Sledgehammer Games reveals what to expect in COD Vanguard open alpha

The Call of Duty: Vanguard Champion Hill open alpha begins tomorrow for every fan that has a PlayStation 4 or 5. While the rest of the community must wait until the open beta in September, PlayStation users will be the first to experience Vanguard. A day before the alpha goes live, Sledgehammer Games has given those fans an idea of what they can expect when they load up Champion Hill.

The developers released information on everything from killstreaks and perks to maps and equipment. Of course, this won’t be the full scope of multiplayer in Vanguard. It likely won’t even be the full extent of what players see during the open beta. However, it’s a great starting point for the game that allows fans to get a feel for how multiplayer will play.

Below, fans can see the full list of all aspects coming in the Champion Hill alpha tomorrow, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. ET

Every aspect of the Vanguard Champion Hill alpha

Champion Hill Alpha arrives tomorrow! ⏱

Here's a little taste of what to expect 👇 https://t.co/behqKH7cTV

— Sledgehammer Games (@SHGames) August 26, 2021

Champion Hill Maps

• Courtyard
• Trainyard
• Market
• Airstrip

Playlists

• Champion Hill (Duos and Trios)

Weapons

• Weapons are persistent through matches. There are ten upgrades per weapon and each weapon upgrade adds one attachment
• Weapon sets will rotate. Both Weapon Set 1 and Set 2 include: ARs, LMGs, Shotguns and Pistols

Equipment

• MK2 Frag Grenade: Cookable Fragmentation Grenade
• No. 69 Stun Grenade: Slows victim’s movement and aiming
• Throwing Knife: Retrievable knife that is lethal when thrown at the body or head.
• Gammon Bomb: Impact Grenade
• MK V Gas Grenade: Explodes on impact with the ground, releasing a lingering cloud of gear gas that causes slowed movement, blurred vision, and coughing
• S-Mine 44: Proximity-triggered explosive

Perks (persistent throughout matches and you can buy up to six perks)

• Ghost: Undetectable while moving by Spy Planes, enemy intel, and Field Mics
• Survival Training: Maximized resistance to stun effects. Immune to gas
• High Alert: Your vision pulses when enemies outside of your view see you
• Tracker: Enemies leave behind a footprint trail. See markers at enemy death locations and hide the death markers of enemies you kill
• Demolition: Extra lethal on spawn. Thrown lethals display an indicator showing the path of the lethal
• Double Time: Double the duration of Tactical Sprint. Increase crouch movement speed by 30%

Killstreaks (activated automatically in the next match after purchase)

• Spy Plane: Calls in a spy plane, which reveals all enemy positions on the minimap to allies. Can’t be shot down. (This automatically activates in the next match)
• Flamenaut: Receive a flamethrower with unlimited fuel and a protective suit. Both lost on death. (This automatically activates in the next match)
• Deathmachine: Equips a machine gun with explosive rounds and a fixed number of bullets. Persists through death until ammo is depleted. (This automatically activates in the next match)
• V2 Rocket: Activates instantly, and drops a V2 Rocket, killing all players and ending the match
• Extra Life: Gain 1 additional life for your team
• Armor Plate: A single piece of Armor
• Full Armor: Full set of armor plates

There are a couple of key takeaways in this list of Vanguard features. For starters, the biggest takeaway is that the Ghost perk will only make players undetectable while they’re moving. This severely hurts a camper’s ability to stay undetected with Ghost equipped.

The next takeaway is the killstreaks in general. As previously leaked, scorestreaks are replaced by killstreaks. These work similarly to how they did in Modern Warfare; the streak resets on death and only kills counting, not score.

On the streak list is the V2 Rocket, which was present in COD: WWII. This is essentially a nuke that kills all players and, at least in Champion Hill, ends the match. (It’s unlikely it would end the match in standard multiplayer). Armor Plates and Full Armor are also on the list. This is a bit controversial, as armor isn’t a well-liked streak. However, insiders have leaked that regular multiplayer will likely only feature the Armor Plate streak, not Full Armor.

Fans on PlayStation will get to experience all of this on Friday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. ET. There will also be more multiplayer news dropping tomorrow, as content creators were invited to a private playtest earlier this week.