The latest season of free and additional content within the games will see its first full day of action on February 14, following updates to Vanguard and Warzone. These updates will be available to download at 9am PT/12pm ET/5pm UK on February 10 for Vanguard and at the same times on February 14 for Warzone - after which both updates become live. Once both updates are downloaded, you can enjoy Double XP opportunities across both games to celebrate the launch of this new season. Now, with that out of the way, here’s what to expect during the season. With Vanguard, Ranked Play is coming to multiplayer alongside two new multiplayer maps. These mid-sized maps are Casablanca and Gondola. You can also expect free Perks, Killstreak, and Equipment in the Battle Pass. The map Casablanca is a medium-sized, three-lane-style map set within a busy Moroccan marketplace. It features several buildings to explore and climb upon, and there are a variety of vertical engagements that “invite a variety of close- to long-range tactics.” Gondola, the other medium-sized, three-lane-style map, takes you above a large gulch and fire watchtower. Here, Operators can take advantage of the long sightline the route provides or go through the power plant and caves for more close-quarters battle. With the Battle Pass, you can expect the Ball Turret Gunner which can be activated achieving a 12 Killstreak. A new Lethal Equipment weapon is also comning: the Sticky Bomb. Familair to veteran players, the Sticky Bomb is a “direct rival to the Frag Grenade and Gammon Bomb,” as a throwable explosive equipment piece. The new Perks coming are Armory and Mechanic. A direct counter-Perk to Engineer, Armory is for Operators who like to use placeable weapons such as Demolition Charges and concussion mines. Mechanic provides a buff to Field Upgrade charge time, making it “a must-have” for completing challenges related to them or for Operators who prefer to use them. You can also expect with Season 2 an Arms Race with Armored War Machines such as Motorcycles, Squad Transport Vehicles, and Tanks. This and other features are expected to arrive during Season Two, so be on the lookout for the initial Patch Notes next week. There’s a big update coming to Zombies too. The undead assault is heating up in Egypt’s Eastern Desert, where a portal to the Dark Aether opens alongside other new arenas. There will be a new Artifact that gives you strength to conquer the Deceiver, Vercanna the Last joins the fight and will tend wounds using Healing Aura, there will be Wonder Weapons to aid with new Objective and Story Quest, and you can wield the Ray Gun and Decimator Shield alongside new armaments as you partake in Sacrifice and uncover the secret to defeating Kortifex. The new map Terra Maledicta is set in the desert of Eastern Egypt, and here gateways to new arenas will open, including the Dark Aether itself in this entirely new location. Here, Professor Krafft and his Special Forces have established a “beachhead” within the Dark Aether and they are willing to risk it all to find a lost page from the Tome of Rituals. As mentioned above, Vercanna the Last joins the fight and is a healer. She has an elemental command of Life Energy through her Artifact which grants the player the Healing Aura ability. There are five tiers to the Artifact, and when it is activated, the Artifact will send beams of light down on all Operators and instantly bring them back to full health. Along with a new ally comes a new enemy: Zaballa the Deceiver. This enforcer from the Dark Aether served Kortifex for thousands of years as one of his “Sisters of Agony." Zaballa’s true face hides behind three masks that give her the strength to hover away from Operators, and strike beneath the surface with electrical eruptions at a moment’s notice. According to Sledgehammer, she is resistant to many forms of attack, but what gives her energy “could also be her greatest weakness.” Old and new Wonder Weapons return with the Decimator Shield and Ray Gun. The former is a new Wonder Weapon that offers protection and the Decimation Blast ability. The latter is the Ray Gun which makes a return. It fires circular enemy beams that can destroy zombies in one shot. Look for it in the Mystery Box, or as a lucky loot drop during a match. You can also expect a sixth Objective, a special Story Quest, and side Easter Eggs inspired by the Origins map from Black Ops 2. There’s also a new Covenant called Artifact Ward with three tiers of rarity. With Warzone, you will see new features arrive such as Nebula V, Redeploy Balloons, Bomber Planes and More. You will be able to explore the Chemical Factory and underground Chemical Weapon Research Labs, find fresh points of interest in Caldera, and Axis soldiers patrolling these new areas. Caldera Clash is coming at launch and Rebirth Reinforced is coming midseason. Nebula V is meant for larger-scale armaments but can be used for small-arms ammunition and bombs, both found in extremely small quantities around Caldera. Classified as a Field Upgrade in Warzone, Nebula V Ammo isn’t any stronger than regular bullets, but, if an Operator is downed by one, they emit a poisonous gas cloud. This means that anyone who attempts to revive the Operator or stands within a few feet of them will experience coughing, blurred vision, and a slight amount of damage over time. There’s also the rare Nebula V Bomb, a locked briefcase full of deadly gas with an explosive charge. Once activated and set down in front of an Operator, it will detonate after a fixed countdown and cannot be disarmed or destroyed. Its initial explosion deals a high amount of damage in a small radius before the gas spreads outward, where it will hurt any Operator without a Gas Mask. The gas lingers for two minutes before ultimately dispersing or feeding into the oncoming Circle Collapse. You can also expect a Portable Decontamination Station which will filter the air for several seconds, protecting anyone inside from the Circle Collapses or Nebula V gas. This device will impact all Operator Tac Maps allowing everyone to see where they are activated. Since everyone can see them, they can be destroyed by explosives or ballistics. Armored Transport Trucks will arrive and they remotely roll on a set looping path, attacking those within its immediate vicinity. It features two machine-gun turrets, and you will need to avoid the mines it drops behind it. The machine will also call in aerial support should its health run low. Upon destruction, the Armored Transport Truck will drop really valuable items, including — in the rarest cases — an intact Nebula V Bomb. New Points of Interest are the Chemical Factory and Chemical Weapon Research Labs mentioned above. The Chemical Factory is a running plant that is spewing out Nebula V, and it has a similar layout to the layout of the location it replaced, which was the refinery between the Mines and Docks. Here, you will notice several enemy soldiers and a trap that can be sprung in the central building. There are also several interior spaces to explore, and if you infiltrate it, you will leave with more valuable loot on average. The Underground Chemical Weapon Research Labs make up seven research laboratories around the island, each guarded by small squads of soldiers. These underground labs can be found by the hand-drawn yellow circles shown on your Tac Map. There is only one way into the facilities so be sure to have a plan before going in. As mentioned above, the Warzonbe update also includes a new Bomber Plane and Redeploy Balloons. The Bomber is a air-to-ground striker capable of not only destorying infantry and vehicles, but Loadout Drops as well. Then there’s the Redeploy Balloon which will show up on your Tac Map as a blimp icon. You can ascend to the top of the balloon via a zip line tethered to the balloon, then leap off at the top, and then open your parachute to cover great distances. Planes or weapons can destroy the Redeploy Balloon, and once the Balloon is deflated, Operators can spend a few hundred bucks to reinflate it. You can also expect two limited-time modes built by High Moon Studios and Beenox. These are Caldera Clash and Rebirth Iron Trials. Developed by High Moon Studios, Caldera Clash pits two teams of up to 48 Operators divided into Quads in a Deathmatch. An evolution of Clash on Verdansk ’84, the mode allows Operators to drop in with their Custom Loadout, which can have any weapons from Modern Warfare to Vanguard, and a Field Upgrade. Each kill earns your team a point, with the first team to reach a set number of points, or the team that has the most points when the time limit expires, declared the winner. Rebirth Iron Trials was developed by Beenox and is based on Raven Software’s Iron Trials ’84. This is a Battle Royale variant custom-made for those who are highly competitive. It features its own set of weaponry from Black Ops Cold War and numerous rule changes to increase time-to-kill (TTK). It is a Duos mode — 20 squads of 2, for 40 Operators total — and uses a similar Circle Collapse size and speed. Those who are victorious will receive a unique Animated Calling Card. And finally, with the Season Two update, you can also expect several quality-of-life changes, including having the Gas Mask animation no longer interrupting Operators who are aiming down sights.
