This weekend marks the second and final beta weekend of Call of Duty: Vanguard, which is partly an open beta. If you’re unsure about purchasing, check it out this weekend and follow our 3 tips to get the most out of the beta.
How does this beta work? At 7 PM on September 16th, the open beta for players on PlayStation and the pre-order beta for PC and Xbox begins. From September 18th at 7 PM, testers without pre-orders can also access the servers on Xbox and PC.
During the test, you can play about a quarter of the release content from the multiplayer and get a preview of the new CoD before purchasing.
However, you shouldn’t approach your matches as you usually do in CoD. Follow our 3 tips and you’ll experience more of the game and maybe even discover a new playstyle that you enjoy. You can find all the information about the beta here:
1. Tip – Forget about your K/D ratio
What do you mean by that? The beta is separate from the later main game, and you don’t need to worry about your statistics during the entire test. Your kills, deaths, levels, and everything else do not affect your stats in the finished game.
Especially the K/D ratio is an important value for many players that should look good. It usually starts when you’re good enough to maintain a 1.0, meaning you have as many kills as deaths. Focusing on a good K/D ratio creates pressure, and you may tend to avoid trying new things and stick to familiar and proven equipment and playstyles.
But in the beta, it doesn’t matter at all. Forget about the statistics, try something new, and if it doesn’t work – try something else. Break out of your usual CoD routine, play unusual modes, or even talk to random players in the matches. You can be normal after the release.
2. Tip – Play through all weapon classes
What do you mean? The weapon mechanics are among the most important mechanics in Call of Duty, and each Call of Duty takes its own approach to weapons.
On one hand, this makes the gunplay feel “fresh” from year to year. On the other hand, it may happen that you didn’t like a certain weapon class, such as sniper rifles, in the last CoD, but the gameplay in Vanguard fits your expectations perfectly.
Even if you have to force yourself: Be sure to try all weapon classes in Vanguard. At the start of the beta, you only have access to preset loadouts. However, from level 4 onwards, you can choose at least one weapon from each class, and you can unlock more weapons through level-ups.
Start with the assault rifle and play through all classes. You’ll then get a sense of how Vanguard interprets gunplay, and perhaps this year you’ll play more as a sniper and not as the aggressive front line player with a submachine gun.
3. Tip – Try the new combat pacings
What do you mean? One of the biggest, if not the biggest, innovations of Vanguard is the combat pacings. Matches in CoD used to always be designed for 6vs6 players, but in Vanguard, the number of players is a bit more variable.
As it currently stands, you can play all maps and modes not only with “Tactical Speed,” meaning 6vs6, but you can also choose “Assault Tempo” and “Blitz Tempo.” Essentially, this means that more players are involved in the match. Depending on the map, up to 48 players can fight in a match at Blitz Tempo.
- Tactics: Classic CoD experience with 6vs6 players
- Assault: Between 20 – 28 players on a map
- Blitz: Between 28 and 48 players can go all out on a map
Throughout the beta, there will be updates: A new playlist will be added every now and then. If there’s a playlist that specifically lets you play a certain combat pacing, start the list and test all 4 maps of the beta.
You will then get an impression of the newest and perhaps one of the most important mechanics of Vanguard. Especially, if you’ve found the maps too large in recent years.
No matter how you approach the beta – take advantage of the opportunity to be free from statistics and value comparisons. There are many players who pay less attention to their K/D or performance, but it can still be annoying when you try something new and finish the matches with poor performance: But the beta forgives.
The beta has already run on PlayStation for a few days. If you want to check out some player feedback, take a look here: CoD Vanguard: Beta shows 3 major problems – What the developers say
