Here’s how Call of Duty Vanguard has been updated for launch since its beta

Call of Duty Vanguard developer Sledgehammer Games has revealed a list of changes it’s made to the game following recent online tests.

An alpha test featuring the game’s new Champion Hill mode took place in August, ahead of a cross-platform multiplayer beta in September.

“Our goal coming out of the Vanguard Beta was to give players a faster and smoother gameplay experience at launch,” Sledgehammer said on its website.

“To achieve that, we’ve reduced weapon swap/pickup animation speeds and are bringing in new movement perks. We’ve also added the ‘Ninja’ perk which allows you to have silent footsteps at all times.

“Big changes have been made to our audio mix across the board, such as increasing footstep sounds, reducing the announcer frequency, and much more,” it added.

“We’ve improved the performance of Vanguard across all platforms and fixed glitches resulting in pixelation, lighting issues, and graphical corruption that some players experienced in beta. We’ve also squashed some pesky bugs that caused spawn issues in Patrol mode.”

The full list of changes made to the game in time for launch is republished below.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is scheduled for release on November 5, 2021. Earlier this week, publisher Activision confirmed how much storage space is required for Call of Duty: Vanguard on consoles and when players can pre-load the game.

It also detailed Call of Duty: Vanguard’s launch content and the road to Season 1, which will arrive on December 2 alongside Warzone’s new Pacific map Caldera, which adds dogfighting to the mix.

Vanguard multiplayer changes

Visibility

• Distortion effects were removed from muzzle flash and we reduced smoke emitted when firing a weapon
• Completed a pass on muzzle flash placement/coverage when aiming down sights
• VFX Environment ambient placement for better sightlines
• Removed the droplets of water that get all up in your face when it rains
• Various bugs have been fixed including a bug where certain optics would stop enemy and friendly HUD icons from displaying while ADS
• We’ve fixed cases of nametags appearing through Destruction
• Lens flare reduced across all maps (we nerfed the sun)
• We will continue to refine VFX, Lighting, and UI into launch and monitor player feedback surrounding the various topics of visibility.

Audio

• Audio received a complete mixing and content overhaul to address community feedback from the Public Beta, including more audible footsteps, player and non-player weapons, and map environment content
• Footsteps are silent when players ADS, Crouch Walk, or have a Perk / Field Upgrade equipped which silences movement
• Fixed a bug that caused shots after the first shot to be too quiet
• Operator quips occur less frequently
• Asked Butcher to chill out. VO lines are less frequent

Spawns

• A bug resulting in unpredictable spawns in Patrol has been fixed as well general tuning of spawn logic globally
• We will continue to refine spawn logic over time to improve spawns in matches with higher player counts

Movement

• Grenades and incendiaries no longer slow movement speed of players
• A cap has been placed on max suppression effects
• Changes have been made to animation times including weapon swap speeds and throwing of equipment (ie: Gammon bombs can be thrown more quickly)
• Sprint out times have been sped up and re-balanced
• Dev Tip: Dauntless, a perk that players didn’t have access to in Beta, makes players immune to movement reducing effects

Weapons

• Shotgun lethality has been improved
• Effective Range of most Shotguns, SMGs, and Pistols have been reduced (SMGs and Pistols were overperforming at range and Shotguns were adjusted down due to increased lethality overall)
• Hipfire spread has been adjusted on most guns (mainly to add more consistency across weapon categories)
• Tradeoffs on barrels, magazines, and stocks have been reduced
• Ammo types were rebalanced to include more tradeoffs
• Squashed bugs affecting Weapon Progression and Detailed Stats
• Dev Tip: Vanguard’s version of the smoke grenade works differently than previous games. You’re fully hidden from distant enemies, but can be seen at closer ranges allowing you to close the distance between you and the enemy and hunt them down with close-quarter combat builds.
• Dev Tip: Try setting your mount options to use ADS rather than ADS+Melee. It’s not for everyone but it’s a powerful way to become more accurate in an instant while staying out of harm’s way. It can be combined with blind fire for some great results.

Killstreaks and Field Upgrades

• Friendly Spy Planes and Counter Spy Planes will no longer appear overhead
• Spy Planes and Counter Spy Planes move slower and are easier to hit
• Counter Spy Planes have a shorter duration
• Health has been reduced on Spy Planes, Counter Spy Planes, and most placed Field Upgrades
• Death Machine and War Machine have swapped costs
• Glide bomb is easier to control
• A max timer has been added to the Radar Jammer and Field Mic Field Upgrades
• Bugs resulting in graphical corruption of the Attack Dogs have been fixed – no more Dognados 🙁

Perks

• Low Profile has been removed and replaced with Ninja