Call of Duty: Vanguardhas finally launched, and gamers are already acquainting themselves with a wide array of features, maps, and weapons. However, some of the new features and tweaks to old features found inCall of Duty: Vanguardare more controversial than others. One thing that appears to have many fans bothered is the decision to remove the red dots from the game’s mini-map.
While this is far from the onlycontroversial decision made inCall of Duty: Vanguard, it may have a large impact on how the game is played. According to one of the developers who worked onCall of Duty: Vanguard, that was the reasoning behind this choice.
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Sledgehammer Games’ multiplayer creative director Greg Reisdorf explained that the decision to remove the red dots from the mini-map was made specifically to make the mini-map less integral to multiplayer gameplay. Reportedly, previous titles saw players checking the mini-map for opponents so often that it seemed more like they were playing the mini-map thanCall of Duty: Vanguarditself. Reisdorf expressed a desire to keep players focused on what was in front of them and stated that he consideredModern Warfarea success in that regard. This may explain why he decided to imitate Modern Warfare’s decision to remove red dots from the mini-map.
This decision has been controversial, especially since the mini-map has historically been an incredibly important tool when it comes to gettinggood atCall of Duty. Fortunately, Reisdorf and his team took this affection for the classic mini-map into account when designingCall of Duty: Vanguard. While the red dots will no longer be part of the default mini-map, this doesn’t mean they’ve been completely removed from the game. Gamers who prefer the classic mini-map experience will still be able to flip the red dots back on through the use of an optional Perk.
Players who were fond of the red dots can spring for the RadarPerk found inCall of Duty: Vanguard, which will add them back into the mini-map. However, the absence of them on the default mini-map will likely force players to spend less time studying the mini-map and more time skulking around the map, listening intently for signs of enemy presence. Hopefully, gamers don’t run into the kind of audio balancing issues they often encountered in early beta builds–audio issues would make it even harder to get around the map unnoticed.
Call of Duty: Vanguardis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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