Multiplayer Tips and Tricks
This page is part of IGN's Call of Duty: Vanguard Wiki guide and details several tips and tricks that will have you wreaking havoc across the battlefield. So whether you're a seasoned Call of Duty veteran or simply getting started, here are over 25 essential tips and tricks that will provide you with a significant advantage over your average player.
Essential Tips and Tricks for Getting Started Call of Duty: Vanguard Multiplayer
Another year, another addition to the Call of Duty series, however, Vanguard has attempted to mix things up and happens to play much differently to its predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. So we've put together a helpful list of tips and tricks that will have you prepared and ready to dominate on the battlefields of WW2. If you're looking for a specific tip or trick, click the links below to jump to...
Tips for Selecting the Best Game Settings
Be warned, while these settings may work for us, you may find that a different value could work better for you. So be sure to play around with the settings until you find something that works best for you and your playing style.
- While it was missing on console versions of Call of Duty: Vanguard's Beta, Field of View (FOV) Sliders are now available on both PC and Console. Try out the different FOV values and determine which one is best for you. But remember, as you increase your Field of View you also increase your chances of experiencing a lowered frame rate and graphical artifacts.
- Consider turning off On-Demand Texture Streaming. This setting is essentially designed to lighten the load on your SSD, as it will download high-quality textures straight onto your hard drive while playing. As you can imagine, this can cause some hiccups to occur, especially for those that play on the more competitive side. You can turn this setting off by navigating to the bottom of the Graphics tab.
- You'll want to ensure that you're firing when you want to be firing, so change up your trigger button dead zones. While it's personal preference, we found running this between 0-5 was the most optimal value for our playstyle.
- If you're playing with a controller, try lowering the Left/Right Stick Min Input Deadzone to prevent drifting. While the option defaults to 10, we recommend changing this value to approximately 4 or 5, which may differ depending on your controller.
- In the Interface settings, you'll find an all-new setting category for consoles called Telemetry. This will allow you to display your Server Latency, Connection Meter, Packet Loss, and even more on-screen - whereas previously, you'd have to view this in the menu.
- Under Graphics, be sure to turn off World Motion Blur and Weapon Motion Blur. While this is mostly designed for a more cinematic experience as when enabled, you'll find it significantly more challenging to see what's happening around you as both your environment and weapon movements will be blurred.
- Consider changing your Camera Movement to Least (50%) as it will mostly reduce any camera shaking you may experience when firing your weapon or taking damage.
- For controller players interested in a more competitive gameplay experience, make sure to turn off Controller Vibration.
- Depth of Field is automatically set to on, and you'll want to change this to off as it'll make any out-of-focus regions appear blurry. Given just how difficult it already is to see enemies in Vanguard, you will be at a significant disadvantage with this setting turned on.
- Vanguard's in-game sounds aren't exactly perfect, so you'll want to consider making a few changes under Audio. The first thing you'll notice is that Captain Butcher will not stop talking - literally - making it increasingly difficult to hear your surroundings. For this reason, we recommend lowering the Dialogue Volume significantly - we're currently running it at 50, but it could go lower.
- Along with lowering Dialogue Volume, Vanguard has made enemy footsteps incredibly hard to hear. With some games - depending on your filters - becoming overly chaotic, the audio can quickly become overwhelming, making those more important aspects of the game. We suggest lowering your Music Volume and keeping your Sound Effects Volume at 100.
- While it's completely optional, Vanguard introduces an all-new Hit Marker Sound Effect. While this isn't game-changing, it may potentially throw you off, so there's an option to revert this sound effect to a more classic-sounding effect.
- For those on consoles, don't forget to adjust your Horizontal/Verticle Stick Sensitivity, as what may seem like such a small tweak can make a huge impact on your gameplay experience. While it's all personal preference, we suggest running your sensitivity somewhere between 8 to 12.
- Those with PlayStation 5 controllers, remember to turn off Trigger Effects to prevent any resistance or vibration when pressing L2 and R2.
- You may also want to take a look at Vanguard's various Movement and Action Behavior settings to determine if the default settings match your playstyle. While they may seem minor, adjusting these gameplay settings will greatly impact how you maneuver through maps. Some of the more impactful settings include Automatic Sprint, Slide Behavior, Sprinting Door Bash, and Automatic Airborne Mantle.
- Last but not least, if you're a frequent player of Black Ops Cold War, you may want to switch your Target Aim Assist to Legacy (Black Ops). The reason being that Vanguard introduces a new Target Aim Assist that works much like the default option in Warzone. Alternatively, you may find the options for Precision or Focusing more suitable to your play style.
Quick Tips and Tricks
- If you're just starting out you may be underwhelmed by your available weapons and their lack of attachments. Until you earn more attachments you can get a leg up by using the Armory's Weapon Blueprints. The Blueprints are essentially pre-made weapon kits that equip specific weapons with several high-tier gun attachments. These high-tier weapons can be used after unlocking Loadouts at level four.
- Experiment with the Gunsmith. With countless attachments to select from, try out different attachment builds to help narrow down which setup works best for you.
- While the minimap in the top left corner may display the direction in which your comrades are firing, be sure to look to the compass at the top of HUD, as it displays a red dot in the direction in which enemies are firing.
- Destructible environments have returned, so keep an eye out for wooden walls and windows. We highly recommend learning the location of the destructible walls and windows for each map as they offer great opportunities to catch enemies off guard. These areas also act as prime vantage points due to being able to shoot just single pieces of wood away from the wall. This will then allow you to fire enemies through the gap while using the rest of the wall as cover until it's destroyed.
- Always use your equipment! Hoarding Tactical, Lethal, and Field Upgrades while you wait for that perfect moment will provide no advantage. With quicker TTK, faster-paced matches, and game modes, you'll likely end up dying before you even get that chance, wasting any opportunities you may have potentially had.
- Looking for Dead Silence? Rather than appearing as a Perk, Dead Silence will now make an appearance as a Field Update.
- Torches and Lasers will not give away your position in-game! So, don't be afraid to attach them to your weapons.
- In the new game mode, Champion Hill, you earn significantly more XP than you would if you were playing one of the standard modes such as Kill Confirmed or Team Deathmatch.
- If you're looking to rank up a specific Operator you can accelerate the process by completing their corresponding challenges and by using the Operator alongside their favorite weapon. If you use an Operator with their favorite weapon you'll gain Double Operator XP as well as a Weapon XP boost.
- If you're new to Call of Duty or if you just want to better familiarize yourself with the maps before entering Online Play, you can create Custom Games that will allow you to explore 16 of Vanguard's maps and you can even set up Bots to be your teammates or enemies.
- Custom Games also allow you to use all of Vanguard's Weapons, Attachments, Perks, Lethals, Tacticals, and Operators.
Essential Combat Tips and Tricks to Help You Dominate on the Battlefield
- Communicating with your team is crucial in Vanguard, especially in game modes such as Champion Hill, as you'll likely face more challenging and experienced opponents as SBMM (Skill Based Match Making) takes hold in later matches. While it may not be ideal if you're playing randoms, definitely consider using voice chat to discuss any incoming enemies or important plays that you may want to make.
- If you're finding some games just too chaotic for your playing style, consider filtering your matches with Combat Pacing. This new feature will allow you to select from three different pacing options that range from classic 6v6 matches, 10v10 matches, and chaos-filled 14v14 matches that significantly increase the game's overall pace, often eliminating the chance for players to camp.
- For those playing Patrol, remember to keep moving. While being in the middle of the circle will already make you a prime target, staying relatively stationary will make you an easy target to kill.
- In addition, if you're running a Field Mic upgrade, try placing them strategically in the path of the circle. This way, you'll be able to spot any enemies that may be hiding being corners or potentially trying to flank you.
- If you're in a pinch or chasing after an enemy double-tap your sprint button to run at maximum speed.
- Vanguard introduces two new gameplay mechanics, Mount and Blindfire. Mount allows you to place your weapon on a surface to reduce recoil or to peek around corners. While Blindfire allows you to lay down suppressing fire from behind cover.
- While it may seem obvious, landing headshots is critical and should be prioritized in Vanguard, as it'll significantly lower your TTK (Time to Kill).
- Vanguard rewards those that play smart, so think twice before rushing into the middle of the action as those that can accumulate high killstreaks will receive the likes of Spy Planes, Mortar Barrage, Flamenaut, and even Attack Dogs.
- The Radar perk is crucial when first starting, as it'll allow enemies to appear on your minimap when they fire an unsilenced weapon. This is not only extremely helpful for when you are first learning the ropes, but it'll allow you to get a grasp on each of Vanguard's new maps, which offer plenty of obscure corners, hidey-holes, and additional laneways that can conceal enemies - unlike many past maps in the series.
- While most players will be running Radar, it's important to note that silencers will not stop you from appearing on the minimap. Instead, you'll need to select the Subsonic Ammo Type to be invisible.
- Create several custom loadouts to ensure you are prepared for any situation, any game mode, and any map. However, if you find yourself unprepared hide somewhere safe and in your menu, you can customize your loadout on the fly.