Vanguard players call for “game ruining” Mortar Barrage killstreak to be removed

Nathan Warby

Of all the killstreaks that Call of Duty: Vanguard has to offer, none has been more controversial than the Mortar Barrage. Now, players are calling for it to be removed from the game altogether.

Call of Duty: Vanguard gives players plenty of lethal killstreaks to help rack up high scores and conquer the battlefield. Some of these are fairly unintrusive, like a Spy Plane or a sole Guard Dog running around the map.

But there is one killstreak that has had Vanguard players frustrated ever since the game launched on November 5 – Mortar Barrages. This relatively easy to obtain streak bombards map with shells from the sky, destroying anything in a specific spot.

Just a few weeks after launch, however, fans seem to be at the end of their tether. Some have even claimed that they ‘ruin the game.’

Mortar Barrage killstreak in CoD Vanguard

Vanguard players unhappy with Mortar Barrage killstreak

Reddit user Mister270 started a thread in the CoD Vanguard subreddit asking fellow players what the one feature they would like to change in the game is. An overwhelming number of responses called for the Mortar Barrage killstreak to be vaulted entirely.

Fans called out the way that the prolonged explosions cause the map to shake. They felt that once the killstreak has been called in, it puts an abrupt pause on the match.

“The screen shakes like crazy and it completely stops the dynamic flow of the game,” said the disgruntled player. “Especially in smaller maps, you have two choices – sit still for ages and not get killed, or try to go out and kill the enemy and 9/10 [times] get killed instantly.”

Other users also felt that the Mortar Barrage lasts far too long. “How they approved it to last 40-45 seconds is ridiculous. Has to be the longest-lasting killstreak in the series’ history right?” said another player.

This was far from the only change that fans felt Vanguard needed. Fingers were also pointed at the chaotic spawns and overpowered dogs. But Mortars seemed to be the “number one” issue players had in Vanguard currently.

As mentioned earlier, this has been a constant gripe ever since launch, so we’ll have to wait and see if Sledgehammer Games decide to tweak it slightly in a future patch. But fans will no doubt be glad to see some changes to this disruptive killstreak.