Dark and spooky Verdansk is returning in this year’s The Haunting event in Call of Duty: Warzone and there’s a special new mode with it—Ghosts of Verdansk.
In Ghosts of Verdansk, dying turns you into a ghost instead of sending you to the Gulag. Ghosts function similarly to the way that zombies did in last year’s Halloween mode. But this one is a bit more unique in a few ways.
There are some weapons to unlock, skins to be bought, and terrors to be found within the thrill of the limited-time battle royale mode and it all begins when The Haunting kicks off on Oct. 19.
Winning a game of Ghosts of Verdansk is “one of the key challenges needed to unlock the LAPA through the Warzone challenge set,” according to Activision, so use this key information to grab a spooky victory royale.
Death is when the fun begins
As a ghost, players have special abilities to help them in their fight against the living. The abilities are as follows:
- Super Jump: Similar to the jump from Zombie Royale, ghosts can charge up and “leap” through the air to cover serious ground. Because ghosts have no body, their light weight allows them to float and glide following a jump or a drop from any high distance.
- Teleport: Another movement option, albeit with a slower cooldown, ghosts can teleport a short distance to help immediately close gaps between them and living operators. They can even teleport right through them and appear behind their would-be target.
- Spectral Blast: This area-of-effect stun attack slows down operators and disables vehicles.
Players can hide and protect themselves from ghosts in areas called Sacred Ground. These are marked by a glowing blue circle and beam of light, as well as on the mini-map, and are “protected by a supernatural magic that prevents ghosts from crossing over.” Ghosts can also destroy these areas by ramming into them enough times.
Ghosts deal damage to living players by hitting them with melee attacks. When they down a player, they drop a soul. And with three souls, the ghosts can revive. Ghosts can also revive by completing a finishing move on the downed player.
The ‘Fear’ mechanic
Ghosts of Verdansk features a meter for players’ “Fear” levels. Fear is exclusive to the limited-time mode and is something that adds a wrinkle to the normal battle royale experience by giving players something to keep an eye on at all times.
As your Fear meter rises, you may “start to experience hallucinations that can mess with your mind,” according to Activision. If the meter reaches 100 percent, “that’s up to you to find out,” the company said.
The Fear meter will increase over time on its own, but also when the following things happen:
- Being shot at, being hit by enemy equipment, or having their killstreaks in the area
- Camping
- Seeing dead bodies or ghosts
- Having squadmates downed or eliminated
Here’s how Fear can decrease:
- Eliminating a player or ghost
- Reviving a squadmate
- Completing a Contract
- Remaining within Sacred Ground… so long as it stays intact
Other than that, it’s battle royale as always. The last team standing wins, so make sure to stick together with your team to face down the spectral hordes and find a seat in the evac chopper when the game comes to an end.
The Haunting goes live in both Warzone and Black Ops Cold War on Oct. 19.
