Fan-made Vanguard game modes are “perfect” solution to short TDM problem

Andrew Highton
cod vanguard match in hotel royal map

Team Deathmatch is your classic online multiplayer game mode, but it’s remained relatively untouched in Call of Duty for years. However, some players have conjured some new rules to inject some fresh blood into it.

Any online shooter that doesn’t have Team Deathmatch as one of its playlist options needs to have a hard look in the mirror as the game mode is arguably the most recognizable ever.

Two teams are pitted against one another in a battle to earn the most kills. Tried, tested, and a total success. But, as FPS games have progressed down the years, so have the game modes. With Search & Destroy, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, Domination, and many more usually in rotation, it leaves little room for a basic game of just killing.

Kill Confirmed has proved to be a great upgrade on Team Deathmatch, and as a result, TDM is now quite plain in comparison. Until now, as some Vanguard players have come up with suggestions on how to make it a force once more.

mastercraft ppsh-41 smg firing in vanguard

One of the glaringly obvious problems with TDM is that it’s usually over quite quickly, meaning as you get into your flow and rhythm, the game is usually over.

But Reddit user kenbruhan thinks that a “10-Minute Deathmatch would be a very popular game mode.”

They said: “Like TDM, but instead of first team to X kills, it would just be a timed match, and whoever is on top at the end wins. Less downtime between short 75 kill games and people could just level up guns and chill.

“If it needed to be more different than TDM, it could be a score-based mode rather than eliminations, where eliminations give the team 100 score. Maybe players on streaks get higher score per elimination the higher the streak goes. Maybe deaths could negate a small amount of score (without going negative).”

Guaranteeing a longer game of TDM would be great for players to earn XP, level up faster, and feel their way into the match.

Another idea was suggested based on a suggestion from another Reddit user, and they dubbed it “Attrition.”

“The goal of the game could be for one team to accumulate a total of X time of having Y more kills than the other team. It could be called “Attrition” mode, and the attrition timers for each team count down only when the team is exceeding the other team by a certain amount of kills. It could just have a 10 min cap on it. This would prevent a 10 min stomp,” the OP described.

operator polina reloading sniper rifle

These ideas alone prove that there’s a lot more that can be done to expand upon the concept of TDM. Fun, new playlist options are going to be added throughout Vanguard’s seasons, and Sledgehammer might always add something similar in the future.


For more Vanguard content, here’s our full Vanguard campaign review.

Image Credit: Activision / Sledgehammer Games

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About The Author

A content creator for Charlie INTEL / Dexerto that earned a degree, wrote for PlusXP, Twinfinite, and Keengamer, before finally securing his dream job of being a professional video game writer. When not writing about games, he's very busy playing every game in existence and adding to his 11,000+ PlayStation Trophies and 150+ Platinums. You can contact him at [email protected].