CoD Vanguard’s destructible environments can apparently fight back

Theo Salaun
call of duty vanguard building explosion

Call of Duty: Vanguard introduced a bunch of features to the franchise and breakable environments are an obvious new element. But players are now discovering, the hard way, that these destructible inanimate objects can fight back.

Though Call of Duty players generally appreciate a certain level of realism, there’s a fine line. The newest CoD, Vanguard, has some serious WW2 realism — but also the slide-canceling and modern reticles of an arcade shooter.

The destructible environments are also, on the whole, relatively realistic. Bullets can indeed break through wooden panels. But players are now realizing just how far that realism goes and… are a little concerned.

While the CDL’s Atlanta FaZe were practicing callouts on Tuscan, they noticed that there’s an era-appropriate “Bazooka” rocket in a closet. And, it turns out, you will explode and die if you melee said missile.

CoD Vanguard’s destructible environment fights back with Bazooka

As the guys looked around the map, there was an explosion and one evaporated. CDL 2021 MVP Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr explained how he was so easily hard-countered: “Dude I knifed the Bazooka in the closet and it blew up.”

While everyone laughed in confusion, Alec ‘Arcitys’ Sanderson went to check for himself. He popped into the room, found another waiting rocket, knifed it, and boom. Arcitys died, everyone cracked up and we all learned that Vanguard’s inanimate objects can be deadly.

CoD Vanguard Tuscan map gameplay
Tuscan is already one of the CDL’s 2022 S&D maps.

It remains unclear if other maps have live ammunition laying around but there’s definitely at least two on Tuscan. And, so far, reactions seem to be mixed.

While Arcitys said he “can’t believe this is real,” others are intrigued by the possibilities. A number of players said they might try shooting the closet, or throwing a grenade at it, to kill anyone in the room in the future. 

Vanguard has been out for around a month now and we’re still finding out new things. Just remember to be careful with what you knife when investigating the maps.

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.