After a dry spell in Season 3, Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s Zombies mode is finally getting a new map with Season 4: Mercenaries of Fortune. Treyarch has released more details about the upcoming update, so here is everything players need to know about the return of the classic Shi No Numa map.
Vanguard Zombies has struggled with lack of content and replayability within Treyarch’s new objective-style approach to the maps, so the developer ditched the new formula for a more traditional Zombies survival experience. Originally a map from Call of Duty: World at War, an “enhanced” version of Shi No Numa is returning to bring a classic round-based Zombies to Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Treyarch announced this enhanced version of Shi No Numa will be the full map, but it’s returning with a new area to explore and side Easter eggs to discover. Returning to Shi No Numa is the classic Wunderwaffe DG-2 Wonder Weapon originally featured on the map, but a quest has been added for players to unlock it.
Shi No Numa is also getting a new storyline quest tied into Treyarch’s ongoing Dark Aether narrative. This main Easter egg is described as a “multi-step quest culminating in a devastating battle,” and completing the quest in full will reward players with a calling card.
This version of Shi No Numa will include the map’s traditional Flogger and electric traps, but players will still have access to Vanguard features such as the Altar of Covenants and the Tome of Rituals. Treyarch recently tweeted more details about Shi No Numa, confirming that a Sacrificial Heart item is awarded for every three rounds survived, and the Altar of Covenants inventory refreshes every three rounds, too.
Originally, Vanguard Zombies removed the mode’s classic “Wall Buy” feature of purchasing weapons off the walls, but the feature will return with Shi No Numa. However, unlike the simplified feature from the original map, Wall Buys returns to Zombies with evolving weapon options. Starting at round 6, Wall Buys will have a chance to increase in Pack-A-Punch level every round all the way up to level 3 at higher rounds. This change is similar to Black Ops Cold War’s dynamic Wall Buy upgrades that had the potential to upgrade the weapon rarity of the wall guns.
Additionally, Treyarch is making a change to Vanguard’s overpriced Pack-a-Punch upgrades for Shi No Numa. The cost for a Level 1 Pack-A-Punch upgrade has been reduced from 7,500 to 5,000 Essence points, which brings the price back down to Zombies’ original cost for the first weapon upgrade.
Being this late in Vanguard’s yearly life cycle, it’s uncertain how many traditional maps we’ll see added to the game, but hopefully, the changes with Shi No Numa can return the fun and replayability to Zombies mode.
The Call of Duty Season 4: Mercenaries of Fortune update arrives on June 22. In addition to major Zombies content, Vanguard is getting two multiplayer maps, and Warzone is getting a new close-quarters Resurgence map. For more on what to expect for Mercenaries of Fortune, check out everything we know about Call of Duty: Warzone and Vanguard Season 4.
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