It's December and Call of Duty is celebrating the festive holiday period with the Festive Fervor Event in Warzone and Vanguard. There's a lot to look forward to, with new challenges to complete and rewards to earn, but there's also things to look out for - Krampus is on the hunt in both Call of Duty experiences. Thankfully, he should be the only problem you face in Caldera - Call of Duty has updated us on another wave of bans following the implementation of Ricochet, the Anti-Cheat system.
LATEST - Another ban wave just-in-time for Christmas
Call of Duty has recently tweeted that another 48,000 Activision Accounts have been banned across Warzone and Vanguard - and it's all thanks to the now-globally-available Ricochet Anti-Cheat system.
We know it isn't the most transparent communication, but it's better than nothing and it's an outwards sign that Call of Duty is working to eliminate the cheating problem for good.
When you couple this with the fact that Krampus has been nerfed in Warzone... It should be a better Warzone experience going into Christmas and the New Year.
KRAMPUS - The difference between Warzone and Vanguard
Krampus is going to be one of the main features of the Festive Fervor Event across both Warzone and Vanguard, however, the rules of engagement are a little different depending on what game you're playing.
In Vanguard, Krampus is going to hunt players with the lowest Objective Score - or those who camp in Team Deathmatch - in Vanguard's Multiplayer modes. This is going to be a random in-game event and you'll find it quite hard to avoid a grisly end when you come face-to-face with this creature.
In Warzone, Krampus is going to hunt after a random player every three minutes - however, this is going to be an in-game event that you can actually affect a little. Rather than target selection being based on scores and kills, Krampus is going to hunt after people who find Coal in Holiday Crates. If you see some of that, you best start running.
When does the Festive Fervor Event start?
Call of Duty's Festive Fervor Event is due to start on December 17th at the following times:
- 21:00 PST (December 16th)
- 00:00 EST (December 17th)
- 05:00 GMT (December 17th)
The Vanguard title update including the following content is going to be available 24 hours earlier at the following times:
- 21:00 PST (December 15th)
- 00:00 EST (December 16th)
- 05:00 GMT (December 16th)
However, the Warzone update is scheduled to release at the same time as the Festive Fervor Event's start time. If you're not a fan of waiting, the 12 Festive Days of Deals sale in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone is starting on December 14th - this will feature older bundles at a discount price ahead of the Festive Fervor Event.
What's coming to Vanguard during the event?
If you're not a fan of Warzone, you can look forward to a new festive take on Shipment alongside a new Multiplayer mode - Armageddon. This is going to be a tweaked version of Drop Zone, which is Team Deathmatch with a series of Care Package drops. Points are only earned through kills with bonus points for killing enemies with killstreaks - this makes getting ahold of the killstreaks that spawn in Armageddon vital.
Vanguard Zombies' Der Anfang is also getting a festive update - however, Treyarch hasn't shared too much information on what this entails. Expect to learn more in the next couple of days.
If you own Call of Duty Vanguard, you can also get free Tier skips and any rewards you missed in the Black Ops Cold War Season Six Battle Pass. Here's what Call of Duty has had to say:
" In the spirit of Festive Fervor, those who already own Vanguard — or purchase it before December 31 — will receive the following rewards, available for use starting on December 16:
- 10 Battle Pass Tier Skips for Season One. These are enough to automatically unlock a free Calling Card and 100 COD Points, or even more rewards if the Season One Battle Pass is purchased. Combine it with a Battle Pass Bundle, and you can get over 30 Tiers of content, which contains over 40 items across Vanguard and Warzone, right at the beginning of the season.
- A 10% Global Player, Weapon, and Battle Pass XP Boost During Season One. Earn that next Prestige Icon, weapon attachment, or Battle Pass Tier just a bit quicker with this XP Boost. Expert tip: the 10% XP boost for playing with a Clan, as well as the boosts from the Battle Pass and other sources, stacks with this reward!
- The 24 Vanguard Tiers of the Season Six Battle Pass. If you haven’t already earned them last season, anyone who purchases Vanguard will receive these for free."
What's coming to Warzone during the event?
If Warzone is more your speed, you'll be pleased to know that there's going to be a few new features available in Caldera.
Festive Fir Trees are going to be appearing throughout Caldera, as you can see below. They're going to stand out in and amongst the palm trees - and they should be marked with an icon on the Tac Map - so you can't miss them.
These Fir Trees are going to offer players Supply Boxes if they can survive in the area around the Fir Trees for a short period of time. It's nothing too drastic, but a small festive feature that helps to keep Warzone in line with the Festive Fervor Event.
What to expect across the two experiences?
Both Warzone and Vanguard are going to be getting their hands on a set of in-game Challenges, offering cosmetic rewards, Tier Skips, and XP Boosts. This isn't anything new, though - Call of Duty events have been doing this for months now.
What is new is the fact that Krampus and Elf Team Six are going to be showing up in both Vanguard's Multiplayer maps and Warzone's Caldera. If you find and destroy any Elf Team Six member in either game, you'll get some rewards. They're going to be related to the Festive Fervor Event challenges.
However, if you bump into Krampus... You're going to find it tough. He's going to hunt players in Warzone - offering special squad-based rewards for players who can beat him - and he's going to attack players with the worst Objective Score in Vanguard.
He'll take you out in both games, basically, and offer something else to look out for while you're trying to enjoy a Christmas-themed gaming session in Call of Duty. The full Festive Fervor Event roadmap can be found below - just to recap what's in-store.
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