Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure found in Central and Eastern Alpine folklore that is often portrayed as the dark counterpart to Santa Claus. Where Santa gives presents to the good children, Krampus either punishes or outright eats bad children. In Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Festive Fervor event, Krampus appears to go after the player with the least impressive objective score and will eliminate them unless the affected player manages to kill him first.

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Many Call of Duty: Vanguard players were already complaining about Krampus for his unpredictable appearances and tendency to ruin matches. However, it’s recently become clear that the Krampus conspiracy goes deeper than expected. Krampus isn’t just showing up at random in public matches – he also appears in private matches, including private matches being used as training by professional esports players.

According to the Twitter account INTELCallofDuty, a source for Call of Duty news, rumors, and leaks, the holiday event is live in all of Call of Duty: Vanguard’s game modes. This may be frustrating for casual players, but professional players are finding themselves with a far from ideal practice environment. To make matters worse, many have found Krampus to be able to soak up incredible amounts of damage while pursuing his target. One video attached to INTELCallofDuty’s post shows Krampus tanking several full magazines before taking down his victim.

It appears that Call of Duty: Vanguard players are concerned about the possibility that Krampus will crash the CDL Challengers Cup this weekend. If Krampus does show up at the event, his presence could throw the legitimacy of the event’s results into the air. The existence of a near-unstoppable horned humanoid charging after a single player also tends to utterly destroy the game’s realistic atmosphere, and since Call of Duty places a lot of emphasis on realism, some players are complaining about his presence at all. However, other players appear to be looking forward to seeing Krampus at the Challengers Cup.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is out now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PS5.

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Source: GameSpot