The Zombies mode in the newest Call of Duty installment, Call of Duty: Vanguard, has been met with quite a lot of warranted resistance from the fanbase and a rather lackluster launch overseas.
And, to be fair, this mode is a huge divergence from any past Zombies game modes, with a lot of new stuff to get used to. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best tips out there currently for getting the most out of the Der Anfang experience in Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Updated on August 15th, 2022, by Patrick Armstrong: The addition of zombies to the classic military franchise Call of Duty was initially met with skepticism by many, but that skepticism was quickly replaced by enthusiasm when the unique strengths of Zombies Mode became apparent. With every iteration, the game twists its formula in unique ways, keeping players on their toes. Call of Duty: Vanguard was no different when it appeared, forcing players to reevaluate old strategies and come up with new ones. Here are some essential tips for this challenging mode.
13 Gather Resources
Call of Duty: Vanguard isn't a survival horror game, but one wouldn't know that from the army of the dead it throws at players. Chests and crystals appear throughout the game near objectives, and the resources they provide can make a big difference against the rotting hordes. Opening the chests and shooting the crystals lets the player gain valuable Salvage, items, and equipment. Though an individual reward may not make much of a difference by itself, the accumulated gains can be valuable.
Players can use the mini-map to locate crystals and chests, so the player should take some time to track down these resource deposits whenever they get the chance. After all, a soldier is only as good as the resources they bring to each fight, and with endless hordes of the undead standing between oneself and victory, the player will need all the help they can get.
12 Know Your Enemy
Zombies are one of the oldest staples of horror fiction, and the shambling undead have taken countless forms over the years. Though some things--such as their traditional vulnerability to headshots--remain largely consistent, there have been enough twists to keep fans on their toes.
That's as true in Call of Duty: Vanguard as it is in other zombie tales. Every time the player finishes one objective, the army of the dead swell in number and become more difficult to kill. Additional zombie types are added as well, and understanding what new dangers each round is bringing will help the player stay alive. Whether it's knowing how to bring down the Sturmkrieger or use the Boom Schreier to flatten the surrounding zombies, being able to compensate for the strengths of new enemy types and use their weaknesses against them. This is easier said than done and largely comes with practice, but the sooner the player can begin thinking about it, the easier Zombies Mode will be.
11 Invest In Armor Early
The further the player gets into the game, the more complicated advice tends to become, as so many more variables are introduced, whether it's resources available to the player, new powers, or new enemy types and the deadly abilities they bring to the table. This variability is part of what makes all the best zombie games great.
As the player fights, they will gain Salvage which can then be spent at the Crafting Table.
There are plenty of useful weapons and gadgets the player can acquire here, but one jumps out in importance early on: Level 1 Armor. This armor is available for 750 Salvage, and if the player hasn't already acquired Level 1 Armor as an item drop, it is well worth spending the salvage to buff one's defenses and unlock a useful power-up.
10 Stay Alive To Preserve Perks
When the player is downed, every Perk above Level 1 loses a tier. If the player is revived by a teammate, however, none of their base-level perks will lose any levels. The player must therefore balance their desire to max out a few perks (risking the loss of expensive high tiers if they fall in battle) versus their desire to minimize their losses by spreading out their perk investments (but never mastering any single perk).
Ultimately, which strategy the player chooses is a matter of personal preference. The better the player becomes, the more comfortable they will be with making this risk/reward judgment. Newer players may benefit from limiting their high-tier investments, thus preserving more of their hard-earned perks if something goes wrong.
9 Play Loose & Fast
A lot of players new to Vanguard Zombies make the immediate mistake of taking way too long between each objective. Yes, after every objective, the repurposed Red Star hub area opens up more, more Demon Fountains (AKA Perks) become available, and loot-ables respawn such as the briefcases and crystal clusters. This tip isn't suggesting players ignore all this, rather, just do it quickly.
Without saying too much, Der Anfang is the most fun when players are constantly progressing forward as fast as possible to keep things from getting stale. And, since a majority of weapon/character EXP and in-game money comes from objective completion rather than kills (especially in the hub area), it's the most beneficial tactic for grinding as well.
8 Focus On Objective Completion Rather Than Kill Count
To go a bit more into the EXP spread in Vanguard Zombies, it’s not like any other CoD Zombies experience. Usually, players dictate how much they want to focus on grinding kills, rounds, or the easter egg quest by how fast they kill each wave of zombies. In Vanguard, EXP is almost entirely determined by objective completion. That isn’t to say that Zombie kills give zero EXP, just not nearly as much as the objective, especially at higher rounds.
The best method players have figured out so far is to get a max of 20-40 kills per objective, complete it, and move on to the next one, and it's very easy to get used to each objective, considering there are only three of them currently in total.
7 The Random Box Is Worth Using Immediately
The Gun Rarity system in Cold War added a whole other level of complexity to Zombies. Players didn’t just have to worry about their Pack-A-Punch level, they also had to worry about using High-Grade Salvage to upgrade their gun rarity to stay relevant in Round 44+. Well, rarities are (sort of) back in Vanguard. Basically, the color of the outline around the gun dictates the level of PAP, with:
- White = No Pack-A-Punch
- Blue = First level of Pack-A-Punch
- Purple = Level two Pack-A-Punch
- Orange = Max level Pack-A-Punch
And, since wall buys are gone and all four of these rarities show up in the Random Box, it’s more useful than ever before. So, don’t hesitate to use it early, as it can vastly improve the experience depending on what gun is dropped.
6 Diabolical Damage Is Absolutely Mandatory
The Demon Fountains in Vanguard Zombies, while not as charismatic as the Perk Machines, are a great bit of eye candy. The chalices, bright colors of the brew, and design of the fountain itself are all very memorable. There are five of them in total on Der Anfang, and they are:
- Fiendish Fortitude AKA Juggernog
- Venomous Vigor AKA Quick Revive (or at least the improved health regen rate of Quick Revive)
- Aethereal Haste AKA Stamin-Up
- Demonic Frenzy AKA Speed Cola
- Diabolical Damage AKA Deadshot Daquiri
All of them are useful in their own way, but that last one, Diabolical Damage, is especially useful in Vanguard. In this rendition of Zombies, headshots/critical hits are more important than ever, as limb damage is massively reduced compared to other games. So, while Diabolical Damage might not seem like the most important perk on a Shotgun build, it helps a lot more than one might think as long as the player always aims for the head (which apparently is incredibly easy using a controller and the innate aim assist in-game).
5 Don't Be Afraid To Use Field Upgrades
The Field Upgrades should feel very familiar to anyone who played Cold War Zombies, except noticeably worse. Currently, in Vanguard there's:
- Ring of Fire
- Aether Shroud
- Energy Mine
- Frost Blast
Now, to be fair, the totems connected to the Dark Aether Gods the character uses to summon these powers are new, but, mechanically, they function exactly the same as they did in Cold War, if not a bit less reliably. That said, the charge rate seems to be a lot higher in Vanguard than in Cold War, and the “Full Power” power-up that appeared from chests in Cold War’s Outbreak mode is now a relatively common power-up in Vanguard. So, don’t sit on a fully-charged Field Upgrade, use them as soon as it seems necessary to do so.
4 Try & Synergize Demon Covenants
The Covenant System and Sacrificial Hearts are entirely new to the Zombies IP and seem to be an attempt to add a sort of “roguelike” element to CoD Zombies. And, for the most part, it’s a pretty welcome addition, even if the Covenants are relatively basic overall.
So, don’t sleep on spending those Sacrificial Hearts, especially in the later rounds. The Altar always glows with the color of the highest rarity of Covenant currently available, from Common to Legendary, so it’s easy to see when a Legendary Covenant is up for grabs. And, most importantly, try and synergize the Covenant grabbed with the player's main weapon, as there are some crazy synergies out there. So far, the best one seems to be using Ammo Gremlin with the Revolver Shotgun to create a close-ranged decimator that the player never has to reload.
3 Learn The Best Spots In Each Map
Quite frankly, the amount of content in Vanguard Zombies is straight-up laughable in its current state. There are five locations players will be teleported to over and over and three objectives to do, which are:
- Transmit: Follow a floating Zombie Head in an orb until it reaches the objective.
- Blitz: Survive against infinitely spawning Zombies for a set amount of time.
- Harvest: Kill Zombies to feed the Sin-Eaters until they’re completely full.
So, with the amount of repetition in terms of both maps and mechanics, players should really learn where the best spots to camp are at each location. While standing still in Zombies sounds like something sacrilegious, remember that Vanguard Zombies is very different and that there are Covenants that reward more damage when standing still.
2 Maybe Use The Multiplayer To Level Up Some Guns First
The difference between a level zero gun with no attachments and a level seventy gun with fantastic attachments is like night and day in Call of Duty: Vanguard. Sure, that’s always the case in these games, but the divide has never been this big. Even getting two of the early attachments on a gun can vastly increase its damage, reduce its recoil, and more. So, if there’s a specific gun that seems like it’ll do well in Zombies, but it’s currently at base level, take it into multiplayer for a few games.
The multiplayer for Vanguard is fantastic overall, so it’ll be fun to level the gun up (though it will take a while), and once those attachments are unlocked the player can go right back to Zombies and make the grinding process for the rest of those levels a whole lot easier.
1 Shotguns Are Where It's At
Let’s talk a bit about the Shotguns in Vanguard Zombies. Just like in Cold War Zombies with the Hauer and the Gallo, the Shotguns are once again just a cut above the rest. In particular, the Revolver Shotgun is a one-shot champion in Zombies, even at absurdly high round counts. Part of this is dependant on the player being able to consistently aim for the head, but the other part has to do with the base damage of the Shotguns in combination with a few of the Covenants.
In particular, ones like Death Blow, Ammo Gremlin, and Dead Accurate make it almost impossible to avoid one-shotting every Zombie in sight. That said, the November 18th nerf has put a bit of a pin in the fun of this weapon, though it still does incredibly well.
Call of Duty: Vanguard was released on November 5th, 2021, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.