Treyarch hints at additional round-based Zombies maps for Vanguard following Shi No Numa’s successful return to classic gameplay.
A Community’s Plea Answered: The Return to Round-Based Roots
The Zombies community’s persistent requests have finally shifted Treyarch’s direction, marking a pivotal return to the round-based gameplay that defined the mode’s legacy, starting with the Shi No Numa remake.
Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Season 4 update delivered a major course correction: the inaugural round-based Zombies experience, Shi No Numa, signaling a potential new pipeline for classic content.
Vanguard’s Zombies player base expressed profound dissatisfaction with the derivative objective-based structure at launch, campaigning relentlessly for the tense, survival-focused round-based formula that made the mode iconic.
Treyarch’s initial design pivot in Vanguard, favoring compartmentalized objectives over endless waves, was met with widespread criticism from the core Zombies community, who found it lacking the replayability and tension of traditional rounds.
The arrival of Shi No Numa serves as both a relief and a foundation. After a lengthy period of discontent, this map isn’t merely a one-off addition but potentially the cornerstone of a revived classic Zombies chapter within Vanguard’s lifecycle.
Mastering Shi No Numa’s layout is key, not only for survival but also for efficiently unlocking rewards like the Push Dagger melee weapon.
Decoding the Developer Tease: What ‘First’ Really Means
Attentive community members and content creators are parsing Treyarch’s language for clues, finding compelling evidence that more round-based content is in active development.
Prominent Zombies analyst MrDalekJD highlighted a crucial detail in Treyarch’s official blog post: Shi No Numa was explicitly described as Vanguard’s “first” classic, round-based experience—a deliberate choice of words that implies successors.
“The phrasing is intentional,” MrDalekJD speculated. “Calling it the ‘first’ strongly suggests this is the beginning of a series of classic maps, not the end of them.”
— TreyarchCM (@TreyarchCM) June 21, 2022
The Treyarch community team’s response on Twitter, a simple ‘👀’ eyes emoji, is a well-established form of soft confirmation in gaming culture, heavily implying the fan theory is accurate and more announcements are forthcoming.
Looking Ahead: Potential World at War Maps for Vanguard
The shared World War II era between Vanguard and the seminal Call of Duty: World at War creates a perfect thematic bridge for importing more legendary Zombies experiences.
This historical alignment makes the addition of Shi No Numa feel natural, and it logically opens the door for other fan-favorite locations from that original chapter of the Zombies saga.
Speculation now intensely focuses on which World at War maps could receive the Vanguard remake treatment. Will it be the claustrophobic asylum of Verrückt, the original starting point Nacht Der Untoten, or the game-changing Der Riese which introduced the Pack-a-Punch machine?
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Mastering the Comeback: Tips for the New Round-Based Era
With round-based gameplay reinstated, players need to abandon objective-rush mentalities and re-learn the patient, strategic survival skills that define the classic mode.
Practical Tip: Prioritize point accumulation in early rounds. Damage zombies with low-cost weapons like the starting pistol, then knife them for maximum points. This economy is crucial for unlocking doors and buying better weapons later.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Don’t waste points on the Mystery Box too early. Use wall-buy weapons you’re familiar with to establish reliability. The Box should be used for potential upgrades once your core setup is stable and you have points to spare.
Optimization for Advanced Players: Learn precise zombie train routes and ‘holding’ areas on each map. Controlling zombie spawns and grouping them efficiently is the key to surviving high rounds, not just raw firepower. In Shi No Numa, the swamp area and comms room are classic training spots to re-master.
The community’s anticipation is now a strategic waiting game. While hints are promising, definitive plans remain under wraps, leaving fans to strategize for the present and speculate excitedly about the future.
No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Treyarch teases more round-based Zombies ahead of Shi No Numa Treyarch hints at additional round-based Zombies maps for Vanguard following Shi No Numa's successful return to classic gameplay.