Black Ops 2 Zombies Farm Map Pack a Punch
Call of Duty: Vanguard has been out for three weeks now, and it has become clearer than ever that Zombies fans are disappointed in what the game has to offer. While campaign players are satisfied and the multiplayer plays significantly better than it did in Call of Duty: Vanguard's beta, the lack of round-based content in Zombies has prevented the mode from taking off.
However, while there is no denying that Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies is deeply flawed and lacks much of what fans have come to love about the mode, it does have some interesting mechanics. While the Altar of Covenants adds a roguelike element to Zombies, it is the Stalingrad hub area that has proven to be even more intriguing. Like everything in Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies, it has some downsides, though it would be interesting to see Treyarch use what it has learned to make a better hub area in the future.
The Pros Of Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies' Hub Area
The biggest strength of Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies' hub area is that it offers a break from the usual action of Der Anfang. Players will mainly be completing objectives inside the various locations, from guiding a floating zombie head to gathering runes for an obelisk. Instead of just going from one objective to another, though, the hub area gives gamers a chance to get their bearings and prepare for whatever the next objective might be.
The hub area gives players time to upgrade their weapons and secure new ones, as the Pack-A-Punch machine and Mystery Box are always there. This is a huge benefit for public matches, as players do not need to hope for competent teammates to access Pack-A-Punch like they do on something like Moon or Shangri-La. They do not have to worry about an ally moving the Mystery Box, either, as it is always there waiting. If players already have what they need, they can loot the surrounding area while they wait for their allies to get ready, opening chests, breaking crystals, or listening to radios.
With the hub area also giving players time to use the restroom or do something around the house, it is a necessary addition - especially with a pause feature currently missing from Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies. Perhaps the coolest aspect of the hub area is that it expands as the match progresses, with players unlocking new areas to loot and buy perks from. While the Stalingrad hub is on the small side, the concept of a Zombies map that expands the longer players survive is a good one.
The Cons Of Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies' Hub Area
However, as mentioned earlier, the hub area has problems. Perhaps the biggest is the constant load screens that Call of Duty: Vanguard players will encounter. While this makes sense whenever players travel to the Merville farms or Shi No Numa swamps, it is incredibly frustrating when they are already in Stalingrad. A fair number of objectives will see players doing something in one of the hub area's buildings, and after they complete the objective, they should be able to walk right out the door to keep playing. Instead, they need to wait through a thirty second teleportation animation that only moves them a few feet.
The unnecessary teleporting kills momentum, something that is a major issue since Der Anfang was designed as a fast-paced Zombies experience for casual fans. Another problem is that the hub area is lacking anything to do beyond looting crates and breaking crystals. While these features should obviously be included, they are not nearly enough to carry the hub area. One look at Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Outbreak mode should make it clear how much better that system was, as players had special challenges to complete in the open world regions.
Even if players had one side objective to complete each time they return to Der Anfang, it would be better than what is currently available. Outbreak had a fishing mechanic, Dragon rockets, locked chests, Fury Crystals, radio signals, Orda fights, and more for players to do. In Der Anfang, gamers have little to no reason not go right to the next objective when they arrive back at the hub area. On top of this, Der Anfang's lack of easter eggs makes the hub area feel empty. While a main quest is coming down the road, smaller secrets would go a long way to making Stalingrad feel like the detailed Zombies locations fans know and love. For now, though, the area puts all the flaws of the mode on display, giving players a chance to realize how much personality is missing from this new iteration of Zombies.
Could A Call of Duty Zombies Hub Area Work In A Round-Based Map?
The Call of Duty Zombies community has made it clear that objective-based gameplay is not what it wants. While objective modes are great as extra options, like Outbreak, Rush, or Grief, most players will always have a preference for Survival gameplay. However, even if Zombies returns to a round-based focus, the concept of a hub area could still work. For example, a variant of TranZit could play very well with a hub approach.
While a proper TranZit remake should obviously incorporate the iconic bus, it would be nice to get an additional variant where players teleport between the small maps instead. Frustrating elements of the map like lava and fog could be ignored this way, with players using a portal to switch between destinations whenever they want. Players could survive for 10 rounds in Town, and if they get bored, they could return to the Bus Depot. From there, they could gear up and teleport to Farm, Diner, or the Power Station. If Bus Depot became a hub, it could be given a Wunderfizz machine, with optional objective portals added that let players complete quick missions in the tunnel or fields.
If objectives like Escort were only treated as replayable side content that provides extra rewards, and round-based gameplay was prioritized like it used to be, new and old Zombies fans alike would be satisfied. With round-based being the foundation of Zombies, it should always be the core experience. A hub area could be a gateway to access a faster version of round-based gameplay, as it could help eliminate the time consuming setup process that is often seen in Survival maps. It would still feel like Zombies, too, which is what Call of Duty: Vanguard fails to do in its current state.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE: Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies Feels Like One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Call of Duty: Vanguard Review
Call of Duty: Vanguard delivers an action-packed Campaign and incredibly fun Multiplayer, though the Zombies experience falls short of expectations.
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Richard Warren (1940 Articles Published)
A lifelong gamer and comics fan who loves writing about everything in nerd culture... and has a small addiction to trophy and achievement hunting.
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Black Ops 2 Zombies Farm Map Pack a Punch
Source: https://gamerant.com/call-of-duty-vanguard-zombies-hub-area-good-bad-potential/