Warzone x Vanguard Season 1 revealed: Launch date, Caldera Pacific map, anti-cheat, more
ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard’s integration date for Warzone has been revealed along with the Caldera as the name of the new Pacific map, and news on the RICOCHET anti-cheat.
The wait is almost over, as Activision have revealed that Season 1 of Vanguard and the integration into Warzone is coming on December 2, 2021.
With this, we finally got a name for the highly teased Pacific map. It’s time to say goodbye to Verdansk and hello to Caldera.
Also, the days of hackers ruining games could be over as the RICOCHET anti-cheat is set to launch with the release of Season 1.
ActivisionWhen is Warzone x Vanguard Season 1
Vanguard is finally getting integrated into Warzone at the start of Season 1 which Activision has revealed will be on December 2, 2021. While the season is set to start then on players that own Call of Duty: Vanguard will have access to Caldera, the new map.
Players that do not own Vanguard will need to wait until December 3, 2021 for their chance to jump into the new map.
Warzone x Vanguard Caldera Pacific map
ActivisionWe have known for quite some time that a new map would be coming to Warzone with the launch of Vanguard. While details were scarce and it was just described as a “WWII, Pacific map” we finally get the name, Caldera.
From the streets of Verdansk to the Island of Caldera, this map is bringing tons of changes to Warzone. Call of Duty describes the map with “200+ POIs ready to explore from sandy beaches to mysterious ruins.”
While Caldera is looking to bring the WWII theme to Warzone, it appears to be vibrant and ready to deliver tons of action.
Warzone x Vanguard RICOCHET anti-cheat release date
ActivisionAs previously reported, Activision’s RICOCHET anti-cheat is arriving in Warzone with Season 1. This anti-cheat “will deploy the server-side upgrades to Warzone as well as a new, internally developed kernel-level driver on PC to assist in identifying cheaters.”
This is expected to improve cross-platform play and allow players to be able to focus on enjoying the game and not run into as many cheaters as they currently do.
Warzone x Vanguard Caldera game modes and vehicles
Activision With the integration of Vanguard the game will introduce specific Warzone modes and vehicles to fit into the WWII theme. Modes of transportation such as biplanes and anti-air trucks were revealed and will be available in Vanguard-specific modes.
In these dedicated modes like Royale and Plunder, only weapons from Vanguard can be used alongside these vehicles that are specific for Warzone Pacific.
- Read More: Warzone clip shows just how broken melee is
While these modes will be based around Vanguard, players will still be able to use weapons from Modern Warfare and Cold War in the normal BR mode on the new map.
Full patch notes from Call of Duty Blog:
Prepare yourself: From October 28 onwards, Call of Duty begins a huge year to look forward to. Here’s your timeline for the next 35 days:
– October 28 (Console) and November 2 (PC): Call of Duty: Vanguard Pre-Loading Begins – Pre-order now to get your game ready to play immediately at launch, in addition to numerous bonuses across Vanguard, Black Ops Cold War, and Warzone.
– November 5: Call of Duty: Vanguard Launch – Expect epic experiences on all fronts with Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies. Additionally, RICOCHET Anti-Cheat begins its implementation with server-side initiatives.
– November 5 to December 2: Preseason in Vanguard – Access to Free Vanguard Tiers on the Black Ops Cold War Season Six Battle Pass System continues. Then on November 17, prepare to ship off to a fan-favorite map.
– November 18: Operation: Flashback Begins in Warzone – An encore limited-time mode for Verdansk, celebrating its past 18 months of hosting over 100 million players strong in Warzone. Ready for your last dance in Verdansk?
– November 24: Uncover the “Secrets of the Pacific” – Get intel on Caldera and its new points of interest through this event’s Warzone and Vanguard Multiplayer challenges.
– November 30 and December 1: Last Hours of Verdansk. – Bombs away – see what happens to Verdansk before Warzone goes dark to prepare for Caldera and Season One.
– December 2: Season One Begins – Vanguard players get new Multiplayer maps, 24 hours of exclusive access to Call of Duty®: Warzone™ Pacific and more to kick off Season One. All players can enjoy a new Battle Pass system and two free functional weapons. Plus: RICOCHET Anti-Cheat’s driver begins its rollout in Warzone.
The launch of Call of Duty: Vanguard marks the launch of the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat initiative for PC, as multiple server-side upgrades take effect.
No additional download is required for this part of RICOCHET Anti-Cheat; just play the game. At Vanguard’s launch, all Multiplayer gameplay will be examined closely to identify suspicious behavior, but you should always do your part to combat cheaters by reporting any suspected foul play through the in-game reporting tools.
This is just the beginning for RICOCHET Anti-Cheat in Vanguard, as the kernel-level driver is currently planned to roll-out for PC at the launch of Warzone Pacific.
For more information on RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, keep reading for information on that driver, or visit the announcement page here.
Call of Duty: Vanguard’s unparalleled content drop continues after launch with a few free special deliveries in the days leading up to Season One.
Headlining that batch of free content is Shipment, the classic frenetic Multiplayer experience re-fitted for Vanguard, currently scheduled for a November 17 arrival. Newcomers and veterans alike can ready up for a fresh take on the map that’s entertained Call of Duty fans for over a decade, providing all Vanguard players a chaotic playground for destruction.
Stay tuned for more intel on Vanguard’s post-launch offerings prior to Season One. Or read on for Secrets of the Pacific, a limited-time event coming to both Vanguard and Warzone.
While Vanguard gets Shipment and other offerings to supplement its already massive amount of single-player, co-op, and Multiplayer experiences, Warzone will be preparing for the end of Verdansk as we know it.
Operation: Flashback – An Encore for Verdansk Begins on November 18
The city and its surrounding area hosted over 100 million players for the past 18 months, and plenty has changed since March 10, 2020. From blasting back to the year 1984 to hosting ’80s Action Heroes and Hauntings, Verdansk proved to be the place to drop in again and again.
To celebrate – and bring back –these classic moments and many more, lead developer Raven Software created a special “Operation: Flashback” limited-time mode, featuring plenty of surprises that cover Verdansk’s action-packed history.
Two unique rewards will be up for grabs:
– An Emblem for participating in the event
– And an animated Calling Card for those who claim victory!
Enjoy the nostalgia and get rewarded with an Emblem just for playing. Those who claim victory will also receive an animated Calling Card, proof of mastery for Warzone’s past and present, as we look forward to the future.
More information on this mode, including what public events you can expect to happen at the start of every new circle, will be revealed prior to its launch on November 18.
Uncover Intel on Caldera Through Secrets of the Pacific, Starting November 24
As we prepare for the end of Verdansk, prepare to uncover more about the mysterious Caldera map by digging up Secrets of the Pacific.
This limited-time event developed by Beenox will grant you vital information on Caldera and its various points of interest prior to its launch in December, but only if you complete challenges across Vanguard and Warzone. Each game will have its own set of tasks and rewards for completing them, such as acquiring and protecting Pacific artifacts while fighting to survive in Verdansk.
Get the details you need to know about this event in mid-November.
ALERT: THE COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF VERDANSK IS ON – LESS THAN 40 DAYS REMAINING!
Don’t miss the end of Warzone as we know it; the destruction begins on November 30.
We have yet to get declassified information on this Beenox-developed event, except for this: expect a spectacular and fitting end to your time in Verdansk as we say farewell to the Kastovian city… forever?
– The Warzone Pacific Era Begins. Caldera’s only true comparison to Verdansk is its scale. This brand-new map, built on learnings from the community, is launching with Season One.
– RICOCHET Anti-Cheat Driver Launching with Season One. Arriving with the new map, expect RICOCHET Anti-Cheat to help keep you focused on the fun.
Lush forests and rocky crags. White sand beaches and mysterious ruins. And a dormant volcano that towers over the 200-plus points of interest.
Warzone will change its title to Call of Duty: Warzone Pacific, or “Warzone Pacific.” The new Pacific formally launches as part of Vanguard’s first season of content. A map roughly the size of Verdansk, which it will replace as part of the update, this new map is based on two years of research and listening to the community.
Built on the same tech and engine as Call of Duty: Vanguard, this map is visually appealing as it is ready to support this new game’s armaments, and will support fully optimized cross-play, cross-progression, and cross-gen support.
It, as well as Warzone as a whole, will also support RICOCHET Anti-Cheat. Our upcoming initiative, supported by a team of dedicated professionals focused on fighting unfair play, will already have several backend anti-cheat security features by Vanguard’s launch on November 5.
As part of the Season One update, RICOCHET Anti-Cheat will deploy the server-side upgrades to Warzone as well as a new, internally developed kernel-level driver on PC to assist in identifying cheaters, which can allow players on all platforms to focus more on the fun new offerings across Vanguard and Warzone Pacific. The kernel-level driver will subsequently release for Vanguard at a later date.
Learn more about the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system here.
– Dogfighting, New Vanguard Content, Shine in Dedicated Playlist. Available to all players, take to the skies or maneuver AA guns to breakup epic aerial battles in Vanguard Royale, featuring a streamlined loadout and weapon pool.
– Honoring Your Progression. The integration adds Vanguard content – expect all your Operators, Calling Cards, and more from Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare® to stay in Warzone, as well as cross-progression and Seasonal Prestige.
– 24-Hour Exclusive Access to Caldera for Vanguard Players. Play the new Pacific map a day early by owning Call of Duty: Vanguard. Rebirth Island will remain live during this time for all other players.
Caldera is just the beginning of Vanguard’s full integration into Warzone, and there’s no better place to experience all this fresh content than in the dedicated Vanguard modes for Warzone Pacific.
Available to all players in Season One, Vanguard Royale mode– and later, Vanguard Plunder mode – showcase all new content from the Season One update onwards, including weaponry and vehicles like biplanes and AA trucks.
The Pacific is home to dogfighting, aerial battles in the azure skies above the majestic isle. Think of a Precision Airstrike where you are in the cockpit, ready to rain down fire on a squad or defend yours from an enemy pilot. That, in its most basic terms, is what you can imagine aerial combat is like in the Pacific.
Expect a new machinegun fighter aircraft to add another element of strategy and firepower to your squad’s winning Warzone Pacific tactics. These are also just part of a brand-new set of vehicles for these Vanguard-focused modes; another is an anti-air (AA) truck that provides a solid solution to grounding planes other than launchers, LMGs, stationary AA turrets or taking to the skies yourself.
In these modes, only Vanguard weaponry can be used in Loadouts. This limit streamlines the meta, granting new players an opportunity to jump in without facing fully maxed-out loadouts right at launch. It also grants room for experimentation with these new weapons, giving the most hardcore community meta prophets a place to focus on the future for a winning loadout.
Good news: Those Operators with previously earned Warzone content can use what they’ve acquired after Vanguard’s integration. In fact, the December 2 integration will follow the same format as when Black Ops Cold War came to Warzone:
– All Operators – from Vanguard, Black Ops Cold War, and Modern Warfare – can be used across all of Warzone after the integration, even in the Vanguard playlist.
– Your progression – for your Player Level, Battle Pass system, etc. – is synchronized across Vanguard, Black Ops Cold War, Modern Warfare and Warzone Pacific, and the Seasonal Levelling and Prestige System will return. This also means your level will reset to Military Rank 1 within all games, but this only applies to XP; all content you previously unlocked will still be available.
– Your personal profile – Calling Card, Emblem, etc. – can be comprised of what you already have in Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare, use what you will earn in Vanguard, or be a combination of anything from those games.
– The Store will stock Vanguard Bundles as well as legacy Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare content – all of which can be used in Warzone Pacific.
In addition to getting to try out the new weapons and Operators in Vanguard, those who purchase Call of Duty: Vanguard prior to Season One’s official launch will be able to participate in a 24-hour Caldera exclusive access event in Warzone Pacific starting on launch day, December 2.
As for Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare weaponry, they still have a place across both of Warzone’s islands…
–The Biggest Arsenal in Call of Duty. At the start of Season One, you can use 150+ weapons in Caldera within standard Battle Royale and Plunder modes as well as…
–Rebirth Island Returns. The Resurgence continues. Expect the alternate, small-scale map to continue supplementing the main Warzone map.
– “Original Warzone Vehicles” Still Cruising. Your pink anime truck isn’t going anywhere. All original vehicles and their Vehicle Skins – including ATVs and other Verdansk-era modes of transport – still exist in these playlists.
Warzone is big enough for two islands after all.
For those with Warzone experience since integration with Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War, all those 100+ weapons you levelled up and perfected loadouts for can still be used across the many Warzone Pacific playlists. Here are two we can reveal right now:
The first are playlists that include Rebirth Island. From Resurgence to Mini Royales and many more surprises to come, Rebirth Island is back to complement the main Warzone Pacific experience.
The other is your familiar Battle Royale and Plunder experiences, but taking place on Caldera. Whether it is modern, from the Cold War, or just came with Vanguard, any of the 150+ weapons you have earned or levelled up can be used in the normal playlists.
The usual playlists are also home to the “original” vehicles you’ve driven before – ATVs, SUVs, Helicopters, and the like. While the dedicated Vanguard modes will have all new ways to get around Caldera, such as planes and AA Truck, the original vehicle set, as well as any Vehicle Skins you’ve unlocked for them, will still exist in these other playlists.