Call of Duty: Vanguard's Zombies mode has had its fair share of issues, bugs, and design problems over the years, but optional unlockables haven't historically been a major point of contention for the community. Now, though, a very specific endgame-level weapon skin may be impossible to unlock in every practical sense, and the players are not thrilled about it.
Specifically, Call of Duty: Vanguard has got a number of Zombies-specific weapon camouflages that take quite a bit of effort for players to unlock, and the very pinnacle of this list - Dark Aether - currently seems to be entirely impossible to attain. The issue lies in the fact that unlocking Dark Aether depends entirely on unlocking lower-tier camos before it, and those seem to be bugged at this time.
Vanguard players have reported that anybody attempting to unlock the elusive Dark Aether weapon camo at this time should set their expectations in check. Namely, the only way to unlock Dark Aether in the first place is to unlock all the other weapon camos before it, and certain weapons, such as the PPSh and the Welgun, have got their Survivalist camo challenges bugged and not tracking. To that end, players upset about Vanguard Zombies' underwhelming Ray Gun have now got another reason to be angry about Season 2 content, as some endgame rewards simply cannot be unlocked.
While the list of Zombies Season 2 content in COD: Vanguard is rather impressive, and includes long-awaited features, such as the introduction of Wonder Weapons, an actual narrative progression system, and a bunch of easter eggs for players to chase, the whole experience has been somewhat underwhelming for veteran players. Not only are key rewards such as Dark Aether currently impossible to unlock, making the endgame grind more of a hassle than it otherwise would've been, but a chunk of the content has simply been a disappointment.
The Terra Maledicta easter egg in COD: Vanguard, for one, seems to have attracted some of the most commonly voiced grievances, with the general community outlook being that the several months' worth of waiting just may not have been worth it for what's been included with Season 2. Veteran players hoping to show off their shiny new Dark Aether skin will have much to complain about, too, though a fix is bound to be coming.
On the other hand, it may be worth remembering that COD: Vanguard Zombies was completely unplayable not too long ago, with excessive visual glitches marring the experience for a substantial number of players. Overall, the community hasn't been thrilled about the state of the game for some time now, and it's easy to see why that is the case.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is currently available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series platforms.