Call of Duty: Vanguard

With Call of Duty: Vanguard Season Three now upon us (and many players complaining of a lack of content), Season Two is looking more and more appealing. The second season of Call of Duty: Vanguard content may no longer be upon us, but there’s no reason we can’t wax nostalgic about all the great things it brought to the World War II shooter. If you’re a Vanguard fan, why not join us in taking a look back at Call of Duty: Vanguard Season Two and the maps, Operators, weapons, and other content we got to enjoy?

As ever, content for Season Two was split across three modes: Vanguard multiplayer, its Zombies mode, and Call of Duty: Warzone. First, let’s take a look at the new Season Two Vanguard multiplayer content.

New maps

Casablanca (launch): Casablanca is a medium-sized map with three lanes to take on your opponents. You’ll also find a busy, complex marketplace with plenty of opportunities for flanking and getting a height advantage on your enemies.
Gondola (launch): Here, you’ll find a central watchtower that affords a great view of the surrounding battlefield. There’s also the titular gondola, which you’ll need to jump off before it falls off a cliff. Plenty of close-range combat opportunities present themselves here, too.

New mode

As well as these two maps, Season Two also brought a brand new mode, which also came with its very own map. Arms Race launched as part of Season Two Reloaded in March. It’s a 12v12 game mode in which the goal is to capture a series of bases. The new Alps map is huge, so you’ll need to use vehicles to cover ground quickly. It’s not dissimilar to the Star Wars: Battlefront series, with the ability to capture bases and spawn from those bases if you die. Two bases will be selected at random to be out of play, so the remaining five bases are very important objectives. You’ll also find Buy Stations to help you gear up and take on the Arms Race mode.

Motorcycle: The Arms Race mode allows you to spend cash on vehicles, including the small, agile Motorcycle, that allows you to weave through obstacles. However, it’s not very durable.
CD12 Transport: Unlike the Motorcycle, the CD12 Transport can fit four players inside it, making it ideal for transporting you and your squad across dangerous enemy territory.
Tank: Believe it or not, the tank is, well, a tank. It only seats one; you’ll serve as both the tank’s driver and its gunner. Tanks are extremely well-armoured but not very mobile.

Ranked play

Call of Duty: Vanguard Season Two marked the beginning of Vanguard’s Ranked mode, where you can battle with the best of the best for supremacy. Ranked features specific rules, skill ratings, and other competitive rewards.

Midway through the season, Treyarch introduced a new Top 250 skill division, which truly represented the very best Call of Duty: Vanguard players. It came with its own leaderboard, which most of us can only hope of getting onto.

New perks, grenade, and killstreak

As part of the Vanguard Battle Pass for Season Two, new perks were added, as well as a new explosive weapon and a new killstreak bonus. Here they are.

Ball Turret Gunner (killstreak): If you’ve played Call of Duty: WWII, you’ll know the destructive power of the Ball Turret, which can wreak havoc on a small area.
Sticky Bomb (grenade): The Sticky Bomb can be attached to a surface, so it’s ideal if you’re looking to hit a moving target.
Armory (perk): This perk lets you use equipment faster and hide it from Engineers, so it’s perfect as a counter to anyone using the Engineer perk.
Mechanic (perk): If you use the Mechanic perk, you’ll get a boost to Field Upgrade charge time, so it’s perfect if you’re trying for a Field Upgrade challenge.

Vanguard Zombies

Many people play Call of Duty almost exclusively for the Zombies mode now, so it’s a good thing that there’s more Zombies content available in Season Two. Here’s what we got.

New hub map

First up, Vanguard Season Two added a brand new hub map. Der Anfang was old news; now, it was all about Terra Maledicta, which gave you a new hub to explore and new arena content to enjoy.

New Ally and Foe

New Ally: Vercanna the Last: Vercanna is a healer that grants you a Healing Aura, allowing you to keep your squadmates alive. The Aura can be upgraded for additional benefits like reviving your allies and stunning your enemies.
New Foe: Zaballa the Deceiver: Zaballa can hover just out of your reach, throwing out electrical disruptions. You’ll need to find the source of her power if you want to stop her.

New Wonder Weapons

Decimator Shield: As you might imagine, the Decimator Shield protects you from enemy attacks, but it also features the mighty, shattering Decimator Blast.
Ray Gun: That’s right – it’s the infamous Wonder Weapon from the very first Call of Duty Zombies mode. Making a triumphant return from World at War, the Ray Gun is a one-hit zombie kill, so it’s an extremely valuable weapon.

New Sacrifice Objective

The sixth major Objective in the Vanguard Zombies mode saw you disrupting a dark ritual by destroying zombies so that they can’t fill the Syphoncores, which spawn huge numbers of the undead. The new Terra Maledicta map set also introduced a new Story Quest introducing Vercanna and the Decimator Shield, and there were plenty of Easter eggs to discover as well.

New Covenants

Artifact Ward: The new Artifact Ward Covenant gives you a chance to trigger your Artifact when hit from behind. There are three Tiers, each of which increases the chance of the effect occurring.
Critical Expertise: Gives you more critical hit chance and returns ammo when you kill with Death Blow equipped. Higher tiers return a higher chance for a crit.
Explosives Expert: Explosions deal more damage to enemies and less to you. Successive tiers increase enemy damage further while decreasing splash damage on you.

Call of Duty: Warzone

Naturally, everyone’s favourite battle royale shooter wasn’t left out in Vanguard Season Two. There was plenty of extra content for Warzone, so let’s take a look at what was added.

New features

Nebula V ammo: This brand new ammo type emits a poison cloud if you kill an enemy while it’s equipped. If anyone tries to revive an enemy in that cloud, they’ll experience Circle-style debuffs.
Nebula V bombs: You can trigger the effects of Nebula V ammo with these bombs, which makes them perfect for clusters or groups of enemies.
Portable Decontamination Stations: These stations will keep you shielded from Circle Collapse and Nebula V weapon effects, but enemies can destroy them, so make sure you’ve got your guard up.
Armoured Transport Trucks: These trucks will be circling throughout Caldera and will fire at you on sight. They also contain valuable loot, including potentially a Nebula V bomb, so they’re worth chasing down.
Bomber Plane: This plane is the second aerial vehicle introduced as part of the Call of Duty: Vanguard content cycle. It’s an air vehicle that allows you to destroy various map features, but it’s not as powerful as the Fighter Plane.
Redeploy Balloon: You can use these balloons to respawn somewhere else on the map, and if you’ve got the cash, you can re-inflate the balloon to spawn again.

New modes

Caldera Clash: High Moon Studios created this new mode, which sees teams of four going up against each other to claim the most points before the match ends.
Rebirth Iron Trials: The classic Iron Trials ‘84 mode gets a revamp in this Beenox-created mode.

Rebirth Reinforced

Making an appearance during the midseason update, the Rebirth Reinforced initiative saw Rebirth Island strengthened with new ships docked in its harbour and a revamped Stronghold. The Prison Yard area beneath the Water Tower was also reworked. As part of this initiative, we also got three new Rebirth-themed modes.

Rebirth Resurgence Solos: If you dropped into Rebirth on this mode, you started with your Rebirth meter already full, which means you can respawn once for free before you need to start racking up points.
Rebirth Payload: Operators needed to escort (or sabotage, depending on their team) trucks in order to score points in this mode.
Rebirth Blood Money: Blood Money is extremely similar to Plunder, except with one key modifier: Operators could get a payout for Kills even if their target wasn’t carrying cash.

New map points of interest

Chemical Factory: The nefarious Nebula V is produced in this factory, so you’ll encounter lots of traps as the scientists try to keep intruders out. Don’t worry about rogue Nebula V, though; the factory is safe (apart from enemies).
Underground Chemical Weapon Labs: These labs contain lots of winding corridors and areas worth exploring, but you’ll also be trapped in them if the Circle Collapse happens, so make sure you’re not caught short.

***Vanguard* and *Warzone***

Warzone and Vanguard Updates — Call of Duty Vanguard Warzone updates

As ever, some content in Season Two was shared between Vanguard and Warzone, so let’s take a look at what both games got during this season.

New Operators

Thomas Bolt: A strict patriot, Bolt wants to settle down after the war and is part of the S.O.T.F. Yeti team.
Anna Drake: Another member of S.O.T.F. Yeti, Drake is a vigilante fighting for justice on behalf of those she loves.
Gustavo Dos Santos: Once a socialite, a chance encounter with the French resistance turned Gustavo Dos Santos into a principled guerrilla fighter.

New weapons

KG M40: This assault rifle is perfect for mid-range situations. It’s accurate and steady, and while it won’t set the world on fire, it’s an excellent and versatile rifle.
Whitley: If you prefer your weapons to pack a heavier punch, the Whitley, which is one of the world’s first ever machine guns to be used in warfare, will fill that niche.
Ice Axe: Want to get up close and personal with your enemies? That’s exactly what the Ice Axe is for.
Armaguerra 43: Like most SMGs, the Armaguerra 43 is great for close-range and short-term engagements, but it falters somewhat when you’re firing at long range.