CoD Vanguard official CDL ruleset revealed: Day 1 rules

Jacob Hale

The first official Call of Duty League ruleset for Vanguard has been revealed, giving players a first look at how the competitive game may play out in the CDL and any form of ranked mode that may come out.

While CDL rulesets are something that will be gradually refined before and throughout the course of the season (not even including the players’ Gentlemen’s Agreements), there’s always a good few things to discuss when the Day 1 ruleset becomes available to peruse.

From restricted weapons, possible maps and confirmed modes, here’s what the first official CDL ruleset looks like for Call of Duty Vanguard.

Weapon, equipment & loadout restrictions

STG44 Warzone loadout screen
We’re expecting to see weapons like the STG44 be prominent in the Vanguard meta.

Here are the overall loadout restrictions in Vanguard’s opening day CDL ruleset:

Weapons:

  • Shotguns restricted
  • LMGs restricted
  • Riot Shield restricted
  • Launchers restricted

Attachments:

  • Silencers restricted
  • Subsonic and Incendiary ammunition types restricted

Perks:

  • Perk 1: Ghost, Dauntless restricted
  • Perk 2: Tracker, High Alert, Forward Intel, Piercing Vision restricted
  • Perk 3: Demolition, Overkill, Tactician restricted

Equipment:

  • Lethal: Throwing Bomb, Thermite, Demolition Charge, Molotov restricted
  • Tactical: Stim, Gas Grenade, S-Mine, Decoy restricted

Field Upgrades:

  • Supply Box allowed
  • Dead Silence allowed
  • All 7 other Field Upgrades are restricted

Killstreaks

  • Glide Bomb allowed
  • Strafing Run allowed
  • Bombing Run allowed
  • All 13 other killstreaks are restricted

CDL game modes in Vanguard

Hotel Royal map in Call of Duty Vanguard
Expect modes like Search and Destroy and Hardpoint to return.

It’s not yet clear which modes will be the final ones in Vanguard. In the past few years, we’ve seen Uplink, Control, Blitz, Domination and Capture the Flag all be viable third modes in professional play.

The only modes that have been confirmed in the CDL ruleset in Vanguard are Hardpoint and Search & Destroy.

Vanguard’s CDL maps

As with the modes, the official CDL maps haven’t yet been confirmed, and likely won’t be until at least a few weeks after launch.

That said, there will be a lot of discussion among pros and prominent community members over which maps will be best fitted to competitive play, so be sure to keep up with the conversation online to see which maps look likely CDL entries.

About The Author

Jacob is Dexerto’s UK Editor and Call of Duty esports specialist. With a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing, he previously worked as an Editor at Ginx TV. Jacob was nominated for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Esports Awards. Contact: jacob.hale@dexerto.com.