Call of Duty (COD) Vanguard has zombies. Yes, the Nazis now have an army of the undead. The Third Reich is taking over the world, one, stinky, brain-eating monster at a time. Luckily, you are the one who gets to stop them in their tracks and save the world from eternal damnation. Hence, I have made a list of some of the tips and tricks you should follow in order to rid the world of these abominations.
Explaining the Call of Duty Vanguard Zombies
Zombies make a return to another COD Franchise and this time they’re dressed up in Nazi colors. Almost like you couldn’t hate a brain-eating monster enough. However, these zombies are smarter and seem to be focused on only one thing. Killing allies. Crazy how that works, but, thems the breaks.
Since the game does want to set itself apart, there is a new gameplay technique too. This comes in the form of the vortex style, multiverse-based barriers. These are Kortifex’s Dark Aether barriers that shrink and expand at random. This will have you on the fence as your objectives will change midway through the game.
Also Read: All Of The Multiplayer Killstreaks In Call Of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty Vanguard Zombies Perk System
Vanguard will now allow you to have a custom character build as you embark on a zombie-slaying journey. This will help you build a character that suits your particular playing style, and as with any game with this feature, the perks are at the heart of it. There are special perks that will help you give your character certain abilities.
These come in the form of Perk Fountains that you will unlock as you progress further in the game. The base tier of each perk is free to unlock. However, you will need to use up Essence, an in-game currency, to upgrade Perks to their maximum of Level 4. There are a total of five perks you can choose from in Call of Duty Vanguard Zombies. These are:
- Fiendish Fortitude: Increases health.
- Diabolical Damage: Increases critical damage.
- Venomous Vigor: Boosts health regeneration speed.
- Demonic Frenzy: Boosts reload speed.
- Aethereal Haste: Boosts movement speed.
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Dark Aether Entities and Artifacts
Who let the Zombies out? Grr Grr! Stupid puns aside, this entire gameplay mode is based around Mr. Wolfram Von List’s obsession with power. Apparently, a brown suit wasn’t enough. The reanimation of the dead takes place at the hands of Von List and his Artifact.
To counter this you will have to go on a hunt for four artifacts all around the map. These 4 Entities will help you fight against the zombies in Call Of Duty Vanguard. The 4 Entities in question are:
- Dragon of Saraxis: Spawns an Aethereal explosive, dealing massive damage to enemies who set it off.
- Mask of Bellekar: Cloaks you in Dark Aether, masking your presence from enemies for 5 seconds.
- Sword of Inviktor: Sparks a ring of Aethereal flame to boost damage for anyone within its radius for 15 seconds.
- Horn of Norticus: Summons a frigid vortex, damaging enemies with the initial blast and slowing those that enter.
Covenants and what they do
There are 11 Covenants in Call of Duty Vanguard zombies. What do they do you ask? Well, you can’t fight supercharged racist zombies without your own superpowers, right? The Covenants are a set of abilities that you can equip for your character in the game. Combined with the Perk system, you will be able to build the best zombie hunter the Allies can offer.
There are a total of 11 unique Covenants at launch, each with multiple rarities for a total of 32 upgrades that you can get. Each of these will give you access to varied abilities, so, make sure to choose one which works best with you.
- Bloodlust: Melee attacks do more damage and heal you.
- Resurrectionist: Revive allies faster.
- Brain Rot: Chance to turn enemies to your side.
- Cryofreeze: Chance to slow enemies.
- Death Blow: Critical kills return bullets to the clip.
- Ammo Gremlin: Stowed weapons refill ammo from the stock automatically.
- Dead Accurate: Consecutive hits on the same enemy do more damage.
- Splatterfest: Enemies killed by explosions may explode.
- Unholy Ground: Deal more damage while stationary.
- Cull the Weak: Deal more damage to slowed or stunned enemies.
- Mother Lode: Chance to keep Equipment after using it.
At any given point in time, you can use 3 Covenants together. After the completion of each objective, you will get randomized Covenants. The strength of the Covenant based system comes from upgraded rarities.
Also Read: Are Call Of Duty Vanguard Servers Down? How To Check Server Status
Weapons, Upgrades, and Tiers in Call Of Duty Vanguard Zombies
Weapons are again introduced as part of a tier-based system. This is in the form of the Pack a Punch machine. You will be able to upgrade Weapon Rarity using the aforementioned machine. Again, you will be using up Essence in doing so. The Tiers are divided into 4 distinct levels. These are:
- White: Unpacked
- Blue: Pack-a-Punch Level 1
- Purple: Pack-a-Punch Level 2
- Orange: Pack-a-Punch Level 3
You will get weapons from crates, drops from enemies, and the other usual ways. Nothing unusual about fighting zombies and punching Ole Adolf eh? You will also be able to get pre-packed weapons from Mystery Boxes which come with upgrades. Keep an eye out for those and Zombies.
Custom and Preset Loadouts
As with every COD game ever (since the Black Ops release), you can have a custom loadout. This allows you to play around with your choice of weapon, perks, and more. So, you still have that going for you.
If you are new, there are some preset load-outs that you can try out in Call Of Duty Vanguard Zombies. These are:
- Aether-Trooper: Default Assault Rifle, Energy Mine
- Night Legionnaire: Sten SMG, Frost Blast
- Wrath Hammer: Bren LMG, Ring of Fire
- Revenant Eraser: Gracey Auto Shotgun, Aether Shroud
- Ghoul Hunter: M1 Garand Marksman Rifle, Energy Mine\
Also Read: All 12 Operator Characters In Call Of Duty Vanguard
Gameplay Tips and Tricks
Now, I would want to go on and on about how zombies are taken down by headshots only. And how body targetted bullets won’t work. However, all of that becomes redundant because Vanguard Zombies in COD work on the basis of builds. So, all your gameplay will depend on your playing style and character.
You can go for a full defensive tank build that takes up hits, or you can be the lone sniper. Either way, you can now build your character according to that specific trait that you want.
Another thing that you should note is that there is more to come! The list of perks, covenants, and artifacts will increase after launch. This has been confirmed by the Zombie mode Devs, Treyarch. The storyline is also set to be increased after Season 1 of Zombies. So, buckle up, it’s gonna be a long ride!
This is everything that you need to know about the Zombies in Call of Duty Vanguard. While you are here make sure to check out the COD Vanguard Best Guns List.
