Call of Duty: Vanguard will be 'removing dognados' and 'nerfing the sun' for launch

Call of Duty: Vanguard
(Image credit: Activision)

With the Call of Duty: Vanguard beta now finished, developers Sledgehammer Games have unveiled a shortlist of issues beta players have voiced their concerns on, and it includes "nerfing the sun" and avoiding "Hotel Royal’s murder kitchen."

During the extended open beta, players had experienced a number of quirky bugs and issues over the three playable multiplayer maps: Hotel Royal, Red Star, and Gavutu. Sledgehammer Games notes that official reports, gameplay clips, and messages have helped developers "in squashing bugs, improving features, and refining the maps." 

The Vanguard developers named a number of the biggest issues they are working on fixing in time for the game's launch on November 5. This included the following: 

  • Nerfing the sun
  • Cracking down on Red Star raves
  • Removing dognados
  • Tuning spawns to avoid Hotel Royal’s murder kitchen
  • Closing open mic lobbies in Search & Destroy 

Those who took part in the beta are likely to have experienced these issues, such as the sun in the Gavutu map blinding players so they couldn't spot the opposing team, the Attack Dogs Killstreak glitch, and spawning right next to enemies which led to near-instant deaths.

The developers will also be taking a closer look at weapon balancing and audio mixing, with the latter regarding the sound of enemy footsteps. Visibility is another issue expected to be fixed, with many complaining about characters blending into the environment on certain platforms; making it harder to spot other players. The snow in Red Star did help visibility, either. 

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Call of Duty: Vanguard will launch on Friday, November 5 for PS4PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC via Battle.net. Thanks to the beta, Sledgehammer Games has some time to work on getting rid of issues that would have otherwise been a problem at launch. With the recent Battlefield 2042 delay, Vanguard will now be the first big first-person shooter to launch this fall, with Halo Infinite set to arrive this December.

Darragh Murphy
Editor

Darragh Murphy is fascinated by all things bizarre, which usually leads to assorted coverage varying from washing machines designed for AirPods to the mischievous world of cyberattacks. Whether it's connecting Scar from The Lion King to two-factor authentication or turning his love for gadgets into a fabricated rap battle from 8 Mile, he believes there’s always a quirky spin to be made. With a Master’s degree in Magazine Journalism from The University of Sheffield, along with short stints at Kerrang! and Exposed Magazine, Darragh started his career writing about the tech industry at Time Out Dubai and ShortList Dubai, covering everything from the latest iPhone models and Huawei laptops to massive Esports events in the Middle East. Now, he can be found proudly diving into gaming, gadgets, and letting readers know the joys of docking stations for Laptop Mag.