It’s the most electrifying esports tournament in the Call of Duty space, and it’s poised to make an impactful return. Now that Call of Duty: Vanguard has launched, the professional competitors can begin shaping their skills for the CDL 2022 season. Before we get there, however, there’s a huge amount of developments to be made to the playing field, the ruleset, and the rosters themselves.
To address that fact, the Call of Duty League published the day one expectations for the CDL 2022 season. This includes the official ruleset, which concerns prohibited weapons and attachments, and some information on the gamemodes that we’ll see throughout the CDL 2022 season.
Let’s get into it.
CDL 2022: The Official Ruleset
While this ruleset concerns the Call of Duty League tournament, it will likely also apply to any ranked modes that emerge in Call of Duty: Vanguard. If there’s one thing we can start to take away from this announcement, it’s the expected CDL 2022 meta, including the likes of the STG44 assault rifle.
Here is the full breakdown of restrictions from the official CDL ruleset:
Weaponry
- No shotguns
- No LMGs
- No shields
- No launchers
Weapon Attachments
- No suppressors
- No subsonic or incendiary ammunition
Equipment and Gadgets
- Thrown Bomb, Demo Charge, Molotov, and Thermite – restricted
- Stim, S-Mine, Decoy, and Gas Grenade – restricted
Perks and Loadout
- Ghost and Dauntless – restricted
- Tracker, High Alert, Forward Intel, and Piercing Vision – restricted
- Overkill, Tactician, and Demolition – restricted
Field Upgrades
- Dead Silence is not restricted
- Supply Box is allowed
- Every other field upgrade is restricted
Killstreaks
- Glide Bomb, Strafe Run, and Bombing Run only
At the moment, the only confirmed gamemodes are the ever-present Search and Destroy and the more modern Hardpoint modes. The former is a staple in the world of esports, and the Call of Duty betting fans know the mode inside and out. It isn’t yet known which will be revealed as the third competitive gamemode, but there will be one.
In recent years, the third mode has been a variant unique to that game – such as last year’s Control mode, found in Black Ops Cold War.
CDL 2022: The Moving Parts
In recent weeks, we’ve had more news come out of Rostermania than ever before, with players and teams moving around the board. As the CDL 2022 season takes shape, nothing is more important than the competitors themselves. Recently, in a shock move, Crimsix, rated as the best Call of Duty pro player of all time left Dallas Empire after two seasons, moving out to the New York Subliners.
This relocation has partnered Crim up with Clayster once again. In a swift move, this makes NYSL the most dominant team on the board, with almost twenty years of competitive experience between just these two players. This could be the final season of Call of Duty for either player, so it’ll be one to watch.
The most recent announcement to come out of Rostermania was regarding Vivid, who finished the CDL 2021 season with Dallas Empire. For the CDL 2022 season, Vivid will be playing with the Florida Mutineers, a capable and powerful top-table side.
As we move closer to the launch of the CDL 2022 season, it’s extremely important to watch this space. Who knows what’ll happen next?
