CoD Vanguard players discover “pay-to-win” weapon Blueprints with exclusive buffs

Call of Duty Vanguard players have uncovered a potential “pay-to-win” weapon Blueprint, with the STG44’s Debt Collector variant comes with an exclusive buff that can only be accessed after buying in.

CoD Vanguard has been live for 12 days now and we all know the STG44 has been dominating from the jump. While the Assault Rifle already shreds with the right attachments, players have discovered another reason to be fearful of the gun.

Weapon proficiencies provide game-changing boosts to any given loadout, ranging from faster reload speeds to bigger critical hitboxes. The STG has six unique options in this category.

Now though, it turns out there’s an exclusive weapon proficiency hidden behind a paywall.

The Vanguard community noticed a mysterious seventh option locked in the Debt Collector Blueprint. It didn’t take long before fans were sounding the ‘Pay to Win’ alarm.

This Epic-tier weapon Blueprint comes with 10 attachments baked into the STG. This means you don’t have to level up the powerful AR to use some of its best upgrades. However, one particular buff was spotted by Reddit user ‘SappHaze’ on November 16.

Debt Collector comes with the ‘Steady Aim’ proficiency equipped. Oddly enough, this Steady Aim perk cannot be accessed on the regular STG. It appears to be an exclusive buff tied to this specific premium blueprint.

Steady Aim is intended to reduce movement penalties that come while firing the gun or being suppressed. It may not sound game-breaking in itself, but the exclusive benefit being locked behind a microtransaction has many fearing the worst is yet to come.

• Read More: Vanguard devs confirm nerfs coming for “overpowered” Shotguns

“Oh Blueprint specific attachments, this won’t be abused,” one player said.

“Hopefully it’s not intentional,” another chimed in.

“Pay to Win again, nice,” many others added.

It’s worth mentioning that this lone example with the Debt Collector Blueprint could be an oversight. The inclusion of the Steady Aim Proficiency may not have been intentional and might be removed in the next update. However, it wouldn’t be the first time premium bundles have proven stronger than their free counterparts.

• Read More: Chairs and doors are killing players in CoD Vanguard

Regardless, it’s still live in the game right now for anyone to use. While it may not be the strongest option in Vanguard today, it provides an exclusive buff that can only be accessed by purchasing the bundle.

It may be a sign of further premium benefits that could shake up the game in weeks to come.