Call of Duty: Vanguard features a hidden system which further spreads bullets

Call of Duty: Vanguard players have uncovered a secret in-game system which alters the bullet spread of weapons.

This feature, as Eurogamer first reported earlier today, is the Call of Duty Vanguard Bloom, and hasn't actually been seen in a Call of Duty game since Sledgehammer's last entry in the franchise in 2017. In a new video from TrueGameData on YouTube, the channel picks apart exactly how this secret system affects the bullet spread of certain weapons in Vanguard.

To sum it up simply, bullets from some weapons in Vanguard won't always hit where your aiming reticle is pointing, regardless of whether or not you're aiming down the sight of your weapon when firing. Specifically, the bullet spread of SMGs is impacted by Bloom, causing bullets from certain SMGs to veer off the mark of where the reticle is pointed.

Article continues below

Implementing Bloom is an intriguing strategy by Sledgehammer for Call of Duty: Vanguard. On one hand, it discourages the use of automatic weapons like assault rifles and SMGs at long distances, since with Bloom enabled, there's no guarantee you're going to hit your target if bullets are veering off course. On the other hand, some players might feel like they've unfairly missed shots with weapons like SMGs at relatively close distances, through no fault of their own.

We'll have to wait and see whether Sledgehammer steps in to alter Bloom at all. It's entirely possible that the developer may just opt to let the feature be, leaving it to work as intended, or they could step in to alter the Bloom effect on certain weapons if the Vanguard community is particularly unhappy. This is one interesting detail about Vanguard to keep an eye on over the coming weeks.