JGOD reveals the biggest issues hurting Vanguard after launch

Nathan Warby
JGOD Vanguard

The reception to Call of Duty: Vanguard has been extremely positive so far, with many players loving the classic WWII aesthetic. But the game isn’t without its issues at launch, and CoD YouTuber JGOD has revealed the biggest in his latest video.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is finally here, and it seems to have gone down well among the passionate CoD community.

But as is the case with any game at launch, a few issues are cropping up time and time again. Fans have already pointed out a problem with the Ninja perk, as well as the broken FOV slider.

If you’re still on the fence about traveling back to World War II with Vanguard, CoD expert JGOD has broken down the biggest issues you should consider before you buy.

Vanguard Beatrice Operator

Speaking in the latest upload to his YouTube channel, JGOD called Vanguard “amazing” but caveated that there are some “huge problems” that potential players should be aware of.

He discussed a number of bugs he has encountered that he feels are “holding the game back” from being as good as it could be.

“Notably with the challenges, there are several challenges that if you want to complete, they just don’t make sense,” he said in his video.

The example he used is a camo challenge for the Automaton Assault Rifle, which asks players to equip the Assassin Proficiency – which doesn’t exist. There are bugs like this on multiple weapons in the Vanguard arsenal.

Reticle challenges are also busted in-game at the moment and can’t be completed in multiplayer.

They can be unlocked in Zombies, but the reticle that you earn isn’t the same as the one displayed on the challenge.

“It’s incredibly annoying because this progress that you would be getting organically just isn’t happening,” he said.

Atomic camo in Vanguard

Challenges aren’t the only area of Vanguard suffering from bugs, there are also some significant gameplay issues that JGOD says need addressing.

One of these applies specifically to Search and Destroy, where if you plant the bomb a text indicator unintentionally appears on screen to reveal if an enemy is defusing it.

He also pointed out that the Play of the Game clip at the end of each match often cuts out early and leaves your character like a ragdoll on the floor.

“How long have we had Play of the Game and killcams?” JGOD asked. “Why are these simple things being swept under?”

Player shooting in Call of Duty Vanguard

JGOD also highlighted an issue with bloom in the gunplay, which he said is “lowing the skill gap” in multiplayer.

Whereas recoil is predictable with each shot, Vanguard appears to have randomized bloom depending on the attachments you have equipped in your loadout.

This means it can be harder to line up shots effectively because the shooter can never be certain where the bullet will go.

The YouTuber also showed a clip that proved that the “flinch” when you take damage while aiming is “broken,” and can throw you off massively. This is something that rival players are exploiting with certain attachments.

Vanguard character aiming down sight

There is also a severe issue where equipped Perks are not active, despite them being there when you load into a match.

It isn’t always obvious with Perks that work away in the background, but JGOD said that Forward Intel would clearly not display any of the information it claims to provide.

Even swapping out Perks and classes doesn’t seem to fix the issue, meaning that players are wasting one of their slots and getting no bonus for it.

Vanguard Perks

The CoD expert also explained a huge stat difference between Warzone and Vanguard when it comes to the STG44 – which has been dominating multiplayer so far along with the MP-40.

Warzone had already seen the STG come to the game before Vanguard launched, but the gun does more headshot damage in the latter than in the battle royale, and stats like range are not aligned.

JGOD argued that this “throws a lot of things out of whack” because the integration for the two games won’t be seamless, as guns will have to be edited to make them work in both games.

JGOD comparing STG stats

Despite all the issues he listed, JGOD insisted that the game itself is “incredibly fun” but so many problems at launch are dragging the experience down.

Vanguard has only just dropped, so time is on Sledgehammer’s side if they want to fix the bugs and deliver the great game that is lurking underneath.

As always, stay tuned on Charlie INTEL for all the latest news on Vanguard updates and fixes.


For more on Vanguard, check out our multiplayer review, and the fastest way to level up weapons in Zombies.

Image credits: Activision / JGOD