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Call of Duty: Vanguard Launch Problems Explained: MP40 & STG44 Broken, Need Nerfs


Vanguard promotional image night
Credit: Activision

Call of Duty: Vanguard launched on November 5th, 2021, so gamers across the world have already had a chance to sink their teeth into this year’s Call of Duty. Across the game’s zombies component, multiplayer ensemble, and campaign, there’s a lot to play, but problems with the game’s multiplayer package are quickly becoming apparent. In this article we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the state of Vanguard’s multiplayer on release.

Vanguard promotional artwork
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Credit: Activision

First off, there are problems with Vanguard’s full release that were in the alpha and the beta that have yet to be fixed. Audio, for the launch build of the game, received a total overhaul, and while footsteps are easier to hear and gunfire is a little easier to positionally locate, the game still doesn’t sound good.

Gunfire, in general, is muffled, and the audio effects in the game are oftentimes, at best, serviceable. The punchy audio of Modern Warfare 2019 or the impeccable positional audio of Cold War aren’t in Vanguard, and ultimately, the game just sounds worse than either of those did. Though, footstep audio is in a decent place in Vanguard, with it being audible enough to hear but not so audible that it constantly gives away your location without the Ninja Perk.

Related: Is Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Good?

Unfortunately, like in the alpha and the beta, cheaters are still an issue in Vanguard’s release build. The full Ricochet anti-cheat implementation for Vanguard is coming at a later date post-launch, so there’s still ample opportunity for cheaters in the game at launch. It is important to remember, though, that these problems will be addressed in time.

Lag is another lingering problem for Vanguard that still hasn’t been ironed out. Many gamers are reporting packet loss and various connection-related problems, and this has made filling lobbies in the game, especially with the high playercount modes like the Blitz combat pacing, particularly difficult. As you would expect, a game struggling to fill lobbies on its release day is a bad look, especially so for a Call of Duty game.

Vanguard Zombies promotional artwork
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Credit: Activision

To be fair, server issues at launch are pretty common problems for Call of Duty launches, so it’s pretty safe to expect that server performance and netcode improvements will come eventually, but it’s impossible to know now when these will come and if the game will ever be a lag-free experience for everyone that picked up the game.

Related: How to Fix Call of Duty: Vanguard Connection Issues, Crashing Problems, and Matchmaking Glitches

Perhaps the single biggest issue with Vanguard’s multiplayer, on launch, is undeniably the game’s weapon balance: For months, many speculated that a ten attachment system for guns would create endless broken builds that would be near impossible to balance. Unfortunately, this fear has come true, and the two guns that dominated the game’s alpha and beta, the MP40 and STG44, are still unbelievably overpowered thanks to certain combinations of attachments.

Big picture, the time-to-kill (or TTK) in Vanguard is slightly slower than Modern Warfare 2019 and significantly faster than Black Ops Cold War, which means that even for Call of Duty you can drop people in the blink of an eye in Vanguard. On top of that, like Cold War in Vanguard there’s a hefty headshot multiplier, so while in Modern Warfare 2019 the TTKs were so quick it didn’t make a lot of sense to shoot for the head, in Vanguard TTKs are quick and it makes sense to aim for the head for an even faster TTK.

This system means that every weapon in the gun will have to be finely tuned not to feel overpowered, because killing people with just a few bullets at most ranges is how gunfights usually work out. The ten attachment Gunsmith system in Vanguard does not make the weapons in Vanguard easy to tune.

Vanguard promotional screenshot
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Credit: Activision

Related: Call of Duty: Vanguard Changes From Alpha & Beta Explained

For example, with the STG44 assault rifle you can equip a Weapon Proficiency attachment called Vital, and this attachment gives you headshot-level damage when shooting for the upper body. The STG44 already has great range, recoil control, so its rate of fire, damage, and movement speed are the only major characteristics separating it from being better than an SMG or a tactical rifle. The Vital Perk seriously amps up its firepower leading to ridiculous two-shot kills, removing almost any incentive to use other weapons in the game.

It’s a similar story with the MP40 submachine gun: With the right attachments, you can kit the weapon to have the range and stopping power of an assault rifle with the mobility and close-quarters-kill-potential of an SMG, and this just puts you at a disadvantage if you’re using almost any other gun in the game. This is true regardless of skill-level, because the TTKs are so fast in Vanguard that if a noob has a two-shot-kill assault rifle, even a professional player can get bopped from across the map in just a handful of milliseconds.

As of now, most are still unlocking guns, perks, and attachments in Vanguard, so it’s likely that the most broken, truly wild builds and class setups have yet to become meta or even be discovered. In games like Cold War or Modern Warfare, nerfs came pretty slowly for weapons, so if Sledgehammer isn’t on top of weapon balancing with a system rife with the potential for abuse, it could be a frustrating year for Call of Duty fans.

Related: Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone Integration Explained

However, there is reason to hope for a better tomorrow for Vanguard: Sledgehammer has proved itself to be the most community-focused Call of Duty developer, as evidenced by the litany of changes that came to the game’s full release that the community asked for after playing the alpha and beta. So, there is definitely will on the Sledgehammer-side to address problems that the community has with the game.

Vanguard promotional artwork
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Credit: Activision

Plus, the main problems with Vanguard are fixable. No, it’s not likely the fundamental way the game’s minimap works; the game’s base TTKs; or the entire way the game sounds down to every weapon will be majorly overhauled after launch, but everything else could be. Balance issues can be patched; server problems can be addressed; spawns can be tweaked, and more. These kinds of issues are realistically fixable.

The game’s not that old just yet, so we’ll all have to wait and see how Vanguard turns out in the end. While there are problems with the game, many are enjoying the wealth of content, the return to WW2, and the movement and feel of the Modern Warfare 2019 engine, so this could well be a great year for Call of Duty if Sledgehammer truly is listening.

Related: Call of Duty's Anti-Cheat Ricochet in Warzone and Vanguard Explained

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