Before the release of CoD Vanguard on November 5th, Sledgehammer Games listed numerous changes since the beta in a blog post. Now, another new feature has been quietly added to this list, showing that players can be even quieter.
After the Vanguard beta caused mixed feelings in the community, developer Sledgehammer Games reacted. In a comprehensive blog post, summarized by MeinMMO, they presented a variety of changes for the release. It was clear: Almost all adjustments benefit aggressive players.
Now, without major announcements, this blog post (via Sledgehammer Games) has been discreetly expanded with another point. This change could make a significant impact by the time of release.
Field Equipment Works Like Two Strong Perks
What is it about? Dead Silence, a field equipment from Modern Warfare and Warzone, is back in CoD: Vanguard. Now it is stronger than ever.
Dead Silence, like the perk Ninja, makes player movements quieter. But unlike Ninja, Dead Silence is not a perk and therefore not active all the time.
After it was already announced that the perk Ninja is making a return, some players thought: Why should I choose Dead Silence now? Why not just choose Ninja and take a different field equipment?
The developers’ solution: Vanguard now not only has Dead Silence and Ninja in the selection, but Dead Silence has also been enhanced with the functionality of the perk Ghost. So, Dead Silence now functions like both Ninja and Ghost, two of the traditionally strongest and most important perks in CoD.
Higher Loadout Flexibility
Why this is more important than the late and discreet addition in Sledgehammer Games’ blog suggests, is shown by a look at the professional scene. Because for many CoD veterans, a ‘Call of Duty’ game is only good if Ninja or Dead Silence is present and working well.
Now both are available, once as a perk and once as field equipment. Not only that: Dead Silence is better than ever. This makes loadouts much more flexible and the perk balance more even.
This change will change the meta: Since Ghost and Ninja are blue perks, it was thought: Players must decide whether they want to be permanently quieter with Ninja, or remain undetected on the mini-map with Ghost.
With the changes to Dead Silence, players now get both the effect of Ghost and Ninja. But only for a limited time.
What does that mean? Dead Silence is a field equipment, therefore its abilities are time-limited and have a cooldown. During this limited time, however, you have the effects of two of the strongest perks at once, both of which are blue.
This means you can equip another blue perk. Effectively, for the limited time of the field equipment, you have the effect of 5 perks:
- Ninja
- Ghost
- Your blue perk
- Your red perk
- Your yellow perk
Additionally, Dead Silence could still increase your movement speed and your field-of-view, as currently seen in Warzone and CoD MW.
Aggressive Playstyle Strengthened, Campers Weakened
This is particularly exciting because blue perks are probably the strongest perks in the game. Ghost, Ninja, and Ballistic Vest were among the most important perks in Black Ops Cold War for almost all loadouts. In Vanguard, the equivalent perks are now all blue:
Strong perks are now more relevant: Since one can forgo Ninja or Ghost, the strong other perks in Tier 1 become much more attractive. The perk Reinforced reduces damage from explosives and helps with regeneration, while Survival Training makes you immune to gas and gives you more resistance to flash effects.
The newly announced perk Dauntless could also land in Tier 1. With this perk, you do not lose speed when shot.
What are the implications? All these perks make aggressive, so-called ‘Run&Gun’ gameplay easier. At the same time, campers will have a harder time as they can rely less on sound cues and the mini-map.
Aggressive players can now create even more aggressive loadouts that either take less damage from explosions or better resist gas and stun effects.
Additionally, they can now use Dead Silence to flank opponents quickly and unnoticed, or to escape to a new position after a multi-kill.
Many Fans Are Excited
Online, many players are very happy about this change. Especially the higher flexibility in loadouts is being praised.
In the Reddit post about this discovery (via Reddit), users express their enthusiasm for the new possibilities:
- HOONIGAN- says: “This definitely allows for a nice additional flexibility in class setups.”
- Fukaro writes: “In my opinion, it’s the best compromise. You can take Ninja when you want to move quietly, or you can duck/aim/use Dead Silence when you want to utilize another benefit.”
- Kemmons writes: “This is very good for Search & Destroy. I can use Ninja and save Dead Silence for the rounds when the enemies call in a UAV.”
What do you think? Do you think this is a good solution for loadout variety and perk balance? Or do you think it makes aggression too strong? Let us know in the comments.
Find all further information about the preload and download size of CoD Vanguard before release on MeinMMO.
