As promised earlier this week, Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s Zombies received its full reveal today. Unlike the campaign and multiplayer developed by Sledgehammer Games, Zombies experts Treyarch have been put solely in charge of Vanguard Zombies which will expand upon the Dark Aether story that they began in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The full reveal
The “Der Anfang” storyline, translated as “The Beginning,” is set in Stalingrad during 1944. The Special Forces operatives are dealing with the after effects of the disastrous Nazi experiment that opened a Dark Aether gateway at Projekt Endstation. This spawned five Dark Aether entities that are each bonded with mortals through otherworldly artifacts, which have been stolen by Nazi officer Oberführer Wolfram Von List. He is now bonded with the first of those, Kortifex the Deathless, and has the power to raise the dead. What could possibly go wrong?
Professor Gabriel Krafft is a demonologist who was recruited by Von List to find the artifacts. After sending out a distress call, four Special Operatives have travelled to a snowy graveyard, now trapped there by Kortifex’s magic with no means of communication. With Krafft’s help, the operatives might just stand a chance of escape. Of course, there are also the other four entities — Saraxis the Shadow, Norticus the Conqueror, Inviktor the Destroyer, and Bellekar the Warlock—who each have their own powers like the Ring of Fire attack, the Aether Shroud, Frost Blast, and Energy Mine (which players should recognize from Black Ops Cold War Zombies). They firmly oppose Kortifex, and may just be able to help the operatives out too.
The action will take place across a number of familiar locations, including the rooftops of Hotel Royal—a Vanguard Multiplayer map—and the infamous swamps of Shi No Numa—which was one of the first-ever Zombies maps in Call of Duty: World at War. Much like previous Zombies experiences, there will be objectives, Perks, weapon upgrades, and Pack-a-Punch, but there will also be new elements. These include things like the new power known as the Altar of Covenants. Players will be able to loot the Sacrificial Heart, which can be offered up at the Altar in exchange for randomized upgrades called Covenants, such as Ammo Gremlin that reloads non-equipped weapons, Brain Rot that turns zombies to allies, and Unholy Ground that holds down checkpoints. There are also new enemies, like the Sturmkrieger with his MG and Boom Schreiers that explode.
Matches begin in a small area with three portals available. Each of these leads to an objective. At launch there will be three objectives available: Blitz, Transmit, and Harvest. As players succeed, they will open up more of the map, get Essence and Salvage, and earn Sacrificial Hearts for upgrades. After four objectives are completed, players have the opportunity to Exfil. The result is a mix of Black Ops Cold War’s round-based maps and Outbreak mode.
Vanguard Zombies will be cross-play across all platforms just like the game’s multiplayer modes, and XP will be shared across Zombies, multiplayer, and Call of Duty: Warzone. You’ll be able to try out the new Zombies experience when Call of Duty: Vanguard launches on November 5.
