The details revealed caught the eyes of many players. As expected, the game will feature an explosive campaign, a multiplayer mode, and a Zombies mode. However, the Zombies mode will be guest-developed by the studio that originally created it, Treyarch. The reveal also referenced a new mode coming to Call of Duty: Vanguard known as Champion Hill. At the time, the developers only described it as the next evolution of Modern Warfare’s Gunfight, but they have since provided fans with a lot more detail on the mode. With what is now known about Champion Hill, it seems likely that the mode could end up being a game-changer for the Call of Duty franchise as well as having a big influence on future shooters in general.
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What Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Champion Hill Mode Is
Champion Hill is a squad-based tactical mode that sees eight teams of up to four facing off against one another across a map segregated into four enclosed arenas. Each team is given the same starting loadout and a limited number of lives. Throughout the match, teams face off against one another in a round-robin style with the goal of being the last team with any lives left. As teams secure kills, they get cash rewards that can be spent to purchase upgrades and new gear for future rounds. The mode sounds like a unique offering that should help Call of Duty: Vanguard’s multiplayer stand out from competitors like Battlefield 2042.
Now that more information has been revealed about Champion Hill, the mode does seem to be a good evolution of Gunfight, which saw just two teams of two facing off against one another in tactical rounds with identical loadouts. However, the expanded nature of Champion Hill could lead to the mode being very popular with competitive Call of Duty players who are looking for a more tense and hardcore experience, and it could even have a big effect on Call of Duty esports. This will likely help Call of Duty: Vanguard attract fans of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare back to the series, something that could lead to Champion Hill being huge.
Why Champion Hill Could Be A Big Deal
One thing that could help Champion Hill be a massive success is how the mode seems to be taking inspiration from battle royale titles. The battle royale genre has been growing in popularity exponentially in recent years, and Champion Hill looks as though it will incorporate much of what makes the genre popular with the familiar Call of Duty multiplayer format. For starters, the mode includes a focus on squad-based combat that encourages players to play with their friends rather than queuing alone. The limited lives that each team has in Champion Hill also is reminiscent of battle royale games by making matches tenser by allowing players to be completely dead and definitively lose rather than being part of a larger team like in traditional Call of Duty multiplayer.
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Champion Hill also includes another popular element of battle royale games: building a loadout over the course of a match. Although, Champion Hill gives players even more freedom than games like Call of Duty: Warzone because players can purchase the exact equipment that they want for their loadout. This will allow players to adapt to the loadouts of enemy teams as well as being able to accommodate the different playstyles and preferences of the members on one’s team. It also could allow experienced players to better prepare for certain arenas that they have to fight in next if they know what works best in each arena. It all could come together to make Champion Hill play very uniquely and have its own meta and skills for Call of Duty: Vanguard players to learn and master.
How Champion Hill Could Impact Call of Duty and Warzone
If Champion Hill is as big of a success as it has the potential to be, it will undoubtedly have a big impact on Call of Duty: Warzone and the wider Call of Duty franchise. The mode’s success would likely see it being included in future titles or potentially having other development studios creating their own versions of the mode for series like Modern Warfare and Black Ops. It could also lead to competing franchises like Battlefield, Valorant, or Overwatch also introducing smaller, squad-based modes to match Champion Hill. The mode’s success could easily to play a role in Call of Duty: Vanguard becoming the top-selling game of 2021.
Champion Hill doing well would likely have an impact on Call of Duty: Warzone, too. This would likely show up in the form of Warzone offering more modes to cater to players who want smaller, more condensed experiences that pit their squad against others without having to run across the entire map between encounters. Champion Hill’s success may also influence Warzone to give players options to customize their loadouts more during matches with an expanded store system similar to what will be featured in Champion Hill, or to have full battle royale matches that are played out over multiple rounds. It will be very interesting to see what early impressions of the game are when Call of Duty: Vanguard’s alpha launches for PlayStation players.
It will also be intriguing to see what the wider Call of Duty community’s reaction to Champion Hill ultimately is. The mode has a lot of potential, especially if Sledgehammer adds to it consistently across Call of Duty: Vanguard’s seasonal updates. Call of Duty: Vanguard is making an appearance at Gamescom, though, so fans don’t have long to wait for more information on the game.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases on November 5 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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