Zombies are back in Call of Duty: Vanguard and are made by Treyarch! This is all very exciting and if you didn’t have the chance of playing Zombies yet or are considering it but want more insight we got you covered. This is a complete gameplay guide/walkthrough for Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies.
Starting the Match
Heading into the Zombies there are three game modes available:
- Der Anfeng
- Private Match
- Solo
Those are all the same in terms of gameplay, they only affect matchmaking. Der Anfeng is a Co-op mode with random players. Private Matches are for the games with your friends and selected people only. And Solo is, well, solo.
Before starting the match you can pick your loadout. There are 8 presets made for you but you can change them however you like. Pick whichever weapon you like and whichever artifact you like. Artifacts are basically the ultimate ability that charges over time and gives you a big advantage.
Stalingrad’s Base
You spawn at the Stalingrad’s Base. There is not much story involved except for the cinematic and occasional chatter on the radio from the Dark Either entities and German professor. If you want to dig more into the lore of the Vanguard’s Zombies here’s a complete breakdown by Sledgehammer Games.
This base is neutral territory. You will not find any enemies apart from a few occasional zombie spawns. What you will find though is a bunch of upgrade stations and buffs. There are perks you can get from demonic looking fountains and there are stations for buying and upgrading your loadout, equipment, and weapons.
All the fountain perks are listed in this perk guide while here is the list of all the stations in the base:
- Ammo Station. Resupply your ammunition for the equipped weapon for 2500 points.
- Crafting Table. Use scrap that drops from zombies to craft armor, tactical, lethal and support equipment.
- Pack-a-Punch. Upgrade the weapon you hold to shoot thunderbolts and deal massive damage. A must have upgrade as the zombies will get way tougher as you progress.
- Weapon Crate. Test your lack and spend a few points to roll for a random weapon.
- Altar of Covenants. This is abrand new mehcanic. The altar allows you to purchase unique perks like slow an enemy on hit or deal more damage while standing. The covenants will randomize after the completion of the objective and their rarity will increase. You can purchase a covenant for one sacrificial heart that is awarder after completing an objective.
The base area is limited at first and expands with completing objectives. You will find more fountains and occasional crates with loot. Make sure to collect those. Every time the base expands there will be zombies to kill in that area but nothing too deadly.
Completing an Objective
When you are all geared up it is time for your first objective. There will be three portals available, each is a different game mode. Your options will be the same every time you start a new game as the variety of game modes is not rich. There are only three of them at the moment:
- Blitz. Your goal is to survive a certain amount of time while fighting zombies in an especially tight area
- Harvest. On a bigger map you have to collect runes that occasionaly drop from zombies and deposit them to the pillars. There are three pillars each requiring five runes to cmplete.
- Transmit. There is a flying head that needs to be escorted to the destination.
Pick your objective and jump into the portal that will get you to the middle of the action. Each objective is around 5-10 minutes long so you will be back in no time. When you are back, the map will expand and a new portal will appear instead of the one you just completed.
During the objectives, you will find ammo crates and fountains just like the ones at the base. Great way to power yourself up. But the best way is to collect power-ups that sometimes will drop from zombies. Here are all the power-ups and what they do:
- Bonus Points. Kills now grant more cash than usual.
- Max Ammo. Refills your ammo supply. Great way of saving money on ammunition because you will need a lot of it.
- Full Armor. Gets you a full set of armor.
- Instakill. Any bullet you fire will instantly kill any enemy.
- Nuke. Kills wevery enemy currently walking the map while dealing no damage to you.
Exfil/Extraction
After completing the first three objectives Exfil will become available. Exfil is the extraction from the location when you have decided that it is enough for the day and wrap up the match. To initiate the extraction follow the marker to the middle of the base. You will find a rune tablet on the fountain that can be interacted with. Hold “F” and get ready to get out of Stalingrad.
To safely escape you will have an objective of eliminating 40 zombies. Zombies will spawn across the base like they used to but in great amounts. In the end, you can end up running away from 50+ undead soldiers that scream and want to kill you. When the objective is complete the portal will appear somewhere on the map. Note that the zombie will still be there to stop you. Make your way to the portal, hold “F” once more and you are safe.
Match Summary
Once you finished the game you will have a default screen of your stats and all the levels you reached. And there we go, you successfully survived a game of Zombies. If you decide to play another one it will be all over again.
Even though there is not much content at the moment you can have fun by experimenting with different loadouts, combinations of covenants, and artifacts. The game gives you the freedom to build whatever kind of character you like.
