Call of Duty: Vanguard is now in its second beta weekend, and players are continuing to deliver feedback based on their experiences thus far. One big criticism that has carried over from the first weekend has to do with visibility in Call of Duty: Vanguard, though some players have suggested a solution to the problem.
For the second weekend of the beta, Sledgehammer released a Call of Duty: Vanguard patch that released a temporary fix for visibility. This change saw the distortion effect completely removed, with Sledgehammer citing that the change negatively impacts visual fidelity in favor of some better gameplay. In particular, explosions and fire look less impressive than they did originally, though the developer has clarified that a proper fix will be available on launch day.
While the update has helped with this major Call of Duty: Vanguard beta issue, it certainly has not solved it completely. While players can see everyone in a match far easier, they are still having a lot of trouble identifying whether they are friend or foe. One big reason for this is because all Operators are available to players on both sides of a match. This design decision has not only led to criticisms about the game’s lack of historical accuracy, but KiraElijah has shown why it is bad for visibility.
In the clip, the Call of Duty: Vanguard player lands four impressive Sniper shots in a row. After they wipe out a full group, they back away from the window and prepare for a flank, something that will surely be coming due to the amount of enemies KiraElijah killed. However, as they do, they notice an enemy in the window right next to them. Only a small red dot is seen above their head, with the Redditor not realizing they were fighting alongside an opponent the entire time. Clearly the player on the other team did not notice, either.
As mentioned in the post title and several comments, this was not an issue in games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. This is because there were two different teams, with each having some distinct Operators. This let players have an idea of who was good and who was bad, as they were not seeing characters like Polina Petrova on both sides of the fight. Even if proper teams do not come, KiraElijah’s argument for different uniforms could be a valid solution. Others, like itsthechizyeah, want a traditional Axis vs. Allies format.
While futuristic games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 were able to differentiate enemies using red lights, a World War 2 setting limits Sledgehammer. As such, it will be interesting to see how the developer responds to this major criticism.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.