The Call of Duty: Vanguard reveal has certainly changed the narrative regarding the game. While plenty of interesting details have been revealed thus far, a new piece of info regarding its use of streaks should be worth discussing for those planning on picking up Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Outside of skill-based matchmaking, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s scorestreak system is undoubtedly the most controversial thing about the latest Treyarch game. Aimed at casual players, the system sees players keeping their streak progress after death, something that guarantees less skilled gamers will eventually streaks. Lengthy cooldowns limit how many high-end streaks skilled players can get as well, adding to the frustration. Fortunately, Call of Duty: Vanguard seems to be leaving this system behind.
In a post from reputable leaker @TheGhostOfHope, a source that correctly predicted Treyarch’s involvement with Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies as well as several other parts of the game, killstreaks are said to be coming back. Last seen in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019, this traditional setup rewards players who can pull off several kills in a single life. While some old school fans will surely like the system, others may be disappointed that scorestreaks are not going to be included.
While most would agree that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s scorestreak system is flawed, scorestreaks have normally been preferable to a large portion of the community. Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 show how well the system can work, as while streaks do reset on death, they also reward players who play the objective. With basic killstreaks, players have no incentive to collect tags or capture flags, as the points they get for doing so do not contribute to their streak progress. For objective-minded players, this is a huge flaw, as teammates are more likely to camp for kills than help them try to win.
Still, some players do like the simplicity of the killstreak system, meaning that this change will likely please other parts of the community. It will be interesting to see if these killstreaks work like newer iterations of the system, or if kills with the streaks contribute to the next killstreak in the chain. Some would surely like to see Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s customizable killstreaks return, too, though it is unclear if that mechanic will ever be used again. For now, fans will need to wait until Sledgehammer Games reveals exactly how killstreaks will function.
With the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare engine used, 20 multiplayer maps at launch, and a Treyarch-led Zombies mode, there is a lot to be excited about when it comes to Call of Duty: Vanguard. For those that enjoy killstreaks, this leak should only add to the excitement.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.