How to play CoD Vanguard PlayStation Alpha: Dates, Download, Content, More

Call of Duty: Vanguard Champion Hill Open Alpha has been officially arrived for PlayStation players, giving players the chance to experience the new Champion Hill mode in Vanguard Multiplayer.

The Alpha being only on PlayStation continues Call of Duty’s longstanding partnership with Sony, which gives PlayStation players unique game modes, exclusive bundles, and first access to Betas.

The Alpha for Call of Duty: Vanguard will feature the newly announced Champion Hill mode, seeing players compete in 2v2 or 3v3 to be the last team standing.

Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha Dates

The Call of Duty: Vanguard PlayStation only Alpha will be available to play on Friday, August 27 at 10 AM PT and end on Sunday, August 29 at 10 AM PT.

• Read more: Call of Duty: Vanguard pre-order rewards and benefits

Call of Duty: Vanguard Champion Hill Alpha will be available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 users via the PlayStation Store.

How to download & play Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha

PlayStation players are now able to pre-download Vanguard Alpha for free from the PlayStation Store. There will be both a PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 version of the Alpha.

• Read more: How to watch Call of Duty: Vanguard gameplay world premiere

Here’s how to download and play the Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha:

1. Open the PlayStation Store on PS5 or PS4 (or visit the PS Store web here)
2. Search ‘Call of Duty: Vanguard’
3. Select Call of Duty: Vanguard Champion Hill Alpha
4. Click ‘Download’
5. Launch Vanguard from either the downloads screen or your home screen

To play the Vanguard alpha, players do not need to preorder the game. And, similar to years past, PlayStation Plus is not required. You just need to download and play once it’s available.

How big is Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Alpha?

The Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha is 20GB on PlayStation 5 and around 15-30GB on PlayStation 4 depending on your region.

What is Champion Hill Mode in Vanguard?

The Open Alpha will feature an entirely new game mode called Champion Hill.

• Read more: CoD Vanguard multiplayer introduces new ‘Combat Pacing’ gameplay options

Champion Hill mode sees players compete in a series of rounds to be the last team standing. Champion Hill will feature 2v2 or 3v3 options, mixing battle royale, Gunfight elements, and more into a new experience.

The mode features teams going head to head in 4 different maps combined to create one large battleground. As players take down other teams, they continue to move up in the mode until there’s only one team standing.

Here’s some more info from the Call of Duty Blog:

Now, Sledgehammer Games introduces Champion Hill, a tournament-style, multi-map, and multi-life game mode where tactics and strategy go beyond pulling a trigger.

In Champion Hill, your squad — either a Duo (2v2) or Trio (3v3) during the Alpha — will compete in a round-robin deathmatch tournament against other squads. Your mission is to reduce all other squads’ life count to zero before your whole squad is eliminated.

• Read More: Rumors claim CoD: Vanguard mini-map to be similar to Modern Warfare

Everyone starts with the same Loadout, and while it can be lethal, collecting Cash — earned by taking enemy lives and picking up drops scattered around the map — will allow you to upgrade your starting weapons and purchase new armaments, equipment, Perks, and Killstreaks during Buy Rounds that happen between Combat Rounds.

Champion Hill also takes place on one large map split up into five sections. Specifically, there is a central Buy Station Area and four arenas for Combat Rounds: the Airstrip, the Trainyard, the Market, and the Courtyard. Once you are eliminated, you can watch how the tournament ends from the Buy Station Area spectator platform, but ideally, you survive long enough to see victory for yourself.

Vanguard Alpha Trailer

Will Vanguard’s Alpha be on Xbox and PC?

Vanguard’s Alpha will not be available on Xbox and PC. Because of Call of Duty’s partnership with Sony, only PlayStation players will get to play in the Alpha.

Xbox and PC players will need to wait until at least September 16 to play Vanguard, when the Open Beta goes live after PlayStation’s early access.

Champion Hill Alpha weapons

According to a new blog post from Sledgehammer Games, weapons will be persistent through matches, with ten upgrades per weapon. Each of these upgrades adds one attachment.

• Read More: Call of Duty: Vanguard gameplay premiere shows off insane Stalingrad Campaign mission

Weapon sets will rotate with both sets, including Assault Rifles, LMGs, Shotguns, and Pistols.

Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha Equipment

There will be six different pieces of equipment that players can use in the Call of Duty: Vanguard Champion Hill Alpha. You can find these six pieces of equipment below:

• MK2 Frag Grenade: Cookable Fragmentation Grenade.
• No. 69 Stun Grenade: Slows victim’s movement and aiming.
• Throwing Knife: Retrievable knife that is lethal when thrown at the body or head.
• Gammon Bomb: Impact Grenade.
• MK V Gas Grenade: Explodes on impact with the ground, releasing a lingering cloud of gear gas that causes slowed movement, blurred vision, and coughing.
• S-Mine 44: Proximity-triggered explosive.

Call of Duty: Vanguard Champion Hill Alpha perks

Players jumping into the Alpha will be able to purchase up to six perks when they are playing the Champion Hill game mode. These perks are consistent through matches and can be found below:

• Ghost: Undetectable while moving by Spy Planes, enemy intel, and Field Mics.
• Survival Training: Maximized resistance to stun effects. Immune to gas.
• High Alert: Your vision pulses when enemies outside of your view see you.
• Tracker: Enemies leave behind a footprint trail. See markers at enemy death locations and hide the death markers of enemies you kill.
• Demolition: Extra lethal on spawn. Thrown lethals display an indicator showing the path of the lethal.
• Double Time: Double the duration of Tactical Sprint. Increase crouch movement speed by 30%.

Champion Hill Alpha streaks

A total of seven different streaks will be available for players to use to help them eliminate enemies and achieve victory during the Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha.

• Read More: What is Call of Duty: Vanguard’s download file size?

These streaks will automatically activate in the next match after they are purchased.

You can find all of the streaks that will be available for players to use during the Champion Hill technical test below:

• Spy Plane: Calls in a spy plane which reveals all enemy positions on the minimap to allies. Can’t be shot down. (This automatically activates in the next match.)
• Flamenaut: Receive a flamethrower with unlimited fuel and a protective suit. Both lost on death. (This automatically activates in the next match.)
• Deathmachine: Equips a machine gun with explosive rounds and a fixed number of bullets. Persists through death until ammo is depleted. (This automatically activates in the next match.)
• V2 Rocket: Activates instantly, and drops a V2 Rocket, killing all players and ending the match.
• Extra Life: Gain 1 additional life for your team.
• Armor Plate: A single piece of Armor.
• Full Armor: Full set of armor plates.

That is all of the currently known information regarding the Call of Duty: Vanguard Champion Hill, which is expected to be an exciting experience, as it will be the first time players get to jump into the next entry in the fan-favorite franchise.

Full details on Call of Duty: Vanguard’s main MP mode offering will also be announced in the coming weeks, starting with the official Multiplayer reveal on September 7.

Image Credit: Activision