Call of Duty: Vanguard launched on November 5 and features plenty of new maps to fight on, including a few returning favorites from Call of Duty: World at War. Players will find themselves fighting in trenches, on rooftops, across beaches, and inside German sub pens. The map count and variety are huge positives for Call of Duty: Vanguard at launch, and players can look forward to the famous Shipment map getting added on November 17.
While many of the maps in Vanguard play well and look fantastic, not all are going to be fan favorites. Of the sixteen standard multiplayer maps, a few stand above the others in terms of playability and feel. Though every map changes with game mode and the newly introduced Pacing, these are some of the best maps in Call of Duty: Vanguard.
10 Numa Numa
Numa Numa captures the image of island combat in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Burned-out tanks sit abandoned in lines of barbed wire while players battle in an open mortared field. Those looking for tighter, close-quarters engagements can find them in the top and bottom lanes of the map.
The bottom lane is a cave system with multiple entry points that lends itself to shotguns and SMGs, while the top lane is a trench line that can be used as cover when firing into the center "lane." Watch out for flanks here though, and keep an eye out for destructible cover. Numa Numa captures the feeling of all-out open warfare and combines it with classic Call of Duty lane-style combat. Just don't get caught in no-man's-land once the killstreaks start dropping.
9 Bocage
Bocage is set in a small farming village. There are plenty of buildings to maneuver through, and if they can be secured, these buildings offer great lines of sight for snipers and machine gunners. Players will battle over two large barn houses in the center lane, while flankers must choose their moments carefully, as the top and bottom lanes can be seen from many areas of the center lane.
This map can get hectic fast, and spawn trapping is easy. Always be sure to check the mini-map and the surroundings around spawn, as enemy players have plenty of covered spots to spawn camp. This map features a good mix of indoor and outdoor combat with different positions of verticality, all in a small village setting.
8 Castle (Remaster From Call of Duty: World at War)
Call of Duty: World at War is still regarded as one of the best entries in the franchise and players will be happy to see maps returning in Vanguard. Castle provides the perfect place for teams to fight over: the titular castle itself. The team that controls the castle controls the best high-ground on the map, which can be devastating in nearly every game mode.
Though this is a map from an old game, it doesn't feel like a classic three-lane map; instead, Castle feels more open and organic. Most of the combat will take place in the castle, but players wanting to avoid the pure chaos of that fight can duke it out in the gardens and ruins. There are lots of places for enemies to hide and hold angles, so be careful when sprinting around.
7 Decoy
Decoy feels similar to the famous Nuke Town in terms of visual aesthetic, but plays completely differently. The map is set in a mock town that serves as a training course for soldiers. As such, the houses are made from cheap wood and nearly every wall can be torn apart by gunfire. This map shows off Vanguard's new destruction mechanic better than any other map in the game.
Some players might hate the open feeling of every destroyed building, but it ensures that no indoor space is ever truly safe. Stray fire can be deadly on this map, and players should be sure to keep an eye out for the destructible walls. Flanking players will often use these walls as cover, and shoot through them for an easy kill when they hear enemies on the other side.
6 Hotel Royal
Hotel Royal was featured in the beta, and almost feels like two separate maps merged into one layered map. The main thoroughfare will be the interior part, where players fight in wild close-quarter skirmishes. The bar provides excellent cover and map control, for which both teams will battle for control.
If the inside is too much, players can instead duke it out on the roofs and exteriors of the map. These areas are great for flankers who want to sneak behind the enemy spawn, and for players not trying to expose themselves to the frenetic fighting of the hotel interior.
5 Sub Pens
On one of the most visually interesting maps in the game, players will battle on and around a massive German U-Boat. The top lane will be hotly contested for control of a large room that overlooks much of the map. Controlling this room won't be easy though, and the viewing room itself is susceptible to enemy grenades and long angles held from the bottom lane.
The map itself looks and feels very fresh and unique. Players can use the colossal U-Boat as cover as they slink around the underbelly of the map looking for flanking routes. The bottom part of the map is shadowy and dark underneath the U-Boat while the upper portion is open and sunlit. It's incredible visual design.
4 Tuscan
Tuscan feels the most similar to the style of map that Infinity Ward tried to popularize with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019). It has a lot of doors, vertical positions, and indoor angles that can be held for decent map control. Tuscan plays quite well, especially on objective-based game modes. Its verticality doesn't feel overdone, and each side of the map has its own high ground.
The map can be a little confusing to navigate, and the center lane is essentially impassable with how many high angles look down on it. Players will have to take the time to learn the map's full layout and utilize it to their fullest advantage.
3 Das Haus
Some players have dubbed Das Haus the "Shipment" of Vanguard. Das Haus fills the shoes of the obligatory chaotic close-quarters map, and it suffers from all the pains of this type of map. The spawns are wacky and sometimes lead to instant player deaths, and the number of things taking place on the screen can be disorientating.
However, Das Haus is also a great map to quickly level guns. Challenges of all sorts can be completed on this map, and players can easily rack up tons of kills for nearly any gun. Though the map can feel chaotic and unfair at times, it is undeniably useful for powering through weapon challenges.
2 Gavutu
Fans of Call of Duty: Black Ops II might feel at home on this map. Gavutu feels very similar to Black Ops II's Drone map. The center lane features long sightlines where snipers can duke it out for lane control. The bottom lane features a beached ship that players can battle over for map control, while the top lane is a great mix of close-range and long-range fights.
Though the map looks completely different than Drone, it feels close enough for players to get a little nostalgic. Unfortunately, it doesn't play very well on the new Patrol game mode, but otherwise, it is one of the most classic-feeling Call of Duty maps in the game.
1 Eagle's Nest
Eagle's Nest stands as the best multiplayer map currently featured in Vanguard. It perfectly captures the classic feel of three-lane combat and offers something for every type of player. Destructible cover and walls are implemented well in the center lane, and are not overused anywhere. This map harkens back to the old days of the franchise, and players new and old are sure to enjoy its pacing.
While no map is truly "perfect," Eagle's Nest does its best to be the perfectly rounded Call of Duty map. Every lane is a viable battle zone, and nearly every kind of weapon can be used effectively here.