- "Explore new mysteries of the Dark Aether and join forces with otherworldly allies to stop Oberführer Wolfram Von List and the demon-lord Kortifex from raising an undead Nazi army."
- — Mission briefing
Der Anfang (German: The Beginning) is a Zombies experience featured in Call of Duty: Vanguard. It takes place in the Dark Aether Saga introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, serving as the beginning of a new story-arc that acts as a prequel to Die Maschine.
A new objective, Purge, and new radios were added on December 8th, 2021 with the release of Season One. On January 12th, 2022, a new objective, Void, as well as the Tome of Rituals were added in the map with the release of Season One Reloaded.
Overview[]
Der Anfang takes place throughout multiple different locations, including the Soviet Union (the "hub" of Der Anfang being Stalingrad), France, and the Empire of Japan.
Allied operatives are trapped within a containment spell crafted by a Dark Aether God known as Kortifex the Deathless, where they are forced to fight against an army of the undead commanded by Wolfram Von List, completing various objectives to open up more of Stalingrad. As each objective is completed, similarly to Black Ops Cold War's Outbreak, the difficulty will increase as the "world grows harder".
The Allied operatives are assisted by 4 Elder Gods who stand opposed to Kortifex' plans, each of them associated with a Field Upgrade. With Vanguard Zombies further experimenting and expanding on the core gameplay loop of the mode overall, Der Anfang has multiple new features such as Demonic Fountains, and the Altar of Covenants.
Objectives[]
There are a total of six objectives in Der Anfang.
Blitz[]
Inviktor tasks the player with holding out in a sectioned-off area for a certain amount of time with the goal of surviving as long as possible until extraction, while killing as many enemies as possible to weaken Kortifex' power.
Harvest[]
Saraxis tasks the player with fighting zombies in a sectioned-off area, with the goal of killing enemies to drop Runestones. The Runes must be deposited into a Sin Eater obelisk, allowing the Elder God to feast on the "sins" in the Runes and restore her powers. Each player can carry up to 5 Runes and need to deposit between 5 and 9 Runes in the Sin Eater depending on the number of players in a match. Once the Sin Eater is full, it will move to another location in the area. The Runes need to be deposited a total of three times.
Transmit[]
Bellekar, with the aid of Gabriel Krafft, uses a device consisting of a floating zombie head and a rune-sealed transmitter, with the goal of contacting allies within the Dark Aether to assist against Kortifex. Players are tasked with escorting the zombie head across the map, all the while fighting off enemies and staying in an area of effect.
Purge[]
Norticus tasks the player with securing several Control Runes under which lie Augmentors, aethereal worms that empower Kortifex's spell. The player has 2 minutes to capture Control Runes whose numbers depend on the number of players within a match. If all the Control Runs aren't captured before the time runs out, many zombies will spawn and the players will have to eliminate all of them. The number of zombies that spawn depend on the number of Control Runes secured.
Void[]
After the Command Post is unlocked, the Void portal can be found in Von List's office and will remain open throughout the match. The player is systematically transported to the Shi No Numa location where a page of the Tome of Rituals can be seen secured by several anchors. The player has to survive endless waves of zombies, each getting harder than the previous one. After three rounds, the player has the option to either Flee or Survive. If the player chooses to flee, they will be transported back to Stalingrad and will receive a Sacrificial Heart. If the player chooses to survive, they will receive 5000 Essence every three rounds. When the player has stayed a total of 12 rounds in the Void, their Perks won't fall below Tier II when downed for the remaining of the match.
Sacrifice[]
Vercanna tasks the player with preventing zombies from sacrificing themselves to Syphoncores, which would open rifts and release a massive amount of enemies. Three Syphoncores spawn around the area with only one active at a time. Zombies willing to sacrifice themselves appears with a red mist. When they are next to a Syphoncore, they will start to float and lose their health until they are killed filling the Syphoncore. A Syphoncore is fulled after five zombies sacrificied themselves. Once the timer has run out and the player has succesfully prevented the Syphoncores to be filled, the last Syphoncore will spawn loot including salvage, equipments and weapons. If all the Syphoncores are filled, the objective is failed and all the players in the area are killed.
Prologue Quest[]
Gain access to the Panzer Collumn East section of the map by completing a portal objective. Enter the Store area and complete the objective which will allow you to enter the command post and Von List's office where you can now enter a void objective leading to Shi No Numa. After surviving 3 full rounds you can exit through a portal, where before returning to Stalingrad, a cutscene with Kortifex will play. Return to the command post, reaching the second floor and interact with the portal which Krafft says he is sealed behind. Activate the portal objectives toward the apartments, and reach the top floor and interact with a stone tome. There will be some dialogue, after which upon re-entering the command post and standing on top of the stairs there will now be a green portal visible.
Features[]
Weapons[]
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Demonic Fountains[]
Cutscenes[]
Intro Cutscene[]
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A squadron of Allied bomber planes fly in the air, as one of them drops a bomb that has "Adios, Adolf!" written on it.. Gabriel Krafft: The Nazis dream of a thousand-year Reich, but in truth, they are already dead. The bomb hits the ground, exploding, as the shot cuts to Wolfram Von List watching the fight outside. The lights in the surrounding buildings all go out, including in Von List's office. Von List tightens his grip on a knife in anger as he grits his teeth. Krafft: The war machine shattered at Stalingrad, but the evil regime staggers on, desperate to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Von List looks at two Jägermörder, signaling for them to leave the room. They obey. Krafft: A special battalion of SS troops scoured the globe for a supernatural means to win the war. Von List stabs his knife onto a map while shouting. Krafft: They were led by the most dangerous man I ever met. Oberführer Wolfram Von List. It was he who destroyed my life, unt cost me my soul. Von list looks at the map as the camera pans to the map, showing the different locations the SS had searched, including Egypt, Greece, Iceland, and Mexico. Krafft: Von List gathered experts from across the Reich, archaeologists, explorers, historians, and authorities on the occult -- like myself. We were forced to help them loot sacred antiquities, but none of the relics we found gave Von List the power he craved. Then, something happened in Poland that changed everything. The map shows Poland and a miniature replica of the Projekt Endstation cyclotron. The shot then zooms back out of the map onto the first-person perspective of Von List, who looks through photos taken at Projekt Endstation, including one of Ulrich Vogel and Oskar Strauss, as well as one of the cyclotron activating. Krafft: Another Nazi attempt to alter the course of the war somehow weakened this world, and the next, unleashing the forces of darkness. A faint groan of a Zombie can be heard as Von List puts down the photo. Krafft: Many miles away, five of our artifacts suddenly... awakened. An artifact begins to glow red, as Von List looks at it with intrigue. He reaches for the artifact, as it flies into his hand, energy shooting up into his arm. Krafft: Ancient spirits, demons, if you will, beckoned from these otherworldly relics, whispering a promise of power. Von List has a vision of an Elder God - Kortifex the Deathless, who the artifact he holds belongs to. Kortifex reaches his hand out to Von List, offering him power. Von List begins to grin. Krafft: And, of course, Von List accepted. Kortifex manifests in front of Von List as the Oberführer's face relaxes, placing his arms behind his back. Cut to an eclipsed moon as Jägermörder toss dead corpses onto a pile at Stalingrad. Von List reaches his hand out towards the pile as a glowing rune of Kortifex appears in the air. A Zombie's hand raises up, climbing it's way out of the pile as others of its kind begin to awaken. Von List reaches his other arm out, devilishly-grinning as he commands his new undead army to rise. Krafft: He now has the power to raise the dead, and they plan to take back everything the Nazis lost. All the troops he will ever require lay frozen in the mass graves of the Eastern Front. Kortifex manifests again, this time behind Von List as the two journey forward to begin their conquest of Europe. Krafft: To stop this unholy army, I must find allies... or the thousand-year Reich will consume us all. |
Radios[]
- Main article: Der Anfang/Radios
There are a total of 37 radios in Der Anfang.
Gallery[]
Video[]
Trivia[]
- On PC, the achievement Death Dealer refers to Der Anfang to as War of the Dead.[1] [2]
- A recreation of the loading screen can be seen on the desk inside Von List's office at the Command Post.
References[]
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