Call of Duty: Vanguard players baffled by bizarre new camo challenges

Theo Salaun
call of duty vanguard atomic camo challenge

With early access to Call of Duty: Vanguard rolling in, players and streamers have run into some confusion during their grind. Namely, people are wondering if the point-blank sniper and long-range SMG camo challenges are bugged.

In a first-person shooter, you can’t see a lot of cosmetics. You don’t see most of your character’s outfit and very few accessories. But what you do see is your gun, so people enjoy acquiring fun camos.

Like every CoD, Vanguard has a mastery camo that you need to grind to unlock. Modern Warfare had Obsidian, Black Ops Cold War had Dark Matter (and Zombies’ Dark Aether), and Vanguard has Atomic.

To unlock Atomic, though, you need to unlock every gun’s Gold camo first. And, as streamers like JGOD and FaZe Booya are noticing, there are some… surprising challenges along the way.

Call of Duty: Vanguard camo challenges include point-blank sniper kills

In a tweet about the situation, JGOD called the camo challenges “something else” with a bunch of laughing emojis. 

And, if you’re wondering what’s funny, it’s the fact that you need to get 100 point-blank kills with every sniper and marksman rifle to unlock certain camos needed for Gold. In the replies, people noted that assault rifles also require 100 point-blank kills.

CoD fans assume Vanguard’s camo challenges are bugged

FaZe Booya also expressed shock at Vanguard’s grind, asking “who’s in charge of making these camo challenges?” 

Unsurprisingly, the streamers have been joined by players in the confusion. With many wondering if the challenges are bugged, some have even pointed to the long shots required for SMG players. 

Sledgehammer Games have yet to confirm or deny that these are the official challenges needed, so we’ll continue to monitor the situation. If nothing changes before the game releases on November 5, this grind is going to be a serious one.

So if you want the prettiest gun in the lobby, just remember the timeless expression: “Beauty is pain.”

About The Author

Théo is a former writer at Dexerto based in New York and built on competition. Formerly an editor for Bleacher Report and philosophy student at McGill, he fell in love with Overwatch and Call of Duty — leading him to focus on esports for Dex.