Call of Duty: Vanguard presents players with a completely new mode this year called Patrol. Playing similarly to Hardpoint and Overwatch’s Payload, soldiers must keep control of one singular circular area that is constantly moving around the map. It creates a dynamic and fun play type that will test the limits of your first-person shooter prowess.
The Patrol mode acts as a fun tactical variant to the tried-and-true Call of Duty formula, but it can be quite challenging for others to understand. This is not a Team Deathmatch situation, so don’t treat the Patrol mode like it. Don’t run around like a headless chicken, just killing whoever you see. Focus on the circle on the map. You can see it on your minimap as a white circle. In the middle is a symbol with two downward arrows on it. In order to score points, one person must be standing within the moving circle at all times.
Under the best circumstances, you should have a team that is protecting you as the one in the circle. We recommend moving from cover to cover, watching sightlines. Snipers can take you out in an instant, so you may need to hop out of the circle for a second to deal with them before returning to gobble up the points. Also, look at your teammates and which directions they are covering. If there is a line of sight or a path that isn’t being covered, cover their backs. You’ll want to make sure you’re stocked up on flash grenades too as they can stun multiple enemies at once.
Some of the best perks to pick during this mode are Survival Training (which maximizes resistance to stun effects and makes you immune to gas), High Alert (which alarms you with a pulsing vision if an enemy outside of your view is targeting you), and Overkill (which gives you two primary weapons and helps you manage the evolving changes in the map). With Overkill, we recommend a mid/long-ranged weapon and a short-ranged weapon. A short-ranged weapon like a shotgun helps with those narrow hallways while a mid/long-ranged weapon can help you deal with snipers and other opponents.
As for killstreaks, having an Intel (reveals nearby enemies), a glide bomb (drops a bomb on enemies), and, if you’re very efficient with your kills, the attack dogs equipped will be very helpful in this mode. The glide bomb is especially effective as the opposing team tends to hover around the circle, making multi-kills a high possibility. Make sure before using it that the circle is outside, and not within an indoor location.
