Vanguard weapon Blueprint gives secret “pay-to-win” buff

Hamza Khalid
STG44 in Vanguard

Call of Duty: Vanguard players have discovered that STG44’s Debt Collector variant comes with an exclusive buff that’s so powerful it’s potentially “pay-to-win.”

Call of Duty: Vanguard has almost 40 weapons for you to choose from, and the classic STG44 is the first Assault Rifle you unlock. This weapon is so power full that it’s gained a reputation as one of the best in the game.

Now, players have discovered that the gun comes with an exclusive boost that you can pay to unlock in the Debt Collector Blueprint. However, this particular buff is being labeled as “pay-to-win” by fans.

Vanguard STG weapon blueprint

The Debt Collector Blueprint provides the STG44 with some powerful upgrades and one Reddit user highlighted a particular buff in a post in the CoD: Vanguard subreddit.

This Blueprint comes with the ‘Steady Aim’ perk equipped, which reduces movement penalties that come while firing your weapon. This is strange since you cannot use it with a regular STG44.

This exclusive buff seems to be locked behind a paywall in this premium Blueprint, and many of the commenters in the post voiced their confusion and frustration with this, labeling it as “pay-to-win.”

“Hopefully it’s not intentional because I could definitely see them adding perks like Vital to the $20 Blueprints in the store,” wrote one user.

CoD: Vanguard players discussing Debt Collector Blueprint on Reddit

At the time of writing, it’s unclear whether this is an intentional inclusion or simply an oversight from the developers. If it’s the latter, then we might see the Steady Aim Proficiency removed from the Blueprint in a future update.

Until that happens, it’s available in the game for players who are willing to spend some cash on the bundle. The STG44 is already an impressive weapon on its own, and this bundle could make it even more powerful.

The developers might introduce even more premium benefits to Vanguard in the coming weeks, and we’ll be sure to let you know if they do.


For more Call of Duty: Vanguard content, check out our reviews of Vanguard’s Zombies, Campaign, and Multiplayer.

Image Credit: Activision / Sledgehammer Games

About The Author

Hamza is a Content Creator & Publisher at Charlie INTEL, who graduated from Bahria University with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. He's spent the past few years covering news and guides for various video games, including Call of Duty and Apex Legends. He loves digital art, movies, and comic books. You can contact Hamza at [email protected].