Call of Duty: Vanguard ranked play gets a beta release date and reward details

Call of Duty: Vanguard ranked play will launch on Thursday, February 17 in beta as part of the game's second season of content.

Treyarch and the Call of Duty League outlined the rules and initial rewards for Vanguard ranked play earlier today. The beta will start with five placement matches which will slot you into one of seven skill divisions beginning with Contender and ending with Challenger, with five skill tiers within each division. Later in the year, a pinnacle division exclusive to the top 250 players will be introduced.

You'll climb through these divisions as you win games, earning rewards including "weapon blueprints, camos, charms, calling cards, Operator skins, and more" as you move up the ladder. Ranked rewards will be usable in both Vanguard and Warzone, and you'll get a unique emblem and calling card at every five ranks. Rank 50 will award a new "Ranked Royalty" skin for the Operator Solange, and winning 25 matches at Master division or higher will unlock the "Ranked Legend" skin for Solange. Ranked rewards will be exclusive to their debut season, and the CDL says more goodies will be added later in Season 2.

The Vanguard ranked beta will feature 4v4 Hardpoint, Search and Destroy, and Control modes, with all matches following the official Call of Duty League ruleset.

"Just like in the Call of Duty League, certain weapons, attachments, equipment, and Killstreaks are restricted," the CDL explains. "That means, among other things, there are no shotguns or LMGs in Ranked Play. Everything available in Ranked Play is unlocked for everyone to ensure a level playing field, regardless of your current Multiplayer progression."

Vanguard ranked was part of a Call of Duty explosion which saw Warzone 2 announced alongside a Modern Warfare sequel, big Warzone quality of life changes offsetting the permanent lack of a console FOV slider, and a frank discussion from the Warzone devs on the "bloated" state of the game.