How to play CoD Vanguard Open Beta: Dates, Download, Platforms, Content, Rewards & More

❘ Updated: 2021-09-18T18:01:32

Sledgehammer Games has officially confirmed the dates, content, and download information for the second week of Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Open Beta.

Call of Duty: Vanguard was officially revealed after the event in Warzone on August 19. Vanguard will feature an explosive and expansive Campaign, running on the Modern Warfare engine, while the game’s new Combat Pacing multiplayer experience will give players more control over how they play the game.

Even though the game doesn’t release until November 5, players can get their hands on it early thanks to the Open Beta.

Here’s everything you need to know about Vanguard Beta.

When is the CoD: Vanguard Open Beta?

Activision and Sledgehammer Games have officially announced the dates for the Call of Duty: Vanguard Open Beta.

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The Beta was available first for PlayStation users on both PS5 and PS4. The second weekend of the beta will open up to all PlayStation players, alongside access for Xbox & PC players.

The Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta is now live in an Open Beta on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. The Beta ends September 22 at 10am PT, following an announcement by Call of Duty that it has been extended from its original end date of Sept. 20.

https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1439288151529381888

Here’s the original Vanguard Beta schedule:

PlayStation Early Access (pre-order required): September 10 – 13
PlayStation Open Beta: September 16 – 20
Xbox & PC Early Access (pre-order required): September 16 – 17
Xbox & PC Open Beta: September 18 – 20

The start and end times for the Beta at each of those dates is 10AM PT.

How to download the CoD: Vanguard Open Beta & which platforms it’s on

Like in previous years, the Vanguard Open Beta will be available to download from your platform’s store when it releases. Players can pre-order any edition of Vanguard to get early access to the Open Beta on all platforms.

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All PlayStation players can now download and play the Call of Duty: Vanguard Open Beta digitally on the PlayStation Store. No PlayStation Plus membership required.

All Xbox players can now download and play the Call of Duty: Vanguard Open Beta digitally. Xbox Live Gold is not required to play the Call of Duty: Vanguard Open Beta.

PC players interested in checking out the Call of Duty: Vanguard Open Beta can do so on Battle.net. On Battle.net client on their PC, players can download the Beta by selecting the “GAME VERSION” to be “BETA”. Once you change the game version to BETA, the button will highlight to Install or Play.

CoD: Vanguard Open Beta download size

The Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta on all platforms is different sizes based on console generation and region.

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For PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, the Beta clocks in at around a 9GB and 16GB download, respectively. For PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the Vanguard Beta is around 11GB download.

Vanguard Beta Rewards – Battle Pass, Weapons, CoD Mobile

Players who jump into and experience the Beta will be able to earn some rewards for their efforts.

Activision has confirmed that players who play the Vanguard Beta will be able to progress the Season 5 Battle Pass in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War & Call of Duty: Warzone.

This means that players can continue to level up their Season 5 Battle Pass while jumping into the Vanguard Beta across both weekends.

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In addition, there’s also rewards available to earn by playing the Vanguard Beta for both the game’s launch and Call of Duty: Mobile.

rat-a-tat weapon blueprint in cod vanguard

Those who reach Player XP rank Level 20 during the Vanguard Beta will receive the Rat-A-Tat weapon blueprint to use in Call of Duty: Vanguard at launch with availability in Warzone later this year.

Players who play the Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta can also receive the Operator Arthur Kingsley to use in Call of Duty: Mobile on iOS & Android.

Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta Content

The Call of Duty: Vanguard Beta will be the first chance for players to experience the game’s Multiplayer offering ahead of the November 5th launch.

Here’s a look at the content players can experience across both weekends of the Beta:

MAPS

Champion Hill
Hotel Royal
Gavutu
Red Star
Eagle’s Nest

MODES

Outside of Champion Hill – Vanguard will introduce another new game mode: Patrol. Based on Hardpoint, this objective-based mode features a scoring zone in near-constant motion; if Operators want to rack up points for their team, they should keep up and move around the map within this Patrol point.

Read More: Call of Duty: Vanguard: All confirmed maps so far

These modes are in addition to the classic offerings such as Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, Domination, and Search & Destroy. These are also the exact modes you can play alongside Patrol during the Beta period (Patrol and Search & Destroy to be available later in the Beta).

Available modes in Beta:

Champion Hill (Solos, Duos, Trios)
Team Deathmatch
Domination
Kill Confirmed
Patrol
Search and Destroy

WEAPONS

Champion Hill

Weapons are persistent through matches. There are ten upgrades per weapon, each adding one attachment.
There will be three rotating weapon sets, featuring 2 ARs, 2 LMGs, 2 snipers, 2 shotguns, and 2 pistols.

Core MP

For Core MP, you’ll be able to level up weapons to level 30.
PlayStation players will get +2 custom loadout slots (12 total, 10 for other platforms).

FEATURES

Combat Pacing

Combat Pacing is a feature that allows players to select the intensity of their games. Player count is determined by map size to achieve the intensity described in the Combat Pacing System. Player counts will vary.

Tactical: These are the lobbies that franchise veterans know well. This is the experience that you’re used to with classic Call of Duty combat timing. Tactical Combat Pacing is always 6v6.
Assault: Balanced combat pacing that gives you enough room to breathe and a lot of targets to kill. In Beta Weekend 1, player counts will vary between 20-28 players.
Blitz: High-action lobbies where the intensity is cranked up to frenetic levels. Prepare for plenty of combat when choosing to join a Blitz. In Beta Weekend 1, player counts will vary between 28-48 players.

OPERATORS (Each will have 1 finishing move)