The Call of Duty Vanguard Season 1 mid-season update, which launched as part of patch 1.5, brought major changes to weapons balancing across the board.Developed by Sledgehammer Games, the latest iteration of the annual first-person military shooter franchise, Call of Duty Vanguard, takes the series back to its roots in the Second World War. Built on the same engine as Modern Warfare, the game has an active multiplayer community around it.The season 1 mid-season update is the first major update of 2022. It brings a slew of stability and bug fixes along with weapon balancing and a new Attack on Titan-inspired bundle. Here's a look at the patch notes.Sledgehammer Games@SHGamesThe #Vanguard Season 1.5 update is now live 5:38 AM · Jan 12, 20222546179The #Vanguard Season 1.5 update is now live 🔥 https://t.co/r4vkFtXUqmCall of Duty Vanguard mid-season update 1.5 multiplayer changesStability changes in Call of Duty VanguardSeveral sources of packet burst have been identified and resolvedSeveral sources of Multiplayer crash errors have been identified and resolvedXbox Series X players will no longer experience game crashing with CDN setting enabledPlaying with keyboard and mouse will no longer result in a ‘controller needed’ messageSpawns changes in Call of Duty VanguardSpawn logic has been tuned to improve small maps with higher player countsAdjusted spawn logic for Domination on DomeSpawns in Control mode have been significantly adjusted to:Prevent out-of-map spawns on TuscanPrevent spawning in the enemy’s line-of-sight on BocagePrevent players from spawning directly on teammatesWeapons & Equipment: Bug Fixes in Call of Duty VanguardAttack / Guard Dog kills now count towards Panzerfaust Camo ChallengesSTG "Reptilian" Camo Weapon Challenge is now tracking Bloodthirsty killsSTG "Predatory" Camo Weapon Challenge is now tracking Multi killsKatana unlock Challenge is now tracking properly3-Line Rifle can now be reloaded with the ZF4 3.5X Rifle Scope equippedAddressed an issue that prevented the "Kill an Enemy While They Have a Spy Plane Active 5 Times" challenge from tracking in the Counter-Measures career challengesAddressed an issue where care packages would land out of reach when playing Armageddon on Tuscan and Daus HausPlayer selected camos will now appear during the match intro sequenceLocked Camos and attachments can no longer be swapped onto unlocked weaponsA bug resulting in missing Post-Match Flow has been fixedA bug resulting in Type 100 Blueprint “Thunderhead” being invisibly in the pre-match countdown has been fixedWeapons & Equipment: Balancing Changes in Call of Duty VanguardM1 GarandReduced RecoilType 99Reduced Aim FlinchReduced ADS TimeRetain One Shot Kill potential for chest shots when smaller caliber ammo is used3-Line RifleReduced ADS TimeKar98Retain One Shot Kill potential for chest shots when smaller caliber ammo is usedAmmoHollow PointsRemoved damage range penaltiesEquipmentStun GrenadeReduced Stun Grenade damage in Hardcore modesReduced how long players are affected by Stun GrenadesIncendiary GrenadeDamage has been reducedKillstreaksMortar BarrageDuration of Mortar Strike has been reducedThe number of Mortar Strikes per streak has been reducedAddressed issue where Mortar Barrage deployment was inconsistentPerksHigh AlertSlight delay added before Perk activates after being seen by an enemyDauntlessGives immunity to fire and burning effects including Incendiary Rounds, Flamenaut, and lingering fire on the groundFortifiedReduces fire damage taken by 30%Reduces excessive damage of all explosivesMap changes in Call of Duty VanguardPolish pass to improve and fix player collision issues with map environmentsOverall polish pass on Destructibles throughout all mapsUI/UX changes in Call of Duty Vanguard"Seasonal Challenge" menu is now present in the Challenges tabPlayers will no longer experience visual rank swapping between players in Private MatchesThe Objective progression bar will no longer clip into reticlesUnintended distortion of MVP images has been fixedThe continuous post-game level-up animation when players reach Prestige 3 has been fixedStore: menu navigation has improved when viewing and toggling between BundlesCall of Duty Vanguard mid-season update 1.5 zombies changesSledgehammer Games@SHGamesThe #Vanguard Season 1.5 update goes live today at 4 PM PT! Bug & stability fixes Weapon balancing Content updates sledgehammergames.com/blog/2022/vang…2:55 AM · Jan 12, 20222468279The #Vanguard Season 1.5 update goes live today at 4 PM PT!✔️ Bug & stability fixes✔️ Weapon balancing✔️ Content updates👇👀 sledgehammergames.com/blog/2022/vang…Survival Gameplay changes in Call of Duty VanguardVoidSurvival gameplay comes to “Shi No Numa” in the Void, accessed from Von List’s Office in Stalingrad.Rounds are advanced by defeating increasingly difficult endless waves of zombies, rather than by completing Objectives.After completing 3 rounds in the Void, players must choose to Flee or Survive. Choosing Survive continues to spawn waves of zombies until players choose to escape, or if the game ends when all players go down.Players earn 5,000 bonus Essence for every 3 rounds completed in the Void.After surviving 12 rounds in the Void, players earn a reward that prevents Perks from dropping below Tier II upon going down for the rest of the match.The Pack-a-Punch machine is available in “Shi No Numa” when in the Void.Players can return to Stalingrad to upgrade their Perks, Covenants, and Artifacts after surviving 3 rounds in the Void, and can return to the Void at any time.Location changes in Call of Duty VanguardVon List’s OfficeExplore this previously closed-off area of Stalingrad to discover new narrative intel and the portal to the Void.New Feature in Call of Duty VanguardTome of RitualsInvest Sacrificial Hearts at the new Tome of Rituals to upgrade Artifacts up to four tiers in-game.Artifact Upgrades in Call of Duty VanguardFrost BlastTier I – Freezes normal and Special enemies for 3 seconds once they have been in the Frost Blast zone for 0.5 seconds.Tier II – Increases the Frost Blast radius by 100%.Tier III – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 3.Tier IV – Frozen normal enemies are insta-killed when damaged.Energy MineTier I – Stuns normal and Special enemies hit by Energy Mine for 3 seconds.Tier II – Explodes 3 times in a row with a 0.75-second delay between explosions.Tier III – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 3.Tier IV – Increases the explosion radius by 66%.Aether ShroudTier I – Automatically reload weapons when activated.Tier II – Deal 500% bonus melee damage while active.Tier III – Gain 50% move speed while active. Duration extended from 5 seconds to 8 seconds.Tier IV – Increases the number of charges from 1 to 2.Ring of FireTier I – Normal enemies inside the ring take damage equal to 2% of their max HP every second.Tier II – Players within the ring use ammo from stock.Tier III – Staying within the ring for up to 10 seconds increases the duration from 15 seconds to 20 seconds.Tier IV – Staying within the ring for up to 10 seconds increases your damage bonus from +50% to +75%.Pack-a-Punch Camo changes in Call of Duty VanguardThree unique camos were added to the Pack-a-Punch machine.Weapon camo will now change in appearance with each Pack-a-Punch upgrade up to Tier III.Pre-Packed loot weapons will display Pack-a-Punch camos after being picked up from Sturmkreigers or the Mystery Box.Weapon changes in Call of Duty VanguardCombat ShieldsNow available in Zombies loadouts and the Mystery Box.Mitigates a portion of damage from the direction the player is facing when raised. Cannot break.Protects the player’s back from partial rear damage when stowed.Weapon Unlock Challenges in Call of Duty VanguardNew weapon unlock challenges added to Zombies for the Katana melee weapon and new Welgun SMG via Create-a-Class:Katana: In Zombies, get 5 rapid kills with a Melee weapon during 50 different Portal Objectives.Welgun: In Zombies, get 5 rapid Critical Kills with an SMG during 50 different Portal Objectives.Support Weapons changes in Call of Duty VanguardWarmachine and Deathmachine are now available in the Support tab at the Crafting Table.