COD Vanguard Update 1.18 Pre-Load for Classified Arms Reloaded Now Live, Here’s What’s Coming

COD Vanguard Update 1.18

The (Call of Duty) COD Vanguard update 1.18 (PS5 version 1.018) pre-load is now live for PlayStation gamers, and this is to bring the Classified Arms Reloaded data into the game! Note that players won’t be able to access the data/content in its entirey, as the mid-season refresh is set to go live much later.

COD Vanguard Update 1.18 Patch Notes | COD Vanguard Update 1.018 Pre-Load Patch Notes:

Size: 7GB

Update: Sledgehammer has revealed the official patch notes!

MULTIPLAYER

Maps

  • NEW with S3 Reloaded: Sphere
    • Hidden below the surface of an inconspicuous mining facility is a weapons lab that offers intense, close-quarters engagements around every turn. Jump into the Sphere 24/7 Playlist at the start of Season Three Reloaded!
  • Berlin
    • Addressed an exploit that allowed players to reach unintended locations near the Office.
  • Castle
    • Care Packages will no longer fall through the stairs near the Palace Outer Walls.
  • Sub Pens
    • Addressed exploits that allowed players to reach unintended locations near the Dry Docks and Loading Dock.

Modes

  • Arms Race
    • Riding a Motorcycle as it explodes will no longer cause the player’s view to rotate.

Operators

  • NEW with S3 Reloaded: Kim Tae Young (Harpy)
    • Trained by her mother as a fighter, Tae Young donned a mask to conceal her identity while helping families cross the North Korean border to safety. She soon earned a reputation amongst the Korean people as a local folk hero and keeper of justice. Even the briefest glimpse of her Dokkaebi mask instills hope in her people and fear in her enemies.
    • Unlocked via Operator Bundle, available for purchase in Season Three Reloaded.

Weapons

  • NEW with S3 Reloaded: H4 Blixen (Submachine Gun)
    • Favored by Special Operations Forces, this hard-hitting SMG offers mobility and accuracy in medium-range engagements.
    • Unlock Challenge: Get 3 Slide Kills in a single match 15 times.
  • STG44 (Assault Rifle)
    • Challenges for the Deadeye Camo Category are now properly tracked.
  • Nikita AVT (Assault Rifle)
    • Zac MS Stock Attachment will no longer obstruct the view of certain Optics.
  • Cooper Carbine (Assault Rifle)
    • Addressed an issue that prevented the M1941 Hand Stop Underbarrel, 14” Gracey Rapid Barrel, and Recoil Booster Muzzle Attachments from unlocking at their designated Weapon Levels.
  • M1 Garand (Marksman Rifle)
    • Mindgames Camo Category now references the correct Magazine Attachment requirement.

Equipment

  • No 69 Stun Grenade (Tactical)
    • Decreased Explosive Damage from 25 to 5.
  • S-Mine 44 (Tactical)
    • Decreased Explosive Damage in Hardcore game modes from 50 to 10.
      • This change was made to prevent lethality toward uninjured players; Explosive Damage in Core game modes remains unchanged.

Field Upgrades

  • Trophy System
    • Melee attacks will now properly deal damage to a Trophy System.
    • Ammo Box Field Upgrade can now be destroyed by a Trophy System.
    • Trophy Systems will no longer remain active when thrown out-of-bounds.

Killstreaks

  • Counter Spy Plane (4 Kills)
    • Announcer will now play the correct voice line when an enemy Counter-Spy Plane is activated.

Challenges

  • Seasonal Challenges
    • Progression toward the Season Two Mastery challenge is now properly tracked.

User Interface & Experience

  • Players who have reached Prestige 5 or higher will now see the correct Prestige emblem displayed throughout the menus.
  • Addressed an issue that forced the player back to the Multiplayer menu when using contextual (right-click) menus on PC.

Bundles & Cosmetics

  • Addressed an issue that prevented AS-44 Mechanized Reactive Blueprint from changing colors when inspected.

ZOMBIES

Enemies

  • Zaballa the Deceiver
    • Shortened Zaballa’s mask swap animation to reduce invulnerability time.
    • Players can now deal some damage to Zaballa’s body but should continue to focus on masks.
    • Zaballa’s electrical attacks are more lethal but should now spawn within line of sight to or in the proximity of Zaballa.
    • Zaballa increases the number of electrical attacks by one for every destroyed mask.

Weapons

  • H4 Blixen (Submachine Gun)
    • Description: Favored by Special Operations Forces, this hard-hitting SMG offers mobility and accuracy in medium-range engagements.
    • The new H4 Blixen SMG weapon will be available via in-game challenge in Zombies or via a unique Blueprint version in the Store at the start of Season Three Reloaded.
    • Zombies Unlock Challenge: In Zombies, use SMGs to Eliminate 50 Zaballas.
  • Skal Crusher
    • Resolved an issue that prevented picking up blueprint throwable weapons.

Challenges

  • Reticles
    • Reticles earned in Zombies have been adjusted so that a central dot is always present to assist with aiming.

The official patch notes are not available yet, but here’s what’s new according to Sledgehammer:

Updates to Vanguard include:
  • New Multiplayer Map – Sphere, a new small Multiplayer map featuring an underground weapons lab hidden beneath the façade of a coal mine.
  • New Operator for Task Force Harpy – Kim Tae Young
  • New Weapon – H4 Blixen SMG
  • New Bundle – Spilled Ink Bundle, curated and designed by top tattoo artists
  • New Bundle –  Tracer Pack: High Voltage Mastercraft Bundle, contains an electrifying Heroic “Stabistor” Sniper Rifle that is sure to send shock waves through your competition
  • New Bundle – Tracer Pack: Dark Aether Mastercraft Bundle, a Zombies-themed pack featuring the “Dark Jinx” SMG
  • At the end of the season, more Mastercrafts will become available, including the Tracer Pack: Tread Lightly Mastercraft Bundle, which features prototype-themed weaponry.

Serpentine — The Vanguard Perk Arrives in Warzone

Scenario: you are in a dead sprint across the map when suddenly, a sniper from 300 yards out starts taking pot shots. Somehow, one connects to your head, and you’re out of the game.

Serpentine, the new Perk arriving from Vanguard, hopes to remedy this without completely leaving marksmen out to dry.

Available in the Perk 1 slot for all players after the update, Serpentine’s description is as follows:

“Sprinting reduces incoming damage from bullets, explosives, and fire by 20%.”

Will it be an “auto-pick”? Not necessarily — consider some of the other options in the Blue Perk 1 slot: currently, Double Time (which boosts Tactical Sprint) and Cold Blooded (which directly counters Combat Scout) are two extremely popular choices in the current meta. Then there is Quick Fix, which shaves seconds off health-regeneration time, which the most elite players tend to gravitate toward. And we didn’t even talk about E.O.D., a great Perk for those who despise dying to explosives.

New Vanguard Multiplayer Map — Sphere 

In Call of Duty: Vanguard, Classified Arms Reloaded will bring Sphere, a new small Multiplayer map featuring an underground weapons lab hidden beneath the façade of a coal mine.

On the top floor, battle in the dusty environs of a mock coal mining village, featuring wooden buildings, crates, and natural formations that will make you feel like a veritable gunslinger in the Old West.

Head underground and you’ll be greeted by the Mine, Concrete Tunnels, Workshop, and the central Lab, where Operators can flood in from all sides

H4 Blixen SMG

Favored by Special Operations Forces, this hard-hitting SMG offers mobility and accuracy in medium range engagements.

The Owen Gun is the most notable slower-firing SMG in this weapon category, but in Classified Arms Reloaded, the H4 Blixen will try and make a claim to power.

In Vanguard Multiplayer, the H4 Blixen delivers a reliable three-shot kill at a farther range than the Owen Gun, albeit with a slower rate of fire. It also has three more bullets per standard magazine and slightly better Vertical Recoil Control, Aim Down Sight (ADS) speed, and reload quickness. The recoil pattern can take time to learn — like all weapons in Call of Duty — but knowing the H4 Blixen’s kick can make it more viable in those mid-range engagements, rather than just have it hold its own up close.

Multiple Mastercrafts Inbound

In-theme with Classified Arms, the Reloaded Bundles coming to the store include multiple Mastercrafts of Vanguard weapons.

Look for the Tracer Pack: High Voltage Reactive Mastercraft Bundle to kick off the season, which contains an electrifying Heroic “Stabistor” Sniper Rifle that is sure to send shock waves through your competition.

Also available this season is the Tracer Pack: Dark Aether Mastercraft Bundle, a Zombies-themed pack that should spark some excitement for the first round-based experience in Vanguard, coming soon. Wield the “Dark Jinx” SMG and witness its awesome Dark Aether Tracer powers, effective against both the living and the dead.

At the end of the season, more Mastercrafts will become available, including the Tracer Pack: Tread Lightly Mastercraft Bundle, which features prototype-themed weaponry.

There’s also a gaggle of new cosmetics incoming. Warzone is getting the Classified Arms Reloaded starts  tomorrow, which you can read about here. Once the full patch notes are out, we’ll update the post accordingly.

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