With the release of Call of Duty: Vanguard set for tomorrow, November 5, Activision has given us an in-depth look at how the COD Vanguard weapons and loadouts work! While some of the info shared might be old news for Call of Duty vets, there’s still a lot to chew on, so dive in! Check out the complete COD Vanguard Perks list, as well as how weapon customization works and more.
COD Vanguard Perks, Equipment, Field Upgrades, Killstreaks Lists, Weapons Customization Overview:
Attachments and Weapon Customization:
Muzzle: A device affixed to the front of a weapon’s barrel. Examples include compensators for controlling recoil, silencers for concealment, and recoil boosters that improve fire rate.
Underbarrel: An attachment used for better weapon control via grips and bipods, in addition to the Bayonet for greater melee damage and range.
Barrel: Changing a weapon’s barrel can significantly alter how the gun operates, from short, lightweight barrels that increase handling speeds at the cost of bullet velocity and initial recoil to extended barrels that increase the weapon’s damage range at the cost of movement speed and hip-fire accuracy.
Magazine: Changing a weapon’s magazine can be as simple as adding a drum version of that weapon’s normal ammo or as drastic as swapping out the bullet caliber, significantly altering fire rate, damage, penetration, and other statistics.
Ammo Type: Change out the ammo used in your weapon’s magazine. Ammo types include FMJ for added bullet penetration through surfaces, and Incendiary rounds, dealing damage over time after bullet impact.
Optic: An aiming device that offers clearer target acquisition. Optics come in a variety of shapes and sizes, as well as different magnification settings.
Rear Grip: The material used for a grip affects how the weapon handles. Materials with high friction like pine tar offer great recoil control, while smooth materials like fabric improve your aiming speed.
Stock: The back portion, or “butt,” of a weapon. Heavier stocks tend to improve accuracy and control, while lighter stocks tend to improve movement and weapon-handling speeds.
Proficiency: This category directly affects your Operator’s proficiency with a weapon. Examples include Sleight of Hand for faster reloads and Nerves of Steel for boosting accuracy while injured or suppressed.
Kit: Another Operator-focused category. Examples include Surplus, awarding additional XP for eliminations, and Heavy Hitter, in which melee attacks with the equipped weapon produce a greater stun on targets.
Weapon Stats
Adding and taking away attachments often alters a weapon’s four basic statistics —Firepower, Speed, Accuracy, and Ammo — displayed in the Gunsmith menu.
Firepower: How much and how fast a weapon deals damage against enemies and vehicles. Sub-statistics include Damage (shown as a number of hit points — in Core modes, everyone normally has 100 hit points for each life), Fire Rate (how fast a weapon fires in rounds per minute), and Bullet Velocity (how fast a bullet travels in meters per second).
Speed: How much the weapon affects an Operator’s movement speed and ability to aim down sights. Sub-statistics include Movement Speed (shown with the maximum speed through Tactical Sprint in miles per hour) and Sprint-to-Fire Time (shown in milliseconds).
Accuracy: How much recoil the weapon has, as well as its stability and hip-fire spread. Sub-statistics include Flinch Resistance (how much force, in Newtons, an Operator feels when damaged, which affects their aim) and Centering Speed (the acceleration of a weapon as it returns to its regular position after firing, shown in meters per second squared).
Ammo: How large a weapon’s magazine is, how fast an Operator can reload with it, and other measurable effects that the bullet has. Sub-statistics include Penetration (how many Newtons of force the bullet has, important for shooting through destructible walls) and Concealment (the number of seconds where an Operator’s position is revealed).
Perks
Perks come in one of three categories — Perk 1, Perk 2, and Perk 3. Choose one Perk from each category to determine your Operator’s specialized abilities. The available Perks are as follows:
Perk 1
Fortified: Reduces damage from explosives by 15%. Damage reduction doubled while mounted, crouched, or prone. Reduces health-regen delay from explosives.
Survival Training: Maximized resistance to stun effects. Immune to gas.
Ninja: Move silently. Take reduced damage when falling. Reduces the effectiveness of enemy Tracker Perks.
Dauntless: Immune to movement-reducing effects.
Ghost: While moving, you are undetectable by Spy Planes, enemy Intel, and Field Mics. Reduces effectiveness of Local Informants.
Cold Blooded: AI-controlled Killstreaks will not target you, and player-controlled Killstreaks will not highlight you. You do not trigger High Alert. Reduces the range at which awareness markers appear for enemies.
Perk 2
Tracker: Enemies leave behind a footprint trail. See markers at enemy death locations and hide the death markers of enemies you kill.
Radar: Enemies appear on your minimap when they fire an unsilenced weapon.
High Alert: Your vision pulses when enemies outside of your view see you.
Engineer: Detect enemy equipment, Field Upgrades, and Killstreaks through walls. Mark them for your team by aiming down sights. Hack enemy equipment and field upgrades.
Forward Intel: See indicators for enemy reinforcements on your minimap. Minimap shows a larger area.
Piercing Vision: Sufficiently suppressed targets will be highlighted for a short time, rendering them visible through walls and obscuring effects.
Perk 3
Double Time: Double the duration of Tactical Sprint. Increase crouch movement speed by 30%.
Demolition: Extra Lethal equipment on spawn. Thrown Lethals and Tacticals display an indicator showing the path of the Lethal or Tactical.
Lightweight: Increases movement speed.
Overkill: Carry two Primary Weapons.
Tactician: Restock your Tactical equipment every 30 seconds.
Scavenger: Replenish ammo from dead Operators.
Equipment
Use your equipment to damage and disorient enemies, conceal your position, heal up, and confuse the enemy.
Lethals
MK2 Frag Grenade: Cookable fragmentation grenade.
Gammon Bomb: Explodes on impact.
Throwing Knife: Retrievable knife that can be thrown quickly and quietly to eliminate enemies.
Thermite: Explosive that burns fiercely for a short time after impact. Sticks to surfaces.
Demolition Charge: Large explosive that sticks to surfaces and can be detonated remotely.
Molotov Cocktail: Improvised incendiary device that explodes on impact.
Tacticals
No. 69 Stun Grenade: Slows victim’s movement and aiming.
Smoke Grenade: Deploys a smoke screen that blocks vision.
Stim: Military stimulant that cauterizes combat wounds and refreshes Tactical Sprint.
MK V Gas: Explodes on impact with the ground, releasing a lingering cloud of tear gas that causes slowed movement, blurred vision, and coughing.
S-Mine 44: Proximity-triggered explosive.
Decoy Grenade: Counter-intel grenade that simulates fake gunfire and radar signatures that confuse the enemy.
Field Upgrades
Field Upgrades are powerful utility packages that charge over time. The more powerful they are, the longer the charge time.
Supply Box: Deploys a box of ammo and equipment for you and your teammates. Explodes when shot. Recharge Rate: Fast.
Goliath: A small remote-controlled bomb on tracks. Controllable for 30 seconds, after which it self-destructs. Can be detonated early. Recharge Rate: Slow.
Dead Silence: Temporarily makes your footsteps silent and makes you undetectable by Spy Planes, enemy intel, and Field Mics. Gun, melee, and Throwing Knife kills refresh duration. Recharge Rate: Fast.
Jammer: Jams the minimap of nearby enemies. Recharge Rate: Fast.
Deployable Cover: Rapidly deployable ballistic cover. Recharge Rate: Fast.
Armor Plates: Equip body armor, preventing damage to your torso until broken. Recharge Rate: Slow.
Field Mic: Reveals nearby enemy movement on the minimap. Recharge Rate: Medium.
Tactical Insertion: Marks a location as your next spawn point. Recharge Rate: Medium.
Dead Drop: Records your current Killstreak score and awards it back when you next respawn. Recharge Rate: Fast
Killstreaks
Killstreaks are powerful, potentially game-changing abilities unlocked by eliminating enemies in a single life without dying. Three Killstreaks can be equipped at a time, with no more than one per kill category.
Three Kills
Intel: Reveals nearby enemies through repeated pings on the minimap over a short period. Intel is only granted to the player who called it in.
Four Kills
Care Package: Drops a single care package that rewards a random Killstreak on pickup.
Spy Plane: Calls in a Spy Plane that reveals enemy positions on the minimap to you and your allies. Can be shot down.
Counter Spy Plane: Calls in a Counter Spy Plane that obscures the minimap for all enemies. Can be shot down.
Five Kills
Glide Bomb: A remote-controlled bomb with a large kill radius.
Mortar Barrage: Toss a flare cannister to mark an area for repeated mortar fire.
War Machine: Equips a semi-automatic Grenade Launcher with a fixed number of grenades. Persists through death until ammo is depleted.
Six Kills
Guard Dog: Calls in a Guard Dog for protection. The dog can be commanded to either guard a position or heel.
Strafing Run: Calls in air support to strafe across a marked target area.
Seven Kills
Bombing Run: Allied bombers make three passes, bombarding areas with high concentrations of enemies.
Death Machine: Equips a Machine Gun with explosive rounds and a fixed number of bullets. Persists through death until ammo is depleted.
Eight Kills
Emergency Airdrop: Drops three care packages, each rewarding a random Killstreak on pickup.
Nine Kills
Flamenaut: Equip a protective suit and Flamethrower with unlimited fuel. Both are lost on death.
Ten Kills
Attack Dogs: Deploy a pack of ferocious Attack Dogs that hunt down nearby enemies.
Firebombing Run: You mark a location for air support to rain fire from above in a massive line that kills enemies on impact and leaves behind a fiery wake that cannot be crossed by hostiles until it disperses.
Twelve Kills
Local Informants: While active, reveals the location and direction of all enemies on the map.
If you’re planning on picking up the game, check out what to do in the first 10 hours here.