Call of Duty Vanguard covenants list: How to unlock covenants in Vanguard Zombies explained
They live.
Call of Duty: Vanguard covenants are a vital part of Zombies.
If you're taking a break from the campaign and regular multiplayer matches, Zombies introduces a brand new mode for you to explore. In it, covenants will make themselves present as a station you're gonna want to pay attention to.
With multiple covenants to get to know, it's best to prepare yourself beforehand. This guide explains how to unlock covenants and the complete covenants list to best fight against the never-ending undead hordes.
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Once you've learned the ins and outs, don't miss our best builds page for Vanguard Zombies. If you're interested in regular multiplayer as well, we have a complete list of Call of Duty: Vanguard maps and an explainer on how to unlock Call of Duty: Vanguard operators.
How to unlock covenants in Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies
Covenants are a new addition in Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies, serving as stations to pick up interesting bonuses and abilities to use in matches. In essence, these are integrated with the experience as a whole.
For example, aside from peculiar abilities such as the chance to turn enemies on your side, ammo mods are no longer present. Instead, covenants take the reign in that regard.
The gist for Zombies is the following: you undertake a series of objectives by teleporting to different areas, but once you're done, you're transported back to a hub area in Stalingrad. This is where, aside from upgrading our weapons or double checking other stations, you can access the Altar of Covenants.
It's far simple to use them: the Altar of Covenants is always the same, signalised on the hub area map. Once you've gotten yourself a few Sacrificial Hearts, which are obtained for completing the aforementioned objectives, you can purchase covenants.
There isn't a way to select specific covenants - instead, they're all unlocked from the get-go, but the selection is always random. You can purchase and equip up to three at a time, and the more time you spend in matches, the more you will start seeing the same covenants with higher rarities.
So, what exactly are the covenants, then? Jump to our next section for the full list.
How to unlock epic and legendary covenants in Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies
Such as we have seen before with past releases, it's worth staying awhile in Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies. Not only you'll have the chance to save more money and pursue better upgrades or more powerful weapons - covenants will become better as well.
In our experience, covenants always started on the Rare category. This is your standard, and in most cases, it only adds the perk/ability for you to use. In order to obtain better versions of covenants, you'll have to spend some time completing objectives
In most cases, it didn't take long for Epic covenants to appear, which are the second category. Again, the selection is random, so it may take a while for you to stumble an upgraded version of a covenant you have equipped. But at the very least, Epic covenants aren't super elusive.
Legendary covenants, on the other hand, can be more tricky. During one match, we got as far as wave 10 without seeing a single Legendary covenant. It takes some time, but they're definitely worth the wait.
If you happen to be in a rush or just want to know what to expect from the Altar of Covenants at a glance, pay attention to the altar eyes' colour - blue is Rare, purple is Epic, and orange is Legendary.
So, what exactly are the covenants and their rarity bonuses, then? Jump to our next section for the full list.
If you're interested in multiplayer, we have lists of the Operators and multiplayer maps, as well as the best Vanguard weapons, including the best STG44 loadout, best MP40 loadout and best Automaton loadout, best BAR loadout, best Combat Shotgun loadout, best Type 100 loadout, and best Kar98k loadouts. In other modes, we can explain the best zombies builds and best covenants.
Call of Duty: Vanguard covenants list
There is a total of 16 covenants in Call of Duty: Vanguard. Initially there were only 11, but Vanguard Season 1 brought 5 new covenants. In addition, each has multiple rarities (which can range from Rare to Epic and Legendary), so longer matches will definitely be worth your time.
The randomised nature of covenants means that there is no guarantee of seeing specific covenants over others. It may take a round or two or three, or just don't appear for a long time. The selection can be quite repetitive too, which doesn't help, so patience is definitely advised.
In alphabetical order, you can find the covenants list below:
| Covenant | Rare | Epic | Legendary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ammo Gremlin | Stowed weapons refill ammo from stock automatically | Stowed weapons refill ammo from stock quickly | Stowed weapons refill ammo from stock quickly |
| Bloodlust | Melee attacks do more damage and heal you | Melee attacks do more damage and heal you | Melee attacks do more damage and heal you |
| Brain Rot | Chance to turn a normal enemy when shooting it | Chance to turn any enemy when shooting it | Chance to turn any enemy when shooting it. Death explosion turns nearby enemies |
| Brimstone | Constantly deal damage to nearby enemies | Constantly deal more damage to nearby enemies | Constantly deal much more damage to nearby enemies |
| Cull the Weak | Deal more damage to slowed or stunned enemies | Deal much more damage to stowed or stunned enemies | Deal much more damage and massive critical damage to slowed or stunned enemies |
| Cryofreeze | Chance to slow a normal enemy when shooting it | Chance to slow any enemy when shooting it | Chance to slow any enemy when shooting it. Death explosion freezes nearby enemies |
| Dead Accurate | Successive shots on the same enemy deal more damage | Successive shots on the same enemy deal much more damage | Successive shots on any enemy deal much more damage |
| Deadshot | Aiming down sights moves aim to critical location. Removes weapon sway. Bonus damage on first crit for each enemy | Aiming down sights moves aim to critical location. Removes weapon sway. Large bonus damage on first crit for each enemy | N/A |
| Dead Wire | Chance to Stun a normal enemy when shooting it | Chance to Stun a normal or special enemy when shooting it | Chance to Stun normal or special enemy when shooting it. May also stun nearby enemies |
| Death Blow | Critical kills return a bullet to the clip | N/A | Critical kills return 2 bullets to the clip |
| Mother Lode | Small chance to keep equipment after using it | High chance to keep equipment after using it | High chance to keep equipment after using it and a small chance to receive additional equipment |
| Resurrectionist | Revive allies faster | Revive allies much faster | Revive allies much faster and automatically revive nearby allies |
| Scrapper | Gain more Salvage from pickups | Gain much more Salvage from pickups | Gain much more Salvage from pickups and objective rewards |
| Splatterfest | Enemies killed by explosions have a chance to explode | Enemies killed by explosions have a high chance to explode | Enemies killed by explosions have a very high chance to explode |
| Swift Vengeance | Deal more damage the faster you move. Activates shortly after your start moving | Deal much more damage the faster you move. Activates shortly after you start moving | Deal much more damage the faster you move. Activates immediately upon moving |
| Unholy Ground | Deal more damage when shooting while stationary | Deal much more damage when shooting while stationary | Deal much more damage when shooting while stationary and for a short time after you start moving |
That's all you need to know about covenants in Vanguard Zombies! If you're curious about the best combinations for covenants, our best builds page can help.