The new Season 1 of Call of Duty: Vanguard and the free Battle Royale Warzone celebrates its release on December 8th. There is new content for Vanguard and Warzone gets the new map “Caldera” along with the Vanguard graphics. What else to expect next week, you can find out on MeinMMO.
Update December 8 – 12:30: The season goes online tonight at 18:00. In the meantime, the patch notes for Warzone and Vanguard are known:
– Warzone: Patch Notes for the Pacific Update
– Vanguard: Patch Notes for the Season Updates
Tonight it is finally here: Call of Duty: Warzone launches into the “Pacific Update” and gifts all players a new map. Additionally, the first joint live season with CoD: Vanguard starts – new content is coming into play here as well.
We summarize the most important information about Season 1 of Warzone and Vanguard for you:
- All information on release & download
- What happens in Warzone?
- What happens in Vanguard?
- All information on the Battle Pass
- Important information on the Anti-Cheat “RICOCHET”
Part of the season starts always includes a new battle pass, which allows you to unlock plenty of cosmetics. Usually, there is also a mid-season update or a reloaded update in the middle of the season with a second wave of content.
Vanguard & Warzone: Season 1 – Release, Download, Roadmap
When does the new season come? Season 1 starts on December 8, 2021, at 18:00. Originally, December 2 was scheduled, but after a delay, Season 1 arrives about a week later.
The Battle Royale Warzone will have a server downtime beforehand – on December 8 at 6:00, the servers will go offline for 12 hours. At 18:00, the Pacific Update will be live.
How large is the download? For Vanguard, you need to plan for 9 to 15 GB of storage space.
For Warzone, you must update the CoD MW launcher. The developers give the following download sizes:
- PlayStation 5: 44.7 GB
- PlayStation 4: 44.7 GB
- Xbox Series: 41.2 GB
- Xbox One: 41.2 GB
- PC: 37.8 or 69.1 GB (with CoD MW)
Is there a preload? You can already download the Vanguard update now. However, the new content will only be unlocked on December 8 at 18:00.
The preload is also available for Warzone. Everything about the specific process of the Pacific update can be found here:
When can I play the new Warzone map? That depends on whether you bought Vanguard or not:
- Access to “Caldera” with Vanguard: December 8, 2021 – 18:00
- Access to “Caldera” without Vanguard: December 9, 2021 – 18:00
Will I not be able to play Warzone for a day? While the servers are down, you won’t be able to play Warzone for 12 hours. After that, you can access the game, but you won’t have access to Caldera if you are not a Vanguard buyer.
Without Vanguard, you will only have access to Rebirth Island on December 8 at 18:00. The small map remains in the game and will be available to you in the Vanguard graphics. All modes on Caldera will only be available on December 9 at 18:00.
Here you can take a look at the roadmap for Season 1:
CoD Warzone: Season 1 – New Map “Caldera” in the Pacific Update
What comes with Season 1 in Warzone? This will be the largest season for Warzone so far, mainly due to the new map Caldera. The green volcanic island in the Pacific replaces the dusty Verdansk, and more than 1.5 years after release, Warzone completely changes its large map.
However, the new map is just the highlight of a massive update that completely upends the whole Warzone:
- New large map “Caldera”
- Nearly 40 new weapons
- New vehicles, even planes
- Revised gameplay options
After the first gameplay for the new map was released, it is clear that fewer changes are being made than previously thought. While there is a graphics update, there is no complete switch to Vanguard’s engine.
Warzone still plays as you know it. Movement, perks, weapons – most things will seem familiar to you, and the focus is entirely on the new map. You can examine more about the adjustments here:
- Complete patch notes of the Pacific update in German
- Check out the first gameplay of the new map from CoD Warzone here
We will embed the launch trailer for the new map here:
What game modes are available at launch? At launch, there will likely be 6 game modes, most of them on Caldera:
Playlist for Caldera’s release
- Vanguard Royale – Solo, Duo, Trio, 4-player
- Vanguard Resurrection – 4-player
- Battle Royale – 4-player
- Plunder – Trio
- 2 versions of Rebirth Island (for 24 hours)
The standard Battle Royale, Vanguard Royale, and Plunder will be played on Caldera. If you have not purchased Vanguard, you will only be able to play the Rebirth Island variants on December 8, with the rest available on December 9.
CoD Vanguard Season 1 – Content for Multiplayer & Zombies
What comes with Season 1 in Vanguard? The roadmap has now revealed what will come in Season 1 for Vanguard:
- Launch of Season 1 on December 8 at 18:00
- 3 new maps for multiplayer
- 5 new weapons
- New alliances, missions, and more for the zombie mode
- The first battle pass
What is there for multiplayer? The developers promise a total of 3 new maps for multiplayer – 2 of which will be available at the start of the season: Radar and Paradise.
Radar 
Paradise
Furthermore, through the battle pass, there are 2 new gameplay perks and a new primary grenade:
- Perk Serpentine – Battle Pass Level 21
- Perk Intuition – Battle Pass Level 44
- Incendiary Grenade – Battle Pass Level 39
During the first week of the season, there will be a “new” game mode – Control. This is a variant of the tactical “Search & Destroy” mode, in which respawns are allowed.
What other adjustments have been made, such as weapon balancing, can be found in our article on the patch notes for the Vanguard season update:
What is there for the zombie mode? At the start of the season, there is a new mission and 5 new alliances plus upgrades:
- New mission: Purge – Control runes
- 14 new upgrades at the Altar of Alliances
- Brimstone – Nearby enemies take damage
- Deadshot – Strong headshot aim assistance
- Dead Wire – Stun enemies
- Scrapper – More scrap
- Swift Vengeance – More damage while moving
- Rocket launchers possible in loadouts
The story will not be continued at the start. During the season, another part of the zombie story titled “From List’s Office” will be added, but apparently, the mission “The Beginning” is not yet complete.
You can find more details on the content in our article on the roadmap for Vanguard Season 1:
Warzone & Vanguard: Battle Pass with new weapons and operators
What is there to know about the Battle Pass? With each season, this bonus pass is introduced, which you can buy and unlock for 1,000 CoD Points (approx. 10,- €). Once a season is over, however, the unclaimed items are lost.
Some levels are free, for example, the new weapons. The season pass brings 3 new firearms into the game, which you can also unlock without spending money. We will show you a summary of the included items:
Warzone & Vanguard Battle Pass Season 1 with 100 levels
- The pass costs 1,000 CoD Points (approximately 10,- €)
- Each of the 100 “tiers” offers a reward
- Operator skin directly upon purchase
- 3 new weapons to unlock
- 2 gameplay perks
- 1 primary equipment
- Weapon blueprints
- CoD Points
- Legendary rewards upon completion of the pass
- Operator
- Visiting cards / emblems / sprays / talismans
- Vehicle items such as battle cries or skins
- XP tokens for a boost in experience points
- 10% experience boost on the Battle Pass
As soon as the complete Battle Pass is known, you will find more information on MeinMMO.
What new operators are coming into the game? A total of 3 operators are announced for the season, and one of them you get directly when you purchase the Battle Pass: Francis “Kai” Lanakila. The other two companions will come during the season:
- Operator Season 1
- Francis “Kai” Lanakila (Battle Pass)
- Lewis Howard (later in the season)
- Isabella Rosario Dulnuan Reyes (later in the season)
What new weapons are coming into the game? 5 weapons will be added to the arsenal during the season, and for the first time, 3 of them in the Battle Pass:
- Battle Pass weapons Season 1
- Assault Rifle – Copper Carbine: Level 15
- Sniper Rifle – Gorenko Anti-Tank Rifle: Level 31
- Melee Weapon – Sawtooth: Level 37
- During the season
- Melee Weapon – Katana
- Submachine Gun – Welgun
The Copper Carbine is an AR-like assault rifle with a high fire rate similar to the MP, but with less range and more damage.
The Gorenko sniper offers the highest damage per bullet after introduction and is semi-automatic – but has a very strong recoil.
The Welgun is a balanced SMG and provides you with good damage, range, and movement without excelling in any of the areas.
Warzone & Vanguard: Anti-Cheat “RICOCHET” starts PC driver
What is RICOCHET? One of the most important innovations in Season 1 is the anti-cheat system. Call of Duty improved its security infrastructure with the launch of Vanguard to catch more cheaters and hackers. RICOCHET consists of 4 components:
- Server-side analysis tools
- Improved investigative processes
- Increased account security
- Kernel driver on PC (to come later)
However, the important kernel driver for PC will now indeed be implemented later in Warzone. On day 1 of the Pacific update, the driver is only online in the “Asia-Pacific” region. There is currently no date for the introduction in Europe.
The driver examines the interactions of CoD programs with other applications on the PC and aims to help understand the processes on a cheater PC better, thus catching other cheaters as well.
More information on RICOCHET and answers about the kernel driver can be found here:
Those were the most important facts about the new Season 1 of Warzone and Vanguard.
If you want to prepare for the new Vanguard weapons in Call of Duty: Warzone, check out this link. You will surely find what you’re looking for in our list: 5 strong weapons from CoD Vanguard that you should level for Warzone now
