CoD: Vanguard Season 4 Patch Notes Include New Ranked Play Season And Changes To Zombies

Call of Duty Season 4: Mercenaries of Fortune goes live for Vanguard on June 22, bringing a multiplayer map and plenty of Zombies content. Sledgehammer Games has revealed the patch notes for the big update, breaking down all the new content and changes to expect for Season 4.

In addition to Vanguard getting Call of Duty: WWII’s USS Texas 1945 multiplayer map, the Blueprint Gun Game multiplayer mode makes its Vanguard debut. Just like a standard Gun Game match, players want to be the first to progress through all 18 weapons to win the free-for-all match. Players must eliminate an enemy to cycle to the next weapon, while meleeing an enemy will set them back one weapon.

A new season of Call of Duty means the Ranked Play leaderboards are also reset. Players will need to complete 5 Skill Evaluation matches to earn a new Skill Rating and get placed into a Skill Division and Tier for the new competitive season. Additionally, there are new rewards to earn for Season 4.

A few changes arrive for weapons in Season 4. The patch notes include the ability to inspect equipped weapons has been added to Vanguard, and the developer also says it corrected the magazine attachment requirements for several weapon camo challenges.

For Zombies mode, the Shi No Numa map arrives with new seasonal Zombies challenges, a main storyline Easter egg, and the Wunderwaffe DG-2 Wonder Weapon quest.

Sledgehammer Games has adjusted the Sacrificial Hearts feature to award players every 3 rounds for Shi No Numa, whereas players get a heart for every objective round completed on the objective-based maps. The Altar of Covenants inventory will also refresh every 3 rounds on Shi No Numa.

The full Season 4 patch notes can be found below, as shared by Sledgehammer Games.

Season 4 is bringing the new Fortune’s Keep map to Warzone, and a Terminator collab has been confirmed by Activision. For more on what to expect for the Mercenaries of Fortune update, check out everything we know about Call of Duty: Warzone and Vanguard Season 4.

MULTIPLAYER

Maps

• NEW: USS Texas 1945
  • The USS Texas returns from Call of Duty: WWII (2017) for one last voyage. Set sail in its 24/7 Featured Playlist at the launch of Season Four.
• Castle
  • Bullets will no longer penetrate the wall near the High Ground in order to prevent undesirable spawn conditions.
• Sphere
  • Addressed an issue that prevented the Glide Bomb Killstreak audio from being heard by players within the Labs.

Modes

• NEW: Blueprint Gun Game
  • An all-time classic game mode makes its Vanguard debut. Be the first player to score a Kill with each one of the provided Weapons.

Ranked Play

• Season Four Skill Rating Reset
  • Players’ Skill Ratings have been reset at the start of Season Four.
  • Play 5 Skill Evaluation Matches to earn a Season Four Skill Rating and get placed into a Skill Division & Tier.
  • Win matches after your initial placement to earn SR and advance your Skill Division & Tier over the remainder of the Season.
• Season Four Top 250 Skill Division & Leaderboard
  • The Season Four Top 250 Skill Division and Ladder will go live on June 29th, one full week after Season Four starts. This release time will allow players time to earn a Season Four Skill Rating and advance through divisions.
• Season Four Ranked Play Rewards
  • Players can earn the following rewards in Ranked Play during Season Four:
    • Blueprints
      • Pro Reissue SMG Charlie – Finish Top 5 in a Ladder Event
      • Pro Issue KAR98k – Win 50 Ranked Play Matches
    • Camos
      • Season Four Ladder Champion – Finish 1st in a Ladder Event
      • Season Four Ranked Veteran – Win 100 Ranked Play Matches
    • Charms
      • Carried – Finish Top 10 in a Ladder Event
      • Iced – Win 25 Ranked Play Matches
    • Spray
      • Clean Sweep – Win 5 Ranked Play Matches
    • Sticker
      • Season Four Ranked Competitor – Complete 5 Skill Evaluation Matches
    • Emblems
      • Earn an Animated Skill Division Emblem at the end of Season Four to reflect your highest Season Four Skill Division

Operators

• NEW: Carver Butcher (Immortal)
  • Butcher served in the British Army during Operation Devon, battling against the 16th Panzer Division. He was dismissed after sustaining injuries to his face from exploding shrapnel but returned to the front lines soon after as duty called. There he witnessed resistance fighters in action. Inspired, went on to become the founder and recruiter for the Special Operations Task Force. The rest, as they say, is history.
• NEW: Callum Hendry (Immortal)
  • All his life, Callum was a showoff, constantly adventuring and getting into trouble with neighbors, woodland creatures, the law – everyone. His unwavering spirit helped him quickly ascend the ranks of the British Army to eventually become a recruit trainer. In World War II, Callum, harboring deep hatred for Nazis and their ideals, fought hard for a future without them. Currently he is the trainer for all SOTF agents.

Weapons

• General
  • Added the ability to inspect equipped Weapons.
  • Refined Pros and Cons in the Gunsmith for all Magazine Attachments that modify Aim Down Sights Time and Reload Speed to accurately reflect the effects of the Attachment.
  • Increased Damage for Melee Weapons in the Overclocked Playlist to maintain a one-hit-kill.
  • Addressed an issue that prevented Diamond Camo for Melee Weapons from unlocking once the requirements are met.
  • Corrected the Magazine Attachment requirements for several Camo challenges.
• NEW: Marco 5 (Submachine Gun)
  • A high mobility submachine gun, accurate from the hip with excellent close-range stopping power.
  • Unlocked at Tier 15 in the Season Four Battle Pass
• NEW: UGM-8 (Light Machine Gun)
  • High fire rate, mobile LMG that excels at creating suppressing fire and pushing enemy positions.
  • Unlocked at Tier 31 in the Season Four Battle Pass
• Nikita AVT (Assault Rifle)
  • Added Weapon Unlock Challenge.
    • Get 10 Kills while moving in a single match 15 times.
• Armaguerra 43 (Submachine Gun)
  • Corrected the challenge requirements for the Death Artist Camo Category.
• H4 Blixen (Submachine Gun)
  • Corrected the alignment of the Magnus Tac iron sights.
• M1916 (Marksman Rifle)
  • Added Weapon Unlock Challenge.
    • Get 10 One Shot One Kill in a single match 15 times.

Progression

• Added new Seasonal Challenges and rewards.
• Added new Clan Challenge (expires in one week).

User Interface & Experience

• Addressed an issue that caused PC keybinds to reset to default upon switching between Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies modes.
• Browsing a player’s Clans will now display the correct level of each individual Clan.
• Addressed an issue where Loadouts would persist with outdated Weapon selections.

Bundles & Cosmetics

• Quick Equip can no longer be used to equip unsupported Reticles on Optic Attachments.

ZOMBIES

Maps

• “Shi No Numa”
  • Round-Based Zombies returns with Shi No Numa on June 22nd.
  • The classic map elements return such as Door Buys, Flogger trap, and Electro-Shock defenses return.
  • Classic Wall Buys return with round-based Zombies.
    • Players can now purchase select weapons from designated Wall Buy locations.
    • Starting at round six, Wall Buys will have a chance to increase in Pack-A-Punch level every round and all the way to level 3 at higher rounds.
      • The odds to increase in Pack-A-Punch level improve every five rounds until all available Wall Buys become level three.
  • A new area to explore… uncover its secrets.

Story Quest

• New Story Quest is available in “Shi No Numa” on June 22nd.

New Intel

• New narrative intel is available in “Shi No Numa” to advance the Dark Aether story.

Challenges

• Season Challenges
  • New Season Challenges available at the start of Season Four.

Wonder Weapon

• Wunderwaffe DG-2
  • Available via Wonder Weapon Quest in “Shi No Numa”
  • Extra DG-2 added to the Mystery Box at Round 10.

Weapons

• Season Four
  • UGM-8 and Marco 5 available in Zombies loadouts once unlocked via the Season 4 Battle Pass.
• Unlock Challenges
  • New Weapon Unlock challenges added to Zombies for the M1916 and Nikita AVT.
• Blueprints
  • Fixed an issue where Dark Aether Tracer Rounds were not displaying when using the Accursed blueprint for the Welgun.

Covenants

• Death Blow
  • Now returns ammo based on a percentage of ammo used when obtaining a critical kill.
• Ammo Gremlin
  • Now refills ammo at a speed based on the size of the weapon magazine.

Gameplay

• Round-Based Adjustments
  • Sacrificial Hearts
    • Players are awarded a Sacrificial Heart every three rounds in round-based modes.
  • Altar of Covenants
    • The Altar of Covenants inventory is refreshed every three rounds in round-based modes.

Pack-a-Punch Camos

• New camos available at the Pack-a-Punch machine in “Shi No Numa.”

Enemies

• Zaballa the Deceiver
  • Added new attack behavior allowing Zaballa to attack without teleporting.

Stability

• Addressed various stability issues.