Call of Duty: Warzone is getting a graphics upgrade this year and adopting the technology from the new CoD: Vanguard. We will show you how this battle royale might change on MeinMMO.
Call of Duty: Warzone is going through a major change this year. With the big multiplayer reveal of CoD: Vanguard, the developers announced that the battle royale will get a completely new map and adopt the polished engine from Vanguard. A game-changer.
But how will this affect Warzone? The CoD creators don’t want to go into too much detail yet. However, based on the information already available about Vanguard, some possible conclusions can be drawn. MeinMMO presents 5 changes that could come with the graphics upgrade of Warzone and gives a personal assessment of the likelihood of these changes.
When will the changes come? The official statement is, “shortly after the Vanguard release” which takes place on November 5. Possibly with the start of Season 1, which is likely to begin at the end of November or early December.
With my experiences and daily work with Warzone and after spending some hours in Vanguard’s multiplayer, I can form a good picture of how the battle royale might look after transitioning to the Vanguard technology. I believe the developers will change much in the game and transfer a lot from Vanguard to Warzone – if not everything.
Fresh Graphics in Pacific Style
What is it about? Warzone is based on the technology of Modern Warfare, the CoD from 2019. The new Vanguard uses very similar technology, which has been polished and further developed. This involves an “engine”, a computer program responsible for complex calculations, such as rendering the graphics.
Which parts of the Warzone engine will be adopted is not certain. So far, the developers have mentioned the “same technology and engine” as in Vanguard. So, it could involve certain parts of the engine, but perhaps even the entire foundation of the programming.
The new map will be much friendlier and more colorful than the current Verdansk, a Soviet city from the Cold War. The graphics will likely benefit from that, and Warzone will look significantly better with Vanguard.
Author’s assessment – How likely is this? The new map will definitely come and replace Verdansk by the end of the year. However, how much of the Vanguard graphics will be adopted remains unclear for now. But so far, it sounds like Warzone will be completely rebuilt on Vanguard technology, without compromises.
The FoV Slider on Consoles
What is it about? The “Field of View” slider adjusts the field of view that the game displays to you. At the cost of some image distortion, you see more of the game, virtually beyond the edge of your screen. For console players, this adjustment option is not available, but PC players have it.
The developers have now confirmed that Vanguard brings a FoV slider to consoles (via Gamepro). So if Warzone adopts Vanguard technology, the field of view adjustment could be included. Currently, aim assist and the FoV slider are issues that the community is tussling over. At least one problem would thus be off the table.
Author’s assessment – How likely is this? There can be no definitive statement on this. However, it is very likely that Warzone will bring the FoV slider to consoles in the foreseeable future. Such an opportunity is rare. Another reason is the pressure from the community. The developers emphasize in the stream with the map reveal that they are listening to player wishes.
Warzone Goes Next-Gen
What is it about? On console, there is still no separate version for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. Due to backward compatibility, everyone either plays the version for Xbox One or PS4. You can already set Warzone to 120 frames per second, but a real next-gen version hasn’t even been announced yet.
With the upgrade to Vanguard technology, this could change, and console players who have already switched to the new generation should experience Warzone in better graphics.
Author’s assessment – How likely is this? Pretty likely. There have already been initial hints at a next-gen version, and a statement from the stream about crossplay provides another strong hint. Because Warzone supports “Crossplay, Cross-Progression, and Cross-Gen” (via callofduty.com). Until now, there has been no mention of Cross-Gen in Warzone. Why would Warzone support it if there are no different versions of the game?
Gunsmith Could Change Everything
What is it about? Vanguard will feature a gunsmith again, but this time you can equip all attachment slots with attachments. The weapons of the new CoD have 10 slots each. Additionally, the current weapons from Cold War and CoD MW will definitely remain in the game. However, how all this will work together is still unclear and leaves room for speculation:
- All weapons will be “standardized”, similar to how the weapons from Cold War currently are
In Cold War, weapons within the classes share many attachments in Warzone. This is not the case for the weapons from CoD MW. In Cold War, the second barrel within the attachment category and weapon class always gives the same bonus to your stats. This allows the developers to influence many weapons simultaneously and also make separate changes to the weapons themselves.
With over 100 weapons after the Vanguard introduction, a system of standardization would likely help for efficient balancing. All important weapons would then have 10 attachments, and within a weapon class, the attachment setups would be quite similar.
- As with the integration of Cold War, the new system will be added
In this variant, the gunsmith would not change much, and the weapons from CoD MW and Cold War would remain as they are. The new firearms from Vanguard would then get their 10 attachment slots, along with their own characteristics, such as unique ammo types and 2 slots for passive abilities.
- Vanguard Weapons Adapt to Warzone
It is also possible that Vanguard weapons will be adjusted to the 5-attachments system of Warzone. The weapons would thus move somewhat away from their versions in multiplayer. Some attachment slots may disappear to prevent unwanted features from multiplayer from entering Warzone – such as ammo types that cause fire or area damage.
Author’s assessment – How likely is this? Something will definitely happen with the gunsmith. But what that will be is only guesswork. In the reveal stream, it was mentioned that through the transition to Vanguard technology, they want to ensure a “seamless weapon integration and game balance”. My first impression is therefore a complete overhaul of the arsenal to the Vanguard gunsmith.
However, the most sensible reason for it – over 100 weapons with uniform attachments – is also the biggest reason against it. All weapons from Cold War and CoD MW would need to be adjusted to the Vanguard system. Simply adding the new attachment system would facilitate introduction but complicate later balancing.
The developers have been much more open in their communication regarding their balance plans in recent months, showing that they understand the state of balancing. The introduction of weapons from Cold War led to a certain imbalance between the new and old weapons from CoD MW. Cold War weapons are more mobile, while CoD MW weapons have an extra slot for additional abilities.
So how will a “seamless” weapon integration occur when the current system is only held together by 2 threads? Therefore, I believe a standardization will occur to utilize the momentum of the new engine and make future balancing easier. This will also mean a complete adoption of the new perks and field upgrades.
New Options for Weapon Laying and “Blind Fire”
What is it about? As known from CoD MW, Vanguard also features weapon laying. When you are at cover or at an edge, you can lay your weapon there and drastically reduce your recoil. Vanguard offers more options for this mechanic:
- You can move your weapon left or right on a flat surface when laying
- Behind cover, you can use “Blind Fire” for protected hip fire
These new weapon mechanics could have some influence on the gameplay in Warzone. Especially “Blind Fire” offers advantages for players behind cover. As it is a form of laid hip fire, the spread of the weapon also improves.
Author’s assessment – How likely is this? The two mechanics will likely also come to Warzone. There is a chance that it will be disabled in battle royale, but if the developers add it in multiplayer, it will likely come to Warzone as well.
However, it remains to be seen how strong it really is in the end. With “Blind Fire”, the character steps a good way out of cover, and the advantage is probably not that significant.
Warzone is evolving and taking an interesting step towards a new engine. However, how substantial this step will be remains to be seen.
What is certain and at the forefront for many players is a new anti-cheat system on PC. Important details about this are not yet available, but the system is part of the Vanguard engine and aims to put an end to the cheating plague in Warzone.
How would you connect the old and new gunsmith options? Can you imagine Warzone with “Blind Fire”? If you have ideas or thoughts on the topic, share them with us in the comments on MeinMMO.
If you want more information about Vanguard multiplayer, check here: CoD Vanguard: Multiplayer played – What we know now about the gameplay
