps.
Please note that these spawn changes are fixes and improvements to situational exploits and there is no sweeping change to spawn logic. However, we will continue to iterate on our spawn logic in the coming updates and look forward to sharing more soon.
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 (Assault Rifle)
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%). This change currently does not apply without a Scope attachment equipped.
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.
Attachments
While evaluating the performance of the BAR Assault Rifle, we found that it was far too powerful when equipped with the .50 BMG Mags. The goal of these 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.
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%).
Chariot 18" Rapid Barrel (BAR)
Decreased recoil while firing.
.50 BMG 20/30 Round Mags (BAR)
Increased initial recoil while firing.
Decreased horizontal recoil.
Killstreaks
Counter-Spy Plane (4 Kills)
Players equipped with the Engineer Perk will no longer have their radar scrambled while an enemy Counter-Spy Plane is active.
Ball Turret Gunner (12 Kills)
Ball Turret Gunner usage is now properly tracked in the Barracks and on the scoreboard
Audio increased
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.
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
Treyarch is delivering plenty of Ranked Play updates with Season Two Reloaded, including the introduction of the Top 250 Skill Division & Leaderboard, new Season Two Rewards and Skill Division Rewards, rank progression improvements, new progression menus, additional quitter penalties, and more.
Start grinding for the ultimate bragging rights as one of the highest-ranked players in the world, and earn new rewards no matter which Skill Division you’re in, including Weapon Blueprints, Camos, Charms, and Animated Emblems. New rewards will arrive with each season, so be sure to earn your Season Two Rewards while they’re available.
Ranked Play competitors will now be able to form parties with more friends outside of their Skill Division via newly expanded party restrictions. Additional suspension rules have also been added to penalize players who quit mid-match. Read on below for everything new coming to Ranked Play, and remember… play to win.
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.
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.
Playlist Changes
- Adjusted the map and mode weighting used by the Ranked Play playlist to provide a more even balance of Search & Destroy maps. Previous to this change, Desert Siege Search & Destroy was being selected more than intended.
General
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 would occasionally not earn SR for a win after the entire enemy team had quit.
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 UPDATES
Season Two Reloaded brings Dedicated Server Pause to Vanguard Zombies, allowing solo players to pause for up to two hours collectively in matches played on dedicated servers. The inactivity kick timer has also been extended for players in public matches, so you’ll have more than enough time for a bathroom break while your friends keep the undead at bay.
Two powerful new Covenants arrive this week with three rarities each: equip Critical Expertise to boost your critical hit rates, and Explosives Expert for when you want to go loud. This update also includes improvements to the Decimator Shield & Ray Gun, the addition of the Sacrifice Objective to “Der Anfang,” Season Challenge improvements, various bug and stability fixes, and more. Check out the full patch notes below:
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.
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.
SEE YOU ONLINE!
As always, we’ll continue to collect feedback from all the corners we can find it. Have constructive feedback? Please let us know your thoughts!
You can also report a bug or leave feedback about Call of Duty: Vanguard in this survey.
Best of luck out there!
Sledgehammer Games
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03.31.23