Call of Duty: Vanguard: Champion Hill gameplay details explained

Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s PlayStation Alpha has gone live, giving players their first glimpse not only at this year’s game but the brand new Champion Hill game mode as well.

An evolution of Gunfight, Champion Hill is round-robin, limited-life deathmatch tournament. The game supports squad sizes of Solos (1v1), Duos (2v2) and Trios (3v3).

As previously detailed, everyone will begin the game with the same Loadout, which consists of a Primary and Secondary weapon, Lethal Equipment and Tactical Equipment. You’ll be able to upgrade your Loadout between rounds with cash you earn with eliminations or scattered in-game. Prior to the first Combat Round, you have $500 cash to spend as you see fit.

Combat takes place across four small maps (the Airstrip, the Trainyard, the Market and the Courtyard). Each combat round lasts for 60 seconds. The goal is simple; eliminate the enemy squad that you’re facing until you are the last squad left with lives. 12 lives are shared between squad mates in Duos and 18 in Trios. There’s no reset in between rounds, so you want to try your best each round.

The squad that wins the individual Combat Round will get an additional $1,000 Cash bonus awarded to each member (ties get no money) to be spent during the Buy Rounds. Completely eliminating a squad by reducing their life count to zero rewards additional Cash along with that squad’s weaponry.

Squads are re-paired for subsequent Combat Rounds and in the event there are an odd number of squads, one lucky squad will receive an extra Bonus Buy Round. If your squad is eliminated you can choose to stick around and spectate the rest of the tournament from the platform located within the Buy Station area.