Those that had the chance to try Call of Duty: Vanguard yesterday likely had a bit of trouble enjoying themselves. For whatever reason, the Call of Duty: Vanguard spawns were entirely broken, though a quick patch aims to fix the issue.
While Call of Duty fans often complain about spawns in every game, the system seen in Call of Duty: Vanguard’s beta yesterday was particularly messy. Players would spawn directly next to enemies or behind them - with the distance being so short that the opponent could instantly be gunned down or hit with a finishing move. This made the game borderline unplayable, as there was little to no strategy involved since players could spawn literally anywhere on the map.
Fortunately, developer Sledgehammer Games was quick to address the issue, as it posted on social media about a fix. The new Patrol game mode in particular seemed to be entirely broken, ruining the fun that should be coming with the interesting moving Hardpoint concept. According to Sledgehammer, “a fix to adjust spawn logic” went live late last night. Hopefully, the patch does the trick, as Patrol has the potential to be one of the most enjoyable game modes in 2021’s new Call of Duty game.
As for why the fix was made so quickly, the clips shared by Call of Duty: Vanguard players should make it clear why something needed to be done. Twitter user @GoGoYubari_ showed two different clips from the same match, with both being absurd. In the first, two enemies spawn directly in front of them, with the player then able to jump behind them and pick up two kills. The play of the game is similarly ridiculous, as it shows a sniper picking off targets that they are watching spawn in.
While Call of Duty: Vanguard’s combat pacing is promising, and its map count is exciting, issues like this could seriously damage the quality of a game. However, this is exactly what betas are for, as they allow developers like Sledgehammer Games to adjust things that fans do not like or fix mechanics that are not working as intended. As pointed out by @ModernWarzone on Twitter, the speed with which this patch was delivered was promising, as was the open communication. If the game does have issues, it seems like Sledgehammer is dedicated to fixing them quickly.
With the Champion Hill alpha feedback leading to key adjustments for the beta as well, Sledgehammer is certainly listening. As such, hopefully Call of Duty: Vanguard will launch in a far better state than Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War did last year, something that certainly seems possible given all the progress being made during the testing periods.
Call of Duty: Vanguard launches November 5 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.