Vanguard’s spawn system overhauled in Experimental Playlist

Luca Di Marzo
Vanguard maps shipment dome das haus

Sledgehammer Games issued an initial fix for Vanguard’s broken spawn system in a new Experimental Playlist. They’re now asking for player feedback as they look to improve spawn quality to a greater extent.

After five months of countless complaints, it looks like Vanguard players are getting their first look at an initial fix to the problematic spawn system. The major Season 2 Reloaded update came and went with no mention of spawn fixes.

Thankfully, a pleasant surprise arrived on March 25 as the devs issued quite a significant update that tweaked the spawn system, Spy Plane speed, and buffed weapon XP. Here’s what you need to know about the Experimental Playlist, as well as how to submit your feedback to the devs.

Vanguard Experimental Playlist explained

Das Haus map Vanguard

If you’re looking to enjoy Vanguard’s Double Weapon XP week from March 30 to April 6, you’ll notice a new playlist on the left-hand side of your screen. Sledgehammer Games added an Experimental Playlist to Vanguard and it’s where Vanguard players can test out the new spawn system.

First, the Experimental Playlist took players to Shipment, Das Haus, and Dome as the devs noticed spawn logic was particularly poor on small maps, “We recognize that this system frequently fails to select a quality spawn point on smaller maps based on analytics and player feedback.”

However, on March 29, the devs updated the playlist to include medium-large maps. Although they weren’t mentioned in the announcement it’s likely that the medium-large maps include Numa Numa, Hotel Royal, and Castle to name a few.

Vanguard spawn system player feedback

To help with the goal of improving Vanguard’s spawn system, the devs want your feedback. In this Playlist, players should not be “spawning in a position where an enemy player immediately threatens them.”

It seems like the improvement of the spawn system will be an ongoing process, so don’t be surprised if you still experience some poor spawn logic.

The devs want to hear about your experience and they’re urging players to submit both positive and negative feedback. You can do this by visiting the link they included in the Reddit post above and completing a quick survey.

As of now, there’s no indication of how long this Playlist will be active but if you’re curious about the spawn improvements you may want to check it out. The devs did state that this will be the first step in a series of reoccurring tests through the Experimental Playlist so we should be seeing updates like the one that added medium-large maps quite often.


For more Vanguard, check out how to play Vanguard’s new Arms Race mode for free or our list of the best Vanguard Season 2 Reloaded SMGs.

Image Credit: Activision / Sledgehammer Games