Tons of Calll of Duty news today, including an update as to what the first Call of Duty: Warzone Pacific update for 2022 will include and what players can expect with Vanguard’s Zombies. You can visit the Call of Duty blog for in-depth details or read below for more info:
What’s to Come in Vanguard Zombies
Every January 15th (or “115 Day” as it’s known to fans), we traditionally take a moment to share a preview of what’s to come in Zombies. As luck would have it, our next major update arrives this week in Call of Duty: Vanguard, so we’re honoring 115 Day a little earlier than usual this year!
As always, we’d like to thank everyone in the Zombies community for all the feedback and support over the years. Going all the way back to the beginning in World at War, your passion and imagination are what drive us to innovate, iterate, and take some creative risks along the way when crafting new Zombies experiences.
We’ve been soaking up feedback throughout the past year of Black Ops Cold War and the launch of Vanguard, and the team has been hard at work on bringing new content and features to Zombies in the weeks, months, and years to come. While our latest incarnation in Vanguard takes an entirely new roguelike approach to the mode, we know our players also want the option to fight never-ending waves of zombies and grind weapon camos with no downtime between rounds.
This week’s update delivers on that feedback, plus much more. Read on below for all the details.
SURVIVAL GAMEPLAY COMES TO “SHI NO NUMA”
Starting at 9PM PT Jan. 11 / 12AM ET Jan. 12, our mid-season update brings classic survival gameplay to “Shi No Numa” in the new Void Objective, which will also serve as the introduction to the new Dark Aether entity and story quest coming in Season Two. Players will first need to unlock access to Von List’s Office, a previously closed-off area in Stalingrad where narrative secrets and a mysterious new portal await…
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.
Once the portal to the Void has been opened, it will never close during your match. When you’re ready to head back to Stalingrad to upgrade your Perks and Covenants, you can leave after surviving 3 rounds and return at any time.
To help you along the way, you’ll earn a Sacrificial Heart each time you complete at least 3 rounds in the Void and successfully escape back to Stalingrad. Of course, if you’re looking to go for high rounds, you’ll also want to spend those Hearts on upgrading your Artifacts before heading back in… and that’s where the Tome of Rituals comes in.
LEVEL UP YOUR ARTIFACTS
You’re going to need some serious buffs for your Dark Aether powers if you want to survive in the Void. The new Tome of Rituals in Stalingrad can provide those upgrades, with additional abilities waiting to be unlocked at each of the four new tiers within its pages.
Invest your Sacrificial Hearts at the Tome of Rituals to unlock the following upgrades during a match:
Frost Blast
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
This update brings another classic Zombies feature to Vanguard: three new camos will now be available at the Pack-a-Punch machine.
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.
Once you’ve collected enough Salvage, you’ll be able to build the explosive Warmachine or the devastating Deathmachine at the Crafting Table. We know players have been eagerly awaiting additional Support options since launch, and we’re excited to deliver these alongside new content during Season One. Get out there and do some damage.
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!
In Zombies, the Combat Shield will mitigate a portion of damage from the direction you’re facing when it’s raised, and protect your back from partial rear damage when it’s stowed as an added bonus. The shield can’t break, but you’ll still take some damage when using it, so you’ll need to stay on your toes. Paired with the right Covenants, the Combat Shield just might become your new favorite weapon to help you out of some sticky situations.
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…
Until then, we hope you enjoy this week’s mid-season Zombies update in Vanguard, and we can’t wait to jump into the Void with everyone!
EXTENDED DOUBLE-DOUBLE WEEKEND
In the spirit of 115 Day, we’re kicking off a four-day Double-Double Weekend in Black Ops Cold War starting this Friday at 10AM PT Jan. 14 through 10AM PT Tuesday, Jan. 18! This includes Double XP and Double Weapon XP in Zombies, and will run alongside an extended 2XP weekend in Vanguard and Warzone as well.
As a reminder, you’ll continue to earn player progression and Battle Pass progress across titles as you play, whether you’re slaying the undead in Black Ops or Vanguard Zombies this weekend. Have fun out there, and we’ll see you online.
– Treyarch
* GAME FEATURES DESCRIBED ABOVE ARE BASED ON CURRENT IN-DEVELOPMENT FEATURES THAT ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON FINAL DEVELOPMENT CHANGES AND/OR GAME TUNING OR UPDATES THAT MAY REMOVE OR MODIFY SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE FEATURES.
Attack on Titan™ Arrives in Call of Duty®: Vanguard and Call of Duty®: Warzone™ Pacific’s First Update of 2022
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.
The Tracer Pack: Attack on Titan — Levi Edition Bundle
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 Zombies Updates, Presented by Treyarch
Several major updates to Vanguard’s Zombies experience will appear in 2022, with Treyarch outlining the immediate additions to the mode and future plans in their most recent blog.
These include the introduction of never-ending classic gameplay to “Shi No Numa” in the new Void Objective, unlocked access to Von List’s Office in Stalingrad, four new tiers of Artifact upgrades at the Tome of Rituals, three unique Pack-a-Punch camos, and more. The Combat Shield and craftable Support Killstreaks are also being added to the mix, along with weapon unlock challenges for the Katana and new Welgun SMG, plus plenty of content in the works for Season Two.
More Intel Coming Soon from Sledgehammer, Raven
Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software, in addition to Beenox, High Moon Studios, and Toys for Bob among others, are committed to supporting Vanguard and Warzone Pacific during Season One and beyond, actively listening to concerns, bugs, and requested features from the community.
Expect Vanguard’s patch notes for this latest update to release tonight on Sledgehammer Games’ blog, and Warzone Pacific’s patch notes will go live on Raven Software’s blog on January 12 prior to the game’s update. These blogs will also be found on the main Call of Duty website and will be promoted by official accounts.
Rise on every front.
Stay tuned to Gaming Trend for all your gaming, tech, and entertainment news!
Richard Allen is a freelance writer and contributing editor for various publications. While he enjoys modern gaming, he is a retro gamer at heart, having been raised on a steady diet of Contra, Mario, and Dragon's Lair. Chat with him via @thricetheartist on Twitter.
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