Treyarch, one of Call of Duty’s main developers, may not be in charge of Call of Duty: Vanguard that is set to release on November 5, 2021, but they are going to be handling the Zombies aspect of the game which is making a return to the Dark Aether storyline which started all the way back in 2018 with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Treyarch’s Zombies story this year aims to satisfy fans of the zombies mode while also appealing to new players. So here’s everything that we know about Vanguard’s Zombie mode, from the story to the aether powers.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Story
The Nazis discovered the Dark Aether after a failed science experiment. High-ranking Nazi officer, Oberführer Wolfram Von List, began his search through the Dark Aether for mystical artifacts that might help turn the tide of war. It was then that he came in contact and aligned himself with Kortifex the Deathless who is said to be the most powerful of all the entities within the Dark Aether.
Von List then with the powers of Kortifex, raises the dead in Stalingrad in 1944 which prompted one of his assistants to betray him and send out a distress signal, warning the world of the threat. Special forces operators are then sent in to Stalingrad only to be trapped by Von List and have no choice but to fight and survive with only each other to depend on.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Gameplay
The new game mode for Zombies in Vanguard is called Der Anfang (the beginning). The mode will focus on completing objectives through the Dark Aether portals. The more objectives players complete then the more the base expands which comes with upgrades and perks.
For longtime fans, there’s the treat of returning to the swamps of Shi no Numa, a classic Zombies map. There are also zombified versions of the multiplayer maps such as Red Star, Eagle’s Nest, and more.
In order to reach new areas of the map, completing objectives will be the key instead of buying your way through.
Here are the known objectives in Der Anfang for now:
- Harvest – defeat special zombies that are holding runestones and the runestones into the Sin-Eater.
- Transmit – escort what looks to be a floating zombie head that’s looking for a portal.
- Blitz – slay your way through hordes of zombies while capturing specific zones on the map.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombie Types
When it comes to the zombie types that players can expect from Der Anfang then players can expect the usual kinds of zombies that have been in the series so far but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any new ones for you to mess with.
First off we have what’s called the Boom Schreier, a zombie that glows red, is highly volatile, explosive, and of course loud.
Second we have a new ‘heavy’ type of zombie. These are bullet sponges as to be expected but come with some powerful weaponry to fight for their undead lives.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Best Weapons
There has been no news as of yet on what the new Wonder Weapons are for Call of Duty: Vanguard – Zombies mode, but we’ll be updating this article as soon as new information is available.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Dark Aether Abilities
There are four Dark Aether abilities that players can choose from. Each one offers great tactical boons and players will no doubt find them enjoyable to mess with. There’s been no information yet if players can only choose one ability per squad or if it’s allowed to have the same ability.
Here are the abilities:
- Ring of Fire – the Sword of Inviktor grants the player the ability to spark a ring of fire which will boost the damage of players standing inside the ring while dealing burn damage to enemies who set foor in it.
- Aether Shroud – the Mask of Bellekar grants the player the ability to phase through the Dark Aether for five seconds making you invisible to the enemy.
- Energy Mine – the Dragon of Saraxis grants the player the ability to spawn an Aethereal mine, which deals a notable amount of explosive damage to any enemy within proximity.
- Frost Blast – the Horn of Norticus summons grants the player the ability to create a frost storm around the player which will deal damage and slow enemies that are hit.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Altar of Covenants
The Altar of Covenants allows players to pick up a random upgrade through an offering of a Sacrificial Heat which is received after completing objectives in Der Anfang. The altar is located in the Stalingrad base. The altar allows players to experience different builds every time to ensure that no game will ever feel the same.
Here are all the upgrades from the Altar of Covenants that we’ve seen so far.
- Brain Rot – allows you to turn zombies into allies until their death.
- Resurrectionist – revive allies real fast, as well as automatically reviving any nearby teammate that falls.
- Mother Lode – allows players to potentially keep equipment after using it.
- Bloodlust – stronger melee attacks and vampirically heal for a small amount per strike.
- Ammo Gremlin – any weapon that’s stowed will have their ammo refill automatically.
- Cryofreeze – chance to freeze and slow enemies per shot.
- Splatterfest – any enemy that dies from explosives have a chance of exploding to take out even more enemies.
- Cull the Weak – damage against stunned or slowed enemies is increased.
- Dead Accurate – the more shots you fire into an enemy the more your damage will increase on that specific enemy.
- Death Blow – your critical killing bullet will return to your clip.
- Unholy Ground – increases damage while stationary. The damage buff will stay for a a few seconds when you start 2moving again.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Trailer
That’s all we know so far about Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Zombies but we’ll be updating you if there’s ever any new info that comes out. For more on Call of Duty: Vanguard you can check out our list of maps and game modes, operators, and more here.
